🎖 6 years ago the Rzhev Memorial to the Soviet Soldier was unveiled in Russia’s Tver region.
⚔️ It is located on the site of most blood-shedding battles of WW2 – the Battle of Rzhev, which claimed lives of hundreds of thousands Soviet soldiers. Due to high human losses, it became known as the “Rzhev Meat Grinder”.
👉 The Battle of Rzhev included several operations by the Red Army and the Wehrmacht at the Rzhev-Vyazma salient 150 km from Moscow. Nazis occupied this territory in October 1941 and were determined to hold the strategic bridgehead which could pave the way to both Moscow and Berlin.
❗️During the battle, the Red Army carried out 4 offensives resulting in the retreat of Nazi armies and complete liquidation of the salient in March 1943. The frontline was moved to the west from Moscow by another 130-160 km.
✅ The memorial represents a 25-metre-tall bronze figure of a Soviet soldier seemingly carried away by cranes on a 10-metre-high hill. It is a collective image with features of real soldiers from war photographs recognizable in his face.
⚔️ It is located on the site of most blood-shedding battles of WW2 – the Battle of Rzhev, which claimed lives of hundreds of thousands Soviet soldiers. Due to high human losses, it became known as the “Rzhev Meat Grinder”.
👉 The Battle of Rzhev included several operations by the Red Army and the Wehrmacht at the Rzhev-Vyazma salient 150 km from Moscow. Nazis occupied this territory in October 1941 and were determined to hold the strategic bridgehead which could pave the way to both Moscow and Berlin.
❗️During the battle, the Red Army carried out 4 offensives resulting in the retreat of Nazi armies and complete liquidation of the salient in March 1943. The frontline was moved to the west from Moscow by another 130-160 km.
✅ The memorial represents a 25-metre-tall bronze figure of a Soviet soldier seemingly carried away by cranes on a 10-metre-high hill. It is a collective image with features of real soldiers from war photographs recognizable in his face.
⛰ The “Krasnoyarsk Stolby” national park in Russia’s Siberia 🇷🇺, formerly known as “Stolby” state nature reserve, was founded #OTD back in 1925 occupying the territory on the right bank of the Yenisey river. Later its area gradually extended and today comprises over 47.000 square km.
👉 The ‘Stolby” park is home to 213 species of birds and 61 species of mammals. The site is known for its dramatic complexes of rocks aged from the Cambrian to the Carbon period. Throughout millions of years, exposed to climate impacts, they acquired weird forms.
☝️Some 150 years ago the “Stolby” rocks gave birth to a unique mass sport movement called “stolbism” (freestyle mountaineering). Within the park, an area for tourists and excursions is allotted with over 200,000 visitors recorded annually.
👉 The ‘Stolby” park is home to 213 species of birds and 61 species of mammals. The site is known for its dramatic complexes of rocks aged from the Cambrian to the Carbon period. Throughout millions of years, exposed to climate impacts, they acquired weird forms.
☝️Some 150 years ago the “Stolby” rocks gave birth to a unique mass sport movement called “stolbism” (freestyle mountaineering). Within the park, an area for tourists and excursions is allotted with over 200,000 visitors recorded annually.
President Vladimir Putin on the Russian Federation measures regarding the unilateral moratorium on the deployment of ground-based intermediate- and shorter-range missiles:
💬 In 2019, we announced that we would neither produce these missiles, nor deploy them as long as the United States does not deploy such systems anywhere around the globe.
☝️ We now know that the United States is not only producing these missile systems, but has brought them to Europe, Denmark, to use in exercises. Not long ago, it was reported that they are in the Philippines. It is unclear whether they have taken these missiles out from the Philippines or not.
❗️ In any case, we need to respond to this and decide on our further steps in this regard. It appears that we need to begin producing these attack systems and then, based on the actual situation, decide on where to deploy them to ensure our security, if necessary.
💬 In 2019, we announced that we would neither produce these missiles, nor deploy them as long as the United States does not deploy such systems anywhere around the globe.
