Sport

Supreme Court liquidated Memorial international after violations of the law on foreign agents

Photo: Ilya Pitalev / RIA Novosti

The Supreme Court of Russia liquidated the international historical, educational, charitable and human rights society “Memorial” (recognized in Russia as an NGO-foreign agent) . RIA Novosti reports.

The corresponding claim was filed by the General Prosecutor's Office, the society received it on November 11. The reason, according to the department, was the repeated violation of the law on foreign agents. Memorial denies violations and believes that the case is political in nature and is aimed at destroying an organization that defends human rights and investigates political repression.

Memorial accused of rehabilitating Nazi accomplices

Prosecutor Aleksey Zhafyarov, during a court session held on December 28, said that society was speculating on the topic of repression.

Why now we, the descendants of the victors, are forced to watch the attempts to rehabilitate the traitors to the motherland and Nazi accomplices. (…) Probably because someone is paying for it. And this is the real reason for the fierce rejection with which Memorial is denying the status of a foreign agent.

He added that over the past two years, Memorial has not applied to the department to submit a request to recognize someone as a victim of repression.

The International Society “Memorial” was founded in 1989, its goal – the study of political repression in the USSR. At the moment, it unites a number of regional and foreign organizations engaged in human rights, educational and research activities. In 2016, the Ministry of Justice entered the center into the register of organizations performing the functions of foreign agents. According to the law on foreign agents, organizations included in the register must make special notes on all published materials.

The Kremlin announced the problems of Memorial with the observance of Russian laws

According to the Kremlin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the situation with the violation of laws by Memorial is “a well-known fact.” He added that it is important for Russian President Vladimir Putin that any NGOs act within the framework of the law.

On November 23, Peskov said that the issue of liquidating Memorial was not among the most important topics on the Kremlin's agenda. He also indicated that there is a position of the Prosecutor General's Office on this issue, and urged to wait for the court's decision.

Nobel Peace Prize winners Gorbachev and Muratov demanded to withdraw the lawsuit against Memorial

Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and Novaya Gazeta editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov opposed the liquidation. According to them, the activities of Memorial for many years have been aimed at restoring historical justice and preserving the memory of those killed and injured during the repressions, and the continuation of its work is in the interests of the country.

Writer, playwright and poet Lyudmila Petrushevskaya refused the title of laureate of the State Prize due to plans to liquidate Memorial. According to her, the memory of those convicted and shot, of those thrown under a truck and starving to death, of those frozen in trucks on the way from camp to camp, of those tortured by torture at Lubyanka and Kolyma is being taken away from her.

The Council of Europe and the European Parliament opposed the liquidation of Memorial

The Council of Europe called for the abolition of the law on foreign agents in Russia. According to the head of the Council of Europe Commission on Human Rights Dunja Mijatovic, the actions of the Russian authorities cause deep concern. In particular, she pointed out that the center was accused of acquitting extremists and terrorists because of its activities to support political prisoners. She called Memorial a symbol of the struggle for freedom, democracy and human rights in the post-Soviet space and beyond. Mijatovic noted that the liquidation of the human rights center would entail negative consequences both for the protection of human rights in Russia and for the country's civil society.

The European Parliament adopted a resolution on the Memorial case, condemning the attempts of the Russian authorities to close down two legal entities of the Memorial human rights organization – International Memorial and the Memorial human rights center. MEPs also called for an immediate drop of all charges against Memorial and guarantees that the organization will continue to operate safely without government interference. The resolution also contains an appeal addressed to the head of foreign policy of the European Union, Josep Borell, to impose sanctions on Russians. involved in legal proceedings against Memorial and its members. The text was adopted by 569 votes to 46, with 49 abstentions.

Gymnasts Arina and Dina Averina: sport is an unpredictable thing, we don't set specific goals

Photo: AFLO / globallookpress.com

Russian gymnasts Dina and Arina Averina shared their plans for 2022. Their words are quoted by People Talk.

