Russia

Russian Federation
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Location  Asia
Capital  Moscow
Area  17,098,242 sq km
Population  142,122,776

"There's no fool like an old fool"
(Proverb/Quote of the Week)

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January

January 1 A new law in Russia, which came into effect on 1 January 2013, restricts the amount of beer stalls and kiosks can sell and bans sales between the hours of 11 p.m. and 8 a.m. in an attempt to curb alcoholism. January 2 January 3 January 4 January 5 Young Russian environmentalist Vera Kalinina was announced as the Panda Champions for Global Goals by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on 5 January 2017. The aim of the recognition is to build a team of enthusiastic individuals from around the world to achieve the UN sustainable development goals by 2030. January 6 For the first time, researchers have uncovered the remains of four ancient Scythian “Amazon” Women with different ages in the same tomb, as widely revealed on 6 January 2020. The discovery was made in a Russian cemetery known as Devitsa V. January 7 January 8 Russian physicist Evgeny Velikhov was awarded China's International Cooperation Award in Science and Technology on 8 January 2016. January 9 January 10 January 11 Russian film Leviathan by renowned director Andrey Zvyagintsev won the Golden Globe award for best foreign language film on 11 January 2015. January 12 January 13 Russian tennis player Daniil Medvedev won the 2018 Sydney International Tennis singles tittle beating Australian Alex De Minaur 1-6 6-4 7-5 in a thrilling final. January 14 January 15 The discovery of a prehistoric mammoth carcass in the Siberian Arctic with signs of weapon-inflicted injuries suggested that humans were present in the Arctic 10,000 years earlier than previously thought, according to a study published on 15 January 2016 by Russian scientists. On 15 January 1973 “Luna 21”, an unmanned space mission of Russia, landed on the Moon. The aims of the mission were to collect images and data of the lunar surface. Luna 21 was launched on January 8, 1973. January 16 January 17 January 18 January 19 January 20 January 21 January 22 Hoversurf, a Russian urban air mobility company, on 22 January 2021 unveiled a newly-developed model of flying taxi, meant to go into mass production at the end of 2021 and be ready for flights in 2023-2025. January 23 January 24 January 25 January 26 January 27 Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia won gold in the Ladies Short Program followed by teammates Elena Radionova and Anna Pogorilaya at the 2016 ISU European Figure Skating Championships. The Progress 46, a robotic Russian cargo ship, successfully docked at the International Space Station on 27 January 2012, delivering tons of fresh fruit, clothing and other vital supplies for the orbiting lab's six-men crew. It was Russia's first space mission of 2012. January 28 January 29 Russia's first stealth fighter jet, a “fifth generation” fighter jet, made its maiden test flight on January 29, 2010. The Sukhoi T-50, also called the PAK FA, made the flight in Russia's far east. January 30 Russian and Canadian researchers have discovered the oldest, 7,000 to 8,000 years old, set of confirmed human twins during a field research in a Siberian cemetery. The researchers’ findings were published in the journal Antiquity on 30 January 2015. January 31

February

February 1 Russia on 1 February 2018 successfully launched 11 satellites, including nine American and German satellites, from its Vostochny cosmodrome, in the third rocket liftoff from the new spaceport. February 2 February 3 Russian fashion brand Outlaw was named as the winner of SHOWStudio's inaugural Fashion Film Awards on 3 February 2016 in London. Russia won the 2013 Bandy World Championship on 3 February 2013 beating Sweden 4–3 in the final. February 4 Russian photographer Oleg Ershov was awarded the first place in the International Landscape Photographer of the Year competition on 4 February 2020. February 5 February 6 Russian scientists along with an international team have identified brain chemicals that allow seals to sleep with half of their brain at a time, according to a study published on 6 February 2013 in the Journal of Neuroscience. The discovery may help millions — including an estimated 40 percent of North Americans — who suffer from insomnia or other sleep disorders. February 7 Russia's Soyuz-2.1b rocket delivered 34 communication satellites of British company OneWeb into orbit on 7 February 2020 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The 22nd Winter Olympics was officially opened on 7 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. It was the first ever Winter Olympics held in Russia. February 8 Russian scientists became the first ever to reach a massive lake located under the Antarctic glacier shield, as revealed on 8 February 2012, after spending a decade drilling through more than two miles of solid ice. Scientists believe the lake could be home to cold-loving microbial life adapted to living in total darkness. February 9 Russia won the first gold medal of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics in team figure skating ahead of teams from Canada and the United States. The 1896 World Figure Skating Championships, an annual figure skating competition governed by the International Skating Union, took place on February 9, 1896 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was the first ever World Figure Skating Championships to be held. Only men competed in that championship. February 10 February 11 February 12 Russian photographer Sergei Ilnitsky won the first and second places at the World Press Photo awards in the General News and Sports categories respectively on 12 February 2015. February 13 February 14 February 15 Researcher from Russia and Kazakhstan have discovered a well-preserved fossilized skull of a long-extinct animal known as the Siberian unicorn — which was actually a long-horned rhinoceros — in Kazakhstan. The animal, Elasmotherium sibiricum, may have went extinct 29,000 years ago instead of 350,000 years as previously thought, according to a study published in the American Journal of Applied Sciences on 15 February 2016. February 16 February 17 Teeth from mammoths buried in the Siberian permafrost for more than a million years have yielded the world's oldest DNA ever sequenced, according to a study by a team of Russian and international scientists published on 17 February 2021. Russian chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov beat the Deep Blue supercomputer, a chess-playing computer from IBM, in a chess match in Philadelphia on February 17, 1996. It was the first match of the six games played between them and Kasparov won three matches while losing one and drawing the other match. February 18 February 19 Mir, a Russian space station, was launched in 1986. Mir was launched as the world's biggest space station on February 19, 1986. February 20 Adelina Sotnikova of Russia won Gold in Ladies Free Skating at the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games. February 21 Russian and Swedish scientists studying the remarkably well-preserved remains of an Ice Age bird, found in Siberia, have identified the specimen as a horned lark, according to a paper published on 21 February 2020 in the journal Communications Biology. February 22 Russia on 22 February 2017 successfully launched the Progress MS-05 space freighter to the International Space Station (ISS) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Russia took Gold in the Men's Team Relay at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. February 23 Russian photojournalist Sergey Ponomarev won the third prize at the 2016 Days Japan photo contest for his image series named Europe Refugees. February 24 February 25 February 26 February 27 World’s first Generation 3+ nuclear power reactor started commercial operation on 27 February 2017 in Russia. It was installed in the number one unit of Russia’s Novovoronezh Nuclear Power Project (NPP) 2. February 28 Russia launched its space satellite Arktika-M aboard a Soyuz-2-1b/Fregat rocket on 28 February 2021 on a mission to monitor the climate and environment in the Arctic. February 29

