Society - Russia Beyond The Headlines

Russia’s authorities to tighten migration legislature

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:08:00 +0400

The country’s Federal Migration Service has fleshed out Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s proposals to restrict immigration

The guests wore hardhats

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:54:00 +0400

The pre-Olympic constructions in Sochi has drawn thousands of workers from all over Russia. But sometimes it offers more than a desirable job

The portrait of a protester: To go or not to go?

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:17:00 +0400

Will Muscovites take to the streets for the next scheduled protest on Feb. 4? Russia Beyond the Headlines’ Dmitry Zaika tried to find out

Discontented Russia

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:37:00 +0400

The post-election protests have changed the political situation in Russia. But is it enough to influence the results of the 2012 presidential campaign?

Dance to Live

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:13:00 +0400

Anyone can dance, even people with disabilities, as the staff of the Spiritualization Rehabilitation Center [Centre Odukhotvorenie, in Russian] have proven. Moreover, this “dance therapy” has a positive therapeutic effect

Building the engine of progress from the idea up

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:16:00 +0400

The founders of Russia’s innovation city are already winning the hearts and minds of innovators

New technology aids adoption process

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:53:00 +0400

A new system for matching potential parents with children awaiting adoption has turned out to be significantly more effective than traditional methods

Russian for immigrants

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:52:00 +0400

There are 70,000 children of immigrants, most of them with little knowledge of Russian, attending school in Moscow

Snail mail for the electronic age

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 10:00:00 +0400

Russia has the second largest number of members in the international Postcrossing movement which will soon record the 10 millionth postcard received as part of their initiative

Russia goes under ice

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:16:00 +0400

In the middle of winter Russian Orthodox Christians gather to submerge themselves in the freezing water to mark the festival of the Epiphany

When monuments fall: the politics of toppling political sculpture

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:56:00 +0400

How do political prejudices affect the cultural heritage of the former Soviet republics?

Russia’s Gold Coast

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:34:00 +0400

On Russia’s northern Pacific shores, a cooperative of miners washes gold dust from rock – difficult work in a difficult place

Gorky Park’s ice reflects a green revolution

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 10:10:00 +0400

Major changes in Moscow’s best-known park show that the authorities are serious about making the city a greener place to live

Preschool children adjust to vegetarianism

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 10:00:00 +0400

Some are born vegetarian, some become vegetarian, and some have vegetarianism thrust upon them

Feelgood factor means Russians will spend more on holidays

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 13:50:00 +0400

Recent surveys on Christmas and New Year spending show the financial crisis has had little effect on Russians’ budgets this year

It’s a child’s world

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 19:06:00 +0400

Advertisers become more savvy at marketing to children as new research shows that more and more parents make purchase based on the opinion of their offspring

2011 in Russia: Year in review

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 18:06:00 +0400

Russia Beyond the Headlines sums up the most significant events which took place in 2011: From Domodedovo terrorist act to WTO's accession

Building on melting ground

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 11:42:00 +0400

Between 60 and 70 percent of Russia’s vast landmass is covered by permafrost. Developing oil and gas fields pose a bigger threat to the permafrost than global warming

Russian public service ads go viral

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 16:47:00 +0400

Today’s public service messages boast clever messages and high-quality graphics

Crazy enough to change the culture

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 18:19:00 +0400

Steven Geiger, the chief operating officer of the Skolkovo Foundation, sums up the major goals of the Skolkovo Institute of Technology

Social networks: pressure or routine control?

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:49:00 +0400

Will more protests cause more problems for Russia’s social networks?

Russian scientists find winning formula abroad

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 17:40:00 +0400

Scientific and technological expertise is in demand in the West, so specialist agencies are farming out Russian experts to foreign firms

Who’s playing dirty online?

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 16:05:00 +0400

Cybercrime: Moscow proposes code of practice to defeat the hackers

Russia expects high demand for social workers

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:30:00 +0400

Prince Charles recently awarded Tony Widmer for his service of co-operation between the UK and Russia in social work

Fired for the sake of professionalism?

