Category: Environment

RUSSIALINK: “Russia in 2021: As Climate Crisis Rages, Scientists Fear the Worst Is Yet to Come” – Moscow Times

Environment
Cartoon Sun and Thermometer, adapted from cdc.gov

The world’s largest country faces an accelerating emergency as warming weather sparks more environmental disasters with ever more damaging consequences. (Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Felix Light – Jan. 1, 2021) Russia came under siege from climate change in 2020, and experts warn that Arctic heatwaves, fires and melting permafrost could be worse this year. The year began with the […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russia needs to diversify energy exports amid developing global climate agenda” – Interfax

Environment, Oil, Gas, Energy
Oil Well file photo

MOSCOW. Dec 22 (Interfax) – Russia needs to develop its domestic market and diversify energy exports amid the rise in the global climate agenda as well as the decline in energy demand owing to advances in technology, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin. “As part of climate resilience, certain requirements are being […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Blame Climate Change for Historically Warm Fall in Russia’s Biggest Cities, Experts Say” – Moscow Times

Environment, Regions, Cities, Municipalities
Cartoon Sun and Thermometer, adapted from cdc.gov

… Russia’s two largest cities experienced the warmest autumn temperatures of their recorded histories in 2020 …. And it’s only the beginning, experts say […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Northern Sea Route should operate according to special rules, based on Russia’s interests – presidential envoy” – Interfax

Arctic, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Environment, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Sergei Ivanov, adapted from defense.gov image

… Russian president’s special representative for environmental protection and transport, Sergei Ivanov said … the whole NSR runs through Russian territorial waters or … the country’s economic zone, and said that Russia must insist on special rules […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russia Sees Warmest September in Recorded History” – Moscow Times

Environment
Cartoon Sun and Thermometer, adapted from cdc.gov

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Oct. 5, 2020) Russia experienced the warmest September in its 130-year recorded history last month, the state weather service said Monday as climate change continues to reshape the country’s weather patterns. Nearly every geographical region except southeast Russia experienced temperatures several degrees above their September averages, according to the Russian Hydrometeorology Center’s chief specialist Marina […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s Richest Man Owns More Melting Arctic Than Anyone” – Bloomberg/ Yuliya Fedorinova, Laura Millan Lombrana

Arctic, Environment
Cartoon Sun and Thermometer, adapted from cdc.gov

“Vladimir Potanin’s sprawling Siberian mining operations make him the billionaire most exposed to the permafrost crisis.” “Vladimir Potanin, one of the [world’s] 50 richest people … stood awkwardly on … Siberian tundra near … remote mining city … Norilsk. … less than a week since a spill[,] … one of Russia’s worst [Arctic] disasters …, caused … by an aging […]

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Emergency situation: the slow-moving tragedy of the Russian Arctic

Arctic, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Environment, Regions, Cities, Municipalities
Map of Arctic Highlighting Permafrost, adapted from image at nasa.gov

Melting permafrost, oil spills, collapsing infrastructure, abandoned towns: Russia’s far north is heading for social, economic and ecological disaster. (opendemocracy.net – Sofia Gavrilova – August 27, 2020) Sofia Gavrilova is a geographer and works in the Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography, Leipzig. [Text with photos opendemocracy.net/en/odr/russia-arctic-monotowns/] “The asbestos factory closed last year. The crushed stone plant is closing this year. […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Siberia’s ‘gateway to the underworld’ grows as record heat wave thaws permafrost” – Science Magazine/ Richard Stone

Environment, Far East, Siberia, APEC, JRL NewsBlog
Cartoon Sun and Thermometer, adapted from cdc.gov

“… Known to locals as the ‘gateway to the underworld,’ Batagay is … [earth’s] largest thaw slump …. Once just a gully … the scar has expanded … as … permafrost thaws and meltwater carries off … sediment. Now more than 900 meters wide, it epitomizes the vulnerability of permafrost in the Arctic …. Outbursts of pent-up methane gas in […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “An oil spill in Russia’s Arctic exposes risks for Moscow’s Far North plans” – Washington Post/ Isabelle Khurshudyan, Andrew Freedman

Arctic, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Environment
Map of Arctic Highlighting Permafrost, adapted from image at nasa.gov

“Thawing permafrost in the rapidly warming region leaves Moscow’s ambitious Arctic expansion proposals literally on shaky ground.” “… [S]urg[ing] … climate change in interior Russia – more than three times the global average – is throwing new risks in the way of … Putin’s Far North agenda, among his top domestic initiatives. A key danger is … more infrastructure atop […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Melting Arctic Permafrost Threatens Russian Energy Firms’ Bottom Line – Morgan Stanley” – Moscow Times