March

March 1 Russia and Georgia reopened their only border crossing on 1 March 2010, after more than three years it was closed, in a rare gesture of goodwill between the former Soviet republics to rekindle their diplomatic relations after the 2008 war. March 2 March 3 Scientists from Russia and France announced the discovery of pithovirus, the largest giant virus yet known, according to their study published on 3 March 2014. It was found frozen in a deep layer of the Siberian permafrost, but after it thawed it became infectious once again. March 4 March 5 March 6 March 7 The Sochi Winter Paralympics in Russia was opened on 7 March 2014 in a spectacular ceremony. Russian scientists believe they have discovered new life forms sealed off for millions of years in the subglacial Lake Vostok deep under the Antarctic ice, as reported on 7 March 2013. Bacterial DNA discovered in samples of water the Russians took from the lake last year, when they finally broke through nearly four kilometers of Antarctic ice after a decade of intermittent drilling, has confirmed the claim. (Based on further research scientists dismissed this initial reports that they had found a wholly new type of bacteria in a mysterious subglacial lake in Antarctica.) March 8 Russian journalist Elena Milashina was honored with the 2013 International Women of Courage Award by the United States Department of State at a presentation ceremony in Washington for her courageous investigative work on drug-trafficking, counterterrorism operations, kidnappings and the murder of journalists. March 9 Russia’s Andrey Smirnov was named the Allianz Athlete of the Month for February 2016 following his team’s success at the World Wheelchair Curling Championships 2016. March 10 March 11 Scientists from Russia and Japan have successfully revived the cells of a 28,000-year-old woolly mammoth in a new research published in the journal Scientific Reports on 11 March 2019. March 12 March 13 Russian scientists on 13 March 2021 deployed one of the world's biggest underwater telescopes, Baikal-GVD, into the world’s deepest lake, Lake Baikal in southern Siberia, with the goal of detecting the smallest known particles neutrinos. March 14 Russian Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft successfully blasted off to the International Space Station carrying a Russian-American crew of three on 14 March 2019. A Russian-European mission ExoMars to search for life on Mars was successfully lifted off on a Proton-M rocket operated by Russia’s Roscosmos on 14 March 2016. It is the beginning of a seven-month journey to the Red Planet, where it will address unsolved mysteries of the planet’s atmosphere that could indicate present-day geological – or even biological – activity. A study, by Russian researchers and their international colleagues, of a newly discovered 90-million-year-old dinosaur fossil have revealed how Tyrannosaurus rex became one of Earth’s top predators. Their study, published on 14 March 2016 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggested its ears and brain helped establish its dominance. March 15 March 16 March 17 A team of international scientists and Russian researchers have found the evolution of barn swallows bird in Asia is shaped by the Tibetan Plateau, as revealed on 17 March 2020. March 18 March 19 March 20 March 21 A Russian Soyuz rocket successfully put 34 UK satellites for the OneWeb project, the global communications company with a mission to bring connectivity to everyone everywhere, into orbit on 21 March 2020. A Russian Soyuz MS-08 rocket blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 21 March 2018, carrying with it two NASA astronauts and one Russian cosmonaut bound for the International Space Station. March 22 Russian figure skating star Alina Zagitova won the 2019 ISU World Figure Skating title in Saitama on 22 March 2019, added the only missing world title to her impressive resume. March 23 March 24 Vladislav Kolesnikov and Anna Isakovich from Russia won gold medal at the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) World Standard Championship Junior II competition on 24 March 2012. March 25 A Russian Soyuz rocket was successfully launched carrying 36 telecommunications and internet satellites for the UK from the Vostochny cosmodrome on 25 March 2021. Russian photographer Sergey Ponomarev won the first prize at the 2016 China International Press Photo Contest (CHIPP) in the News category with his work on refugees ferrying to Europe. March 26 The 16-year-old Anna Shcherbakova of Russia won the women's world figure skating title on 26 March 2021 in Stockholm, Sweden. The Russian Soyuz TMA-12M spacecraft was successfully launched on 26 March 2014 to the International Space Station carrying one American and two Russian astronauts who are expected to work on the station for several months. March 27 Russian director Nikita Mikhalkov‘s film Burnt by the Sun won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 67th Academy Awards held in California on March 27,1995. March 28 Russia's Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft carrying the International Space Station crew of US astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Mikhail Kornienko blasted off on 28 March 2015 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. A crew of two Russians and an American blasted off on 28 March 2013 on a Russian rocket for the International Space Station, in a trip scheduled to be the fastest ever manned journey to the facility. The trio successfully launched from Russia's Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and reached the destination in approximately six hours compared with the previous time of over two day. March 29 Russian journalist Zhanna Nemtsova, a champion for democracy, education, and freedom of information in her native Russia, was awarded the 2016 International Women of Courage Award at a ceremony on 29 March 2016 by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. March 30 March 31 Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia jumped and spinned to her second consecutive World title and set new record scores in the woman's Free Skating event at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Helsinki on 31 March 2017. Medvedeva achieved a new highest score of 154.40 points, surpassing her previous record score set at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final last year.

