Forwarded from Russian Delegation to UNESCO
💬 We draw UNESCO’s attention to ongoing cleansing of information space in the EU.
📍 On December 8th the Estonian police arrested in Tallinn the former editor of the Sputnik Media A.Hantsom for 2 months under the pretext of “maintaining ties with Russia.”
📍As part of the 12th “package” of sanctions, restrictions have been introduced against the TV channels “Tsargrad” and “Spas”, as well as the head of the directorate of radio programs “Zvezda” A.Shafran.
☝This is a violation of the rights of journalists, freedom of speech and access to information that runs counter relevant international obligations of the EU Member States.
📢 We call on the UNESCO Secretariat to make a proper public assessment of these actions!
📍 On December 8th the Estonian police arrested in Tallinn the former editor of the Sputnik Media A.Hantsom for 2 months under the pretext of “maintaining ties with Russia.”
📍As part of the 12th “package” of sanctions, restrictions have been introduced against the TV channels “Tsargrad” and “Spas”, as well as the head of the directorate of radio programs “Zvezda” A.Shafran.
☝This is a violation of the rights of journalists, freedom of speech and access to information that runs counter relevant international obligations of the EU Member States.
📢 We call on the UNESCO Secretariat to make a proper public assessment of these actions!
⚜️On December 25, 1812 the emperor Alexander I issued the Royal manifesto announcing the end of the Patriotic war.
On the same day there were issued two more manifestos: on construction in Moscow a church in the name of the Christ the Saviour in honor of the victory of the Russian army and in gratitude to God and another one on establishing of the silver medal for the troops having taken part in the battles.
On December 25, 1837 in honor of the 25th anniversary of the victory over Napoleon in St.-Petersburg in front Kazan cathedral were erected the monuments to M.I. Kutuzov and D. Barklai de Tolly.
On the same day there were issued two more manifestos: on construction in Moscow a church in the name of the Christ the Saviour in honor of the victory of the Russian army and in gratitude to God and another one on establishing of the silver medal for the troops having taken part in the battles.
On December 25, 1837 in honor of the 25th anniversary of the victory over Napoleon in St.-Petersburg in front Kazan cathedral were erected the monuments to M.I. Kutuzov and D. Barklai de Tolly.
Forwarded from Russian House Singapore
Дорогие друзья! 🎉 С великим удовольствием хотим поделиться с вами волнующими моментами нашего новогоднего праздника, который состоялся 22 декабря в сотрудничестве с Посольством России в Сингапуре.
Это был невероятный вечер, наполненный волшебством и радостью! В этот особенный день на спектакль были приглашены юные участники творческого конкурса "По следам волшебства и фантастики" по произведениям русских авторов. 🌟 Дети стали настоящими героями нашего волшебного вечера!
Главным событием стал захватывающий музыкальный спектакль «Морозко». В мире сказок развернулась история мачехи, добрейшей души Настеньки, вставшей на путь исправления Марфушеньки, обаятельной Кики-Моры, потерявшего свою невесту Иванушки, а также хозяйка волшебного клубочка и особого чувства юмора Баба Яга 😉 На помощь героям пришли лесные жители и, конечно же, главный гость программы - Дед Мороз! 🎅
Пусть этот вечер останется в ваших сердцах, наполнив их теплом и воспоминаниями о волшебстве. С наступающим Новым Годом, дорогие друзья! 🎄🌟
Это был невероятный вечер, наполненный волшебством и радостью! В этот особенный день на спектакль были приглашены юные участники творческого конкурса "По следам волшебства и фантастики" по произведениям русских авторов. 🌟 Дети стали настоящими героями нашего волшебного вечера!
Главным событием стал захватывающий музыкальный спектакль «Морозко». В мире сказок развернулась история мачехи, добрейшей души Настеньки, вставшей на путь исправления Марфушеньки, обаятельной Кики-Моры, потерявшего свою невесту Иванушки, а также хозяйка волшебного клубочка и особого чувства юмора Баба Яга 😉 На помощь героям пришли лесные жители и, конечно же, главный гость программы - Дед Мороз! 🎅
Пусть этот вечер останется в ваших сердцах, наполнив их теплом и воспоминаниями о волшебстве. С наступающим Новым Годом, дорогие друзья! 🎄🌟
Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
🎙 President of Russia Vladimir Putin's remarks at the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council meetings (restricted and expanded-formats)
Key points:
• We are expected to approve a declaration, drafted on the Russian side’s initiative, on the further development of economic processes within our association for the period to 2030 and further to 2045.