☝️ We now know that the United States is not only producing these missile systems, but has brought them to Europe, Denmark, to use in exercises. Not long ago, it was reported that they are in the Philippines. It is unclear whether they have taken these missiles out from the Philippines or not.
❗️ In any case, we need to respond to this and decide on our further steps in this regard. It appears that we need to begin producing these attack systems and then, based on the actual situation, decide on where to deploy them to ensure our security, if necessary.
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🛩 Designed to destroy all types of targets: Russia's new Su-57 fighter jet.
With exceptional stealth and maneuverability, Russia's fifth-generation Su-57 fighter jet is at the forefront of modern fighters. The aircraft can operate around the clock, even in adverse weather conditions and in a complex environment of radio-electronic interference.
Russian media agency @SputnikInt introduces you to some features of this Russian fighter, which make it a world-class advanced weapon.
#Su57 #RussianFighterJet
With exceptional stealth and maneuverability, Russia's fifth-generation Su-57 fighter jet is at the forefront of modern fighters. The aircraft can operate around the clock, even in adverse weather conditions and in a complex environment of radio-electronic interference.
Russian media agency @SputnikInt introduces you to some features of this Russian fighter, which make it a world-class advanced weapon.
#Su57 #RussianFighterJet
📚Anti-apartheid literature in the Soviet Union
Anti-apartheid writer Peter Abrahams (1919–2017) was well-known in the Soviet Union. His novel “The Path of Thunder” first was translated into Russian in 1949 and was reprinted many times until the late 1980s with hundreds of thousands of copies.
In the Soviet Union this South African work was used by the Soviet Ministry of Education to learn English. Even a textbook for English learners was based on this novel.
📒 Abrahams was inspired by Afro-American realist fiction. Es’kia Mphahlele noted that for black writers in South Africa “realism burst into full blossom” in the 1940s. Abrahams’ novels continued Mphahlele “were to provide an inspiration for later fiction – that of the next decade.” In South Africa Abrahams became a role model for black journalists and fiction writers of the 1950s.
Richard Rive, a prominent South African author and academic, believed that Abrahams’s realism also comes from the social realist traditions of the prose produced in the Soviet Union in the first half of the twentieth century. Rive pointed out that “Abrahams was intent on showing social conflict in the broad, political sense of the word.”
In the Soviet Union, where South African fiction often had bigger print runs that in South Africa, “The Path of Thunder” became the first widely known African novel. Through Abrahams’s work readers in the Soviet Union were first introduced to anti-apartheid fiction, long before they read novels by Alex La Guma, Andre Brink or Nadine Gordimer.
Moreover, “The Path of Thunder: was adapted for ballet by Azerbaijani composer Gara Garayev in 1957. The ballet was performed at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow and the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad. In 1956, in Armenia, Stepan Kevorkov and Erasm Karamyan directed a drama based on Abrahams’s novel, which was seen by millions of people across the Soviet Union.
The materials provided by the Center for Southern Africa Studies of the Institute (https://www.inafran.ru/en/).
#pagesofcommonhistory #russia #sovietunion #russiasouthafrica #ussr #humanrightsday #africa #literature
Anti-apartheid writer Peter Abrahams (1919–2017) was well-known in the Soviet Union. His novel “The Path of Thunder” first was translated into Russian in 1949 and was reprinted many times until the late 1980s with hundreds of thousands of copies.
In the Soviet Union this South African work was used by the Soviet Ministry of Education to learn English. Even a textbook for English learners was based on this novel.
📒 Abrahams was inspired by Afro-American realist fiction. Es’kia Mphahlele noted that for black writers in South Africa “realism burst into full blossom” in the 1940s. Abrahams’ novels continued Mphahlele “were to provide an inspiration for later fiction – that of the next decade.” In South Africa Abrahams became a role model for black journalists and fiction writers of the 1950s.