April

April 1 April 2 April 3 April 4 April 5 April 6 April 7 April 8 April 9 A Russian Soyuz 2.1a rocket carrying two Russians cosmonauts and an American astronaut successfully launched to the international space station about three hours after taking off from Kazakhstan on 9 April 2021. A three-man Russian and American crew blasted off to the International Space Station on 9 April 2020 from Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. April 10 April 11 Dmitry Lisitsyn from Russia won the 2011 Goldman Environmental Prize, considered as the Nobel Prize for grassroots environmentalism, on 11 April 2011. Dmitry was awarded for his fight to protect Sakhalin Island’s critical endangered ecosystems while also demanding safety measures from one of the world’s largest petroleum development projects. April 12 Russian paleontologists and their international colleagues have uncovered 245-million-year-old fossils belonging to one of the earliest relatives of dinosaurs, named Teleocrater rhadinus. The discovery, published in Nature on 12 April 2017, filled a critical gap in the fossil record of dinosaur cousins and suggesting that some features thought to characterise dinosaurs evolved much earlier than previously thought. Russia on 12 April 2013 unveiled a new US$50 billion drive to preserve its status as a top space power, including the construction of a brand new cosmodrome from where humans will fly to space by the end of the decade. On April 12, 1961 Russia (Soviet Union) had launched cosmonaut (a Russian or Soviet astronaut) Yuri Gagarin into space and brought him safely back to Earth. He was the first human to journey into outer space. The flight by Gagarin lasted only 108 minutes, but its impact on space exploration and the Soviet and Russian people will never be forgotten. April 13 Russian classical pianist and composer Vladimir Horowitz won the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance at the seventh Grammy Awards in the United States on 13 April 1965. April 14 April 15 April 16 Russian and German scientists have discovered that, billions of years ago, Mars possibly had a water cycle of its own. The study was published on 16 April 2019 in Geophysical Research Letters. Evgenia Chirikova from Russia won the 2012 Goldman Environmental Prize, considered as the Nobel Prize for grassroots environmentalism, on 16 April 2012. Evgenia was awarded for her efforts in mobilizing Russian citizens to demand the rerouting of a highway that would bisect Khimki Forest, known as the “green lungs of Moscow”. April 17 April 18 April 19 Russian cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov became the world's oldest spacewalker on 19 April 2013 at the age of 59 as he appeared for a little maintenance work outside the International Space Station. Russian scientist Olga Speranskaya won the 2009 Goldman Environmental Prize, considered as the Nobel Prize for grassroots environmentalism, on 19 April 2009. Olga was awarded for transforming the NGO community in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia into a potent, participatory force working to identify and eliminate the Soviet legacy of toxic chemicals in the environment. The Soviet Union (Russia) launched the world’s first space station, Salyut 1, on April 19, 1971. A space station is an artificial architecture designed for humans to work in outer space for a period of time. Salyut 1 was launched to conduct scientific research and experiments in space. April 20 Russia on 20 April 2017 successfully launched its Soyuz MS-04 spacecraft carrying two astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. April 21 Mikhail Gorbachev, former President of Soviet Union, was named one of the recipients of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Champions of the Earth on 21 April 2006. Mr. Gorbachev was awarded for his significant contribution in the field of international environmental politics and for conflict prevention on global waterways. April 22 April 23 By sequencing the DNA of nearly 40 ancient skeletons found in the Mitelelbe Saale region of Germany, Russian scientists along with their international colleagues have suggested that the foundations of the modern European gene pool were laid down in the Neolithic era, between 4,000 and 2,000 BC. Their findings were published on 23 April 2013 in the journal Nature Communications. April 24 April 25 April 26 April 27 Russian and Austrian scientists have created glowing plants using mushroom genes, as revealed in the journal Nature Biotechnology on 27 April 2020. April 28 A Russian Soyuz 2.1a rocket carrying Lomonosov, Aist-2D and SamSat-218 satellites was successfully launched from the new Vostochny cosmodrome on 28 April 2016. Suren Gazaryan of Russia won the 2014 Goldman Environmental Prize for leading multiple campaigns exposing corruption and illegal exploitation of federally protected forestland along Russia’s Black Sea coast. Russia and China signed trade contracts worth 15 billion U.S. dollars on 28 April 2012 in order to expand their cooperation in various fields, including finance, direct investment, energy, mechanical and electronic products. April 29 Russia has scrapped about 25,000 tons of chemical weapons or about 62% of its chemical arsenal by 29 April 2012, which marks the 15th anniversary of the international Chemical Weapons Convention, an arms control agreement which outlaws the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons. April 30 Russian Space Agency (Roskosmos) signed a $424 million extension to its contract with NASA on 30 April 2013 for full transportation services for the U.S. astronauts to the International Space Station in 2016 with return and rescue services extending through June 2017.

May

May 1 May 2 May 3 May 4 May 5 May 6 May 7 May 8 May 9 May 10 Russian scientist Dr. Olga Speranskaya was awarded the prestigious 2011 Champions of the Earth Award by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on May 10, 2011. She was awarded for successfully mobilizing civil society in eliminating obsolete pesticides and toxic chemicals in the former Soviet region. May 11 Russia’s Maria Sharapova won her first Mutua Madrid Open tennis title on 11 May 2014 beating Romania’s Simona Halep 1-6, 6-2, 6-3. May 12 May 13 May 14 In the spirit of sportsmanship, Russia scraped visa requirements for athletes, coaches and other staff attending international sporting events in Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the decree on 14 May 2013 that went into effect immediately. May 15 Two Russians and an American on 15 May 2012 blasted off for the International Space Station (ISS) on a Soyuz rocket in Russia's first manned space launch for almost five months. May 16 May 17 May 18 May 19 May 20 A team of international and Russian researchers has assessed the population history of the region of Lake Baikal in Siberia and found a clear transcontinental connection between the native people of Siberia and North America. Their study was published in the journal Cell on 20 May 2020. Russian professional tennis player Maria Sharapova defended her Italian Open title on 20 May 2012, beating China's Li Na 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5) in a rain interrupted final. May 21 Russia and China signed a $400-billion 30-year gas supply deal on 21 May 2014, securing China a major source of cleaner fuel and opening up a new market for Russia. May 22 May 23 May 24 Russian film director Andrey Zvyagintsev won the award for Best Screenplay at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival for his film Leviathan. May 25 Russia won the 2014 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships defeating Finland 5-2 in the final. May 26 May 27 May 28 Russia and Costa Rica on 28 May 2018 signed an intergovernmental agreement on the visa-free travel, scraping visa formalities for the mutual visits of Russian and Costa Rican citizens. Russia carried out the maiden flight of its new MS-21 medium-range passenger plane on 28 May 2017. The aircraft completed a 30-minute flight at a height of 1,000 meters and traveling at 300 km an hour. Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev’s film NELYUBOV (Loveless) won the Jury Award at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. Russian Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft carried three new crew members from Russia, the USA and Germany on an express trip to the International Space Station on 28 May 2014. They are scheduled to stay in orbit for six months. May 29 Russia successfully launched a Glonass-M navigation satellite aboard a Soyuz 2-1B rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome on 29 July 2016. Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus signed a historic treaty on 29 May 2014 forming a new trading bloc known as the Eurasian Economic Union. The Eurasian Economic Union – which follows years of tense and difficult negotiations – guarantees the free transit of goods, services, capital and workforces and coordinates policy for the members’ financial systems. Alexei A. Starobinsky of Russia jointly with two other American scientists won the prestigious 2014 Kavli Prize in Astrophysics for pioneering the theory of cosmic inflation. Three new crew members, including Russian Fyodor Yurchikhin, arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) on 29 May 2013 in just under six hours aboard the Russian Soyuz TMA-09M spacecraft after launching from Kazakhstan. The crew members are expected to remain on the space station for the next six months and perform more than 100 science experiments. Russian scientists uncovered a well-preserved carcass of a female woolly mammoth with liquid blood on a remote island in the Arctic Ocean, according to an official announcement on 29 May 2013, raising hope of cloning the prehistoric animal. May 30 May 31

