How the USSR Changed the Face of the World

On December 30, 2022, Russians and others across the globe commemorated the 100th anniversary of the formation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). How did the 70 years of the USSR change the world?

"It was the world’s first socialist country, a system based on public ownership, state planning, social welfare and egalitarianism," Geoffrey Roberts, professor of history at University College Cork, Ireland, and a leading scholar on Soviet diplomatic and military history, said.

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Assange Requests Leave From Prison to Attend Funeral of Style Icon, Supporter Vivienne Westwood

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is requesting a leave from prison to attend the funeral of pioneering British fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood, according to the wife of the jailed publisher.

Dame Vivienne had been in contact with Assange for over a decade and remained a stalwart supporter until the end.

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📹WATCH: Russian 122-mm Gvozdika self-propelled artillery units perform combat tasks as part of the special military operation in Ukraine (video courtesy of Russia's MoD).

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Kim Jong-Un Calls to Boost Nuclear Missile Production ‘Exponentially’ as Korean Tensions Grow

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un urged a major increase in the domestic manufacture of nuclear warheads Saturday, citing the emergence of South Korea as an “obvious enemy” to the nation.

During a plenary meeting of the Workers' Party of Korea, Kim condemned Washington and Seoul for carrying out a “plot to isolate and stifle” Pyongyang, and urged a major boost in military capabilities.

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‼️Six People Killed in Ukrainian Troops’ Shelling of Pervomaisk Hospital

At least six people were killed in a hospital in the city of Pervomaisk in the Lugansk region, as a result of Ukrainian troops’ shelling, Tatyana Kovaleva, deputy chief physician of the hospital, told Sputnik.

"The death toll is at least six people, we are now clearing the rubble, so this number may still go up," Kovaleva said.

Both hospital patients and staff are among the dead, Kovaleva specified.

On Saturday, Mayor of Pervomaisk Sergey Kolyagin said that at least two hospital staff were injured when Ukrainian troops used US-supplied multiple rocket launcher HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) to shell the hospital.

💬“You grow up much faster there”: A drafted student of the DPR told how his life has changed since the beginning of the conflict.

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Poll: Nearly Half of UK Wants Prince Harry Stripped of Royal Title Following Netflix Drama

While a slim majority still believes the royal couple should be invited to the upcoming coronation of Britain’s next king, the findings indicate Harry and Meghan’s participation in a Netflix documentary may have hurt their public image more than it helped.

A new survey found that 44% of the British public believes Prince Harry should be stripped of his official noscript of “Duke of Sussex” in light of the release of a controversial new Netflix documentary series.

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One airport employee was killed at the Montgomery Regional Airport in Alabama on Saturday, after the individual was sucked into the engine of an American Airlines-subsidized plane, airport authorities confirmed.

▪️ The employee, identified only as a baggage handler, was killed while the American Airlines flight was waiting at its gate. The plane was scheduled to depart for Dallas later Saturday afternoon.

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❗️ Explosion occurred at military airport of Kabul, some people dead or injured - Interior Ministry

Over 30% of Germans Believe West Should Push Kiev Into Peace Talks With Moscow: Poll

According to the survey, 31% of the respondents believe that Western states should pressure Ukraine into peace talks, while 50% of the survey participants believe that only the Ukrainian government should make the decision to start negotiations with Russia.

About 31% of Germans support Ukraine's eventual accession to the EU and NATO after the conclusion of the peace agreement. Another 13% believe that Ukraine should only join the EU, and 10% think that accession to NATO is enough, the survey showed. At the same time 26% of respondents consider Ukraine's accession to NATO and EU as unnecessary, the poll added.

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📹 Footage from the scene

US Aid to Ukraine May Weaken America’s ‘Deterring Capacity’ in East Asia: Report

Washington may face problems pertaining to its clout in Asia due to America’s push to go ahead with its financial and military support for Ukraine, a US newspaper has reported.

“On the populist side, the best argument for limiting America’s involvement in Ukraine is likewise not ideological but strategic: that the United States is burning through munitions so quickly that it might be weakening Washington’s deterrence capacity in East Asia in the short term,” the report said.

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🇷🇺🇲🇿 Russia seeks to expand parliamentary cooperation with Mozambique, according to Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of the Federation Council, the upper house of Russia’s parliament

▪️The statement was made during her meeting with Esperança Bias, President of the Assembly of the Republic of Mozambique, in Brazil.

