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As the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster approaches on April 26, a group of Russian environmentalists has published a school textbook about the accident and begun nationwide distribution.
Titled Chernobyl Lessons, the book, put together by experts from Ecodefense, Greenpeace Russia and Bellona, describes the disaster and its consequences in great detail, explaining the dangers of radiation, analyzing the mistakes that were made and suggesting protection strategies for similar situations.
The lectures give a critical assessment of nuclear industry in general, and offer a comparative study of the risks and benefits of nuclear industry versus renewable energy, such as, for instance, wind energy. The book is intended to be used during lessons on biology, physics, sociology and personal safety. |
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A DOG’S LIFE
Vladimir Smirnov / For The St. Petersburg Times
A statue created by Yelena Nikitina entitled “Peeing Dog.” The statue is part of an ensemble created to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of the electrification of the city of Vologda. |
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MOSCOW The beating of two Mongolian students in St. Petersburg over the weekend put an ugly stamp on what increasingly resembles an epidemic of racist violence in Russia.
The two needed hospital treatment after coming under attack from a gang of around 10 men Saturday in the metro system, police said.
The incident bore the hallmarks of a trend right across the country of unprovoked, often vicious attacks against non-whites an embarrassing problem that President Vladimir Putins government has yet to prove capable of addressing.
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MOSCOW The Public Chamber may not influence government policy or even help the public. But, having just wrapped up its first plenary session, this much is clear: The media love it.
The chambers outlandish proposals for instance, barring officials from using the words euro and dollar; drafting a 49-point, anti-extremism charter; and imposing career caps on officials who did not serve in the army were among the issues covered most thoroughly by the media last week. |
All photos from issue.
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Young architects and designers from around Europe have been given an opportunity to contribute to the formation of St. Petersburgs sea facade, the citys committee for town planning and architecture said Wednesday, opening an international contest with a prize of 47,000 euros. |
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MOSCOW Yukos founder Mikhail Khodorkovskys nose was slashed early Friday by a fellow inmate while Khodorkovsky slept in a barracks in the Krasnokamensk prison colony he has been confined to for the last six months, his lawyers said. |
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MOSCOW Human rights, social services and aid to those hurt by the Nazis and Soviets would be further compromised by a proposal on enforcing a controversial law on nongovernmental organizations, NGO representatives said.
Alexei Zhafyarov, head of the Justice Ministrys Federal Registration Services NGO department, indicated that the April 7 proposal on how to enforce the law was expected to be approved by government officials. |
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MOSCOW On the fifth anniversary of Gazproms takeover of NTV television, some 1,500 protesters and several prominent former NTV journalists rallied Sunday on Pushkin Square to demand greater media freedom and a television free of Kremlin control. |
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MOSCOW He rose to the rank of minister in Kiev. In Moscow, he recently reached the level of president though his dominion is steel and his office is in an ordinary seven-story building in one of the citys many courtyards.
The new head of steel giant Evraz, Valery Khoroshkovsky, 37, acknowledges that he does not have a lot of experience in metals. |
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The long-running dispute between local alcohol producer LIVIZ and the Moscow-based Kristall group over the rights to use the Gzhelka brand ended in favor of LIVIZ, Interfax reported Thursday.
The Kristall plant registered Gzhelka as a trademark in 1993. |
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Known for his numerous attempts to destroy the illegally-built cottages of well-off Muscovites, Oleg Mitvol, deputy head of Rosprirodnadzor the federal agency for the protection of natural resources has turned his attention to the transgressions of St. |
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New legislation could mean the outdoor advertising industry will lose up to 80 percent of its current placement areas. Rather than protect the business community, City Hall is driving advertisers out of the city center.
A new state standard defining the technical requirements of advertising space on roads and in urban and rural areas was adopted in September of last year. |
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GAZ, the countrys second-largest automotive firm, said Friday that it planned to invest a total of $150 million over the next two years in two new cars, based on older-generation Chrysler models. |
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A U.S. court has issued a temporary injunction blocking Yukos from selling its Mazeikiu Nafta refinery just as the stricken oil major said it was on the verge of clinching a deal with the Lithuanian government on its sale.
A Manhattan bankruptcy court late Thursday issued a 10-day stay on any sale of Yukos foreign assets by Yukos president Steven Theede, who is a U. |
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ST. PETERSBURG Russia may halt oil products shipments through its northern river route to the port of St. Petersburg in 2007 due to the poor technical state of the canal, the head of the canal system said Friday. |
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OSLO Russia has lifted a ban on imports of fresh salmon from two Norwegian fish farms, Norwegian state broadcaster NRK reported on Saturday, citing Kommersant.