Richard Rive, a prominent South African author and academic, believed that Abrahams’s realism also comes from the social realist traditions of the prose produced in the Soviet Union in the first half of the twentieth century. Rive pointed out that “Abrahams was intent on showing social conflict in the broad, political sense of the word.”
In the Soviet Union, where South African fiction often had bigger print runs that in South Africa, “The Path of Thunder” became the first widely known African novel. Through Abrahams’s work readers in the Soviet Union were first introduced to anti-apartheid fiction, long before they read novels by Alex La Guma, Andre Brink or Nadine Gordimer.
Moreover, “The Path of Thunder: was adapted for ballet by Azerbaijani composer Gara Garayev in 1957. The ballet was performed at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow and the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad. In 1956, in Armenia, Stepan Kevorkov and Erasm Karamyan directed a drama based on Abrahams’s novel, which was seen by millions of people across the Soviet Union.
The materials provided by the Center for Southern Africa Studies of the Institute (https://www.inafran.ru/en/).
#pagesofcommonhistory #russia #sovietunion #russiasouthafrica #ussr #humanrightsday #africa #literature
Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
🎙 Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova’s answer to a media question following EU’s anti-Russia moves in the sphere of trade and economy
❓Question: On May 30, the Council of the European Union approved a proposal put forward by the European Commission to raise duties on grains, oilseeds and oilseed products, as well as animal feed imported from Russia and Belarus which, in fact, means banning these imports. What can you say about this?
💬 Maria Zakharova: We consider these decisions as another volley of illegitimate unilateral restrictive measures imposed on our country by the EU. The form has no bearing on the content. The issue is about trying out a mechanism for imposing a wider set of anti-Russia agricultural sanctions under the guise of trade and political measures and, moreover, doing so in an expedited manner that does not need the unanimous approval by all EU members. In doing so, Brussels is shamelessly trying to pass this move as a way of responding to the aspirations of European farmers.
As a reminder, ordinary Europeans were asking to put an end to unchecked imports of cheap low-grade agricultural products from Ukraine to the EU, which had created insupportable environment of competition for the EU agrarians and unbalanced the intra-European market putting farmers in peril of going bankrupt.
What did they get from Brussels in the end?
What they got first was prohibitive agricultural import duties, but they applied to Russia and Belarus rather than Ukraine, with the decision makers behind this step recognising that Russia “supplies relatively small amounts of grains and oilseeds to the EU.”
To justify this measure, they used a far-fetched pretext of protecting the EU economies from theoretical damage and serious shocks in case Russia abruptly decides to redirect significant amounts of its exports that are now going to the EU, thereby weakening it economically and politically, and creating social tensions and discord inside the EU.
Next thing the EC came up with to make its farmers “happy” was to extend duty-free imports of the Ukrainian products to the EU for one more year, which will reinforce the Ukrainian agricultural products’ position on the EU domestic market. In other words, the problem that gave rise to actual social tensions and posed risks for the economic activity, well-being and welfare of European residents, has not been resolved. Clearly, this is Ursula von der Leyen and Co.’s idea of addressing farmers’ requests.
❗️ We believe the way Brussels responded to an imaginary rather than actual irritant that bothers European agrarians will not find understanding with EU’s rural dwellers and will keep the protest sentiment with regard to the policies pursued by the EU leadership lingering. It will also remain a factor underlying economic and political instability in the EU countries where agrarians constitute a significant portion of the electorate, and contribute to the mounting disappointment in the “European project” among a certain number of the Europeans.
Also remarkable is the fact that Brussels considers re-directing the freed up Russian food to the developing countries as the “added value” that stems from raising tariffs on Russian agricultural products.
Considering that Brussels set itself the goal of feeding the entire world with Ukrainian grain, and agricultural exports from Ukraine to countries other than the EU remain inexistent two years into that project, this turn of events is nothing short of Brussels sneering not only at European agrarians, but also at the third countries, whose interests the EU has traditionally used as a front.
☝️ We will figure out on our own ways to ensure food security of our partners from Africa and Asia. Most importantly, Brussels should stay out of our way.
Our response won’t be long in coming.
