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"If we stop communicating, Putin wins. Propaganda wins": how a Norwegian organisation is supporting Russian protest art

<p>As an international student at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow in 2012, I remember studying <em>Rekviem</em> (requiem) by Russian poet <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/anna-akhmatova">Anna Ahkmatova</a>, an elegy she penned in secret as a tribute to the countless victims of Stalin’s murderous purges. </p> <p>Akhmatova’s writing revived the atrocities, delivering their darkness into the light.</p> <p>Her words spoke of constant fear permeating lives; of distrust, anxiety and betrayal; of the secret police arriving to drag you or your family away. </p> <p>To avoid detection and retribution, Ahkmatova whispered the poem to her friends who committed it to memory. She burned the incriminating scraps of paper.</p> <p>In the first four-and-a-half months following Putin’s attack against Ukraine, over 13,000 anti-war protesters <a href="https://ovdinfo.org/articles/2022/03/07/cracked-heads-and-tasers-results-march-6th-anti-war-protests">were detained</a> in Russia.</p> <p>Some estimates are that <a href="https://meduza.io/feature/2022/05/07/skolko-lyudey-uehalo-iz-rossii-iz-za-voyny-oni-uzhe-nikogda-ne-vernutsya-mozhno-li-eto-schitat-ocherednoy-volnoy-emigratsii">hundreds of thousands</a> fled Russia in early 2022, among them thousands of artists who no longer felt safe in the climate of increasing censorship.</p> <p>Some of these artists have found themselves in Kirkenes, a small Norwegian town 15 kilometres from the Russian border.</p> <h2>Russia’s protest art</h2> <p>Russian and Soviet artists have a long history of art as protest.</p> <p>The poem <em><a href="https://poets.org/poem/stalin-epigram">Stalin’s Epigram</a></em> (1933) authored by <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/osip-mandelstam">Osip Mandelstam</a> depicted Stalin as a gleeful killer. Authorities imprisoned and tortured Mandelstam, then deported the poet to a remote village near the Ural Mountains. </p> <p>After returning from exile, he persisted writing about Stalin until he was sent to a labour camp in Siberia, where he died in 1938 at the age of 47. </p> <p>Under the comparatively liberal rule of Stalin’s successor <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/131346?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents">Nikita Khrushchev</a> from 1953, the Soviet Union began to enjoy previously unimagined freedoms.</p> <p>Protest art reflected these newfound liberties, becoming increasingly provocative and experimental. </p> <p>Many famous art movements surfaced during this period, including <a href="https://www.moscowart.net/art.html?id=SotsArt">Sots Art</a> — a fusion between Soviet and Pop Art — as Russian artists tested the boundaries, exposing the grim realities and unhappiness of life under Stalin’s regime. </p> <p>In 1962, the legendary composer Shostakovich set his <a href="https://theconversation.com/decoding-the-music-masterpieces-shostakovichs-babi-yar-82819">13th symphony</a> to a series of poems by his contemporary, Yevgeny Yevtushenko. One of these poems was Babi Yar, which criticised the Soviet government for concealing the <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/babi-yar-ukraine-massacre-holocaust-180979687/">massacre of 33,371 Jews</a> in a mass grave outside Kyiv.</p> <p>In contemporary Russia, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/10/world/europe/pussy-riot-russia-escape.html">Pussy Riot</a> came to the attention of the world in 2012 when members stepped behind the altar in Moscow’s golden-domed Christ the Saviour Cathedral wearing neon-coloured balaclavas to deliver a “punk rock prayer”. </p> <p>Their voices echoed off the cavernous, hand-painted ceilings, raging against Putin’s affiliation with the Orthodox church and the homophobic, anti-feminist policies that followed. </p> <p>They were sentenced to two years imprisonment.