June

June 1 A law banning smoking in cafes, bars, restaurants, hotels, shops, markets, shopping centers and long-distance journeys on ships and trains came into effect in Russia on 1 June 2014. Ban on smoking in certain public places came into effect in Russia on 1 June 2013. The new legislation will see smoking prohibited within 15 meters of entrances to stations, airports, metro stations and ports, workplaces and entrances to apartment blocks, children's playgrounds and beaches. June 2 June 3 Alexey Sitev, Sukhrob Kamolov and Alexander Smoleevskiy from Russia joined the project MARS-500 along with two Europeans and one Chinese. Under the project MARS-500 all six men were locked away from the outside world inside a sealed facility for the next 18 months, starting from 3 June 2010, in an unprecedented simulation of a manned mission to Mars. June 4 June 5 Russia on 5 June 2015 successfully launched a military satellite into space by a Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket from the Plesetsk space center in northern Russia. June 6 June 7 A team of Russian and international scientists have discovered a tiny creature that came back to life 24,000 years after it was frozen in northeastern Siberia’s permafrost. Resembling a worm, the multicellular organism, known as a bdelloid rotifer, was described in the journal Current Biology on 7 June 2021. Russian and Australian scientists have identified a new species of dinosaur, named the Australotitan cooperensis or the southern titan, as the largest ever found in Australia. The dinosaur, discovered in 2007 in south-west Queensland, was detailed in PeerJ — the Journal of Life and Environmental Sciences on 7 June 2021. Russian Maria Sharapova won her second French Open tennis title beating Simona Halep 6-4, 6-7, 6-4 on 7 June 2014. June 8 June 9 Russian superstar Maria Sharapova completed career grand slam after storming to French Open Women's singles title on 9 June 2012 with a straight-sets 6-3 6-2 triumph over Italian Sara Errani. Sharapova became the 10th woman in history to win all four major titles. June 10 June 11 June 12 On 12 June 1991 Boris Yeltsin became the first democratically elected President of Russia. June 13 June 14 Russia successfully launched a supply ship, Progress MS-06 cargo ship, to the International Space Station (ISS) on 14 June 2017 carried by a Soyuz-2.1a rocket. June 15 Russian duo Valeriya Filenkova and Daria Kulagina won gold in the Synchronised Swimming duets free routine at the ‎2015 European Games. June 16 Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova, a Soviet (Russian-Belarusian) cosmonaut, was the first woman to travel in space. She was on the Vostok 5 mission which launched on June 16, 1963, and orbited the Earth 48 times. June 17 Russia on 17 June 2018 successfully launched a Glonass-M positioning satellite using a Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket. June 18 June 19 Alexander Georgiev from Russia won the Draughts World Championship on 19 June 2013. It was his sixth world title. June 20 June 21 June 22 June 23 Bolgar Historical and Archaeological Complex in Russia, contains evidence of the medieval city of Bolgar, was inscribed in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)’s World Heritage List on 23 June 2014. June 24 June 25 June 26 June 27 The first atomic power station in the world began production, at Obninsk, near Moscow on June 27, 1954. The power plant was graphite moderated, water cooled and had a capacity of only 5 MW. June 28 Russia won the Beach Soccer gold medal at the 2015 European Games beating Italy 3-2 in the final. June 29 June 30 A rare Roman coin dating back to the fourth century AD has been unearthed at an excavation site in the Russian city of Veliky Novgorod located some 550 kilometers (340 miles) northwest of Moscow, as revealed on 30 June 2014.

