[According to polls,] more Russians now than two years ago want their government to spend more on healthcare and education and only half as many want it to devote more money to defense and security […]
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(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, Nov. 15, 2019) By the end of November, the new M-11 superhighway between Moscow and St. Petersburg is scheduled to be opened for traffic, a move that will significantly shorten the time for travel between the two capitals. But both its construction and its finished form reflect many problems that plague Russian […]
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(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, October 28, 2019) An article intending to show that Russia’s roads are better than Russians think and therefore should rank higher on international ratings than they do in fact confirms just how far behind the West that country despite being the largest on earth lags in developing high-speed, multi-lane roads. At the […]
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“As Russia rises in Eastern Europe, the best deterrence against Vladimir Putin’s geopolitical ambitions may not be more tanks and missiles, but new roads that can carry heavy civilian transport vehicles. That could solve NATO’s big problem, which is the inability to get vehicles and supplies where they’re needed fast. Roads Win Wars: The strategic challenge for NATO is easy […]
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(Kremlin.ru – August 16, 2017) Vladimir Putin held a meeting in Kaliningrad on the opportunities for developing transportation infrastructure in Northwest Russia. The heads of relevant ministries and agencies and a number of regional heads from the Northwest Federal District took part. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, colleagues. We are here to discuss the development of transportation infrastructure […]
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GORKI. Jan 20 (Interfax) – The Russian authorities will be unable to attain economic growth rates higher than the world’s average without a drastic improvement in infrastructure, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said. “As you know, we are drafting a comprehensive government action plan for the period until 2025. Our primary objective is economic growth rates above the world’s average,” […]
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(RFE/RL – Tom Balmforth – January 6, 2016) KHIMKI, Russia — After dark in the frigid parking lot of an Ikea outlet north of Moscow, in the trailer of a grubby white truck heated by a generator, a dozen men are sitting in winter coats and hats watching a Soviet blockbuster on a projector. The cramped space has been a […]
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(opendemocracy.net – EDITORS OF OPENDEMOCRACY RUSSIA) This Wednesday, the Russian press focuses on the departure of Vladimir Yakunin, head of Russian Railways and a close ally of Vladimir Putin. According to business daily Kommersant, Yakunin called his decision to leave ‘a personal one’ during a conversation with Vladimir Putin. Meanwhile, Kaliningrad’s election commission is processing Yakunin’s candidacy to become the […]
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Russia is to introduce a new system for collecting tolls from heavy trucks, with the proceeds – some 50 billion rubles ($896 million) a year – to go toward vital road repairs. Payment will be controlled by special gates set up on major highways. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Anna Kuchma, RBTH – July 28, 2015) Help may […]
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(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, March 24, 2015) Even though the Russian government currently repairs less than one percent of its horrific roads in many regions, Moscow has announced plans to build a superhighway and rail line extending across the Russian north to the Bering Straits and a tunnel to Alaska, a project in which enormous sums will […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – January 14, 2015) The Health Ministry has denied widespread reports that transvestites and transsexuals could lose their rights to drive in Russia based on a new road safety decree. Although the decree provides for the disqualification of driving rights for certain individuals with psychological or behavioral disorders, the mere fact that a person has a […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – January 9, 2015) Transgender people may no longer be allowed to drive cars in Russia under new road safety regulations signed by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. A decree published on the government website earlier this month lists an array of health conditions that can disqualify someone from getting behind the wheel, among […]
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(RIA Novosti – Moscow, November 24, 2014) The Russian Health Ministry’s chief freelance psychiatrist [Zurab Kekelidze] has declared that the number of road traffic accidents involving drunk drivers has risen by 10 per cent in Russia this year, possibly due to psychological strain owing to changes to the international and economic situation. “In the first seven months of 2013 the […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, October 10, 2014) The state of Russia’s road system, which now ranks 136th out of 144 countries evaluated, is so bad that even Vladimir Putin, who recently has been given to upbeat statements about the country, has had to change his tone. But his comments in Novosibirsk yesterday suggest that he won’t […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Anna Arutunyan – November 7, 2013) Common wisdom has it that all of Russia’s ills originate in two simple things: fools and roads. Indeed, one of the biggest factors holding back the country that occupies one-sixth of the world’s landmass may be its transportation arteries – or lack thereof. 