🇷🇺 Putin, during a meeting with members of the "Business Russia" organization, gave his most candid assessment of the authors of sanctions against Russia. They’re "idiots":

“We cannot be intimidated by new potential sanctions… You must not fear! Those who start fearing will lose everything immediately. But it’s essential to understand what might happen. We must be prepared for any actions by our adversaries. They’re harming themselves. You might think they won’t do certain things because it’s against their own interests. But they still do it, the idiots. Oh, excuse me.”

What else Putin stated:

— Russian entrepreneurs have achieved significant success, producing goods of higher quality than those of foreign manufacturers that left;

— Some foreign companies left Russia “with tears.” Now, major foreign businesses are approaching the Russian President with requests to return;

— If the return of a Western company to Russia is unprofitable, find a thousand reasons why it shouldn’t operate here. 999 of these will fully comply with WTO requirements;

— The West is cheating by creating preferential conditions for its companies through hidden subsidies. The President noted that Russian agricultural producers are urging him to block Western firms from re-entering the Russian market.

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🇷🇺 Work is work, but there’s always time for a rescue: Crew members of the nuclear icebreaker Yakutia saved a moose cow trapped in the ice on the Yenisei River.

“The animal couldn’t escape the ice trap on its own. We decided to help. We stopped to avoid injuring the poor creature and began the rescue operation,” said the icebreaker’s captain, Dmitry Nikitin.

The sailors ventured onto the ice, dug out the moose, but she was too weak to free herself. The crew then used a crane.

The rescue took just over thirty minutes. The animal headed toward the shore, and the crew resumed their scheduled voyage.

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🇷🇺The Motherland Calls! — a sculpture, the compositional center of the memorial ensemble 'To the Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad' on Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd.

#InterestingPlacesOfRussia

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🏙 Saratov – a cozy city with a rich history

#VideoOfTheDay

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😍 Breathtaking Dagestan

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🇷🇺 The 16th International Economic Forum "Russia – Islamic World: KazanForum" has kicked off in Kazan.

This year, the event is expected to host around 10,000 guests from 103 countries, according to media reports. Participants will have access to 200 conferences, roundtables, and exhibitions.

It is reported that Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will visit Kazan for the first time.

The forum will run until May 18.

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🇷🇺 “The proliferation of nuclear weapons will not add security to the continent”: Kremlin comments on Macron’s plans to deploy nuclear weapons in Europe

“Overall, significant efforts still lie ahead for Russia, the U.S., and European countries to build a security framework. All strategic stability is in a deplorable state for obvious reasons,” added Dmitry Peskov.

Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that he is ready to discuss initiatives to deploy French nuclear-armed aircraft in EU countries.

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🌸 Pink blossoms can now be seen in Ekaterininsky Park in Moscow.

📍 Bolshaya Ekaterininskaya St., 27, Dostoevskaya metro station

#interestingplacesMoscow

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🇷🇺🇲🇾 Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, after which they made statements to the press.

Ibrahim arrived in Russia on May 13 and will remain in the country until May 16. On the morning of May 14, prior to meeting the president, the Malaysian delegation met with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and members of the government.

📌 Key statements from the negotiations:

— Russian-Malaysian relations are currently on the rise. At the same time, there are certain prerequisites for more constructive and substantive cooperation. The two countries are "bound by longstanding traditions of friendship and mutual understanding."

— Ibrahim actively contributes personally to strengthening Russian-Malaysian relations.
— Putin highlighted regular contacts between Russia and Malaysia at various levels—parliaments, regions, foreign ministries, other ministries, and security councils.

— Russia sees prospects for joint projects with Malaysia in gas and peaceful nuclear energy. The key area of bilateral cooperation is energy.

— By the end of 2024, trade turnover between Russia and Malaysia exceeded $3.2 billion.

— The negotiations covered the full range of current bilateral issues, as well as pressing topics on the international agenda.

— Russia welcomes Malaysia’s acquisition of BRICS partner state status and will facilitate its seamless and swift integration into the group’s partnership mechanisms.

— The countries coordinate their efforts on other key multilateral platforms, including the UN, and their positions on regional and global issues are "largely aligned or coincide."

— Putin noted that Russia assists Malaysia in training qualified personnel. Around 700 Malaysian citizens are currently studying in Russia.

— Russia and Malaysia are exploring the establishment of direct flights between the two countries. Putin also emphasized growing tourism exchanges.

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📰 Hermitage to Display Restored Masterpieces by Flemish Artists

On May 17, the exhibition “Three Dutch Madonnas: Celebrating the Completion of Restoration” will open. It will showcase three masterpieces from the Flemish painting collection, all freshly restored. These precious examples of Early Netherlandish painting survived the wave of iconoclasm.

The most famous is Jan Provost’s “Madonna in Glory” (1524). Originally an altarpiece for a Bruges cathedral, it was hidden in a wall to escape iconoclasts and forgotten for two centuries, only rediscovered in ruins during the 18th century.

Provost’s “Madonna and Child” previously resided in the Hermitage’s archives. Restorers cut out a fragment from a large altarpiece composition to save the central scene. By removing 18th–19th-century layers, they revived the 16th-century purity: the crown regained its golden brilliance, the angels’ robes their snowy white, and the background its radiant light.

The third work is Jan Gossart (Mabuse)’s “Madonna and Child”. Long dismissed as a later copy, its authenticity was confirmed through dendrochronology. A distinctive feature is the blue pigment frequently used by the artist in his mature period.

A multimedia kiosk in the hall offers insights into the Madonnas’ 500-year history and modern restoration techniques. After the exhibition, the paintings will join the Hermitage’s permanent display of Dutch art.

📆 Open from May 17 to September 7, 2025

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🇷🇺 Putin amused journalists, ministers, and Malaysia’s Prime Minister during a joint press conference. He shared that while walking through the Kremlin, he posed a riddle to his guest about the thrones in the Andreyevsky Hall.

The Russian leader asked Anwar Ibrahim what the third throne was for. The leader of a country where over half the population is Muslim answered almost without hesitation: “For the second wife.”

In reality, the first two thrones were intended for Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra Feodorovna, while the third was for the emperor’s mother, Maria Feodorovna.

Putin emphasized that the traditional values of their countries might differ in some ways, but exchanging perspectives is crucial.

How would you have answered this riddle?

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