🇮🇷 In the run-up to our meeting, a free trade agreement between the EAEU and Iran was signed. Once the agreement comes into force, practically all categories of goods produced in the Union will obtain duty-free access to the extensive Iranian market with 90 million consumers, and non-tariff barriers will be significantly reduced.
📈 The Eurasian Union will soon be 10 years old. Over this period, the scale of trade has almost doubled and the aggregate GDP of the EAEU countries has grown from $1.6 trillion to $2.5 trillion US dollars.
• In Russia, GDP added three percent in the first three quarters and we expect it to reach 3.5 percent for the annual results. Other EAEU countries have also recorded a substantial increase in GDP.
🇪🇬🇦🇪🇮🇩 Work on a draft free trade agreement with Egypt is at a very advanced stage. Apart from that, the Eurasian Commission is negotiating with the UAE and Indonesia.
• Overall, as the EAEU’s authority and economic weight grows, an increasing number of countries and international organisations are showing interest in establishing mutually beneficial contacts with the EAEU.
🇨🇳 The work on aligning integration processes within the EAEU and China's Belt and Road Initiative is also yielding real results.
Key points:
• We are expected to approve a declaration, drafted on the Russian side’s initiative, on the further development of economic processes within our association for the period to 2030 and further to 2045.
🇮🇷 In the run-up to our meeting, a free trade agreement between the EAEU and Iran was signed. Once the agreement comes into force, practically all categories of goods produced in the Union will obtain duty-free access to the extensive Iranian market with 90 million consumers, and non-tariff barriers will be significantly reduced.
📈 The Eurasian Union will soon be 10 years old. Over this period, the scale of trade has almost doubled and the aggregate GDP of the EAEU countries has grown from $1.6 trillion to $2.5 trillion US dollars.
• In Russia, GDP added three percent in the first three quarters and we expect it to reach 3.5 percent for the annual results. Other EAEU countries have also recorded a substantial increase in GDP.
🇪🇬🇦🇪🇮🇩 Work on a draft free trade agreement with Egypt is at a very advanced stage. Apart from that, the Eurasian Commission is negotiating with the UAE and Indonesia.
• Overall, as the EAEU’s authority and economic weight grows, an increasing number of countries and international organisations are showing interest in establishing mutually beneficial contacts with the EAEU.
🇨🇳 The work on aligning integration processes within the EAEU and China's Belt and Road Initiative is also yielding real results.
🎙 Foreign Minister Sergey #Lavrov’s remarks at the General Meeting of the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO (December 22, 2023)
💬 The outgoing year was not an easy one for #UNESCO. As we know, after the beginning of the special military operation, the collective West began to intensify its efforts to politicise the organisation, and reduce its agenda to #Ukraine.
Their notorious double standards are reflected in regular anti-Russia resolutions on Crimea and Ukraine. The West is pushing through these resolutions by twisting the arms of the developing nations.
These resolutions go beyond UNESCO’s mandate. It has no competence in this area.
❗️ Attempts to defame Russia for “destroying Ukraine’s cultural heritage" without citing any evidence are in the same category. Such evidence simply does not exist. Nor does UNESCO have any right to attribute guilt. <...>
At the same time, we still haven’t heard any statement condemning the act of terror at the Moscow Kremlin, a world heritage site. Nor has UNESCO Secretary-General Audrey Azoulay from France denounced the murder of Russian journalists although this is her direct mandate.
It is telling that many Western countries have remained indifferent to the humanitarian disaster in Gaza and even opposed a relevant resolution at the recent session of the General Conference.
We are deeply concerned over the increasing disregard for UNESCO’s procedural rules and Charter, which are arbitrarily interpreted to carry out political orders. This is exactly how the return of the US to UNESCO was arranged (in a scandalous way) – there were no guarantees of Washington’s intentions to fulfil its commitments.
☝️ Bloc logic and divisive friend-or-foe thinking is gaining ground in an organisation that was initially supposed to unite nations in moral and intellectual solidarity.
<...>
But the attempts to “cancel” Russia in UNESCO did not achieve the desired effect. As President Vladimir Putin noted at the St Petersburg Cultural Forum last November, in UNESCO we are conducting very serious projects that generate widespread interest in the world.
I will emphasise again that we are not closing ourselves off from anyone.
On the contrary, we are interested in advancing a unifying agenda in both UNESCO and other international venues. This is borne out by the results of the analysis of UNESCO cooperation by the commission’s Secretariat, Russian agencies and thematic committees. I would like to use this opportunity to thank all those who took part in this work. Comparing notes like this revealed both potential and sticking points.