❓Question: On May 30, the Council of the European Union approved a proposal put forward by the European Commission to raise duties on grains, oilseeds and oilseed products, as well as animal feed imported from Russia and Belarus which, in fact, means banning these imports. What can you say about this?
💬 Maria Zakharova: We consider these decisions as another volley of illegitimate unilateral restrictive measures imposed on our country by the EU. The form has no bearing on the content. The issue is about trying out a mechanism for imposing a wider set of anti-Russia agricultural sanctions under the guise of trade and political measures and, moreover, doing so in an expedited manner that does not need the unanimous approval by all EU members. In doing so, Brussels is shamelessly trying to pass this move as a way of responding to the aspirations of European farmers.
As a reminder, ordinary Europeans were asking to put an end to unchecked imports of cheap low-grade agricultural products from Ukraine to the EU, which had created insupportable environment of competition for the EU agrarians and unbalanced the intra-European market putting farmers in peril of going bankrupt.
What did they get from Brussels in the end?
What they got first was prohibitive agricultural import duties, but they applied to Russia and Belarus rather than Ukraine, with the decision makers behind this step recognising that Russia “supplies relatively small amounts of grains and oilseeds to the EU.”
To justify this measure, they used a far-fetched pretext of protecting the EU economies from theoretical damage and serious shocks in case Russia abruptly decides to redirect significant amounts of its exports that are now going to the EU, thereby weakening it economically and politically, and creating social tensions and discord inside the EU.
Next thing the EC came up with to make its farmers “happy” was to extend duty-free imports of the Ukrainian products to the EU for one more year, which will reinforce the Ukrainian agricultural products’ position on the EU domestic market. In other words, the problem that gave rise to actual social tensions and posed risks for the economic activity, well-being and welfare of European residents, has not been resolved. Clearly, this is Ursula von der Leyen and Co.’s idea of addressing farmers’ requests.
❗️ We believe the way Brussels responded to an imaginary rather than actual irritant that bothers European agrarians will not find understanding with EU’s rural dwellers and will keep the protest sentiment with regard to the policies pursued by the EU leadership lingering. It will also remain a factor underlying economic and political instability in the EU countries where agrarians constitute a significant portion of the electorate, and contribute to the mounting disappointment in the “European project” among a certain number of the Europeans.
Also remarkable is the fact that Brussels considers re-directing the freed up Russian food to the developing countries as the “added value” that stems from raising tariffs on Russian agricultural products.
Considering that Brussels set itself the goal of feeding the entire world with Ukrainian grain, and agricultural exports from Ukraine to countries other than the EU remain inexistent two years into that project, this turn of events is nothing short of Brussels sneering not only at European agrarians, but also at the third countries, whose interests the EU has traditionally used as a front.
☝️ We will figure out on our own ways to ensure food security of our partners from Africa and Asia. Most importantly, Brussels should stay out of our way.
Our response won’t be long in coming.
Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
🇷🇺🇺🇳 On July 1, Russia assumed the UN Security Council Presidency, which, pursuant to the UN Charter, bears the primary responsibility for finding effective responses to threats to international peace and security.
Three central events have been planned during the Russian presidency:
🗓 July 16 – open ministerial-level debate on multilateral cooperation for a more just, democratic and sustainable world order.
🗓 July 17 – open ministerial-level debate on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian issue.
🗓 July 19 – debate in the Security Council on UN cooperation with the #CSTO, the #CIS and the #SCO.
The first two events will be chaired by Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov.
In general, the Council has a very busy agenda. The mandate-reporting cycle will include meetings on the situation in Haiti, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, West Africa and the Sahel region, Yemen, Cyprus, Colombia, Lebanon and Syria, as well as on the activities of the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia.
The mandates of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti, the UN Mission to Support the Hudaydah Agreement and the Security Council sanctions regime against the Central African Republic are scheduled for renewal.
The agenda also includes discussions on implementing UN Security Council Resolution 2720 on the humanitarian mechanism for the Gaza Strip to be attended by the UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza Sigrid Kaag.
