Evening Medusa

June 19. Well, will Russia beat Egypt?

Russia - Egypt

Today the Russian team will play at the World Cup against Egypt. This match will likely determine whether the Russians can reach the round of 16 of the World Cup for the first time in post-Soviet history. The meeting will take place in St. Petersburg and will begin at 21:00.

The main star of the Egyptian national team, Mohamed Salah, will play against the Russian national team, having missed his team's first match due to injury. He is now the most popular man in Egypt, and perhaps in the entire Arab world - and his influence is not limited to just football .

Well, after the victory over Saudi Arabia, everyone loves the Russian team again. But to love is one thing, but to know by sight is completely different. Test how well you can distinguish Russian football players from each other while there are still a few hours left before the match.

daily News

Navalnyannounced protests against raising the retirement age. Supporters of the politician submitted notices to hold rallies on July 1 in 20 Russian cities that are not hosting World Cup matches. At the same time, the Left Front announced an action in Moscow on July 4 (there is a special procedure for holding rallies in the capital during the championship, but this does not bother the Left Front). Russia's largest trade union also called for protests.

Russia will introduce additional duties on goods from the United States. These measures will be a response to the increase in duties on steel and aluminum, which Washington announced back in March. A list of goods that will be subject to duties will be prepared “in the coming days.” (Even if they weren't iPhones, they're already terribly expensive).

Cultural figures asked the president to pardon Oleg Sentsov. An open letter to Vladimir Putin was signed, in particular, by actress Chulpan Khamatova, director Andrei Zvyagintsev, TV presenter Ksenia Sobchak, and head of Roskino Ekaterina Mtsituridze. Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that the Kremlin cannot interfere with court decisions, and the convict himself must submit a petition for pardon.

The State Duma has increased duties on foreign passports . Now, in order to obtain a new generation document, you will need to pay 5,000 rubles instead of the previous 3,500. Deputies also raised the cost of obtaining a driver’s license - from two to three thousand rubles.

Rapper XXXTentacion killed in the US

Rapper Jahseh Dwayne Onfroy, known as XXXTentacion, was shot dead in Miami yesterday. According to police, he was the victim of an armed robbery. Onfroy was one of the most influential rappers of his generation , with his albums and singles repeatedly reaching the top of the American charts in recent years.

Onfroy began to gain popularity at the beginning of 2017 - while for the last year and a half he was either sent to prison or released under house arrest: the rapper was accused of robbery and beating his pregnant girlfriend. Meduza editor Alexander Gorbachev talks about the history, music and phenomenon of XXXTentacion - and what his death changes .

US Space Force

Yesterday, US President Donald Trump instructed the Pentagon to begin creating a military space force. Such troops already exist in Russia, China, Israel, and several European countries. Meduza asked the scientific director of the Space Policy Institute, Ivan Moiseev, to explain what such troops do . Quote:

The satellites themselves will not fight among themselves, this is fantastic. Such systems were developed, but later everyone came to the conclusion that it was unprofitable. The cost of shooting down a satellite is greater than launching it. In general, fortunately, military-strike space weapons occupy little space in the world. It is being developed on paper - theoretically.

What else

• The World Health Organization has officially recognized excessive video game play as a disease. But, as it turns out, this decision cannot be called indisputable .
• Vasily Utkin, who managed to comment on only one World Cup match, announced his resignation from Channel One. But Leonid Slutsky will continue to work on broadcasts: after the coach mentioned Navalny’s name on air, Internet users began joking about what other topics Slutsky could accidentally speak out on.

💼 Newsletter sponsor

The sponsor of today's “Evening Medusa” is the MINI brand. He released new cars: a three-door, a five-door and an open-top MINI Cabrio. Together we compiled a test for drivers to test their knowledge of Moscow - its history, streets, districts and notable buildings. Take on the challenge!

We are rooting for our people. Grigory Levchenko