Polish and American historian Richard Pipes, who specialized in Russian history, died in the United States at the age of 94. This was reported on the Harvard University website. It is with sadness that I convey the news that Richard Pipes (1923-2018) has passed away. He lived a long and productive life. May his memory be for a blessing.

How search crews in Latvia find and bury hundreds of Soviet soldiers every year Andrey Kozenko / Meduza There are roughly a dozen organizations working in Latvia today to find the remains of Soviet soldiers killed during the Second World War. Every year, excavation crews find and bury between 200 and 500 people, almost all of whom died at the very end of the war, in the winter of 1944 and the spring of 1945, when Soviet troops attacked the Germans and their allies in Latvia.

On May 17, the US Senate approved the appointment of Gina Haspel as director of the CIA. Haspel's candidacy was approved despite opposition due to her involvement in brutal interrogation techniques following the 9/11 attacks, including waterboarding, a simulation of drowning that many consider to be torture. Reuters Gina Haspel has been CIA Deputy Director Mike Pompeo since February 2017.

The criminal case against mathematician Dmitry Bogatov, who is accused of inciting terrorism and organizing mass riots, has been dropped, Interfax reports, citing a source familiar with the situation. Bogatov's wife Tatyana Fedorova confirmed this information to Mediazone. In turn, Alexander Mordvinov, Bogatov's lawyer, told Interfax that he had not been given the relevant decision, so he cannot comment on the information about the termination of the criminal case against the client.

In Iraq, a court sentenced a Russian citizen to death for participation in the Islamic State terrorist organization, AFP reports citing a source. The surname of the convict is Khasanov. Other sources have not yet announced the verdict. More than 300 people, including about 100 foreigners, have been sentenced to death in Iraq in the past few months. Many others received life sentences, the source says. Most foreigners are Turks or citizens of the former Soviet republics (English).

From the physical evidence in the case of the head of the Chechen branch of "Memorial" Oyub Titiev, accused of drug possession, some of his personal belongings were missing. This was reported on the Memorial website. The disappearance of things became known during the study by Titiev and his lawyers of the case materials and material evidence.

The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Labor have proposed options for raising the retirement age in Russia, RBC reports, citing government sources. According to the publication, both departments propose to raise the retirement age for men from 60 to 65 years. The Ministry of Labor proposes to increase the retirement age for women from 55 to 60 years, and the Ministry of Finance - up to 63 years, the publication says. Changing the timing of retirement may begin in 2019, writes RBC.

Russia lost to Canada in the quarterfinals of the Ice Hockey World Championship with a score of 4:5. The Canadians scored the winning goal in overtime. For the first time since 2013, the Russian national team did not reach the semi-finals of the Ice Hockey World Championship. In 2014, the Russians became world champions, the next year they took second place, and in the last two years, the Russians won the bronze medals of the tournament.

May 17. Oil $ 80 and new locks The main news The cost of a barrel of oil Brent exceeded $ 80 . So expensive oil has not been worth it since November 2014. Oil has been getting more expensive for several months in a row (back in February, the barrel cost 62 dollars), and recently the growth of quotations has intensified against the backdrop of the exit of the United States from a nuclear transaction with Iran.

Rosaviatsia has banned Saratov Airlines from booking and selling tickets for flights departing after May 30, 2018. In connection with this, the company announced that it would cease operations. Saratov Airlines will cease operations on May 31; layoffs will begin on July 18. "1,200 highly qualified specialists will end up on the street," the company's website says. The airline took steps to correct all of Rosaviatsia's comments within the established deadline.

Stefano Baroni / Festival de Cannes "Call me Mrs. Brown" At the Cannes Film Festival, the premiere of "Whitney" was held - a documentary about the American singer Whitney Houston, who died in early 2012. Its author was the Scot Kevin McDonald, the author of the drama “The Last King of Scotland” and “Big Game”, the holder of Oscar for the documentary “Once in September” about the capture of Israeli athletes at the Olympics in Munich.

A platform for podcasts will appear on the social network VKontakte. Representatives of the company announced this at the VK Media Day conference, writes TJournal. The platform is planned to be implemented on the basis of the existing audio player and launched before the end of 2018. With the help of the platform, podcast creators will be able to “collect feedback from listeners and study listening statistics,” according to a VKontakte press release received by Meduza.

“And the mammoth told me”, “The coastal waves were vermichered,” The task about Yanni and Lorel divided the whole world into two camps: on the same record, people hear different names (although some manage to hear both). Long before the advent of audio illusions, we heard in the songs what is not there - from the legendary Racamacapho in the song “Freestyr” to the awkward “Pokhos Govnosada” instead of “A hundred steps back” in the song “Viagra”.

The Lithuanian authorities refused to grant political asylum to the organizer of the Russian Marches, Yuri Gorsky, who escaped from house arrest in Russia. Gorsky himself wrote about this on Facebook. He said that if he did not file an appeal, he would be deported to Russia by the end of May. Gorsky added that the Lithuanian authorities have banned him from entering the country for 5 years and are considering revoking his Schengen visa. With what it is connected, he did not specify.

Vladimir Gontar / UNIAN OF RIA Novosti - Ukraine Kirill Vyshinsky in the Kherson City Court, May 17, 2018 On May 15, the Security Service of Ukraine conducted searches in the editorial office of RIA Novosti - Ukraine. This Ukrainian agency is an information partner of the Russian MIA Russia Today.