Sunday, 1 January 2012
The second deepest metro station in the world opens in St. Petersburg
A new metro station – Admiralteiskaya – opens in St. Petersburg today. The station, which is located on corner of Malaya Morskaya Ulitsa and Kirpichny Pereulok, is the world’s second deepest as over 100 meters below ground. The station is part of the No. 5 line. The world's deepest metro station is located in Kiev.
A brief summary of the year that was
The 2011 was anything but uneventful for Russia -- and Moscow saw its fair share of notable events.
The Fourth Rome
The city grew – in the administrative sense, with the official boundaries extended out to the south all the way to the Kaluga region, more than doubling the city’s official size.
The capital’s city dwellers saw changes underfoot as vast swaths of the city center’s footpaths were dug up, with the asphalt removed to be replaced by bricks. Motorists were not spared disruption either as the city installed more than 100 kms of bus lanes and dozens of traffic cameras.
City works were not the only reason for traffic disruptions, however. A major laser show saw unusually large crowds throng Moscow State University causing havoc. The mass event of the year was, nonetheless, the arrival of Virgin Mary’s belt that had been on a countrywide tour, but saw the biggest crowd attendance here in the capital.
Tragedy strikes
The year started off on a tragic note with the Domodedovo airport bombing, which ended up killing 37 people and injuring many more.
The bombing was not the only major disaster to hit the nation, the country’s waterways suffered several sinkings, the worst of which was the sinking of the Bulgaria, which saw 122 people die.
The airways also saw their share of strife, but the crash of the Yak-42 passenger plane struck a special chord with nearly the entire Lokomotiv Yarolslavl hockey team being killed in the disaster.
Business, sports and politics
Businesswise, the event of the year was Russia finally joining the WTO after 18 years, becoming its 154th member.
Russia’s national hockey team saw a double disappointment, failing to make it into the world championships and suffering the indignation of coming third in the Channel One Cup.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s announcement of his bid to return to the presidency could have been the biggest political news of the year, but it was shoved aside when the political scene came truly alive with the Dec. 4 State Duma elections and the nationwide protests that gripped Moscow and the nation after widespread reports of vote rigging emerged.
General silliness
The battle for the choice of Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics was filled with quirks, but it was the hunt for the Yeti in southern Siberia that would have to take the cake for silly story of the year.
The Fourth Rome
The city grew – in the administrative sense, with the official boundaries extended out to the south all the way to the Kaluga region, more than doubling the city’s official size.
The capital’s city dwellers saw changes underfoot as vast swaths of the city center’s footpaths were dug up, with the asphalt removed to be replaced by bricks. Motorists were not spared disruption either as the city installed more than 100 kms of bus lanes and dozens of traffic cameras.
City works were not the only reason for traffic disruptions, however. A major laser show saw unusually large crowds throng Moscow State University causing havoc. The mass event of the year was, nonetheless, the arrival of Virgin Mary’s belt that had been on a countrywide tour, but saw the biggest crowd attendance here in the capital.
Tragedy strikes
The year started off on a tragic note with the Domodedovo airport bombing, which ended up killing 37 people and injuring many more.
The bombing was not the only major disaster to hit the nation, the country’s waterways suffered several sinkings, the worst of which was the sinking of the Bulgaria, which saw 122 people die.
The airways also saw their share of strife, but the crash of the Yak-42 passenger plane struck a special chord with nearly the entire Lokomotiv Yarolslavl hockey team being killed in the disaster.
Business, sports and politics
Businesswise, the event of the year was Russia finally joining the WTO after 18 years, becoming its 154th member.
Russia’s national hockey team saw a double disappointment, failing to make it into the world championships and suffering the indignation of coming third in the Channel One Cup.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s announcement of his bid to return to the presidency could have been the biggest political news of the year, but it was shoved aside when the political scene came truly alive with the Dec. 4 State Duma elections and the nationwide protests that gripped Moscow and the nation after widespread reports of vote rigging emerged.
General silliness
The battle for the choice of Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics was filled with quirks, but it was the hunt for the Yeti in southern Siberia that would have to take the cake for silly story of the year.
Moscow State University hit by fire
One of seven Moscow’s famed Stalin-era towers was struck by fire, which broke out in a student dormitory in the Moscow State University’s main building in the early hours of Dec. 30.
Fifteen-hundred people were evacuated, and two people required medical treatment. At least one international student from China, who lived on the floor where the fire started, was admitted to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation, Interfax reported.