Arctic, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Environment
File Photo of Polar Bear on Snow with Bare Ground in the Background, adapted from image at nasa.gov with photo credit to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Eric Regehr

Rapidly melting Arctic permafrost poses the greatest threat to major Russian energy producers’ infrastructure and financial indicators, according to a new Morgan Stanley report […]

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Siberia’s ‘Poles Of Cold’ Are Obliterating Heat Records, And Alarming Climate Scientists

Environment, Far East, Siberia, APEC, Regions, Cities, Municipalities
Cartoon Sun and Thermometer, adapted from cdc.gov

.. The rapid pace of warming has stunned climate scientists, despite years of gradually rising temperatures. […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “The Far-Reaching Consequences of Siberia’s Climate-Change-Driven Wildfires” – Smithsonian Magazine/ Theresa Machemer

Arctic, Environment, Far East, Siberia, APEC, JRL NewsBlog
Map of Arctic Highlighting Permafrost, adapted from image at nasa.gov

“Smoke from the blazes is now reaching the West Coast of the United States.” “… [S]moke from the fires … spans over 1,000 miles … causing hazy skies [in] the northwestern United States …. Permafrost is rich in organic material that froze before it could completely decompose. Melting permafrost releases greenhouse gases on top of the pollution released by the […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Tie for warmest 12-month period globally as Siberia sizzles (Update)” – PhysOrg/ Marlowe Hood

Arctic, Environment, JRL NewsBlog
Cartoon Sun and Thermometer, adapted from cdc.gov

“Temperatures soared 10 degrees Celsius above average across much of permafrost-laden Siberia last month …. Earth’s average surface temperature for July 2019-June 2020 was 1.3C above pre-industrial levels …. In the Arctic … an hourly temperature record for June … was set on the 21st near Verkhoyansk in northeastern Russia …. [P]reviously registered Arctic hourly highs in 1969 and 1973 […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russian Arctic sets ‘fantastical’ heat records: weather chief” – AFP

Arctic, Environment, JRL NewsBlog, Regions, Cities, Municipalities
Cartoon Sun and Thermometer, adapted from cdc.gov

“The Russian Arctic set record temperatures in June that sparked abnormal tundra fires … Russia’s weather service [director] said … blaming climate change for … ‘fantastical’ anomalies. Russia’s northern territories, including parts of Yakutia region which borders the Arctic ocean, have faced a heat wave … with some districts declaring a state of emergency. … He noted one record in […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Arctic Circle’s record temperatures heighten global warming concerns” – Financial Times/ Leslie Hook, Max Seddon

Arctic, Environment, Far East, Siberia, APEC, JRL NewsBlog
Cartoon Sun and Thermometer, adapted from cdc.gov

“Wild anomalies such as the 38C recorded in northern Russia this week underline climate change threat.” “… [N]orthern Russia has produced the highest temperature ever recorded inside the Arctic Circle …. [R]esidents of Verkhoyansk, north-east of Siberia in … Yakutia … have … been sunbathing in a town that at other times of the year shares the record as the […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Moscow Breaks 70-Year Heat Record” – Moscow Times

Environment
Cartoon Sun and Thermometer, adapted from cdc.gov

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – June 17, 2020) Moscow experienced its hottest June 17 in more than half a century after temperatures hit 29.6 degrees Celsius Wednesday. Russia’s Hydrometeorology Center said that beat the previous record of 29.4 C set on the same day in 1956, Interfax reported. It added that Wednesday’s temperatures were still on track to break a […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Siberia’s persistent, freakishly mild weather is reverberating around the world” – Washington Post/ Andrew Freedman, Isabelle Khurshudyan

Arctic, Environment, JRL NewsBlog
Cartoon Sun and Thermometer, adapted from cdc.gov

“The planet just had its warmest May, continuing a streak from 2014.” “… Siberia … has seen persistently extreme temperatures since the winter … [leading] to a damaging Arctic oil spill, spark[ing] early outbreaks of large wildfires and help[ing] vault global temperatures to new milestones. … Permafrost thawing across Siberia … has caused widespread problems such as buckled roads, collapsed […]

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Who Will Pay For Russia’s Unprecedented Oil Spill?