</p> <p>Today, <a href="https://artreview.com/amidst-a-crackdown-russia-anti-war-artists-and-activists-try-to-reclaim-the-streets/">pictures from Russia</a> reveal anonymous anti-war graffiti on the sides of buildings, “no war” chiselled into a frozen river, and yellow and blue chrysanthemums and tulips left at the feet of Soviet war memorials.</p> <h2>Cross-border collaborations</h2> <p><a href="https://www.pikene.no/">Pikene på Broen</a> (girls on the bridge) is an arts collective based in Kirkenes.</p> <p>They have spent the past 25 years curating art projects to promote cross-cultural collaboration and tackle political problems in the borderland region. </p> <p>Pikene på Broen is host to the the annual art festival <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barents_Sea">Barents</a> Spektakel (spectacle), an international artist residency including Russian, Norwegian and Finnish creatives, the gallery and project space Terminal B in Kirkenes town, and the debate series Transborder Café.</p> <p>The venue has become a hub for open discussions relating to current political and cultural issues, drawing contributions from artists, musicians, writers, politicians and researchers.</p> <p>Evgeny Goman, an independent theatre director from Murmansk, Russia – about 200 kilometres from Kirkenes – has been collaborating with Pikene på Broen for over 10 years.</p> <p>After moving to Norway in early 2022, Pikene på Broen worked with Goman to organise Kvartirnik (from the word kvartira, meaning apartment), an online talk group for Russian and Norwegian artists to exchange ideas. </p> <p>Following Putin’s attack on Ukraine, Kvartirnik shifted to an underground movement for dissident artists. Ironically, the name Kvartirnik derives from the clandestine concerts arranged <a href="https://www.ciee.org/go-abroad/college-study-abroad/blog/ciee-kvartirnik-understanding-through-music">in people’s apartments</a> during the Soviet Era when musicians were banned from performing in public.</p> <p><a href="http://deadrevolution.tilda.ws/?fbclid=IwAR2PcaqY7VdLtS1zYUu4JCbD6F36KZ8JKv_FEIYsNeSTE4aKokhV7YpITas">Party of the Dead</a> is one of several Russian protest art groups who participated in Kvartirnik. </p> <p>Pictures from the snow-decked Piskaryovskoye Cemetery in Saint Petersburg reveal members dressed as skeletons, holding placards reading: “are there not enough corpses?”.</p> <p>I spoke with Goman about the art coming out of Kvartirnik today.</p> <p>“In peaceful times, art is more about entertaining,” he says. </p> <p>"But in war and conflict, art is more important because it’s the language we use to express our pain. And through metaphors and symbolism, it allows us to speak about things that are censored."</p> <h2>Countering propaganda</h2> <p>Kvartirnik collaborators in Murmansk have also produced and distributed <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samizdat">Samizdat</a> (self-publishing), an anonymous newsletter containing art suppressed by the state. </p> <p>“We have to be really smart now about how we do things in Russia,” Goman says. “Subtle.”</p> <p>Goman is pessimistic about Russia’s future. But he believes the key to moving forward is keeping communication open. He tells me the West’s decision to <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/03/right-way-cancel-russia/627115/">ban Russian culture</a> has backfired on their plan to pressure Putin into ending the war against Ukraine. </p> <p>Instead, he says, the divide is steadily increasing, leaving dissident artists isolated inside a country operating on fear and propaganda, furthering Putin’s agenda. </p> <p>“Putin wants us to not affect Russian minds. And that’s why we have to keep the dialogue going,” he says of the importance of cross-border collaborations like those he has undertaken in Kirkenes.</p> <p>"If we stop communicating, Putin wins. Propaganda wins."</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/if-we-stop-communicating-putin-wins-propaganda-wins-how-a-norwegian-organisation-is-supporting-russian-protest-art-186911" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