The 23-year-old sisters said they have a goal of obtaining a driving license in 2022. “We are not making any more plans yet. We do not like to guess, it is much more pleasant to talk about victories that have already been accomplished. Nobody knows what awaits us tomorrow, ”said Arina.

Dina Averina added that sport is an unpredictable thing. “It is useless to set specific goals in it. The direction is important, ”she said.

The most difficult test in the outgoing year, the sisters of Averina called performance at the Olympic Games. In Tokyo, Dina Averina won silver, losing to Israeli Lina Ashram, and Arina Averina took fourth place. The Russian side filed several protests against the judges' assessments during and after the competition, but this did not affect the distribution of seats.

OK research: 68% of Runet users will spend more than 3 thousand rubles on the New Year's table

Photo: Viktor Lisitsyn / Russian Look / Globallookpress.com

Runet users revealed what budget they plan to spend on New Year's Eve, where they look for recipes and how they select dishes for the festive table. This is stated in the study of the social network “Odnoklassniki” and the Center ResearchMe, the results of which were received by the editors of “Lenta.ru”.

So, according to the survey, 95 percent of Russians are going to meet 2022 with bread and salt, only five percent said they did not set the New Year's table. Moreover, 84 percent of them prefer a traditional table with a lot of food and drinks, and only 16 percent want to have a light buffet table. At the same time, the second option is most often preferred by people aged 25 to 34 years – almost a quarter (24 percent) of them noted that they do not like to waste time on cooking various dishes. The absolute majority (84-90 percent) of respondents over 35 choose traditional feasts.

It turned out that 68 percent of respondents are ready to spend more than three thousand rubles on a festive dinner: a third of the Internet users (33 percent) have already allocated a budget of three to five thousand rubles, 22 percent – less than three thousand rubles, 20 percent – from five to seven thousand rubles , 12 percent – from seven to ten thousand rubles, three percent – more than ten thousand rubles. Ten percent of the respondents found it difficult to answer this question. Interestingly, the attitude of Russian residents to the budget for New Year's gifts differs from the budget for the New Year's table – 46 percent of respondents are ready to spend more than three thousand rubles on gifts.

Users select dishes for the New Year's table using a variety of methods: they use family recipes (63 percent), find interesting options on social networks (27), study sites with recipes (21) and cookbooks (15). Also, five percent of respondents order ready-made prescription and delivery services, and ten percent do not use recipes at all. At the same time, 73 percent of respondents admitted that they follow culinary blogs and publics on social networks, and about half (48 percent) of those surveyed share interesting culinary finds with friends in the news feed.

Not all respondents consider alcohol to be appropriate for the New Year: 16 percent are going to spend December 31 without alcoholic beverages. Of those who will celebrate 2022 with alcohol, 77 percent will put sparkling wines and champagne on the table, 41 percent – strong alcohol, 35 percent – wines, 8 percent – liqueurs and 6 percent – mulled wine.

We also managed to find out the most popular dish for the New Year's table. The classic top 3 includes Olivier salad, tangerines and herring salad under a fur coat. 67 percent of Runet users voted for Olivier, 65 percent for tangerines, 55 percent for herring under a fur coat. The survey participants also noted that they could not imagine a festive dinner without sandwiches with red caviar (40 percent) or fish (27), jellied meat (39), crab salad (34), baked duck or chicken (33), pickles (29) , meat in French (21), salad “Mimosa” (18) and jellied fish (5).

In addition, for the New Year, Odnoklassniki launched a special Kinoshef chatbot, which will recommend a movie and send a link to recipes from your favorite Soviet and Russian cinema. To do this, you need to write the word “start” in the bot's private messages. Users will be able to find out in which film the herring was covered according to GOST, evaluate British dishes from the film “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson” or cook the famous jellied fish from “Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath!”