Arctic, Environment
Map of Arctic Highlighting Permafrost, adapted from image at nasa.gov

(Oilprice.com – Alex Kimani – June 11, 2020) Five days ago, Russia suffered its worst oil spill in modern history after a fuel storage tank owned by Russian nickel and palladium mining company, Nornickel, collapsed and spilled 21,000 tonnes (about 158,000 barrels) of diesel into the nearby Ambarnaya river outside the Siberian city of Norilsk. The accident–which has drawn comparisons […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “The massive Norilsk fuel spill could be linked to permafrost thaw, a growing threat to Arctic infrastructure” – Arctic Today / Melody Schreiber

Arctic, Environment, JRL NewsBlog
Map of Arctic Highlighting Permafrost, adapted from image at nasa.gov

“Infrastructure built on permafrost needs to be better monitored, experts and officials say.” “… [O]ne of the largest ever oil spills in the Russian Arctic may have been caused in part by permafrost thaw, according to the [polluting] company …. Experts … long warned that … [without] precautionary steps … such thaw could cause[] billions of dollars in damage to […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia says has stopped spread of Arctic fuel spill” – AFP

Arctic, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Environment
Map of Arctic Highlighting Permafrost, adapted from image at nasa.gov

“Russia has … contain[ed] a massive diesel spill into [an Arctic] river … the emergencies ministry [stated] … Environmentalists said the oil spill, which took place [a week earlier] … was the worst such accident ever in the Arctic region. … [A] diesel reservoir collapsed at a power station outside the northern Siberian city of Norilsk[ owned by a subsidiary […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Diesel Spill In Russian Arctic Could Be Putin’s Exxon Valdez” – Forbes/ Ariel Cohen

Environment, JRL NewsBlog, Oil, Gas, Energy, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Map of Arctic Highlighting Permafrost, adapted from image at nasa.gov

“… Putin ordered a state of emergency … in the Taymyr region near the Arctic Ocean, after 20,000 tons (150,000 barrels) of diesel fuel spilled from a Russian power plant into … soil and a nearby river. The accident occurred in the Siberian city … Norilsk … [T]he plant’s fuel reservoir collapsed into thawing permafrost, releasing its contents. Diesel is […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Tanker crosses Russian Arctic route without icebreaker assistance; Commercial shipping on the Northern Sea Route starts earlier than ever before.” – Barents Observer/ Atle Staalesen

Arctic, China, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Environment, Far East, Siberia, APEC, JRL NewsBlog, Oil, Gas, Energy
Arctic Map

By late May, a carrier had set out on the icy route without icebreaker escort. “… [S]ea ice along the Russian Arctic coast is quickly vanishing as temperatures … have been reaching record highs. With the retreating ice comes tanker traffic. … [T]he ‘Christophe de Margerie’ … on May [19th] kickstarted this year’s shipping season across the eastern part of […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Arctic Likely to See Ice-Free Summers Despite Climate Action, Study Says” – Moscow Times

Arctic, Environment
Arctic Map

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – April 22, 2020) The Arctic will likely lose its summertime ice cover by 2050 even if current levels of CO2 emissions are significantly cut, a new study published in the American Geophysical Union’s journal has warned. Climate change has reduced sea ice coverage in the Arctic Ocean in recent decades, with 2019 tying with 2012 […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russia’s Leading Climate Change Expert Gives Sober Prognosis; Russia is set to experience huge temperature increases and extreme weather events, but there will also be opportunities.” – Moscow Times

Arctic, Environment
Arctic Map

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Daniel Kozin – April 3, 2020) Russia’s top climate scientist Dr. Vladimir Kattsov is confident that serious environmental changes lie in store this century. “Russia is among the countries where the average warming greatly exceeds the global average, and Russia is warming especially quickly the closer you get to the Arctic,” Kattsov, 58, told The […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Vilfand explains extremely warm winter in Russia” – Interfax

Environment
Map of Russia and Russian Flag adapted from images at state.gov

MOSCOW. Feb 21 (Interfax) – The unusually warm winter in Russia this year is down to the abnormally wide pressure gap between the Atlantic “weather centers” and an absence of a steady anticyclone over Siberia, the scientific director of the Russian Hydrometeorological Center, Roman Vilfand, told Interfax. “All circulation rules were broken this year. Practically throughout the winter, for nearly […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russians See Pollution as a Greater Threat Than Terrorism – Poll” – Moscow Times

Environment
File Photo of Smokestacking Spewing Cloud of Discharge

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – January 23, 2020) [Photo caption in original: Nationwide protests rocked Russia in 2019 over unpopular plans to build landfills in remote parts of the country to take in waste from more populous areas.Sergei Bobylev / TASS] Russians believe that environmental pollution poses a greater threat to humanity than terrorism, according to the results of an […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Can Russia be key in fighting climate change? Russia tree planting would represent a benign form of international partnership” – Washington Times/ Edward Lozansky

