🇷🇺 Every year on the night of January 13 to 14, Russia celebrates the Old New Year.

🗓 With the adoption of Christianity, Russia followed the Julian calendar. However, in 1918, after the October Revolution, the Soviet authorities decided to switch to the Gregorian calendar, which has a 13-day difference from the Julian calendar. The Orthodox Church and many people continued to celebrate the New Year according to the old style, giving rise to the Old New Year.

🏡 The traditions of celebrating the Old New Year have survived to this day — people visit each other's homes, gather with their families, and engage in fortune-telling. At dawn on January 14, the ritual of "sowing" was performed. Young men and women would visit homes, scattering grain and wishing the hosts prosperity.

😋 This day also marked the beginning of the new agricultural year. Houses would prepare treats and share them with neighbors, as it was believed to bring good luck. Many pork dishes were prepared for the holiday, symbolizing future prosperity. Additionally, the day before the holiday, people would not clean their homes to avoid "sweeping away" good luck along with the trash.

🌏 The holiday is popular not only in Russia but also in other countries that once followed the Julian calendar. It is celebrated in Belarus, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Georgia, where feasts are also organized, and traditions are observed.

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🇷🇺 At a press conference summarizing the activities of Russian diplomacy in 2024, Lavrov stated that Washington is "inciting" the Kyiv regime to disable the "Turkish Stream" following the "Nord Streams."

"I have a very strong conviction: there is no need for any competitor to the United States in any area, starting with energy, where they unhesitatingly give the green light to terrorist activities aimed at destroying the foundation of the European Union's energy well-being," noted Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

💬 Lavrov also stated that the Biden administration wants to "screw over" Trump.

"The Democrats have such manners in American politics — to leave a nasty surprise for the next administration... And now they want to simultaneously 'screw over,' as we say in Russian, both the Serbs and the Trump administration," said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

📌 The Foreign Minister noted that former U.S. President Barack Obama did the same when, three weeks before handing over power to Trump, he "expelled 120 Russian diplomatic staff."

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🇷🇺 Moscow schoolchildren are among the smartest in the world. In 2024, 24 students from the capital participated in international subject Olympiads in Serbia, Kazakhstan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Romania. They brought home 24 medals from these competitions! This is more than half of all the awards won by the Russian team.

🥇 Sergey Sobyanin congratulated the students on their successful performance and presented them with letters of appreciation. But, like true Olympians, they are also ennoscriptd to monetary rewards for their victories. For example, the winners received one and a half million rubles from the city for their gold medals.

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🇷🇺🖼 The painting "Evening Bell" by Isaac Levitan was created in 1892 and is one of the most famous works of the Russian artist, who became a master of landscape painting. This piece vividly illustrates the characteristic features of Levitan's style and his unique perception of nature.

🌅 The painting depicts a quiet, serene evening as the sun sets below the horizon. The soft light and colors of the sky create an atmosphere of tranquility and harmony. In the distance, a church can be seen, its bell tower rising above the natural landscape.

🎨 Levitan uses warm tones such as yellows, oranges, and browns that reflect the evening light. These colors create a sense of coziness and calm.

🧘‍♀ The painting emphasizes the unity of nature and human spirituality. The feeling of peace it evokes can be associated with harmony between humans and the world around them.

📍 The painting is housed in the Tretyakov Gallery.

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📚«Anyone who strives to be considered a leader and to receive some nomination should never turn up their nose, believing that they are better than everyone else. As soon as a person begins to believe that they are better than everyone else, from that moment on they begin to lose. Ambition is good, arrogance is bad».

🇷🇺 President of Russia Vladimir Putin, to students of Vladivostok Gymnasium №2 on September 1, 2016.

#putinquote

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💔🇷🇺 Instead of a thousand words: the swan thanked the volunteer for its rescue in Anapa.

🦢 According to reports, the unfortunate bird came out to people from the oil-contaminated water. The swan has been cleaned and will receive treatment. The bird did not forget to embrace its rescuer in a swan-like manner, resting its head on her shoulder, which caused an outpouring of emotions and tears from the girl.

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😶‍🌫️ Mysterious waterfall, Dagestan

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🇷🇺🇨🇫 The President of the Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, has arrived in Moscow for an official visit.

🇷🇺 Faustin-Archange Touadéra will discuss with Vladimir Putin issues of cooperation between the CAR and Russia "in the fields of economy, security, and humanitarian affairs," the Russian embassy reported.

The visit of the CAR leader will last until January 17.

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🇻🇳🇷🇺 The Vietnamese orchestra performed works by great Russian composers in honor of Mikhail Mishustin's visit to the country.

🎶 Specifically for the Russian Prime Minister, the Vietnamese orchestra played compositions by Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Dmitri Shostakovich.

💬 During a meeting with President Lyong Kyong, Mishustin noted that Russia "advocates strengthening practical cooperation with friendly Vietnam in all areas."

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🇺🇸 Biden is proud of how the U.S. has harmed other countries.