<...>
Overall, we have accumulated a wealth of positive experience to build upon. Frankly, a mutually beneficial professional dialogue in UNESCO is still possible despite the blatantly unlawful actions of its Secretariat’s senior officials.
This is confirmed, in particular, by the outcomes of the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee. It took place in September in Riyadh in a businesslike and constructive manner. Congratulations to the Republic of Tatarstan on having the Astronomical Observatories of Kazan Federal University included on the World Heritage List.
🔗 Read in full: http://tiny.cc/006kvz
#UNESCO
💬 The outgoing year was not an easy one for #UNESCO. As we know, after the beginning of the special military operation, the collective West began to intensify its efforts to politicise the organisation, and reduce its agenda to #Ukraine.
Their notorious double standards are reflected in regular anti-Russia resolutions on Crimea and Ukraine. The West is pushing through these resolutions by twisting the arms of the developing nations.
These resolutions go beyond UNESCO’s mandate. It has no competence in this area.
❗️ Attempts to defame Russia for “destroying Ukraine’s cultural heritage" without citing any evidence are in the same category. Such evidence simply does not exist. Nor does UNESCO have any right to attribute guilt. <...>
At the same time, we still haven’t heard any statement condemning the act of terror at the Moscow Kremlin, a world heritage site. Nor has UNESCO Secretary-General Audrey Azoulay from France denounced the murder of Russian journalists although this is her direct mandate.
It is telling that many Western countries have remained indifferent to the humanitarian disaster in Gaza and even opposed a relevant resolution at the recent session of the General Conference.
We are deeply concerned over the increasing disregard for UNESCO’s procedural rules and Charter, which are arbitrarily interpreted to carry out political orders. This is exactly how the return of the US to UNESCO was arranged (in a scandalous way) – there were no guarantees of Washington’s intentions to fulfil its commitments.
☝️ Bloc logic and divisive friend-or-foe thinking is gaining ground in an organisation that was initially supposed to unite nations in moral and intellectual solidarity.
<...>
But the attempts to “cancel” Russia in UNESCO did not achieve the desired effect. As President Vladimir Putin noted at the St Petersburg Cultural Forum last November, in UNESCO we are conducting very serious projects that generate widespread interest in the world.
I will emphasise again that we are not closing ourselves off from anyone.
On the contrary, we are interested in advancing a unifying agenda in both UNESCO and other international venues. This is borne out by the results of the analysis of UNESCO cooperation by the commission’s Secretariat, Russian agencies and thematic committees. I would like to use this opportunity to thank all those who took part in this work. Comparing notes like this revealed both potential and sticking points.
<...>
Overall, we have accumulated a wealth of positive experience to build upon. Frankly, a mutually beneficial professional dialogue in UNESCO is still possible despite the blatantly unlawful actions of its Secretariat’s senior officials.
This is confirmed, in particular, by the outcomes of the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee. It took place in September in Riyadh in a businesslike and constructive manner. Congratulations to the Republic of Tatarstan on having the Astronomical Observatories of Kazan Federal University included on the World Heritage List.
🔗 Read in full: http://tiny.cc/006kvz
#UNESCO
❗️No response from the #UN Secretary-General and the UN Secretariat to the repeated Russian requests for them to obtain a list of victims of the #Bucha provocation from Kiev
🎙Excerpts from the briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, Moscow, December 20, 2023:
💬On September 22, 2022, when the UN Security Council was holding a meeting on #Ukraine, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov publicly requested that the UN Secretary-General obtain a list of victims of the provocation in Bucha from Ukraine.
Despite our repeated reminders to the UN people, Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric went on record as saying at his October 25 briefing that he had no information as to why Kiev had failed to submit the said list of victims’ names, or about whether they were planning to send it, or what obstacles were preventing the Ukrainian side from doing this.
Journalists also asked us to answer this question. We have to play an unending game of referring them to the international organisations. What do we have to do with this? After all, this is what the Russian side publicly asked the UN Secretary-General to do at the UN Security Council meeting and personally during meetings and bilateral contacts between the Russian foreign minister and the UN Secretary-General.
A similar question was posed to UN representatives in December of this year. There is still no substantive response. They only promised to provide a comment shortly, so far as possible within the limits of their competence. They have been juggling with this phrase for 18 months.
👉We are surprised to learn that the UN Secretariat is attempting to interpret the direct address to the UN Secretary-General as a request for assistance in getting information from Kiev. We have no illusions as to Kiev’s readiness to expose its own fake bloodbath.
