Evening Medusa

The ruble is under threat (hidden?). The European Union has begun an examination of Sputnik V (in space?). Elon Musk's spaceship prototype landed (and exploded)

Good evening,

This is Meduza's daily newsletter about the most important news of the day. But first, let's talk about the good. And what could be better than the news about the rescue of a kitten? News about the rescue of four kittens ! Sailors of the Thai Navy rescued them from a sinking ship (everything is also in order with the crew). For the rescue operation, one of the sailors had to become a "raft man".

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Pulse

The main thing for the day - as short as possible

Elon Musk's SpaceX Starship prototype has successfully landed for the first time . And exploded . In Yekaterinburg, was detained a teenager from the Perm Territory , who killed his parents and younger sister. He confessed to the murder "due to psychological trauma." In the Penza region, a criminal case was opened after a detainee complained of beatings and threats of rape with a truncheon. The Moscow City Court dismissed the case against the doctor Elena Misyurina. Three years ago, she was found guilty of the death of a patient. A court in Samara fined an activist who made a film about the trial of Putin and Sechin. The prosecutor asked for six years and seven months in prison. over the year Air tickets for foreign flights have risen in price by 55% .

The coronavirus

The European Union began the examination of the Russian vaccine "Sputnik V"

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has begun an examination on the rolling review procedure, that is, with a consistent review of documents. The agency will assess the compliance of Sputnik V with EU standards for efficiency, safety and quality. So far, 42 countries have approved the use of Sputnik V, including two EU members, Hungary and Slovakia. The Czech authorities also applied for the Russian vaccine.

Other news about coronavirus:

• Slovak Prime Minister Igor Matovich joked that he would pay for the Russian vaccine with Transcarpathia. Ukraine demanded an apology - and the Slovak Foreign Ministry apologized.
• Vladimir Putin said that vaccination has not begun in nine regions of the Russian Federation . On February 10, the Ministry of Health said that “all regions are involved in vaccination.”
• The Ukrainian authorities announced the third wave of the pandemic in the country.

Texts of the day

We tell the story of Alexander Mamut, a negotiator and “enlightened oligarch”, who broke down in the media business

Mamut made most of his fortune on mediation in complex corporate conflicts: for example, he negotiated the purchase of Euroset in 2008. But Mamut wanted to be not just an oligarch, but a patron of the arts and a media mogul. His holding owned Gazeta.ru, Lenta.ru, Afisha, Championat.ru. Under Mamut, independent publications became loyal to the Kremlin, traffic became their main goal, and clickbait became their tool. In 2020, due to debts, the media empire had to be sold to Sberbank. Meduza special correspondent Anastasia Yakoreva tells how Alexander Mamut ended up in a crisis .

In Russia, the most massive competition for scientists has been canceled. Now many of them are at risk of being left without money.

The so-called "a" competition was held by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR). The foundation was established back in the 1990s, and a massive competition in which small groups of scientists could take part, in fact, allowed Russian fundamental science to survive. In 2019, a reform began in Russia to transfer the functions of the RFBR to the Russian Science Foundation (RSF). This foundation has always supported higher level research and distributed larger grants. In theory, now the Russian Science Foundation will simply take over the functions of the RFBR. But the scientific community has many questions about the reform of funds .

Biden's first sanctions against Russia seem soft so far, but the ruble is now in danger

The United States imposed sanctions on March 2 - due to the poisoning of Alexei Navalny. The main part of the package repeats the sanctions imposed in 2018 by Donald Trump over the poisoning of Sergei Skripal. While the sanctions do not greatly complicate the life of Russia, but in three months the US will have to introduce a new package of restrictions. The Biden administration is expected to return to discussing a ban on US companies buying Russian Federal Loan Bonds (OFZs). We explain what it is and what is the threat to the Russian economy.

Podcast "What Happened"

How is money flowing out of Russia through offshore companies?

For more than eight years, Putin has demanded to “deoffshorize the economy.” But the capital is still withdrawn. Only not through Cyprus and the Baltic countries, as before, but through the United Arab Emirates and Thailand. And the really serious money does go through countries with strict financial control - the United States and Western Europe. Anastasia Stogney, a journalist for The Bell, tells more about how it works.

Listen to What Happened on Meduza . And subscribe to Apple Podcasts , Google Podcasts , Castbox , Yandex.Music and other podcast services.

Joke of the day

No, not from Dmitry Gordon (which is a pity)

Today, President Vladimir Putin spoke with participants in the We Are Together volunteer movement and decided to joke about the palace. Of course, without mentioning Navalny. Here's how it was :

Putin *(addressing a volunteer girl) *: [Are you] near Strelna?

Volunteer: Yes, right two kilometers from Strelna.

Vladimir Putin: Well, great. Here, it looks like another palace. (Points to the building behind.) So I'll be there. Just don't text it to me.

🥁🥁🥁

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Well, Putin’s interlocutor has not yet stood in front of the barracks ... your Meduza