Photo: The official page of the House of Santa Claus "VKontakte" The publication Super.ru established the personality of a person acting as the main Santa Claus of Russia. 37-year-old Andrei Balin, the note of the tabloid says, has been leading a magic tower for 15 years built in the Silver Bor of the Vologda Oblast. Balin has her own business built around the image of Santa Claus: directly in the tower there is a “souvenir shop” in which his wife works as a seller.

Deputies of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg submitted to the State Duma a draft law providing for the introduction of a tax on dogs. It is proposed to charge 1,000 rubles a year from pet owners. If the dog is neutered, the rate is reduced to 100 rubles. Bodies and organizations in which dogs are used for the needs of defense and law enforcement are exempted from paying the tax.

For the first time since December 8, the exchange rate of the American currency in trading on the Moscow Exchange fell below 54 rubles. As of 18:15 Moscow time, the dollar was worth 53.98 rubles, the euro cost 65.99 rubles. The official exchange rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, set on December 25, is 54.49 rubles per dollar and 66.4 rubles per euro. Brent oil on the ICE exchange in London, as of 18:15 Moscow time, cost $59.84 per barrel.

In St. Petersburg, two unidentified men beat Sergei Strilchenko, an employee of the Mariinsky Hospital, who is an expert on the commission on military-civilian relations of the Human Rights Council. The attack took place on the morning of 24 December. According to Zaks.ru, around 10 am Strilchenko got out of his car, walked through the polyclinic to the hospital building, where the military medical commission where he works is located.

A meeting of the contact group on the settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine began in Minsk. The talks are attended by former President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma, Russian Ambassador to Ukraine Mikhail Zurabov, DPR representative Denis Pushilin and LPR representative Vladislav Deinego, as well as an OSCE delegation headed by Swiss diplomat Heidi Tagliavini. The meeting is held behind closed doors.

Photo: Personal page of Sergey Narubov "VKontakte" The goalkeeper of the Perm “Amkara” Sergei Narinov, in an interview with journalist Yuri Dudy, said that good medicine in Germany appeared thanks to experiences on people who were conducted by the Nazis: “Because the Second World War was. Because Hitler spent a bunch of experiments over people in the same concentration camps - up to the injection in the brain. All documentation has been preserved, now they are used for peaceful purposes.

Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded to avoid "excessive romanization" of the Russian language. Speaking at a joint meeting of the State Council and the Council for Culture and Art, he said that in Russian cities there are too many signs in Latin. At the meeting, Putin also commented on the proposals of LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who has repeatedly advocated a ban on foreign borrowings in Russian.

On December 24, medical workers and teachers who tried to get an appointment with officials were detained near the building of the Department of Housing Policy in Moscow. According to the OVD-Info website, 5 people were detained. These are teacher Daria Kirillova, doctor Siruza Ashurova and physician Sergei Romashkin, as well as two political activists - Alexander Zimbovsky and Vasily Nedotemkin. All the detainees were taken to the Presnensky police station.

Why will nothing change with Putin's departure in Russia: Foreign Affairs Photo: Valery Sharifulin / TASS / All Over Press The current Russian youth grew up in the era of smartphones, the Internet and open borders and, it would seem, should differ from the generation of their parents by much more liberal judgments and a wider view of the world.

Inflation in Russia from 16 to 22 December amounted to 0.9%, Rosstat reported. This is the highest increase in consumer prices since 2008, when Rosstat began to publish data on weekly inflation. From December 9 to 15, Rosstat recorded a price increase of 0.4%, which became a local maximum for 2014. Since the beginning of the year, inflation has been about 10.5%. This figure hit double digits for the first time since September 2009.

Journalist Oleg Kashin demanded compensation of half a million rubles for the fact that the attack on him was never investigated. Kashin filed a lawsuit with the Moscow City Court. “Oleg Kashin believes that the pre-trial proceedings in the criminal case of his beating are ineffective, the investigation has been unable to identify the suspects and customers of the crime for a long time, in connection with which he went to court,” said lawyer Ilnur Sharapov.

The Russian government will provide Transaero Airlines with a state guarantee for a loan in the amount of up to 9 billion rubles. Transaero asked for state guarantees in the amount of up to 10 billion rubles. The corresponding government decree was published on December 24. State guarantees for the loan, the document says, will be provided to the airline “in 2014.” The purpose of the loan is to finance the airline’s core production and operational activities.

The Russian Football Premier League (RFPL) and 16 of its member clubs signed a memorandum that provides for the payment of salaries to football players at fixed euro and dollar rates. For settlements, exchange rates are set at 45 rubles per dollar and 55 rubles per euro. The agreement will be valid until the end of the 2014-2015 season, that is, until June 30, 2015.

Screenshot of the site noraadsanta.org On the website of the command-cosmic defense of North America (NORAD), an annual service for tracking the movement of Santa Claus through the planet has launched. On the map in real time, you can see where the wagon with deer is located and what places Santa has already visited.

Yes. This right is written in the main law of Russia - the Constitution. Article No. 31 states: “Citizens of the Russian Federation have the right to assemble peacefully without weapons, to hold meetings, rallies and demonstrations, processions and picketing.” The Federal Law “On Meetings, Rallies, Demonstrations, Processions and Picketing” is designed to ensure that citizens exercise their constitutional rights.