July

July 1 July 2 July 3 Russia successfully launched an unmanned cargo ship, Progress 60, to the International Space Station (ISS) atop a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 3 July 2015. July 4 July 5 July 6 July 7 July 8 July 9 The UNESCO World Heritage Committee on 9 July 2017 inscribed the Assumption Cathedral and Monastery of the town-island of Sviyazhsk in Russia as the World Heritage site. Russia's Angara rocket, the first space rocket developed in the post-Soviet Russia, successfully completed its maiden suborbital test flight on 9 July 2014. July 10 July 11 July 12 July 13 The Spektr-RG telescope, a joint venture between Russia and Germany, that will map X-rays across the entire sky in unprecedented detail was successfully launched into orbit atop a Proton rocket on 13 July 2019. Russia and Argentina on 13 July 2014 signed a nuclear energy deal whereby the Russian atomic energy corporation Rosatom will help Buenos Aires expand its nuclear energy production. Russian students won three gold and three silver medals in the prestigious 2014 International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) held in Cape Town, South Africa. July 14 A Russian Soyuz-2.1a launch vehicle successfully delivered 73 satellites into three different orbits on 14 July 2017, including an Earth observation satellite Kanopus-V-IK. July 15 Russian Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina claimed their first Wimbledon ladies’ doubles tennis title beating Hao-Ching Chan and Monica Niculescu 6-0, 6-0 in the final on 15 July 2017. A Russian rocket carrying an international crew of three successfully blasted off on 15 July 2012 for the International Space Station in the first manned mission in two months, where they will quickly start preparing for a frenzy of incoming traffic. July 16 The first mobile solar-powered ATM in Russia has been installed in the Siberian region of Tuva, according to an official statement by the Kyzyl branch of Sberbank on 16 July 2012. The solar-powered ATM looks like a regular cash dispenser; the only difference is that it draws energy from 16 solar batteries fixed on its roof. July 17 July 18 July 19 Russia (Soviet Union) was the proud organizer of the 1980 Summer Olympic Games. The games were held in Moscow from 19 July to 3 August 1980. July 20 A Russian Soyuz space capsule with three astronauts aboard, from Russia, the United Sates and Italy, successfully docked with the International Space Station on 20 July 2019. The launch took place on the 50th anniversary of the day U.S. astronauts landed on the moon. July 21 July 22 July 23 Scientists in Russia announced the discovery of the well-preserved remains of a woolly mammoth thought to have lived 10,000 years ago, after it was retrieved from Russia’s remote Yamal peninsula above the Arctic circle on 23 July 2020. A Russian Soyuz space capsule carrying a Russian, an American and a Japanese astronauts successfully docked with the International Space Station on 23 July 2015. The Soyuz TMA-17M capsule carried Oleg Kononenko of Russia, NASA's Kjell Lindgren and Kimiya Yui of Japan. July 24 July 25 The first ever example of a plant-eating dinosaur with feathers and scales, named Kulindradromeus zabaikalicus, has been discovered in Russia. The finding could mean that feathered dinosaurs were widespread than previously thought, as Russian scientists reported in the journal Science on 25 July 2014 in collaboration with a team of international researchers. July 26 July 27 Russian scientists have discovered a new type of mineral, named uakitite, in a meteorite in Siberia, as revealed on 27 July 2018 at the Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society in the Russian capital of Moscow. July 28 Tiger populations in five countries, including Russia, are making a comeback, according to WWF Tigers Alive Initiative report published on 28 July 2020. Russian swimmer Yuliya Efimova won the women's 200m breaststroke title at the 2017 world championships in Budapest. A three-man space crew from Russia, Italy and the United States on 28 July 2017 arrived at the International Space Station in just 6 hours for a five-month mission. July 29 July 30 Daniel Kazantsev of Russia won the Lego Education Award at the 2019 Google Science Fair for his project focusing on addressing the hearing impairment issue. July 31

August

August 1 Team Russia was announced as the winner in the Games category at the 2014 Microsoft Imagine Cup for their game TurnOn, an adventure game in which the user plays as an electrical spark which is trying to restore power to a city. August 2 Russian Grandmaster Alexandra Kosteniuk won the Women's FIDE World Cup on 2 August 2021 in Sochi defeating Alexandra Goryachkina in the final. August 3 August 4 A team of international and Russian scientists has discovered a 28,000 years old perfectly preserved cave lion cub frozen in Siberia. The female cub, named Sparta, was detailed in the Quaternary journal on 4 August 2021. August 5 August 6 Russia on 6 August 2019 successfully launched a military satellite from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with the help of a Proton-M launch vehicle. August 7 Russian researchers have detected subatomic particles Neutrinos in earth's mantle using the Borexino detector at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory in Italy. Their findings are expected to yield insights into what radioactive elements lie deep inside the earth and were detailed in the journal Physical Review D on 7 August 2015. August 8 August 9 Khasan Khalmurzaev of Russia won the men's 81kg judo gold at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in Brazil. August 10 Russia won synchronized swimming team gold at London Olympics on 10 August 2012, giving the country its fourth consecutive gold medal in the event. August 11 August 12 Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan signed an agreement on 12 August 2018 for collective use of the Caspian sea after two decades of negotiations. Russian high jumper Maria Lasitskene won gold at the 2017 World Athletics Championships in London. August 13 A team of Russian and international scientists have revealed that a 14,000-year-old puppy, whose perfectly preserved body was found in Russia, munched on a woolly rhino for its last meal. Their findings were published in the journal Cell on 13 August 2020. Russian Yelena Isinbayeva won her third world pole vault title at the World Athletics Championships on 13 August 2013. Five years after her last major outdoor pole vault victory, the Russian won the gold with a leap of 4.89 metres. August 14 Russian women’s team represented by Grandmasters Alexandra Kosteniuk, Olga Girya, Valentina Gunina, Natalia Pogonina and Yekaterina Lagno won gold at the 2014 Chess Olympiad in Norway’s Tromso, grabbing the title of the world’s champions for the third consecutive time. August 15 August 16 August 17 August 18 Russia and China launched their first-ever joint military exercises, named “Peace Mission 2005”, on 18 August 2005 — an eight-day event that symbolizes the two countries' bolstered ties. August 19 August 20 August 21 August 22 Russia on 22 August 2019 successfully launched a 180-cm tall Skybot F-850 humanoid robot into space for the first time to carry out tasks considered too dangerous for humans onboard the International Space Station (ISS). August 23 August 24 August 25 Russian archeologists have found an exceptionally rare 'beard kopek' - a coin that men had to buy under the ruler of Russian Empire Peter the Great if they wanted to remain unshaven. The newly found coin was discovered in a ruined 17th Century building in the Russian city of Pskov alongside a haul of 5,000 other ancient coins, as revealed on 25 August 2018. August 26 August 27 August 28 August 29 Public Spaces Development Programme in Tatarstan, Russia, a programme that, to date, has improved 328 public spaces all over Tatarstan, won a 2019 prestigious Aga Khan Award for Architecture. Russia (former Soviet Union) conducted its first nuclear test on August 29, 1949. Russia was the second country in the world to successfully develop and test nuclear weapon. August 30 August 31