❗️We have sent our appeal directly to the UN Secretary-General and we want to obtain answers to the questions we asked him. I think that referring our requests to the Kiev regime, from which we allegedly should expect a reply, is a game of evasion and a conscious effort on their part not to do what they must. I am speaking about the UN Secretariat.
🎙Excerpts from the briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, Moscow, December 20, 2023:
💬On September 22, 2022, when the UN Security Council was holding a meeting on #Ukraine, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov publicly requested that the UN Secretary-General obtain a list of victims of the provocation in Bucha from Ukraine.
Despite our repeated reminders to the UN people, Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric went on record as saying at his October 25 briefing that he had no information as to why Kiev had failed to submit the said list of victims’ names, or about whether they were planning to send it, or what obstacles were preventing the Ukrainian side from doing this.
Journalists also asked us to answer this question. We have to play an unending game of referring them to the international organisations. What do we have to do with this? After all, this is what the Russian side publicly asked the UN Secretary-General to do at the UN Security Council meeting and personally during meetings and bilateral contacts between the Russian foreign minister and the UN Secretary-General.
A similar question was posed to UN representatives in December of this year. There is still no substantive response. They only promised to provide a comment shortly, so far as possible within the limits of their competence. They have been juggling with this phrase for 18 months.
👉We are surprised to learn that the UN Secretariat is attempting to interpret the direct address to the UN Secretary-General as a request for assistance in getting information from Kiev. We have no illusions as to Kiev’s readiness to expose its own fake bloodbath.
❗️We have sent our appeal directly to the UN Secretary-General and we want to obtain answers to the questions we asked him. I think that referring our requests to the Kiev regime, from which we allegedly should expect a reply, is a game of evasion and a conscious effort on their part not to do what they must. I am speaking about the UN Secretariat.
🎥‘Tundra Wonder Mums’ (2021) is a RT documentary about the traditional lifestyle of indigenous peoples of the Far North.
WATCH in full here: https://rtd.rt.com/films/tundra-wonder-mums/
This is the story of a Khanty woman Pavla Nikolaevna who is a ‘chum-worker’, a housewife in the tundra. A 'chum' is a mobile home made from reindeer hides that is used by the indigenous people of Russia’s Far North. Pavla Nikolaevna and her husband continue their family ideal of driving reindeer herds following traditional lifestyle of their ancestors.
By the way, since 2018, ‘chum-worker’ has been recognised as an official job title in Russia. Chum-workers are even paid a salary.
🏆The documentary won the Best Feature Documentary category at Malaysia’s Walk The Doc 2023 International Documentary Festival.
📖Read here to learn more about life of the indigenous peoples of Russia’s Far North: https://www.rbth.com/lifestyle/333447-chum-nomad-tent-russia
WATCH in full here: https://rtd.rt.com/films/tundra-wonder-mums/
This is the story of a Khanty woman Pavla Nikolaevna who is a ‘chum-worker’, a housewife in the tundra. A 'chum' is a mobile home made from reindeer hides that is used by the indigenous people of Russia’s Far North. Pavla Nikolaevna and her husband continue their family ideal of driving reindeer herds following traditional lifestyle of their ancestors.
By the way, since 2018, ‘chum-worker’ has been recognised as an official job title in Russia. Chum-workers are even paid a salary.
🏆The documentary won the Best Feature Documentary category at Malaysia’s Walk The Doc 2023 International Documentary Festival.
📖Read here to learn more about life of the indigenous peoples of Russia’s Far North: https://www.rbth.com/lifestyle/333447-chum-nomad-tent-russia
Rt
Tundra Wonder Mums
Tundra is their office, Far North is their employer
On December 25, 2023 a ceremony for signing the free trade agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union (#EAEU) and its member states on the one hand, and the Islamic Republic of Iran, on the other, took place on the sidelines of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in St Petersburg.
The new deal will eliminate customs duties on almost 90% of goods and establishes a preferential regime for almost all trade between #Russia and Iran.
The new deal will eliminate customs duties on almost 90% of goods and establishes a preferential regime for almost all trade between #Russia and Iran.
Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
#Opinion by Maria Zakharova
💬 Less than a quarter of a century ago, London fought a bloody civil war against its own people, killing thousands. I mean the conflict in Northern Ireland, marked by unprecedented brutality on the part of British armed forces.
London decided that enough time had passed, and now, with the world community’s attention focused on Russia and the Middle East, it had an excellent opportunity to clear away their war criminals. And now, at Christmas, they passed the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill.
Reconciliation and settlement of problematic issues seems to be a good idea, but the goal of the law lies elsewhere.