Art

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Arnold Schwarzenegger sends message to Putin

<p dir="ltr">Arnold Schwarzenegger <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/russia-ukraine-war-arnold-schwarzenegger-makes-direct-plea-to-putin-on-ukraine-invasion/GH3BSFAAWV6EYOS7FG75UANVZE/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has sent</a> out a message aimed at Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian people about the invasion of Ukraine, calling on the people to listen to him as a “long-time friend” as he sheds light on the “truth”.</p> <p dir="ltr">The 74-year-old shared a video on social media, in which he described his love for Russia and its people and harsh criticisms of Putin and the Kremlin.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-08db5796-7fff-9587-dea0-06e634334a1a"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“To President Putin, I say, you started this war. You are leading this war. You can stop this war,” Schwarzenegger said in the clip.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CbMXaQRltOt/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CbMXaQRltOt/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Arnold Schwarzenegger (@schwarzenegger)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">He began by saying he was sharing his message through “various different channels” to reach the Russian people, including those serving in Ukraine.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I’m speaking to you today because there are things going on in the world that are being kept from you, terrible things you should know about,” Schwarzenegger began the clip.</p> <p dir="ltr">In the nine-minute clip, the <em>Terminator </em>star spoke of his Russian hero, weightlifter Yury Vlasov, and how meeting him sparked his long-held friendship with the Russian people.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Ever since I was 14 years old I’ve had nothing but affection and respect for the people of Russia,” he continued.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-7417a1c5-7fff-b2cc-e32c-eed57545005f"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“The strength and the heart of the Russian people have always inspired me.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/03/arnie-russia1.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Arnold Schwarzenegger has visited Russia numerous times over the years, including visiting Moscow in 1996 (pictured). Image: Getty Images</em></p> <p dir="ltr">Schwarzenegger went on to say it was these feelings that made him speak out and want to tell the people the truth about the war in Ukraine.</p> <p dir="ltr">“No one likes to hear something critical about their government, I understand that, but as a longtime friend of the Russian people, I hope that you will hear what I have to say,” he said, adding that he was speaking with the same “heartfelt concern” he used in a message to the American people following the January 6 insurrection attempt.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I know that your government has told you that this is a war to denazify Ukraine. Denazify Ukraine? This is not true!</p> <p dir="ltr">“Ukraine is a country with a Jewish president, a Jewish president I might add, whose father’s three brothers were all murdered by the Nazis.</p> <p dir="ltr">“You see, Ukraine did not start this war. Neither did the nationalists or Nazis. Those in power in the Kremlin started the war. This is not the Russian people’s war.</p> <p dir="ltr">“As a matter of fact … what you should know is that 141 nations at the UN voted that Russia was the aggressor.</p> <p dir="ltr">“They called for it to remove its troops immediately. Only four countries in the entire world voted with Russia. This is a fact.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Schwarzenegger spoke about how Russian artillery and bombs have destroyed “whole city blocks”, including hospitals, and of the three million refugees who have fled the country.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It is a humanitarian crisis,” he said. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Because of its brutality, Russia is now isolated from the society of nations. You’re also not being told the truth about the consequences of this war on Russia itself.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I regret to tell you that thousands of Russian soldiers have been killed.</p> <p dir="ltr">“They have been caught between Ukrainians fighting for their homeland and the Russian leadership fighting for conquest.”</p> <p dir="ltr">He said that both the citizens and soldiers had been lied to by the government, and that the wildly different things they have been told - from going to fight Nazis to particpating in training exercises - were all false.</p> <p dir="ltr">He then questioned the Russian government’s willingness to sacrifice soldiers for “your own ambitions”, and urged Russians listening to help him spread the truth.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Let your fellow Russians know the human catastrophe that is happening in Ukraine,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">Schwarzenegger’s message came as Ukrainian cities continued to be bombed, with the capital Kyiv being the target of missiles early on Thursday morning.</p> <p dir="ltr">The southern city of Mariupol was also the target of heavy attack, with city officials estimating at least 2400 people had died as a result.</p> <p dir="ltr">According to US authorities, an estimated 28,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded during the three-week invasion.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-b7521013-7fff-d307-95ca-d5be4c8e23a0"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: @schwarzenegger (Instagram)</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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Putin’s allies in tears over sanctions impacting luxury homes