September

September 1 September 2 A Russian Soyuz-FG rocket, carrying three new International Space Station (ISS) crew members aboard a Russian Soyuz TMA-18M spacecraft, was successfully lifted off on 2 September 2015. September 3 September 4 Russia's Saint Petersburg was recognised as Europe’s Leading Destination for the second year in succession at the 2016 World Travel Awards. September 5 September 6 Russian director Andrej Koncalovskij won the Silver Lion award for his film The Postman's White Nights at the 2014 Venice Film Festival. September 7 September 8 Russian and French scientists have unearthed a 30,000-year-old giant virus in the frozen wastelands of Siberia, and have warned climate change in the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions could awaken dangerous microscopic pathogens thought to be eradicated, as published on 8 September 2015. The 24th summit of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), a forum of Economic Leaders' of the Pacific Rim countries, was held in Vladivostok, Russia on September 8-9, 2012. September 9 Russia won gold medal in the Men's Football 7-a-side at the London Paralympics on 9 September 2012 beating Ukraine 1-0 in the final. September 10 September 11 An international team of scientists have discovered well-preserved frozen woolly mammoth fragments deep in Siberia that may contain living cells, edging a tad closer to the "Jurassic Park" possibility of cloning a prehistoric animal, the mission's organizer said on 11 September 2012. September 12 Daniil Medvedev of Russia won the 2021 US Open Tennis Grand Slam beating world no. 1 Novak Djokovic of Serbia 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the final. Russian Soyuz MS-06 spacecraft carrying two NASA astronauts and one Russian cosmonaut successfully launched toward the International Space Station (ISS) 12 September 2017. Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka broke the record for the longest amount of time spent in space as he returned from the International Space Station on 12 September 2015. Padalka totaled 879 days in space over five trips. September 13 September 14 Russia successfully launched a Proton-M rocket, carrying the Russian Ekspress-AM8 communications satellite, on 14 September 2015 from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. September 15 On 15 September 2010, Russia and Norway signed a treaty establishing the maritime boundary between the two countries in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean which ended a bitter 40-year dispute over their maritime borders. September 16 September 17 A team of international scientists, including researcher from Russia, has carried out the first DNA analysis of the tiger, lion and snow leopard in an effort to help critically-endangered cats to survive. The research, published on 17 September 2013 in the journal Nature Communications, gives clues to how big cats evolved to become top predators with superior muscle strength and a carnivorous diet. September 18 September 19 September 20 September 21 Russian, German and Australian scientists have discovered molecules of fat in an ancient fossil to reveal the earliest confirmed animal in the geological record that lived on Earth 558 million years ago. The fossil of the mysterious creature, called Dickinsonia, was detailed in the journal Science on 21 September 2018. September 22 September 23 September 24 September 25 Russia launched three members of the International Space Station (ISS) crew, including Yelena Serova - first Russian woman in ISS for the first time in 17 years, on 25 September 2014. Yelena and two male colleagues, an American and a Russian, docked with the ISS six hours after blasting off from Kazakhstan in a Soyuz spacecraft. September 26 Two Russian cosmonauts and an American astronaut blasted off on 26 September 2013 for the International Space Station (ISS) atop a Soyuz rocket that successfully docked with the ISS in less than six hours. Alexandra Kosteniuk (also known as The Chess Queen), 2008 Women's World Chess Champion, from Russia became Woman Grandmaster at the age of 14. She scored all necessary norms for Woman Grandmaster by early 1998 at the age of 13 years and 10 months but the Grandmaster title was officially given to her at the 33rd Chess Olympiad, took place between September 26 and October 13, 1998. [Source (Book): How I became Grandmaster at age 14 by Alexandra Kosteniuk]. September 27 September 28 September 29 Russian professional tennis player Nadia Petrova stunned Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland in the 2012 Pan Pacific Open tournament final in Tokyo winning in three sets 6-0 1-6 6-3. September 30

October

October 1 October 2 October 3 October 4 October 5 October 6 October 7 October 8 The Nobel Peace Prize 2021 was awarded jointly to Dmitry Andreyevich Muratov of Russia and Maria Ressa of the Philippines for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace. Russian human rights group Joint Mobile Group won the 2013 Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders on 8 October 2013 for its dedicated effort to defend human rights in Chechnya. The award - is given by an association among ten of the world's leading human rights NGOs - is granted annually to someone who has demonstrated an exceptional record of combating human rights violations by courageous and innovative means. October 9 Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov from Russia won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975 for his struggle for human rights, disarmament and international peace cooperation. October 10 Physicist Zhores I. Alferov from A.F. Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute, St. Petersburg, Russia jointly won the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physics for developing semiconductor heterostructures used in high-speed- and opto-electronics. October 11 October 12 October 13 The United Nations (UN) General Assembly voted to elect Russia as a new Human Rights Council (HRC) member for three years on 13 October 2020. Marina Potoker of Russia was included in the BBC global list of 100 inspirational and innovative women for 2017 for her personal development programmes for staffs at Rockwool Russia. Russia and China on 13 October 2014 signed bilateral agreements covering economy, trade, investment, energy, finance, high-tech and a Local Currency Swap Agreement worth 150 billion Yuan/815 billion Ruble for the purpose of facilitating bilateral trade and direct investment and promoting economic development in the two countries. October 14 The Russian Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft with three crew members reached the International Space Station (ISS) in just three hours and three minutes, setting a record by the speed of flight to the orbital outpost, Russia’s space agency Roscosmos announced on 14 October 2020. Russian photographer Sergey Gorshkov’s image of a Siberian tiger hugging an ancient Manchurian fir tree in a remote Serbian forest won the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2020 award. An unmanned cargo ship carrying supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) was launched by Russia from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 14 October 2017. October 15 The city of Moscow in Russia on 15 October 2021 announced the launch of Face Pay, a new facial recognition payment system, in all of its more than 240 subway stations, an initiative hailed as the first of its kind in the world. Former world number one Maria Sharapova of Russia won her first WTA title since 2015, outlasting Aryna Sabalenka in two tough sets 7-5 7-6 (10-8) to claim the 2018 Tianjin Open tennis title. Dmitry Moiseenko of Russia won the 2015 EPSON International Pano Awards in the VR/360 category for his breathtaking interactive aerial image of the Klyuchevskaya Sopka volcano. Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev, former president of the Soviet Union, was awarded the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize for his leading role in various peace processes and attempts to reform old Soviet policies. October 16 Divers in Russia manage to recover a half-tonne chunk of the space rock from Chebarkul Lake on 16 October 2013 that exploded over Chelyabinsk earlier this year. It is one of the largest meteorite fragments found to date. October 17 October 18 October 19 Russian Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft carrying two Russians and an American successfully blasted off for the International Space Station on 19 October 2016. October 20 October 21 Russian gymnast Angelina Melnikova won gold on 21 October 2021 in the women’s individual all-around competition at the 2021 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Japan’s Kitakyushu. October 22 Russian journalist Ilya Barabanov was awarded the 2010 Peter Mackler Award by Global Media Forum and the US branch of Reporters Without Borders for his work to expose official corruption on October 22, 2010. October 23 A Russian Soyuz spacecraft with US-Russian crew blasted off successfully on 23 October 2012 to deliver NASA astronaut Kevin Ford and Russians Oleg Novitsky and Yevgeny Tarelkin to the International Space Station. October 24 October 25 October 26 October 27 Ms. Valentina Tereshkova of Russia, the first woman in space, was awarded the inaugural UNESCO Medal on Space Science at the UNESCO Headquarters on 27 October 2017. Russian director Alexei Popogrebsky's psychological Arctic drama How I Ended this Summer received the best film award at the 2010 London Film Festival. October 28 A Russian Soyuz rocket successfully launched a new robotic cargo ship to the International Space Station on 28 October 2021 to deliver tons of fresh supplies for astronauts in orbit. The historic Bolshoi Theatre, considered as one of the world's greatest theatres, in Moscow reopened on 28 October 2011 after a six-year renovation program that has returned the cultural icon to its pre-Soviet glory. October 29 October 30 October 31

