🇷🇺🎤 The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has signed a decree to hold the music competition "Intervision" in 2025, as an analogue to "Eurovision." It will take place in Moscow and the Moscow region.

The competition is organized for the purpose of "further developing international cultural and humanitarian cooperation." It is currently unknown which countries will participate in the festival.

#news

@From Russia with love

🥂🇷🇺 Did you know that "Na pososhok" is just the sixth of ten shots that guests in Russia would drink when deciding to leave a feast early?

💬 In the past, hosts would presumably stop a guest with the phrase:

"Where are you going? You can't leave! Drink ten shots — then we'll let you go. If not, you'll stay the night!"

💪 This challenge was only for the strong: if a guest left on horseback, they were honored like a hero.

What were the ten shots called?

1. "Zastolnaya" — the first tribute to the hosts. Without it, you wouldn't take a step!

2. "Podyomnaya" — getting up from the table? You down the shot as if paying a "fine" for attempting to escape.

3. "Na khod nogi" — to ensure the road to the exit is smooth and your legs don't get tangled. It was drunk with the wish: "Don't stumble over your own shadow!"

4. "Zaporizhskaya" — at the threshold, the boundary of home and the world. The threshold in Russia was considered a magical line — one could not cross it without an offering to the spirits.

5. "Pridvornaya" — in the yard, where the breeze "aired out" the drunkenness. But it was too early to relax: the shot reminded that the journey was just beginning.

6. "Na pososhok" — the equator! The shot was placed on the staff — a symbol of the traveler. If the hand trembled and the drink spilled, the guest had to stay the night. It was believed that those who couldn't handle it were not ready for the trials of the road.

7. "Stremennaya" — before the foot touched the stirrup. Without this, the horse might "disobey" and throw off the rider.

8. "Sedelnaya" — to stay in the saddle. After seven shots, it felt like a circus trick!

9. "Privorotnaya" — at the gate, the final frontier. By drinking it, the guest proved they could still control the horse.

10. "Zavorotnaya" — the finale at the gates! If a guest made it to this shot, they were sent off with shouts of: "Hero!"

😁 Today, almost everyone has forgotten about them, and we no longer ride horses. Therefore, out of the ten, only one remains: "Na pososhok"!

#traditionsofRussia

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😳 100,000 rubles is the price of a dessert for Valentine's Day at a restaurant in Moscow.

This sweet masterpiece in the shape of a teddy bear is made from dark chocolate and nut dragees of hazelnuts and almonds, weighing 4.5 kilograms. For those looking for something more compact, there is a smaller version of the dessert weighing 180 grams, which costs 3,900 rubles.

Would you spend that much money on a dessert for your significant other?

#news

@From Russia with love

🇷🇺 St. Petersburg through the eyes of a bird

#videooftheday

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🇷🇺 In Sakhalin, the fight against the elements continues, but thanks to it, school students have a legitimate reason not to attend the first lesson — on their way, they are literally being carried off to the "North Pole."

🚸 The cyclone in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is so strong that the blizzard knocks people off their feet — especially the school students, whose journey to classes becomes even more exhausting. Due to the cyclone, they are mass requesting to cancel classes.

"Today in the morning, I was walking and almost got blown away to the North Pole, it's unbelievably cold! Please cancel school," teenagers write with mistakes on social media directed at the city administration.

🤓 Local authorities, however, seeing that the kids clearly need to improve their Russian language skills, did not allow them to stay home — classes will be held in person, and there will be no remote learning.

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🇷🇺 The West is accustomed to living in a neocolonial paradigm; it has never liked an order based on respect for international law. This was stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Sergey Lavrov.

"The UN-centric order is called an order based on international, genuinely universal law, and it is believed that every state will adhere to this law. Russia, like most members of the global community, has never had problems with this," he noted in an article published in the journal "Russia in Global Affairs."

"But for the West, which has not healed from the syndrome of exceptionalism and is used to acting in a neocolonial paradigm, that is, living at the expense of others, a format of interstate interaction based on respect for international law has never been to its liking," the minister emphasized.

💬 Lavrov stated that the world order centered around the United Nations fulfills its main role — "protecting everyone from a new world war." "It is hard not to agree with the expert opinion that 'the UN has not led us to paradise, but has saved us from hell,'" he pointed out.

🇺🇳 The veto power in the UN Security Council, Lavrov noted, "serves as a sturdy barrier against the adoption of unbalanced decisions and creates space for seeking compromises based on a balance of interests."

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💬🇷🇺 "The world is becoming multipolar": Peskov commented on whether "Yalta-2" is possible with new countries, particularly China.

"There are more and more centers of power emerging in the world, both in economic and military terms, as well as in terms of security. The world is becoming multipolar, and individual poles are no longer able to ensure security and stability in the world," Peskov emphasized.

On February 4, 1945, the conference began in Yalta with the participation of the leaders of the anti-Hitler coalition countries — the USSR, the USA, and the United Kingdom. As a result of the seven-day negotiations, a document was adopted that defined the future world order after the defeat of fascist Germany.

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🥳 A joyful event is taking place at the Zoo Garden in the estate of Father Frost. Right on Christmas night, lambs were born at the Moscow Zoo branch in Veliky Ustyug.

🍼 There are two charming, strong boys. The offspring came from a pair of an unusual breed – a ewe and a ram of the Jacob sheep. This ancient breed is named after a biblical character. Jacob sheep usually have four horns, both males and females.

🐑 Jacob sheep are an ancient breed found in the UK and Scotland. Their temperament is not entirely sheep-like; they behave more like goats: they are smarter, more independent, and do not particularly like to walk in flocks, often displaying leadership. Therefore, they are also used as guards for regular sheep.

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🇷🇺The village of Kyn in the Perm Krai is a unique corner of Russia where history, nature, and culture come together.

Having received the status of the first historical settlement of the Pri Kama region in 2020, Kyn has transformed into an open-air museum where everyone can feel the atmosphere of the past.

#interestingplacesinRussia

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✨ Winter in the depths of Russia looks like a fairy tale

#videooftheday

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😍 Solovetsky Islands, Russia

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🐻 Young Masha from the Moscow Zoo is a young, actively growing bear, and she needs a lot of activities.

🍎 Zoologists are constantly coming up with new activities for Masha. She especially enjoys searching for treats. The specialists hide them around the enclosure, wrap them in paper, and place them inside toys. It turns out to be both tasty and entertaining!

#interestingvideos

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🇷🇺 Moscow positively assesses U.S. President Donald Trump's opinion on the mistake of involving Ukraine in NATO.

🇷🇺 This was reported by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

🇺🇸 Trump stated for the first time in one of his speeches that one of Washington's main mistakes was involving Ukraine in the alliance. He expressed this opinion while criticizing the actions of former U.S. President Joe Biden's administration regarding the Ukrainian crisis.

For the first time, a Western leader, not just any Western leader but the leader of the United States, has uttered these words, which we welcomed, as the issue of NATO has been identified as something the States are ready to discuss seriously, Lavrov noted during a meeting in Moscow with heads of diplomatic missions.

📌 Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized that Moscow intends to seek the exclusion of Ukraine's potential NATO membership. This was stated by Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko. According to him, Russia will demand "ironclad guarantees" that Kyiv will not join the North Atlantic alliance.

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@From Russia with love

🇷🇺🇺🇦 Vladimir Zelensky is, in fact, an illegitimate president of Ukraine; nevertheless, Russia is ready to negotiate with him. This was stated by the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Peskov.

‼️ At the same time, he added that contacts between Russia and the United States through various agencies are ongoing and have intensified recently.

#news

@From Russia with love