Environment
Siberian River, Forest, Mountain

“… There are 3 trillion trees in the world. … major absorbers of greenhouse gases. A hardwood can absorb up to 48 pounds of carbon dioxide per year, adding up to about a ton of carbon dioxide in its first four decades. Thomas Crowther and a team of researchers from ETH Zurich have calculated that the world has an additional […]

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Russian PM Approves National Action Plan On Climate Change

Environment, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Map of Arctic Highlighting Permafrost, adapted from image at nasa.gov

(Article text ©2020 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – January 3, 2020 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/russian-pm-approves-national-action-plan-on-climate-change/30362756.html) Russian Prime Minister Russian Dmitry Medvedev has approved a national action plan for the first phase of adapting to climate change. Medvedev’s order, dated December 25, was published on the government’s website on January 4. [http://m.government.ru/news/38739/] It outlines […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Arctic temperatures 2.5 degrees higher than normal in 2018, fall and winter warmest since 1938” – Interfax

Arctic, Environment
Arctic Map

MOSCOW. Dec 31 (Interfax) – Air temperatures were 2.5 degrees Celsius higher than normal in the Russian Arctic in 2018, especially in the Eastern Arctic, where temperatures exceeded the norm by 3.56 degrees (the fourth highest value since 1936), while winter and fall 2018 were the warmest since 1938, the Russian Natural Resources and Ecology Ministry said in a report […]

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New Moscow-St. Petersburg Highway Emblematic of Russia’s Road Problems and Much Else

Environment, Regions, Cities, Municipalities, Transportation
Moscow Roads

(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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RUSSIALINK: “11,000 Scientists Warn of ‘Untold Suffering’ From Climate Change. Only 4 of Them Are Russian.” – Moscow Times

Environment
Map of Arctic Highlighting Permafrost, adapted from image at nasa.gov

The Moscow Times spoke to one of the Russian scientists about his reasons for signing the open letter and his fears for the future. (Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Pjotr Sauer – November 8, 2019) Professor Alexei Kotov greets his colleagues as he navigates the poorly-lit corridors of the Institute of Ecology and Evolution in the south of Moscow, where […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “How Russia Stands To Change With The Climate” – Forbes/ James Rodgers

Arctic, Environment
Map of Arctic Highlighting Permafrost, adapted from image at nasa.gov

“… In a climate where winter temperatures in Arctic regions can fall below -50 degrees C (-58 degrees F), warmer weather might offer some relief. A research paper … even predicted … ‘Global warming will likely to bring more positive rather than negative effects for Russia’s food security and agriculture ….’ The same paper warned … ‘A major negative impact […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Radical warming in Siberia leaves millions on unstable ground” – Washington Post/ Anton Troianovski, Chris Mooney, Michael Robinson Chavez, Trish Wilson, Brian Murphy, Brian Malasics

Environment, Far East, Siberia, APEC
Map of Arctic Highlighting Permafrost, adapted from image at nasa.gov

“… The permafrost that once sustained farming – and upon which villages and cities are built – is in the midst of a great thaw, blanketing the region with swamps, lakes and odd bubbles of earth …. In Yakutia … cattle and reindeer herding have plunged 20 percent …. Siberians … are being driven to migrate …. An international team […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russian Cities at Risk as Climate Change Accelerates Permafrost Thaw – Report” – Moscow Times

Environment, Regions, Cities, Municipalities
Map of Arctic Highlighting Permafrost, adapted from image at nasa.gov

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – October 3, 2019) Russia’s permafrost is expected to thaw at an accelerating rate between now and 2100, a process that could trigger a “feedback loop” of carbon emissions, according to a new report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). More than 50% of Russia’s territory is located in the planet’s frozen cryosphere. […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “The unraveling of Vladimir Putin” – Joseph Dresen/ The Hill

Environment, Health, Alcohol, Smoking, AIDS, Epidemics, JRL NewsBlog, Military, Nuclear, Missile Defense, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Vladimir Putin at Podium with United Russia Logo, Gesturing

“… as tens of thousands of protesters once again took to the streets in Moscow to protest upcoming municipal elections, Russian state television showed a smiling … Putin riding with … [a] motorcycle club in Crimea. … a typical scene … the president doing tough guy stuff at the location of his most popular act of [the] annexation of Crimea. […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russian Arctic leader warns of ‘dramatic’ climate change impact; Head of remote Yakutia region expresses concern about effects of rising temperatures” – Financial Times/ Henry Foy

Arctic, Environment, Far East, Siberia, APEC, JRL NewsBlog, Regions, Cities, Municipalities
Map of Arctic Highlighting Permafrost, adapted from image at nasa.gov