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 18:08:00 +0400

The management of a big Russian publishing house is fired for printing a photo containing explicit language

Skinny soldiers gain weight in health centers

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 11:43:00 +0400

For thin, young men in the Voronezh Region, the first month of military service is somewhat unusual. Here, recruits who weigh in below the army’s standard weight are sent to a kind of health center where they can fatten up

A child adjusts to a new family

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 14:03:00 +0400

A Russian adoptive mother discusses the process of integrating a new child into her family

Twenty years later, still no democracy?

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 20:19:00 +0400

The Belovezh Accords, which officially dismantled the Soviet Union, were signed on Dec. 8, 1991

We carry alcohol, not alcoholics

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:46:00 +0400

Although a long period of a freedom in terms of buying and selling alcohol ended up with legislative restrictions, resourceful Russians have found a way to bypass the law

Is there some madness in teaching English in Russia?

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 15:31:00 +0400

You don't need to be crazy to teach English in Russia, but it helps

Flash mobs: Spontaneous art, social agitation, or zombification?

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:45:00 +0400

The first flash mobs were a spontaneous gathering to do something fun. But now flash mobs are becoming a tool of furthering political goals

Report sees economic crime decline

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:35:00 +0400

Reported cases of economic crime have declined in Russia over the last two years against the background of recovery from the 2009 financial crisis

Monitor your nuclear risk with DO-RA the radiation explorer

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 16:03:00 +0400

In the wake of the Fukushima disaster, a new radiation monitoring device that works with mobile phone and satnav systems is being marketed

Grassroots charity

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 12:17:00 +0400

Funding for Russia’s nonprofit charity organizations comes from businesses and private citizens

Spending to save

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 14:15:00 +0400

Russian purchases of non-food items have increased as a proportion of personal spending. Is it a sign that Russia is maturing into a modern consumer society?

Moscow’s parks to get a new lease on life

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 15:12:00 +0400

Will Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin’s plan to redevelop the city’s green zones transform Moscow from a city of concrete into a city of gardens?

Russia raises eyebrows at U.S. adoption decision

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 15:10:00 +0400

Russia views the latest U.S. court sentence handed down to an American couple guilty of killing their adopted Russian son as too light. Will it affect the progress that the United States and Russia have made on regulating international adoptions?

The Russian middle class: Life is what you make it

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:35:00 +0400

Members of a generation that grew up with no memories of the Soviet Union may complain about the state, but they don’t expect anything from it, which allows them, maybe, to be happier about their lives

To Mars and back in 520 days

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 14:35:00 +0400

Project Mars 500, the experiment that simulated a year-and-a-half long trip to the Red Planet, has ended

Russia’s middle class walloped by crisis

Sat, 12 Nov 2011 14:15:00 +0400

The middle class in Russia has shrunk from 20 percent of the population pre-crisis to 12 percent now

Russia for Russians?

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 18:59:00 +0400

The nationalist movement in Russia is growing not only in numbers but in diversity even as the country needs migrants to solve its labor problem

Contradicting stereotypes

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 17:27:00 +0400

Moscow has struggled to overcome its Soviet reputation, but contemporary visitors and residents alike find much to love

The Refusenik regiment

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 15:36:00 +0400

Young men have the right to work in civilian jobs rather than do military service but few take that option

The Earth's seven billionth resident was born in Russia

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 18:12:00 +0400

The number of people on Earth has reached 7 billion. The child who opened the new demographic era was born in Russia

A decade of growth and transformation

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 15:12:00 +0400

Kazan's extensive modernization is seen a key factor in attracting foreigners

Sports capital of Russia is playing a blinder, says tennis ace Safin

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 17:45:00 +0400

Impressive new stadiums and facilities are springing up in Kazan, making it a world-class venue for major sporting events

Russian scientist never gave up on Aral sea

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 13:02:00 +0400

Nikolai Aladin was an underground researcher no one would fund. Yet his results aided the sea’s partial resurgence

Russian charity is making fairytales come true

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 13:00:00 +0400

The American-Russian Children's Home works to make life better for kids with cancer

A wondrous Buddhist tradition resurrected in Kalmykia

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 12:41:00 +0400

One third of the population of Kalmykia was deported during Stalin’s terror. As the region struggles, it returns to its roots for answers

Taking teambuilding to the extreme

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 19:04:00 +0400

Some Russian companies are looking way outside the box for ways to bring their employees closer together