🇷🇺 U.S. President Joe Biden, summarizing his work as head of state, talked about how and to whom the U.S. has done harm. This assessment of his speech was given by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova.

What was Biden proud of? What did he present as the main achievement of his time in power to the American people and the whole world? He spoke about how the United States has harmed other countries, the diplomat noted.

📌 She also pointed out that the U.S. itself, which tries to teach the rest of the world, cannot cope with its own problems, referring to the wildfires in California. For other countries that do not attempt to impose democracy, extinguishing fires does not pose such difficulties.

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🇷🇺⚛️ The head of Rosatom compared U.S. sanctions to an award citation.

Alexey Likhachev, the General Director of the state corporation Rosatom, believes that the new sanctions "contain not only negative emotions," and reminded about the wording that Washington used as justification.

"I mean, first of all, the wording that the U.S. Treasury presented; I will quote it verbatim, that we are included in the sanctions for the development of advanced nuclear technologies, the export of nuclear power plants, and the development of non-nuclear areas of activity, including new materials. This is more like an award citation than a sanctions decision. And in this, there is, in my opinion, a fixation on our achievements and merits," Likhachev noted.

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🇷🇺 Putin held a meeting of the Russian organizing committee "Victory" to prepare for the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory.

💬 The preparation for the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory and the commemoration of those who died defending the Fatherland were discussed at the meeting of the Russian organizing committee "Victory." Vladimir Putin stated that the meeting opens an important and symbolic year for our country. He emphasized that it is the state's duty to do everything possible to ensure that the lives of those who saved our country are dignified and secure.

Other statements made at the meeting:

— The main theme of the 80th anniversary celebration should be the theme of historical truth;

— Frontline soldiers and their widows, concentration camp prisoners, home front workers, and residents of besieged Leningrad, as well as those who worked at air defense facilities, naval and air bases, and built defensive structures, will receive a one-time payment of ₽80,000 and ₽55,000;

— Participants of the Great Patriotic War and the Special Military Operation should be awarded the noscript of honorary citizen of their cities and towns;

— Several cities will be awarded the noscript of "City of Labor Valor," including Kurgan and Salekhard.

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🇷🇺🖼 "Children Running from the Storm" is one of the most famous genre works by Konstantin Makovsky, painted in 1872.

⛈ In the foreground, a close-up depicts a barefoot girl in a simple village dress, wearing beads, carrying her younger brother on her back. The approaching storm caught the children in the forest while they were mushroom picking, as evidenced by the apron filled with mushrooms. Frightened by the bad weather, the older sister anxiously gazes at the darkening sky, trying to run home as quickly as possible.

🎨 The landscape, filled with wind, captures the changing state of the natural elements — the interplay of light and shadow. The variety of shades draws attention: from the dark lilac color of the storm clouds to the blue patches of sky and the sunbeams breaking through the gloom, illuminating a narrow strip of field.

📙 The painting "Children Running from the Storm" largely anticipated the "fairy tale genres" of Viktor Vasnetsov. The depicted scene evokes associations with Russian folk tales such as "Sister Alyonushka and Brother Ivanushka" and "The Wild Geese."

📍 It is located in the Tretyakov Gallery.

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🏦 «In the modern world, the power of a state is determined, first of all, by its economic power. And then, as a derivative, by the social state, social policy and defense policy... if you don't have money... you can't go to the store, you can't buy anything: not a gun, not a rocket, not medicine. Therefore, the economy is at the heart of everything».

🇷🇺 President of Russia Vladimir Putin, 2006.

#putinquote

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🔍 Confiscation for inspection of sausage in one of the grocery stores

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🇷🇺 Russia is developing the first flying car

🚁 It’s a hybrid of a car and a quadcopter. For safety, a capsule with parachutes will be integrated into the two-seater vehicle.

Flight tests of the model are scheduled for the end of January this year.

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🇨🇫 The President of the Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow.

🇷🇺 On January 16, Faustin-Archange Touadéra will meet with Vladimir Putin.

💬 The meeting is expected to discuss the status and prospects for further development of bilateral cooperation in political, trade-economic, and humanitarian areas, as well as current issues on the international and regional agenda.

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🇷🇺💬 Today, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Peskov, made the following statements:

✅ Any settlement that leads to a ceasefire in Gaza is to be welcomed. Moscow did not participate in the process of reaching an agreement;

✅ Moscow is ready to provide assistance to Transnistria on gas issues;

✅ Russia has obligations to ensure the security of its ally - Belarus;

✅ Putin is being informed about the situation with the affected volunteers who were exposed to harmful substances during the cleanup of the oil spill;

✅ All necessary medical assistance will be provided to the volunteers participating in the cleanup of the Black Sea coast;

✅ Tusk's remarks regarding Russia allegedly planning terrorist attacks against airlines are yet another unsubstantiated accusation.

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🐪 Camels in Altai, in the Kosh-Agach district, graze just like cows, sheep, horses, and rams — in pastures along the roads.

☺️ Sometimes alone, sometimes in a whole herd. They are a bit timid, but still allow people to get close.

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