🇷🇺 Russia is renowned for its vast and diverse landscapes, ranging from frozen tundras to lush forests. The country's extensive territories and varied climates significantly contribute to its rich biodiversity.

🏞 In total, Russia has 238 federally protected natural areas, including 107 state nature reserves, 68 national parks, and 63 federal wildlife sanctuaries. Additionally, there are over 12,000 regional territories of various categories. Together, these protected areas encompass about 12% of Russia's total land area.

🐯 On January 11, the Russian presidential website launched an exciting new project dedicated to Russian nature reserves and other specially protected natural areas. This project features thousands of wildlife camera trap recordings and professional photographs from 39 nature reserves (and counting).

🌐 Available at NATURE.KREMLIN.RU, this initiative is a collaborative effort with the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and will be regularly updated with new content.

🟡 The World Youth Festival will be held on March 1-7, 2024, on the Sirius Federal Territory in Sochi, Russia.

📍The event will host 20,000 young Russian and foreign leaders who specialize in such areas as business, media, international cooperation, culture, science, education, sports, volunteering and charity.

📌 Kindly note that the media accreditation is open till January 15, 2024 ➡️ LINK

🔴 #LIVE: Briefing by Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria #Zakharova on topical foreign policy issues

🔴 Ruptly

🔴 Russian MFA

🇷🇺 🤝 🇮🇳 On January 11, 2024, on the sidelines of the X Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov, as a member of the Russian delegation, took part in the meeting with Rajesh Kumar Singh, Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India.

Issues of cooperation in the Far East, training of Indian sailors in Vladivostok for working in polar waters as well as opportunities for joint production of helicopters were discussed.

🔸 @RusEmbIndia

🏅 #OnThisDay in 1945, the Red Army launched its Vistula-Oder offensive, liberating Polish territory west of the Vistula and capturing a bridgehead on the left bank of the Oder, which was later used in the advance on Berlin.

By early 1945, the Red Army in the east and the Western Allies from the Second Front had closed in on Germany for a series of final assaults on the enemy. As before, the Wehrmacht concentrated its main forces – 185 divisions, including 33 tank and mechanised divisions, as well as 21 brigades – against the Soviet fronts.

The Soviet offensive was planned for January 20. But on January 6, the Allies suffered a major setback in the Ardennes and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill asked Soviet leader Joseph Stalin for help by moving up the offensive on the Vistula front. The Soviet Supreme High Command General Headquarters responded by curtailing preparations for the Vistula-Oder offensive and setting the date for its start on January 12.

☝️ The Red Army had to break through 300-500 kilometres of multi-layered defensive positions between the Vistula and the Oder rivers. The first line of defence on the Vistula consisted of four belts 30 to 70 kilometres deep. The most formidable obstacle for the attacking forces was the sixth line of defence that ran along the 1939 German-Polish border and included the Pomerania, Meseritz, and Glogau-Breslau fortified areas.

As a result, 35 enemy divisions were routed and another 25 lost between 50 and 70% of their strength, weapons and equipment. Forces of the two Soviet fronts took prisoner 147,400 officers and men and captured 14,000 guns and mortars, as many as 1,400 tanks and assault guns, and over 1,000 aircraft.

🎖 The Vistula-Oder operation went down in history as the most rapid WWII offensive. The Soviet forces advanced 500 kilometres within 23 days (!), liberated vast territories in Poland, and emerged on roads leading directly to the capital of Nazi Germany.

🟡 From February 21 to March 3, 2024, the first ever Games of Future will be held in Kazan, Russia.

🕹️ The international multi-sport tournament in the phygital format will combine competitions in the physical and digital dimensions.

💻 More than 260 teams, more than 2000 athletes from different countries will take part in 21 innovative сlusters, called "challenges", in such areas as sports, tactics, battle, speedrun, technology.

📌 More details ➡️ LINK

‼️ Kindly note that media accreditation for the event is open till January 21, 2024 ➡️ LINK

🇷🇺 📞 🇮🇳 On January 15, 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi.

Current issues in the development of the Russian-Indian relations of the special and privileged strategic partnership were discussed. The achievements in practical interaction in such areas as trade and economy, science and technology, energy, transport and logistics as well as cooperation in the Russian Far East were noted with satisfaction.

Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi expressed commitment to further intensifying mutually beneficial bilateral ties and wished each other success in the upcoming elections — presidential one in Russia and the general elections in India.

With regard to Russia’s #BRICS Chairmanship that started on January 1, 2024, both leaders underscored their readiness to closely coordinate approaches across the entire large-scale agenda of the Association. According to Narendra Modi, India intends to contribute in every possible way to the implementation of the goals and objectives of Russia’s Chairmanship. A number of other international topics were also touched upon, including the situation around Ukraine.

It was agreed to continue personal contacts.

#RussiaIndia