November

November 1 November 2 Russia reached an agreement with Georgia on a bilateral deal on 2 November 2011 that paves the way for its much-anticipated entry into the World Trade Organization. Russian entry would come after 18 years of negotiations and represent the biggest step in world trade liberalization since China joined a decade ago. November 3 Russia successfully launched two telecommunications satellites into space on 3 November 2012. A Russian Proton-M rocket carrying both the satellites blasted off from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan. Laika, a female Russian breed dog, was launched into space by the Russian scientists on 3 November 1957. Laika was the first ever living creature into space. November 4 November 5 November 6 Russia was crowned the 2021 Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas Tennis World Champions after beating Switzerland 2-0 to clinch their fifth title. A three-man crew successfully blasted off into space on 6 November 2013 with the Olympic torch for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket. The torch is on its way to the International Space Station (ISS), where it will be taken into space on the Olympic flame's first spacewalk in history. November 7 November 8 After 13 years of planning and two years of construction Russia started commercial natural gas deliveries to Central Europe via the Nord Stream, an offshore natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, on 8 November 2011. November 9 November 10 November 11 Russia on 11 November 2014 signed a deal with Iran to build two new nuclear reactors in Iran aimed at peaceful use of atomic energy. November 12 November 13 November 14 Russian skier Roman Petushkov won Best Male Athlete Award at the 2015 Paralympic Awards after becoming the first athlete in history to win six gold medals (four biathlon races and two mixed relay cross-country events) at a single Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi in 2014. November 15 November 16 An unmanned Russian cargo rocket successfully blasted off toward the International Space Station (ISS) on 16 November 2018 carrying essential supplies to the ISS. November 17 Russian scientists have discovered an unusual mineral never before documented by scientists: an alluring, vibrantly blue-and-green crystallized substance named petrovite. The new mineral was forged in the furnace of a Russian volcano as reported on 17 November 2020. A Russian Soyuz rocket carrying an American and a French astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut was successfully launched to the International Space Station on 17 November 2016 for a six-month mission. The Blue Stream gas pipeline, for the transport of gas from Russia to Turkey, was officially inaugurated on November 17, 2005. It was opened as the deepest underwater pipeline in the world. November 18 November 19 November 20 November 21 The incredibly powerful Russian film Beanpole (Dylda) took home two awards, Best Screenplay and Achievement In Cinematography, at the 13th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) at the prestigious ceremony in Brisbane, Australia on 21 November 2019. November 22 European Space Agency (ESA)'s three-satellite Swarm constellation was lofted into a near-polar orbit by a Russian Rockot launcher on 22 November 2013. For four years, it will monitor Earth’s magnetic field, from the depth of our planet’s core to the heights of its upper atmosphere. November 23 Russian national chess men’s and women’s teams won the 2015 European Team Chess Championships in Iceland. Nadira Isayeva, editor-in-chief of Chernovik in Russia, was one of the recipients of the Committee to Protect Journalists' 20th Annual International Press Freedom Awards. Nadira was awarded at a ceremony on 23 November 2010 for her brave reporting on the misconducts of the regional authorities. November 24 A Russian Soyuz rocket carrying the new Prichal docking module for the International Space Station successfully blasted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 24 November 2021. Oksana Pushkina of Russia, the deputy vice-chairwoman of the Committee on Family, Women and Children Issues, at Russia's State Duma, on 24 November 2020 was included in BBC's annual list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world. A Russian Soyuz capsule carrying three astronauts from Russia, the United States and Italy successfully docked with the International Space Station on 24 November 2014, in less than six hours after it was launched from Kazakhstan. November 25 November 26 Russia's Soyuz-2.1v light-class carrier rocket lifted off from the Plesetsk spaceport in Russia's northern Arkhangelsk Region on 26 November 2019 and successfully put a military satellite into orbit. Russian singer Polina Bogusevich won the Junior Eurovision song contest with the song Wings in Georgia on 26 November 2017. November 27 November 28 November 29 Russian students secured the seventh place at the global maths and science ranking, according to the International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) released on 29 November 2016. Russian weightlifter Aleksei Lovchev won the gold medal at the 2015 IWF World Weightlifting Championship in Houston, TX, in the +105 kg weight class. November 30