1) Some better off on horses […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Panin – November 5, 2013) Moscow is ranked number one in a congestion index of the world’s major cities and building more roads is unlikely to solve the problem, according to a new report. The average time it takes to get from one point to another during rush hour is increasing, according to research […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Marina Obrazkova, RBTH – September 4, 2013) Starting Sept. 1, new penalties are in effect for Russian drivers. Sanctions were modified for 46 violations, and maximum fines will increase by 10 times, going up to roughly $1,500. Changes that are taking effect in Russia’s Code of Administrative Offenses (CAO) involve increasing liability for […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Irina Filatova – August 27, 2013) The Kremlin’s move to revive ambitious Luzhkov-era plan to build a gigantic circular highway 50 kilometers beyond the Moscow Ring Road is bringing to life the dreams of developers and nightmares of owners of property in its path. Construction of the Central Ring Road was first approved by federal […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Georgy Manaev, special to RBTH – August 14, 2013) Hitchhiking in the world’s largest country can be a thrilling experience. Gathering bits of advice from Russia’s most experienced travelers, RBTH delves into the history and local habits of this adventurous mode of travel. In recent years, most of the urban population of the […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Natalya Krainova – May 16, 2013) President Vladimir Putin will soon start arriving at the Kremlin by helicopter in an attempt to appease drivers who blame his motorcade for creating traffic jams. Builders have completed construction of a landing pad for Mi-8 helicopters on the Kremlin grounds, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists Thursday. Asked […]
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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – April 5, 2013) The official Russian set of technical standards, GOST, has finally solved one of Russia’s two biggest problems: bad roads. In 2011, the Rosstandart national standardization body redefined the definition of a pothole as having a width of at least 1.5 meters and a depth of 7 centimeters. At the time, Rosstandart defended its […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Yekaterina Kravtsova – April 5, 2013) Moscow has finally taken first place in an international rating, but it’s in a category the authorities would like to be excluded from. According to the Tom-Tom congestion index, which was released Thursday and is produced annually by the Dutch firm specializing in navigation products, Russia’s capital is ahead […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Yekaterina Kravtsova – April 1, 2013) In a meeting with traffic police on Friday, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev said the preferential treatement given to certain “categories of people” for traffic violations significantly destabilized society. He did not specify which categories he was referring to, but in recent years there have been numerous cases in which […]
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(Moscow TImes – themoscowtimes.com – February 25, 2013) Two companies co-owned by people seen as close to President Vladimir Putin were awarded the largest number of major road and bridge construction contracts by City Hall in 2011-12, Vedomosti reported Tuesday. In the period, a total of 150 road and bridge construction contracts worth 182.4 billion rubles ($6 billion) were awarded, […]
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MOSCOW, January 30 (RIA Novosti) – Bad roads, the spread of alcoholism and the critical situation in the housing maintenance and utilities sector are Russia’s most pressing problems, followed by poor healthcare services and drug addiction, the Federal Statistics Service (FSS) said on Wednesday. Last September, the FSS conducted a survey covering 10,000 households in all parts of Russia and […]
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OSCOW, December 17 (RIA Novosti) Moscow ranked last in four categories in a new list of the top 40 global tourist destinations, its score ruined by vicious cabbies, antisocial locals and ungodly prices. The Russian capital scored last on “friendliest locals,” “friendliest taxi drivers,” “best taxi services,” and “best for shopping” in the new World City survey by the […]
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(Voice of America – James Brooke – Dec. 3, 2012 – James Brooke is VOA Moscow bureau chief, covering Russia and the former USSR) It snowed in Russia last week. (Yawn. What else is new?) But Russia no longer is Dr. Zhivago country, a rural place where troika sleighs slide smoothly across white, wintry landscapes. Modern Russians have a deep, […]
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MOSCOW. Dec 5 (Interfax) – Russian Economic Development Minister Andrei Belousov has said money from the Reserve Fund should be used to build new highways. “We need to resolve the problem of funding highway construction. I do not think we can really resolve it without using oil and gas money – our resources from the Reserve Fund to build roads. […]
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(Snow traps drivers for days in giant Russia traffic jam – Reuters – Dec. 2, 2012 – http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/03/uk-russia-traffic-idUSLNE8B201620121203) Reuters reports on a two-days-and-counting, 120-mile-long traffic jam on a major Russian highway resulting from heavy snow and involving thousands of vehicles: Thousands of trucks and cars have been stuck on a major highway, some for more than two days, in a […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Roland Oliphant – November 27, 2012) Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was showered by a wave of ridicule and negative public sentiment on Monday following a weekend tirade against bad driving. The backlash kicked off on Saturday when Medvedev used the latest entry on his video blog to call for a crackdown on the country’s notoriously […]
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[Medvedev wants to sharply toughen responsibility for violation of traffic rules – RUSSIAN PRESS REVIEW – ITAR-TASS – November 26, 2012 – http://www.itar-tass.com/c142/581401.html] ITAR-TASS covers Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s apparently controversial proposal to change the penalties for drunk driving in various locales: Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has proposed to introduce differentiated penalties for drunk driving: for Moscow and […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Yulia Ponomareva – October 15, 2012) In the wake of high-profile road accidents in Moscow, United Russia is pushing ahead with a tougher drunk driving bill. On Monday, representatives of United Russia, which holds the absolute majority in Russia’s parliament, confirmed that the party is moving ahead with its set of amendments toughening the DWI […]
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Evgeniya Chaykovskaya – Moscow News – themoscownews.com – September 24, 2012 Seven people were killed and four more were injured at a bus stop in Moscow when a car hit it at 190 km per hour. The drunk man behind the wheel of a Toyota lost control of the car and crashed into a bus stop where people were waiting. […]
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