▪️Matviyenko reminded that Bias was officially invited to Russia in 2023. The Russian legislator expressed hope that her Mozambican counterpart would make such a visit.

🗣"During this visit, we could sign a plan of specific measures of inter-parliamentary cooperation, a kind of road map for the next two years. If you support this, we could start working on it," Matviyenko said

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Kim Jong-un Accuses US of Creating ‘Asian Version of NATO’

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said on Sunday that the United States, under the pretext of strengthening cooperation with South Korea and Japan, was creating an "Asian version of NATO."

"In 2022 the US frequently deployed various nuclear strike means in South Korea at the level of constant deployment, increasing the level of military pressure on the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] to the maximum. And, at the same time, it is pushing forward the realization of triangular cooperation with Japan and South Korea on a full scale while working hard to establish a new military bloc like Asian version of NATO under the signboard of ‘tightening alliance," Kim Jong-un said in a report on the Workers' Party of Korea plenary meeting, as cited by local media.

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"I got it from here"

📹🎄A peculiar video depicting a confrontation between Coca Cola, a symbol of Christmas in the West, and Russian Baikal cola went viral on the web

❄️In the video, Santa Claus is driving a Coca Cola truck and gets stuck in the snow somewhere in Russia. He ends up asking for help from Ded Moroz (the Russian Santa Claus), who is driving a Russian “bukhanka” van with the name Baikal on it.

The latter reluctantly helps him out, saying “I got it from here," and then tows the Coca Cola truck through the sky, flying against the backdrop of the moon.

🍹Coca Cola left the Russian market in June 2022. Baikal, created in 1973, is one of several Russian soft drink brands to have entered the cola market.

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🇨🇳A Chinese media outlet has reported that the US is “in no position” to point the finger at China and lecture Beijing on “how to deal with its relations” with Moscow.

💬“Compared with the US' alliance system, the China-Russia relationship, which is based on non-alliance, non-confrontation and non-targeting of any third party, not only conforms to the interests of both sides, but also can be more conductive in addressing global challenges,” the report said.

The solid ties between Beijing and Moscow “can help the world advance toward multipolarity, and prevent the international community from slipping into unilateralism.”

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❗️More than 16 million tonnes of agricultural products were exported from Ukraine under the grain deal, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

💬"Thanks to the corridor that we opened, more than 16 million tons of grain and grain products left the ports of Ukraine and reached the whole world," Erdogan said on Twitter.

📌On July 22, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations struck a deal to provide a humanitarian maritime corridor for ships with food and fertilizer exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports. The agreement was initially set to expire on November 19, with a possibility of extension if signatories consent. It was extended for 120 days on November 17.

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📹 A powerful storm brought torrential rain and heavy snow to much of California on Saturday, snarling traffic and closing highways as the state prepared to usher in the new year.

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❗️The Russian MoD says that Ukrainian military-industrial complex facilities involved in the manufacture of attack drones were hit yesterday by a Russian strike.

▪️ Attack UAV storage sites were also hit.

▪️ The goal of the strike has been achieved; Kiev’s plans to carry out terrorist attacks against Russia in the near future have been thwarted.

❗️The Russian MoD’s briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:

▪️Russian Forces eliminated more than 40 Ukrainian servicemen, as well as destroyed two armored combat vehicles and one pick-up truck near Kupyansk;

▪️Russian servicemen eliminated or wounded more than 150 Ukrainian troops, as well as destroyed one armored carrier and two pick-up trucks near Krasny Liman;

▪️The Russian Army eliminated more than 110 Ukrainian troops, as well as destroyed two infantry combat vehicles, five armored combat vehicles and seven other vehicles near Donetsk;

▪️Russian troops eliminated more than 50 Ukrainian servicemen, as well as destroyed two armored combat vehicles and three other vehicles in the Zaporozhye region;

▪️The Russian Army eliminated six Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups;

▪️Russian Forces hit 68 Ukrainian artillery units at their firing positions;

▪️Russian servicemen destroyed a US-made AN/TPQ-50 radar station in the DPR;

▪️Russian troops destroyed two Krab self-propelled howitzers;

▪️Russian air forces shot down a Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopter in the DPR;

▪️Russian air defensed destroyed 15 Ukrainian UAVs, as well as intercepted seven HIMARS rockets.

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“Where are you shooting? I have no words”: A resident of a house in Donetsk where a Ukrainian shell struck speaks about attack

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