🇷🇺 Did you know that Russian youth can go to the cinema, museums, and concerts absolutely free?

In 2021, the "Pushkin Card" program was introduced for Russian citizens aged 14 to 22.

💳 The "Pushkin Card" is a bank card with a spending limit, and the funds on it can be used to pay for cultural events across Russia.

The card is completely free to obtain, and the limit is renewed every year—in 2025, it amounts to 5,000 rubles.

🍿🏛🎭 This money can be spent on theaters, cinema, museums, exhibitions, and other cultural activities.

📈 By March 2024, over 10 million people had joined the "Pushkin Card" program, and the number of users continues to grow every year.

#InterestingFacts

❤️From Russia with love

🇷🇺🇪🇺 First European Company Returns to the Russian Market

🇮🇹 Italian company Ariston will return to Russia, as announced by the Executive Chairman of Ariston Group, Paolo Merloni.

Ariston is owned by the Italian conglomerate Indesit Company and primarily manufactures household appliances.

"We are very pleased with the decision of the Russian authorities to reinstate Ariston Group as the owner and manager of our Russian subsidiary. We intend to resume operations with Russian management, fully complying with existing sanctions," stated the company’s press service.

🇷🇺 The decision referenced in the statement involves canceling the transfer of Ariston’s subsidiary to a Gazprom-affiliated structure. It was personally approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

#news

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🇷🇺 The Karelians are a Finno-Ugric people, the indigenous population of the Republic of Karelia and neighboring regions of Russia (Leningrad, Tver, and Murmansk Oblasts). Today, their population in Russia numbers around 88,000.

📜 The Karelians formed in the early Middle Ages, uniting tribes of the Baltic-Finnic group. Their history is closely tied to Novgorod Rus and later the Russian state. In the Middle Ages, Karelia became a zone of cultural and trade exchange between Slavs and Finno-Ugric peoples. After the Great Northern War (1700–1721), the region became part of the Russian Empire. In the 20th century, parts of Karelian lands were ceded to Finland, but the core territory became the Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the USSR and is now the Republic of Karelia.

📔 The Karelian language belongs to the Baltic-Finnic branch. It is divided into three main dialects: Karelian Proper, Livvi, and Ludic. A Latin-based noscript emerged in the 19th century, but during the 1930s in the USSR, it transitioned to Cyrillic. Today, the language holds official status in the Republic of Karelia, but its speakers are declining: only 25% of Karelians consider it their native tongue. Schools with ethno-cultural programs, textbooks, and literature are being created to preserve the language.

🌳 Karsikko — an ancient Karelian Finno-Ugric ritual where branches are ritually left on a tree in a specific pattern to mark events (weddings, guest visits, deaths, hunts). The number and arrangement of branches symbolized a person’s status (e.g., single or married) or a family’s fate (parents’ lifespan). Such trees, often grouped into sacred groves with carved crosses or symbols, served as sites for prayers and offerings.

🛡 Today, tourism is becoming a way to promote and preserve Karelian culture.

#PeoplesOfRussia

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🇷🇺🦣 Researchers in Yakutia have begun studying the well-preserved carcass of a mammoth calf named Yana.

🧬 Specialists from St. Petersburg and Yakutsk have already collected samples for genetic and botanical studies. While cloning the mammoth is off the table (as it requires live cells), scientists hope to decode its DNA and compare it with known mammoth genomes.

“Our current goal is to extract the DNA, then sequence it and understand what the mammoth ate in those ancient times, what flora surrounded it, and which plants grew in the tundra back then,” said Artem Nedoluzhko, head of the paleogenomics laboratory at the European University.

Experts explained that the Yana mammoth calf is an extremely rare discovery, offering new insights into life during the Ice Age. The calf is estimated to be 50,000 years old and died at around two years of age.

#news

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🇷🇺 Vladimir Putin arrived in Murmansk for a one-day working visit, with a packed schedule planned. The International Arctic Forum is taking place in Murmansk on March 26–27.