The Supreme Court liquidated the historical society “International Memorial”

Photo: Dmitry Lebedev / Kommersant

The Supreme Court of Russia liquidated the international historical, educational, charitable and human rights society “International Memorial” (recognized in Russia as an NGO-foreign agent) after a corresponding claim by the General Prosecutor's Office. RIA Novosti reports.

At a court session held on December 28, the claim was supported by representatives of the Ministry of Justice and Roskomnadzor.

During the meeting, Aleksey Zhafyarov, a representative of the Prosecutor General's Office, accused the Memorial society of rehabilitating Nazi accomplices, stating that it also speculates on the topic of repression, presenting the USSR as a terrorist state.

“We are forced to watch the attempts to rehabilitate Nazi criminals. This is because someone pays for it – and this is the real reason why Memorial fights so carefully against calling itself a foreign agent, ”a representative of the prosecutor’s office said in court, noting that over the past two years, the organization has never did not apply to them with a request to recognize anyone as a victim of repressions.

The International Memorial Society received a claim from the Prosecutor General's Office on November 11. The reason is the repeated violation of the law on foreign agents. The organization denies these violations and claims that the case is political in nature.

International Memorial was founded in 1992 in Moscow. Its creation was preceded by the emergence in 1987 of the Moscow public group “Memorial”, which gave rise to the emergence of regional organizations. In 1989, they all united into the All-Union Historical and Educational Society “Memorial”. Today the society is engaged in human rights, educational and research activities dedicated to political repression in the USSR. In 2016, the Ministry of Justice entered the center into the register of organizations performing the functions of foreign agents, which obliges Memorial to make appropriate markings in its publications.

General Prosecutor's Office accused Memorial of rehabilitation of Nazi criminals

Photo: International Memorial Facebook page

The Memorial Society ( recognized in Russia as an NGO-foreign agent ), on the one hand, speculates on the topic of repression, representing the USSR as a terrorist state, and on the other hand, it is engaged in the rehabilitation of Nazi criminals guilty of the murders of Soviet citizens. This was stated in the Supreme Court by the representative of the General Prosecutor's Office Alexei Zhafyarov, reports on Tuesday, December 28, “Interfax”.

“Why now we, the descendants of the victors, are forced to watch the attempts to rehabilitate the traitors to the motherland and Nazi accomplices. (…) Probably because someone is paying for it, “he said, suggesting that this is the real reason for the” fierce rejection “with which the organization is denying the status of a foreign agent.

The representative of the General Prosecutor's Office stressed that over the past years, Memorial has never applied to the department with a request to recognize someone as a victim of repression. He also lamented that the organization in its work focused on distorting historical memory – primarily about the Great Patriotic War.

On November 11, the Prosecutor General's Office sent a demand to liquidate the international organization “Memorial” to the Supreme Court. The reason is the repeated violation of the law on foreign agents. The organization denies these violations and claims that the case is political in nature.

Former footballer of the national team of Uzbekistan and “Rostov” Nikolay Shirshov dies at the age of 47

@rostovfc

Former defender of the national team of Uzbekistan and Russian “Rostov” Nikolay Shirshov died at the age of 47. This was reported on the website of Rostovites.

Shirshov represented the Rostov club from 2000 to 2005. As part of Rostov, he played 120 matches and scored one goal. The club expressed condolences to the family and friends of Shirshov.

Shirshov began his professional career in 1991 in the Tashkent Sverdlovts, playing in the Second League of the USSR Championship. In the championship of Uzbekistan, he also represented Traktor and Pakhtakor. Since 2000, Shirshov has performed in Russia. In addition to Rostov, the footballer also played for Bataysk-2007, Taganrog, MITOS.

From 1996 to 2005 he represented the national team of Uzbekistan at the international level. Together with the team, he took part in three Asian Cup competitions. As part of the national team, he played 64 matches and scored 13 goals.

Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin spoke about measures to reduce the cost of building materials

Marat Khusnullin. Photo: Sergey Kiselev / AGN “Moscow”

The Russian government has thought about a set of measures to reduce the cost of production of building materials. This was stated by Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin, RIA Novosti reports.

“Now we have agreed that we will nevertheless look at and propose comprehensive measures on how to reduce the cost of production of building materials,” Khusnullin said and stressed that several meetings were held on the issue. He noted the need to combat price increases in order to avoid a threat to public construction projects. Due to inflation and regulatory issues, the National Association of Infrastructure Companies (NAIC) has warned the Russian government of an impending catastrophe in the construction industry.

The Ministry of Construction also proposed introducing an aggregate index to determine the cost of construction work and adjust prices if the value of contracts increased by five percent or more. The index will include, among other things, the cost of construction resources. In addition, the Ministry of Construction proposes to provide in the law on the contract system a mechanism for adjusting the price of contracts if the index turns out to be inconsistent with actual inflation.

Earlier in December, it was reported about problems with projects of state construction projects associated with the rapid rise in prices for materials. According to Rosstat, in January-November 2021, the cost of building materials increased by 19.5 percent in annual terms. A joint study by NAIK and the Higher School of Economics revealed that almost half of the largest Russian road construction companies are under the threat of bankruptcy.

Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko: Russia aims to host the Olympics in 2036

Dmitry Chernyshenko. Photo: Government of the Russian Federation / Globallookpress.com

Russia will apply to host the Summer Olympics in 2036. It is reported by “Interfax”.

Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Chernyshenko said that the Russian side is aiming at hosting the 2036 Olympics. He spoke at a briefing on the results of the development of sports in the country. Chernyshenko noted that Russia needs to apply to host the Games and asked the Ministry of Sports and the Russian Olympic Committee to start selecting candidate cities.

Chernyshenko expressed the idea that the necessary conditions for the Games have been created in the Far East. He also drew attention to the fact that Sochi can also host the Summer Games.

On August 13, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced plans to host the 2036 Summer Olympics in Russia. He noted that the Games can be hosted by Kazan or St. Petersburg.

Moscow hosted the 1980 Summer Olympics. These Games were the first to be held in a socialist country.

In the Orenburg region, the hospital management was suspected of abuse in the supply of oxygen

Photo: Roscosmos / globallookpress.com

In the Orenburg region, a case was opened for the management of the Emergency Hospital in Novotroitsk due to the supply of liquid medical oxygen worth 2.8 million rubles. This was reported to “Lente.ru” in the regional department of the Investigative Committee of Russia.

Investigators found that the hospital entered into an agreement with Ural Steel JSC, according to which it received 678 tons of oxygen free of charge. This volume fully covered the needs of the medical institution. Despite this, in October 2021, the hospital's management entered into 31 more contracts for the supply of 186 tons of oxygen with a commercial organization and transferred 2.8 million rubles to it.

Employees of the TFR and FSB conducted searches and seized documents. A case was initiated under Part 3 of Article 160 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Waste committed by a person using his official position”), Part 1 of Article 285 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Abuse of Official Powers”).

Athletes received a total of 823 million rubles for the Olympics and Paralympics

Photo: Evgeniya Novozhenina / Reuters

Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin named the total prize money for medals won by Russian athletes at the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. TASS reports.

The head of the country's Sports Ministry spoke at a briefing at the coordination center of the Cabinet. Matytsin said that the total amount of prize money for the winners and medal holders of the Tokyo Games – the Olympics and Paralympics – amounted to 823.9 million rubles.

Earlier it became known about the government's order to ensure the vaccination of athletes before the Olympics in Beijing. It is noted that they are going to vaccinate the members of the national team until the end of 2021. The Games in Beijing will be held from 4 to 20 February. Russia will play at the Games in a neutral status due to the sanctions of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

At the Tokyo Olympics, Russian athletes won 71 medals. Paralympians have won 118 awards.