MOSCOW: A Moscow court on Tuesday (Apr 30) sent a man who attacked a painting of Ivan the Terrible to a penal colony for two and a half years, news agencies reported.Igor Podporin attacked a work by 19-century artist Ilya Repin showing the 16th-century tsar killing his son, damaging the work in three places.He used part of a security barrier at Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery to break the glass covering the painting during the last year's attack.At first, the builder from the southwestern city of Voronezh told police he was under the influence of alcohol at the time.But in court he said he had wanted to damage the painting because it was "a lie" - a smear on the reputation of Russia's first tsar.At Zamoskvoretsky district court, Judge Natalya Cheprasova sentenced him to two and a half years in a "correctional colony," agencies reported.The Tretyakov is now holding a major exhibition of Repin's works, but without the damaged painting as it is still being repaired.This was not the first … [Read more...] about Russian court jails man who attacked tsar painting
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Revamped Russian animation goes for global audiences
In a slick Moscow loft, dozens of graphic designers peer at computers, compiling the latest scenes of Fantasy Patrol, a cartoon produced by Russia's Parovoz animation studio. With its Netflix contracts, state-owned Parovoz -- which means locomotive in Russian -- is at the forefront of a resurgence of the country's animation industry. But, for some observers, the revival comes at the expense of a tradition for innovation dating back to the Soviet-era heyday. Russian authorities have invested heavily in the animation sector in recent years, after it, like others, was left in ruins following the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. Parovoz is part of a state media holding and has grown from around 20 to 300 employees. Its animated series are shown in 55 countries. Chief executive Anton Smetankin, who co-launched the studio in 2014, said it had "a product for every market". Last year, two Parovoz productions were bought by the US-based streaming service Netflix -- one of them, … [Read more...] about Revamped Russian animation goes for global audiences
Putin floats ‘common citizenship’ for Russians, Ukrainians
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday (Apr 29) that Ukrainians and Russians were "one people" and would benefit from common citizenship, after he angered Kiev by offering to fast-track Russian passports for Ukrainians."I've said many times that Ukrainians and Russians are brotherly nations. More over, I believe that they are essentially one people with various cultural, linguistic and historic peculiarities," a smiling Putin told reporters."If Ukraine gives passports to Russians and we in Russia give passports and citizenship to Ukrainians then sooner or later we will inevitably have a predictable outcome - everyone will have common citizenship.""This should be welcomed," Putin said before saying "Goodbye" to reporters in Ukrainian.Observers are closely watching for signs of a thaw in ties between Russia and Ukraine after a comedian with no political experience, Volodymyr Zelensky, won a landslide victory in presidential elections in Ukraine this month.The … [Read more...] about Putin floats ‘common citizenship’ for Russians, Ukrainians
Will Putin help or hurt situation with North Korea?
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By Thomas Walkom National Affairs Columnist Mon., April 29, 2019 Vladimir Putin has just made the North Korean situation more complicated. But the Russian president may have also opened up a new pathway to sidestep the current impasse between North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un and America’s Donald Trump. Putin has done this by the simple action of reinserting himself into the middle of the on-again off-again Korean nuclear crisis. His first-ever meeting with Kim last week in the Russian city of Vladivostok served as a signal that Moscow expects to be a part of any negotiations involving the Korean Peninsula. Up to now, Putin has lain low and let others take the lead. Russia has supported, in theory at least, U.S.-led sanctions aimed at forcing North Korea to end its nuclear missile program. At the same time, Moscow has supported Chinese efforts to try and end the conflict between Washington and Pyongyang on a step-by-step basis in which each side agrees to … [Read more...] about Will Putin help or hurt situation with North Korea?
Putin says Russians, Ukrainians would benefit from shared citizenship
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday (Apr 29) that Russians and Ukrainians would only benefit from sharing common citizenship, the Interfax news agency reported.Putin said on Saturday Moscow was considering offering all Ukrainian citizens fast-tracked Russian passports, a move that angered some politicians in Ukraine which has been at war with pro-Russian separatists since 2014.Putin has already signed an order to simplify the procedure for obtaining a Russian passport for residents of separatist-controlled eastern Ukraine, prompting calls from Kiev for more international sanctions.Ukrainian President-elect Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said that Putin should not expect many Ukrainians to take up his offer of a Russian passport, while offering Ukrainian citizenship to Russians. … [Read more...] about Putin says Russians, Ukrainians would benefit from shared citizenship