🇷🇺 The Russian Federation as a permanent member of the Security Council and a responsible participant in the international community, will traditionally make every effort to ensure a coherent and expeditious work of this agency. In this connection, Russia will urge its colleagues in the Security Council to seek common denominators, given due account of the interests of all the parties concerned.
Three central events have been planned during the Russian presidency:
🗓 July 16 – open ministerial-level debate on multilateral cooperation for a more just, democratic and sustainable world order.
🗓 July 17 – open ministerial-level debate on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian issue.
🗓 July 19 – debate in the Security Council on UN cooperation with the #CSTO, the #CIS and the #SCO.
The first two events will be chaired by Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov.
In general, the Council has a very busy agenda. The mandate-reporting cycle will include meetings on the situation in Haiti, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, West Africa and the Sahel region, Yemen, Cyprus, Colombia, Lebanon and Syria, as well as on the activities of the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia.
The mandates of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti, the UN Mission to Support the Hudaydah Agreement and the Security Council sanctions regime against the Central African Republic are scheduled for renewal.
The agenda also includes discussions on implementing UN Security Council Resolution 2720 on the humanitarian mechanism for the Gaza Strip to be attended by the UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza Sigrid Kaag.
🇷🇺 The Russian Federation as a permanent member of the Security Council and a responsible participant in the international community, will traditionally make every effort to ensure a coherent and expeditious work of this agency. In this connection, Russia will urge its colleagues in the Security Council to seek common denominators, given due account of the interests of all the parties concerned.
📆 35 years ago, #OTD in 1989, a brilliant Soviet diplomat Andrei Gromyko, who served as Soviet Union’s Foreign Minister in 1957-1985, passed away aged 79.
His diplomatic career began in 1939, when he was appointed head of the U.S. division of the People’s Commissariat of Foreign Affairs, and subsequently – senior counsellor at the Embassy of the USSR in Washington.
🇷🇺🇺🇸 In 1943, he became the Ambassador to the US at the age of 34.
🇺🇳 A.Gromyko stood at the origins of the United Nations. On 26 June 1945, he was among the representatives of the 50 nations who signed the Charter of the United Nations establishing the whole framework of the UN system.
☝️ Later he became the USSR’s first permanent representative to the UN.
In 1957 Mr.Gromyko began his long tenure as the Soviet Foreign Minister. He became renowned for his extensive knowledge of international affairs and his negotiating skills. His firm commitment to promoting Soviet interests on the international scene earned him the nickname “Mr. No” among Western journalists and experts.
🤝 The motto of his diplomatic career was “10 years of negotiations are better than 1 day of war.”
✍️ A.Gromyko contributed greatly to the development of the system of international treaties. On behalf of the Soviet Government, he proposed over 100 initiatives in the area of disarmament. In 1963 he launched the initiative of concluding the Partial Test Ban Treaty.
☝️ With his involvement, numerous important international agreements have been developed and signed, including the Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968, the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty of 1972, the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaties of 1972 and 1979, the Helsinki Final Act of 1975 and many others.
#OutstandingRussians
#AndreiGromyko
His diplomatic career began in 1939, when he was appointed head of the U.S. division of the People’s Commissariat of Foreign Affairs, and subsequently – senior counsellor at the Embassy of the USSR in Washington.
🇷🇺🇺🇸 In 1943, he became the Ambassador to the US at the age of 34.
🇺🇳 A.Gromyko stood at the origins of the United Nations. On 26 June 1945, he was among the representatives of the 50 nations who signed the Charter of the United Nations establishing the whole framework of the UN system.
☝️ Later he became the USSR’s first permanent representative to the UN.
In 1957 Mr.Gromyko began his long tenure as the Soviet Foreign Minister. He became renowned for his extensive knowledge of international affairs and his negotiating skills. His firm commitment to promoting Soviet interests on the international scene earned him the nickname “Mr. No” among Western journalists and experts.