Moscow banned all imports of fresh salmon on Jan. 1, after health officials said they had found excessive levels of cadmium and lead in them, findings Oslo has disputed. |
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VLADIVOSTOK The saury fish on supermarket shelves in this port city on Russias Pacific seaboard is caught off the coast and processed on the doorstep, but costs less to buy seven time zones away in Moscow. |
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A special status has placed the far-flung towns of Yelabuga and Lipetsk on the map, heralding what could be new opportunities for real estate investors.
Yelabuga, in the republic of Tatarstan, and Central Russias Lipetsk region won tenders last November to become special manufacturing zones, where corporate tenants will receive tax breaks and other benefits. |
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Long term credit is something of a dream for the Russian businessman. In a country where economic uncertainty is still the general rule, and which only a couple of years ago gained a positive credit rating, the horizon for investment rarely extends further than three to five years. |
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In fall 1977, the state vodka monopoly of the Polish Peoples Republic filed suit in an international trade court claiming that vodka had first been distilled in Poland. For this reason, it argued, only Polish firms had the right to sell the clear alcohol in foreign markets under the name vodka, just as champagne produced outside Frances Champagne region usually must be labeled sparkling wine. |
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The news that Centrica, Britains largest energy supplier, could be the target for a bid by Gazprom, the Russian gas giant, caught the government on the hop when the story broke earlier this year. |
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It is unpopular now in most of Europe, including Russia, to cite with approval anything the American president says. In his recent national security strategy, though, he put forward an idea that many of us had thought about but very few of us had dared to pronounce openly. |
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On April 5, 2006, the State Duma passed the third reading of two new legislative bills. The first was a bill on Amendments to the Land Code of the Russian Federation(RF), the Federal Law enforcing the Land Code of the RF, the Federal Law on State Registration of Rights to Real Estate and Transactions and recognition of some provisions of normative acts of the RF as invalid (simplification of the procedure of splitting state ownership to land between local, federal and regional authorities of the RF). |
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Of all the war crimes that have flowed from the originating crime of President George W. Bushs unprovoked invasion of Iraq, perhaps the most flagrant was the destruction of Fallujah in November 2004. Now, as ignominious defeat looms for Bushs Babylonian folly, some of the key players in fomenting the war are urging that the Fallujah Option be applied to an even bigger target: Baghdad. |
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MUMBAI Bird flu is spreading across one of the most crowded places on earth and, far from being brought under control, looks almost certain to remain a long-term menace in South Asian poultry, officials say.
Since February, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Myanmar have culled hundreds of thousands of chickens and shut poultry farms, yet the virus has kept spreading to new areas. |
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ASAT, Kenya On the banks of Africa`s largest lake, a deadly cocktail of poverty, prostitution and tribal widow inheritance practices is fuelling a surge in HIV/AIDS even as progress is made in other areas. |
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LONDON Up to a quarter of voters in England may back the far-right British National Party (BNP) in local elections next month because they are tired of the countrys main political parties, a new study showed.
Feelings of powerlessness and frustration prompted the rise in support for the nationalistic group, according to the study by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, which was revealed by the BBC on Monday. |
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OTTAWA, Canada The Canadian government is very worried by the extent of Chinese industrial espionage inside Canada and will raise its concerns with Beijing, Foreign Minister Peter MacKay said in an interview broadcast on Sunday. |
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Iran Aids Hamas
TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) Iran announced that it was giving 50 million dollars in aid to the cash-strapped Hamas-led Palestinian government following a suspension of funding from the United States and European Union.
The government of the Islamic republic invites all countries to help the Palestinian government and nation, and announces the allocation of 50 million dollars to help the Palestinian government and people, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki announced. |
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MOSCOW Hundreds of Russians gathered for the first day of the annual pig Olympics on Saturday, cheering a field of 12 piglets who competed in three events: pig-racing, pig-swimming and pigball.
Each pig was carried into the arena, squealing angrily and dressed in its own numbered bib, while Muscovites laid bets on challengers such as Mykola from Ukraine, Nelson representing South Africa and the home favorite, Kostik Russisch Schwein. |
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MOSCOW Spartak Moscow midfielder Dmitry Alenichev has been transfer-listed for publicly criticising the team manager, the Russian side said on Friday. |
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Ovechkin Record
NEW YORK (Reuters) Alexander Ovechkin became only the fourth player in NHL history to score 50 goals in his rookie season, reaching the milestone in the Washington Capitals 5-3 loss to the Atlanta Thrashers on Thursday.
Ovechkin collected the historic goal at 13:01 of the opening period when he rifled a shot past Atlanta netminder Mike Dunham. |
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