The fire broke out in one of the residential rooms on the 18th floor in corpus B due to a short circuit or faulty wiring, according to fire-fighters’ preliminary data.
“Notification on the fire was received at 3:17 am, and smoke was coming out of the building’s two windows,” Yevgeny Bobylev, press-service head of Moscow’s branch of the Emergency Situations Ministry said.
Thick smoke which quickly spread through the building made some people think there were several ignition sources there, but fire-fighters are sure there was only one.
The room where the ignition source was located burnt out completely, according to the building’s guard, but the person who resides there wasn’t at present at the time of the accident.
The blaze was extinguished in less than an hour according the Moscow’s Emergency Situations Ministry.
The renowned landmark has already suffered fires before, and in 2006 two people were killed in a fire which broke out early in the morning when people were asleep.
The last fire, which happened in 2009, was less dramatic. The flames spread to just 5 square meters, and the only lose was burnt furniture. No one was hurt.
Fifteen-hundred people were evacuated, and two people required medical treatment. At least one international student from China, who lived on the floor where the fire started, was admitted to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation, Interfax reported.
The fire broke out in one of the residential rooms on the 18th floor in corpus B due to a short circuit or faulty wiring, according to fire-fighters’ preliminary data.
“Notification on the fire was received at 3:17 am, and smoke was coming out of the building’s two windows,” Yevgeny Bobylev, press-service head of Moscow’s branch of the Emergency Situations Ministry said.
Thick smoke which quickly spread through the building made some people think there were several ignition sources there, but fire-fighters are sure there was only one.
The room where the ignition source was located burnt out completely, according to the building’s guard, but the person who resides there wasn’t at present at the time of the accident.
The blaze was extinguished in less than an hour according the Moscow’s Emergency Situations Ministry.
The renowned landmark has already suffered fires before, and in 2006 two people were killed in a fire which broke out early in the morning when people were asleep.
The last fire, which happened in 2009, was less dramatic. The flames spread to just 5 square meters, and the only lose was burnt furniture. No one was hurt.
Quarter of voters would definitely vote for Putin -- poll
Just over a quarter of Russians said they will vote for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in the upcoming presidential election, the results of a new poll released on Thursday revealed. The Obshchestvennoye Mneniye fund’s survey showed that 26 percent of people definitely intended to vote for Putin, 16 percent would most likely vote for him and 10 percent said that it was possible they would vote for him. Thirty-three percent said it was unlikely they would support his candidacy in the upcoming presidential elections.
Warm and snowy New Year’s Eve forecast for Moscow
The Fobos meteorological bureau is forecasting a “European variant” of weather for New Year’s Eve.
“During the day the temperature will be 0 to -2 degrees [Celsius] and New Year’s night the thermometer will show -1 to -3 degrees,” RIA Novosti quoted a press spokesperson as saying on Thursday. The bureau said it is also expecting heavy snowfalls on New Year’s Eve.
“During the day the temperature will be 0 to -2 degrees [Celsius] and New Year’s night the thermometer will show -1 to -3 degrees,” RIA Novosti quoted a press spokesperson as saying on Thursday. The bureau said it is also expecting heavy snowfalls on New Year’s Eve.
Seven minutes of fireworks for the capital
New Year’s main firework display is to last seven minutes, the capital’s culture head Sergei Kapkov announced on Friday.
“We have organized a direct broadcast of the president’s address, and then on Vasilevsky Spusk high-altitude fireworks will take place for a duration of seven minutes,” said Kapkov. He added that the official program will finish at 2 am in the center of the city, but will continue in the city’s parks till 3 am.
“We have organized a direct broadcast of the president’s address, and then on Vasilevsky Spusk high-altitude fireworks will take place for a duration of seven minutes,” said Kapkov. He added that the official program will finish at 2 am in the center of the city, but will continue in the city’s parks till 3 am.
Red Hot Chili Peppers booked for Abramovich NY party
Billionaire Roman Abramovich is spending more than 5 million pounds to provide entertainment for some 300 guests at his exclusive New Year’s Eve party on a Caribbean Island. Red Hot Chili Peppers are reportedly headlining the evening’s entertainment bill. The newspaper reported that the event is to be held in an estate previously owned by the Rockerfeller family. The dress code for the party, which is to run from 10 pm to 4 am, is describes as “island chic.
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