🤝 The motto of his diplomatic career was “10 years of negotiations are better than 1 day of war.”
✍️ A.Gromyko contributed greatly to the development of the system of international treaties. On behalf of the Soviet Government, he proposed over 100 initiatives in the area of disarmament. In 1963 he launched the initiative of concluding the Partial Test Ban Treaty.
☝️ With his involvement, numerous important international agreements have been developed and signed, including the Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968, the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty of 1972, the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaties of 1972 and 1979, the Helsinki Final Act of 1975 and many others.
#OutstandingRussians
#AndreiGromyko
⚡️ Media registration for Eastern Economic Forum 2024 launched.
✍️ Foreign journalists and bloggers may apply for registration from 1 July to 23 August 2024.
Accreditation rules and application form are available on the official website.
📩 If you have any requests regarding media accreditation, please send them by email: media@roscongress.org.
EEF 2024 will take place on 2–6 September 2024 in Vladivostok, Russia.
#EEF2024 #EasternEconomicForum
✍️ Foreign journalists and bloggers may apply for registration from 1 July to 23 August 2024.
Accreditation rules and application form are available on the official website.
📩 If you have any requests regarding media accreditation, please send them by email: media@roscongress.org.
EEF 2024 will take place on 2–6 September 2024 in Vladivostok, Russia.
#EEF2024 #EasternEconomicForum
“We are coming closer to the nuclear abyss. It’s time to talk” – US economist and professor Jeffrey Sachs.
READ THE ARTICLE IN FULL
💬 The problem is that this trivialization of history and of today’s conflicts is leading us to the brink of nuclear war. And the US has actually become the least diplomatic of all UN member states, comparing the states according to adherence to the UN Charter.
<…> ☝️ It has been the US and its allies that have broken agreements and refused diplomacy. The US violated its solemn pledges to Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and to Russian President Boris Yeltsin that NATO would not move one inch eastward. The US cheated by supporting the violent coup in Kiev that toppled Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych. The US, Germany, France, and the UK, duplicitously refused to back the Minsk II agreement. The US unilaterally withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2002 and from the Intermediate Force Agreement in 2019. The US refused to negotiate when Putin proposed a draft Russia-US Treaty on Security Guarantees on December 15, 2021.
There has in fact been no direct diplomacy between Biden and Putin since the beginning of 2022. And when Russia and Ukraine negotiated directly in March 2022, the UK and US stepped in to block an agreement based on Ukrainian neutrality. Putin reiterated Russia’s openness to negotiations in his interview with Tucker Carlson and did so again more recently.
❗️ The war rages on, with hundreds of thousands dead and with hundreds of billions of dollars of destruction. We are coming closer to the nuclear abyss. It’s time to talk.
#TheyAboutUs
READ THE ARTICLE IN FULL
💬 The problem is that this trivialization of history and of today’s conflicts is leading us to the brink of nuclear war. And the US has actually become the least diplomatic of all UN member states, comparing the states according to adherence to the UN Charter.
<…> ☝️ It has been the US and its allies that have broken agreements and refused diplomacy. The US violated its solemn pledges to Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and to Russian President Boris Yeltsin that NATO would not move one inch eastward. The US cheated by supporting the violent coup in Kiev that toppled Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych. The US, Germany, France, and the UK, duplicitously refused to back the Minsk II agreement. The US unilaterally withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2002 and from the Intermediate Force Agreement in 2019. The US refused to negotiate when Putin proposed a draft Russia-US Treaty on Security Guarantees on December 15, 2021.
There has in fact been no direct diplomacy between Biden and Putin since the beginning of 2022. And when Russia and Ukraine negotiated directly in March 2022, the UK and US stepped in to block an agreement based on Ukrainian neutrality. Putin reiterated Russia’s openness to negotiations in his interview with Tucker Carlson and did so again more recently.
❗️ The war rages on, with hundreds of thousands dead and with hundreds of billions of dollars of destruction. We are coming closer to the nuclear abyss. It’s time to talk.
#TheyAboutUs