“The head of Russia’s largest Arctic territory has warned of ‘very dramatic’ impacts from climate change … Moscow comes under increasing pressure …. [with climate] emerg[ing] as an important domestic issue … due to … large-scale melting of permafrost in the north of the country and temperature increases … outpac[ing] global averages. … creat[ing] serious knock-on effects for Russia, including […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russia Is Warming Disproportionately Fast, Environment Ministry Says” – Moscow Times

Arctic, Environment
Polar Bear on Ice

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 4, 2019) Climate change is heating Russia at a faster rate than the rest of the world, the country’s environment ministry has said in a draft report of environmental data for 2018. Earlier reports have predicted that climate change will bring epidemics, drought and mass hunger to Russia if left unchecked. Melting permafrost in […]

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Dubbed The ‘Nuclear Titanic,’ Russia’s First Floating Atomic Power Plant Sets Sail Amid Environmental Fears

Arctic, Environment, Nuclear Energy
Montage of Radioactivity Symbol and Russian Map with Russian Flag, adapted from images at .gov sites

(Article text ©2019 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Aug. 23, 2019 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/russia-floating-nuclear-plant-lomonosov-sets-sail-arctic/30125553.html) Russia’s first floating nuclear power plant, which Greenpeace has dubbed a “floating Chernobyl,” has set sail on a nearly 5,000-kilometer voyage to its destination in the nation’s northeast. The floating plant, the Akademik Lomonosov, departed the Arctic port […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russia Says It Won’t Share Rocket Explosion Data as Suspicions Swirl” – Moscow Times

Environment, Military, Nuclear, Missile Defense
Montage of Radioactivity Symbol and Russian Map with Russian Flag, adapted from images at .gov sites

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – August 20, 2019) Russia told an international organization set up to verify a ban on nuclear tests that a military testing accident in northern Russia earlier this month was none of its business and that handing it radiation data was entirely voluntary. Russia has acknowledged that five nuclear workers were killed in the explosion on […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s rubbish mountain piles pressure on Putin; Waste recycling reforms spark protests from provincial residents” – Financial Times/ Max Seddon

Environment, JRL NewsBlog, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Regions, Cities, Municipalities
Map of Russia and Russian Flag adapted from images at state.gov

“… in woodland near … Likino-Dulyovo … [demonstrators] stare down riot police and bulldozers. … want[ing] to stop … construction of a garbage processing plant in wet peatland forest that they say feeds local rivers and hosts endangered species. … fac[ing] violent crackdowns, with reports of police beating and arresting protesters … dragging an elderly man away by the arm […]

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Trump Calls Putin To Offer Help Battling Siberian Fires

Disasters, Environment, Far East, Siberia, APEC, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Vladirmir Putin and Donald Trump Sitting in Chairs with Flags Behind, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

(Article text ©2019 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – August 1, 2019 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/russian-army-called-in-to-fight-siberia-forest-fires/30085889.html) U.S. President Donald Trump has offered to help Russia battle widespread forest fires in Siberia as he seeks to repair Washington’s fractious relationship with Moscow. Trump called Russian President Vladimir Putin to make the offer, the Kremlin said […]

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AUDIO JRL NEWSWATCH: “‘The Rot Starts From The Top’: Russians Protest Over Problems Big And Small” – NPR/ Lucian Kim

Environment, JRL NewsBlog, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Map of Russia and Russian Flag adapted from images at state.gov

“… [As] Putin approaches his 20th year in power, anger over bread-and-butter issues is sparking protests across the country. Even in sleepy Pereslavl-Zalessky, population 40,000, [perched on a lake, with onion-domed churches, historic and picturesque qualities giving it an untapped tourist potential,] locals no longer hide their frustration with the powers that be. … [A] recent rally in … unkempt […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Putin orders governors to listen to locals on waste dump issue” – Interfax

Environment, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Map of Russia and Russian Flag adapted from images at state.gov

(Interfax – July 23, 2019) Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the governments of Arkhangelsk Region and Moscow to take into account public opinion when settling the issue of siting rubbish dumps near the town of Shiyes. “The Arkhangelsk Region government and the Moscow government [are ordered] to take into account the opinion of the residents of Arkhangelsk Region when […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russians’ Fear of Chernobyl Repeat Hits Record Low, Poll Says” – Moscow Times

Environment, History, Soviet Union, Nuclear Energy
Chernobyl File Photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – July 17, 2019) Fewer Russians believe that a Chernobyl-like nuclear disaster could happen now than at any point in the past two decades, according to an independent Levada Center poll published Wednesday. The April 1986 explosion at the Chernobyl power plant in Soviet Ukraine spread radioactive material across much of the Northern Hemisphere, affecting tens […]

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