🥀 First, at Green Cape Hill, Vladimir Putin laid flowers at the monument to the "Defenders of the Soviet Arctic during the Great Patriotic War." The monument was unveiled in 1974 to mark the 30th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi forces in the Arctic. It stands at an altitude of approximately 200 meters above sea level, where Soviet troops repelled enemy attacks during the war.

📰 Vladimir Putin was presented with master plans for key settlements in Russia’s Arctic Zone and development projects for the Northern Sea Route. Plans have been prepared for 16 Arctic settlements, home to over 1.5 million people. These settlements form the backbone of investments worth 19 trillion rubles. In total, 35 trillion rubles are currently invested in Arctic projects, according to Alexey Chekunkov, Minister for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic.

#news

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🇷🇺💬 Putin spoke at the VI Arctic Forum, where he noted that it is incorrect to consider U.S. claims to Greenland as extravagant, as the long-standing geopolitical struggle in the Arctic has simply intensified. The president emphasized that U.S. plans to annex Greenland existed as early as the 1860s.

The head of state recalled that by 1868, American newspapers mocked the purchase of Alaska, calling it "madness." The proposal regarding Greenland at the time failed. Today, the acquisition of Alaska would undoubtedly be viewed by the country quite differently.

‼️ President Putin stated that Russia has never threatened anyone in the Arctic but will reliably defend its sovereignty.

He added that NATO countries are preparing the Arctic as a bridgehead for military conflicts. Finland and Sweden, the "newcomers," are particularly active. Russia has never threatened anyone, despite being the largest Arctic power. Russia is closely monitoring developments in the region, building a response strategy — the number of military personnel in the Arctic zone will increase.

#news

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📰 FSB Uncovers Scheme of Ukrainian Special Services Recruiting Russians Through "Innocent" NGO RAND Corporation – A Cold War Tool Reestablishes Contact

🇷🇺🇺🇦 Ukrainian special services recruited Russians by posing as employees of the American think tank RAND Corporation, according to the FSB. The agency reported that the "employees" claimed to work in the "CIS Countries" department and offered monetary rewards for information on military facilities and other details related to the Special Military Operation (SVO). To confirm their affiliation with RAND, the Ukrainian side provided data of the head of the organization’s European branch. RAND itself was originally a special agency that, to a significant extent, shaped U.S. foreign and domestic policy, and is managed by former White House officials, including those from the Biden administration.

🇺🇸 RAND was established after World War II and focused on military research for the U.S. In 1948, it became a nonprofit organization funded by Henry Ford. The NGO advised the U.S. government on various issues: the space race, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the doctrine of nuclear deterrence, etc. Today, RAND conducts "policy research." Some of its divisions are funded by the U.S. Department of Health, while others rely on money from Bill Gates. Over the years, RAND has collaborated with Francis Fukuyama, John Forbes, John von Neumann, high-ranking U.S. officials in national security, renowned psychologists, editors, engineers, generals, and others. The organization is currently led by Jason Matheny, a Biden ally and former national security advisor.

📌 Roughly speaking, RAND is a collective "vizier" for the U.S. and Europe, building its expertise through top researchers who, of course, do not work for free. Given their vast experience from the era of confrontation with the USSR, it would be foolish for Washington not to leverage these resources in today’s standoff with Russia. Moreover, since RAND is "just an NGO," Ukrainian cooperation with it can easily be framed as participation in "scientific research."

#news

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👀 The best panoramic view in Kazan

#videooftheday

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🚇 The Big Circle Line (BCL) — an example of a successful infrastructure project

🔝The Big Circle Line (BCL) is the longest line of the Moscow Metro and the longest circular metro line in the world.

Its length reaches an impressive 70 kilometers.

Operations on the BCL were fully completed in March 2023, when the last of its 31 stations opened.

📈According to data from the Moscow Department of Transport, the BCL is the most in-demand metro line in the capital.

It transports, just imagine, nearly 1.5 million people daily.

🇷🇺 Most importantly, all new stations will serve Muscovites and visitors to the capital for many, many years to come.

#InterestingFacts

❤️From Russia with love