In the elections of the heads of Russian regions, which will be held in September, the second round is likely only in three cases out of 16. Such a forecast is contained in the report of the Civil Society Development Fund close to the presidential administration. “The risks that the scenarios will change to competitive ones and there will be real threats of the second rounds are noted in three regions - Altai, Astrakhan and Vologda regions,” the document says.

The wire service Interfax has reported based on conversations with an anonymous source that the Russian government is preparing to return five Ukrainian citizens who are currently held in Russian jails to their home country. The source indicated that the prisoners in question are housed in Moscow’s Lefortovo Pretrial Detention Center (SIZO).

Mikhail Klinov, the acting chief of Russia’s federal forestry agency, has estimated the short-term economic damage from this year’s wildfires in Siberia at 7 billion rubles ($106 million). The estimate did not appear to include additional damage to Russian and global ecology or to the health of Russian residents. Klinov noted that the Siberian wildfires have remained stable in the last few days. They currently span 1.12 million hectares (about 2.8 million acres).

After French President Emmanuel Macron gave a speech following a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin’s website posted an official transcript that excluded every phrase in which Macron mentioned the word “elections.” For example, although Macron explicitly noted that the arrests of Moscow protesters demanding fair elections have raised numerous concerns, the Kremlin’s transcription of that comment read, “People have become concerned by the events in

The SBHR group canceled their performance at a concert dedicated to the day of the Yekateringof District in St. Petersburg. The concert was supposed to take place two days before the municipal elections, according to Znak.com. As the leader of the group, Kirill Ivanov, said, initially the musicians had a different idea of ​​"both the concert itself and its meaning." “We do not participate in politically charged events or in events that can be perceived as such against our will.

Investigators have determined that 21-year-old Moscow student Egor Zhukov was misidentified in a video taken during the city’s July 27 election protest, his attorney Ilya Novikov told the radio station Ekho Moskvy . Law enforcement officials first charged Zhukov in a mass rioting case targeting protesters in large part because of video evidence. They claimed that a clip from the protest showed the student “directing” other marchers.

The investigation has established that it was not he who was in the video recording of the protest on July 27, due to which 21-year-old HSE student Yegor Zhukov became a defendant in the " Moscow case ." This was stated by his lawyer Ilya Novikov. "At the very beginning of this story, there was a mistake in identification.

Leonhard Foeger / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA A radionuclide detection station on the roof of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) headquarters in Vienna. After the August 8 nuclear explosion in Russia’s Arkhangelsk region, four nearby radiation detection stations suddenly shut down . The stations are operated by Russia’s Defense Ministry, which also conducted the nuclear-powered missile test that caused the explosion.

French President Emmanuel Macron's speech at a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin was edited out of the official transcript on the Kremlin website. As the BBC Russian Service discovered, not a single phrase in which Macron used the word "elections" was included in the transcript.

Victor Pelevin’s new novel “The Art of Light Carles” goes on sale on August 22. It consists of three parts: in the first friends-hipsters roam the North Caucasus, in the second Russian hackers introduce tolerance in the West, the third is dedicated to the heroes of the book “Secret Views to Mount Fuji”. Literary critic Galina Yuzefovich tells why this time the slight stories of Pelevin came out more successful than a statement about relevant events. Victor Pelevin. The art of light touch.

Dwayne Johnson has topped Forbes magazine's annual list of the world's highest-paid actors. Johnson earned $89.4 million in the past 12 months , including $23.5 million from Jumanji: The Next Level, which opens in December. Chris Hemsworth came in second ($76.4 million), followed by Robert Downey Jr. ($66 million). Akshay Kumar ($65 million) and Jackie Chan ($58 million) also made it into the top five. Johnson was ranked second on the 2018 Forbes list with $124 million in earnings.

Economic damage from forest fires since the beginning of the year in Russia is about 7 billion rubles. Such data was cited by the acting head of Rosleskhoz, Mikhail Klinov. Klinov noted that in recent days the situation with fires has stabilized. Now in Siberia, 1.12 million hectares are burning, of which 1 million are hard-to-reach territories.

Rescuers and doctors did not warn that the victims of the explosion in the Arkhangelsk region are infected with radiation Sergey Yakovlev / Photobank Lori Russian military town. Russia, Arkhangelsk region, Sopka On August 8, a reactive engine exploded at the training ground in the Arkhangelsk region. Two days later, the authorities admitted that during the accident there was a leak of radiation.

Carlos Rafael next to a 400-kilogram tuna, November 12, 2011. This fish was seized by the authorities because the ship Raphael caught it with a grid, not fishing rods. Noaa / AP / Scanpix / Leta The US authorities on August 19 disclosed the details of the transaction with Carlos Rafael, a fishing magnate, which in 2017 received 46 months of prison for violating quotas for fishing, forgery of documents and tax evasion.

Sergey Savostyanov / TASS / Sipa USA / Vida Press This September’s elections for the Moscow City Duma have already gained renown for inspiring regular mass protests, but they are also remarkable for another reason: In three of the Russian capital’s districts, voters will be able to use an online system to select their new representatives.