December

December 1 A Russian-made Soyuz rocket blasted off from French Guiana on 1 December 2012 and placed into orbit an Earth observation satellite for France. It is the fourth time that Soyuz, which first flew in 1966 and traces its roots back even further to the earliest Cold War intercontinental ballistic missiles, has been launched from outside its former Soviet bases. December 2 December 3 Russia on 3 December 2018 successfully launched three astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) on the first manned Soyuz rocket launch since a dramatic failure in October 2018. Dr. Yury Darman is a champion of the Russian conservation movement who has devoted 40 years of professional service to the Amur River − one of the ten greatest rivers in the world was awarded the 2016 MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity by the United Nations. December 4 Denis Yuskov of Russia won the men's 1,500 meters gold at the Speedskating World Cup on 4 December 2017 in Calgary. Russia's first domestically designed smartphone, the YotaPhone, was unveiled in Moscow on 4 December 2013 by Yota Devices, featuring an always-on second screen as a unique feature. The screen on the back mirrors the information on the main screen, without wasting energy. December 5 December 6 December 7 December 8 December 9 December 10 Vadim Balakin of Russia won the first place at the 2016 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year contest in Environmental Issues category for his image Life and Death. December 11 Russia and Egypt signed a 30-billion-dollar contract on 11 December 2017 for the building of Egypt's first nuclear power plant, during a visit to Cairo by President Vladimir Putin. Russian wrestler Ramazan Abacharaev won gold medal in the men’s 80kg category at the 2016 World Championships finale in Budapest. Russian duo Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov claimed gold in the International Skating Union (ISU) Grand Prix Final of figure skating on 11 December 2015. Ulyanovsk of Russia was declared as the member of the 2015 UNESCO Creative Cities Network in the Literature category. Russia and India signed series of cooperation agreements at the 15th annual Indo-Russian bilateral summit on 11 December 2014, including two concerning the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. December 12 Russian film Koo! Kin-Dza-Dza won the Best Animated Feature Film award at the seventh annual Asia Pacific Screen Awards, the region’s highest accolade in film, announced at a ceremony in Brisbane, Australia on 12 December 2013. Julia Kourotchkina from Russia won the 42nd Miss World pageant at the age of 18. The event was held on December 12, 1992 in Sun City Entertainment Center, Sun City, South Africa. December 13 Russia and Belarus on 13 December 2013 signed an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the use and development of the Russian global satellite navigation system (GLONASS). Ksenia Sukhinova from the Russia won the 2008 Miss World title on December 13, 2008 at the age of 21. She was the second Russian beauty pageant to win the title. December 14 Russia and Cyprus signed a customs agreement on 14 December 2012 setting out mechanisms to tackle customs offences in commercial relations between the two countries. The aim of the agreement is to promote cooperation between the two countries’ customs authorities, and provide mechanisms to investigate customs offences that are in violation of customs laws and regulations. Russian built first hybrid car was unveiled on December 14, 2010 by Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov. The hybrid car operates on a combination of electricity and gasoline. December 15 Russian Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft successfully delivered a Russian, an American and a Briton to the International Space Station on 15 December 2015 to begin a six-month science mission on the laboratory in orbit. December 16 Russia joined the World Trade Organization (WTO), an organization commenced to deal with the rules of trade between nations, on 16 December 2011, after 18 years negotiating its membership. December 17 A Russian capsule carrying three astronauts from Russia, Japan and the United States was successfully launched for a two-day trip to the International Space Station on 17 December 2017 from Russia's manned space-launch complex in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The United Arab Emirates and Russia on 17 December 2012 signed a bilateral cooperation agreement in the field of peaceful nuclear energy. The agreement comes in line with the UAE policy on the development of a national nuclear energy program. December 18 The most complete sequence to date of the Neanderthal genome, using DNA extracted from a woman’s toe bone found in Denisova Cave, Siberia that dates back 50,000 years, reveals a long history of interbreeding among at least four different types of early humans living in Europe and Asia at that time, according to a study published on 18 December 2013 by researchers from Russia and their international colleagues. December 19 A team of Russian and American scientists has discovered a previously-unknown dwarf galaxy KKs3 located about 7 million light years away from the Milky Way. Their findings were reported on 19 December 2014 in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Scientists from Russia, France and the USA have created a map of the distribution of water vapor in Mars’ atmosphere. Their research, reported on 19 December 2014, includes observations of seasonal variations in atmospheric concentrations using data collected over ten years by the Russian-French SPICAM spectrometer aboard the Mars Express orbiter. The Russian Soyuz TMA-07M spacecraft carrying a Russian, an American and a Canadian blasted off on 19 December 2012 to the International Space Station (ISS), where the men are to spend half a year in orbit. December 20 December 21 Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko was launched to space aboard the Soyuz TMA-3M spacecraft on 21 December 2011 from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Oleg is destined to perform his duty at the International Space Station. December 22 December 23 Russia successfully tested a new, heavy load space rocket Angara -A5 on 23 December 2014. Angara is built to replace the Soyuz, a rocket of the Soviet and then Russian space program, designed more than four decades ago. Russia and Pakistan on 23 December 2014 signed an energy deal worth USD 1.7 billion to lay a gas pipeline from Karachi to Lahore. December 24 Russia and India sealed defence deals, to buy 71 Russian military helicopters worth $1.3 billion and Russian kits to assemble 42 Sukhoi fighter jets worth $1.6 billion, on 24 December 2012 in a move to modernize India's armed forces. December 25 Russia's 4,740-kilometre-long East Asia oil pipeline went officially into service on 25 December 2012, with the completion of the section which runs between the Siberian city of Skovorodino and the Pacific port of Kosmino. December 26 December 27 Russia on 27 December 2019 successfully launched a Rokot carrier rocket with a retroreflector BLITS-M satellite and a group of Gonets-M communications satellites. December 28 December 29 December 30 Russian scientists have discovered well-preserved remains of a woolly rhinoceros that likely roamed the Siberian hinterland more than 12,000 years ago after it was found in the diamond-producing region of Yakutia, as widely reported on 30 December 2020. December 31

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