Through this bill, British parliamentarians grant immunity from prosecution to their own military and police officers who shot at civilians during the conflict.
Now these issues will have to be considered not by a court, but by some Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery. No legal consequences, no deadlines, no arrests. And, of course, the authorities will control the activities of the commission, unlike the more or less independent judiciary.
This is how London will rehabilitate its punishers.
These are not my words. The Republic of Ireland is filing a claim against Britain to the European Court of Human Rights. Relatives of many of the victims of the British military during the armed conflict live there. The government in Dublin is outraged by London’s decision. The victims will not be avenged, and their killers will remain free simply so as not to attract unnecessary attention to the affairs of the not-so-distant past.
The next time you hear London moralists lecturing others on human rights and freedoms, remember the atrocities they carried out against their own people in recent history.
💬 Less than a quarter of a century ago, London fought a bloody civil war against its own people, killing thousands. I mean the conflict in Northern Ireland, marked by unprecedented brutality on the part of British armed forces.
London decided that enough time had passed, and now, with the world community’s attention focused on Russia and the Middle East, it had an excellent opportunity to clear away their war criminals. And now, at Christmas, they passed the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill.
Reconciliation and settlement of problematic issues seems to be a good idea, but the goal of the law lies elsewhere.
Through this bill, British parliamentarians grant immunity from prosecution to their own military and police officers who shot at civilians during the conflict.
Now these issues will have to be considered not by a court, but by some Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery. No legal consequences, no deadlines, no arrests. And, of course, the authorities will control the activities of the commission, unlike the more or less independent judiciary.
This is how London will rehabilitate its punishers.
These are not my words. The Republic of Ireland is filing a claim against Britain to the European Court of Human Rights. Relatives of many of the victims of the British military during the armed conflict live there. The government in Dublin is outraged by London’s decision. The victims will not be avenged, and their killers will remain free simply so as not to attract unnecessary attention to the affairs of the not-so-distant past.
The next time you hear London moralists lecturing others on human rights and freedoms, remember the atrocities they carried out against their own people in recent history.
📂 We bring to your attention the report Russia’s Policy Towards World Majority, prepared based on a series of studies, conferences, and situational analysis sessions conducted under the situational analysis program by the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs of the Higher School of Economics, Council on Foreign and Defense Policy and Russia in Global Affairs journal with support from the State Duma Committee on International Affairs and under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.
Key points:
🔹 Since the start of the Special Military Operation in Ukraine, the Russian foreign policy space has split in two:
👉 On the one hand, a US-led coalition of several dozen states, which keeps taking new punitive measures against Russia.
👉 On the other hand, there is the rest of the world: more than a hundred countries that de facto have taken a neutral position on the Ukraine conflict, and many have assumed a benevolent attitude towards Moscow.
🔹 The nations of the Global South and East are Russia’s natural associates in democratizing the world order, eradicating neocolonial practices, and banning instruments of pressure and blackmail from the world political, monetary, and financial systems.
🔹 The armed conflict in Ukraine has already led to the emergence of the World Majority as a clearly defined phenomenon in international relations.
🔹 The World Majority is not something external to Russia. Russia itself is its active member, its most important geopolitical resource and, in fact, its military-political core.
🔹 Strategically, the World Majority policy is a programme to build a new world order. Developing such a programme and the related long-term (for example, until 2040) strategy is a priority.
📖 Read in full: https://vk.cc/ctADYD
📥Download pdf: https://vk.cc/ctADZu
Key points:
🔹 Since the start of the Special Military Operation in Ukraine, the Russian foreign policy space has split in two:
👉 On the one hand, a US-led coalition of several dozen states, which keeps taking new punitive measures against Russia.
👉 On the other hand, there is the rest of the world: more than a hundred countries that de facto have taken a neutral position on the Ukraine conflict, and many have assumed a benevolent attitude towards Moscow.
🔹 The nations of the Global South and East are Russia’s natural associates in democratizing the world order, eradicating neocolonial practices, and banning instruments of pressure and blackmail from the world political, monetary, and financial systems.
🔹 The armed conflict in Ukraine has already led to the emergence of the World Majority as a clearly defined phenomenon in international relations.
🔹 The World Majority is not something external to Russia. Russia itself is its active member, its most important geopolitical resource and, in fact, its military-political core.
🔹 Strategically, the World Majority policy is a programme to build a new world order. Developing such a programme and the related long-term (for example, until 2040) strategy is a priority.
📖 Read in full: https://vk.cc/ctADYD
📥Download pdf: https://vk.cc/ctADZu