<p dir="ltr">A Russian TV host has complained about sanctions imposed on Russia by the European Union and how they are impacting his various luxury properties in Italy. </p> <p dir="ltr">Vladimir Soloviev was angered to tears as he discussed the restrictions, and how he was now facing the loss of his two luxury villas in Lake Como: a popular location for Hollywood’s elite. </p> <p dir="ltr">The TV host, who is known for strident attacks on the West, flew into a passionate rage as he debated Italy’s property rights. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I was told that Europe is a citadel of rights, that everything is permitted, that’s what they said … I know from personal experience about the so-called ‘sacred property rights’,’’ he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">During Friday’s program of <em>The Evening With Vladimir Soloviev</em>, he complained, “I bought it, paid a crazy amount of taxes, I did everything. And suddenly someone makes a decision that this journalist is now on the list of sanctions.” </p> <p dir="ltr">“And right away it affects your real estate. Wait a minute. But you told us that Europe has sacred property rights!”</p> <p dir="ltr">A disgusted Soloviev said of the sanctions, “All of a sudden, now they say: ‘Are you Russian? Then we will close your bank account, if it’s in Europe. And if it’s in England, you’re allowed to keep no more than a certain amount there. Why? Because you’re Russian.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Following Soloviev’s on-air spat, hundreds of people flocked to Twitter to express their disgust at his rant, noting that people were dying while he was only concerned about his holiday home. </p> <p dir="ltr">As he concluded his rant, Soloviev looked at his watch before looking at the television camera and saying, “Is Trump coming back yet?”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Russia-1 / Getty Images</em></p>

Real Estate

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West responds to Putin placing nuclear arsenal on high alert

<p>As tensions and fighting continue to escalate between Russia and Ukraine, the US and NATO have slammed Putin's decision to put Russia's nuclear forces on high alert.</p> <p>Speaking at a meeting with his top officials, Putin directed the Russian defence minister and the chief of the military's General Staff to put the nuclear deterrent forces in a "special regime of combat duty."</p> <p>The Russian president also discussed the hard-hitting sanctions that have been placed on Russia, and Putin himself.</p> <p>"Western countries aren't only taking unfriendly actions against our country in the economic sphere, but top officials from leading NATO members made aggressive statements regarding our country," Putin said in televised comment.</p> <p>White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the dangerous move was part of a wider pattern of unprovoked escalation and "manufactured threats" from the Kremlin.</p> <p>"This is really a pattern that we've seen from President Putin through the course of this conflict, which is manufacturing threats that don't exist in order to justify further aggression — and the global community and the American people should look at it through that prism," Psaki told ABC's George Stephanopoulos on '<em>This Week</em>'.</p> <p>She added, "This is all a pattern from President Putin and we're going to stand up for it, we have the ability to defend ourselves, but we also need to call out what we're seeing here from President Putin."</p> <p>In reaction to the nuclear alert, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told CNN, "This is dangerous rhetoric. This is a behaviour which is irresponsible."</p> <p>Given that Russia, as well as the US, typically have both land and submarine-based nuclear forces on alert for combat at all times, the practicality of Putin's order is not yet clear. </p> <p>As the conflict only continues to grow with Moscow troops drawing closer to Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that a delegation would meet in an undisclosed location on the Belarusian border to discuss peace talks. </p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

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Queen’s cousin caught in royal scandal

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The royal family has been hit with another scandal after the Queen’s cousin was accused of selling access to the Kremlin.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A joint undercover investigation by The Sunday Times and Channel 4 reportedly caught Prince Michael of Kent admitting he was willing to use his royal status for personal gain.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The sting involved reporters posing as investors of a fake South Korean gold company who approached Prince Michael seeking contacts in the Kremlin to further its business in Russia.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Though the investigation is yet to be aired, clips were posted on Channel 4’s Twitter account that revealed snippets from the recorded conversations.</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">He said he was willing to accept $200,000 from our fake company in return for making the speech. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RoyalForHire?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RoyalForHire</a><br />3/ <a href="https://t.co/qODD4Wta5e">pic.twitter.com/qODD4Wta5e</a></p> — Channel 4 Dispatches (@C4Dispatches) <a href="https://twitter.com/C4Dispatches/status/1391078183265525765?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2021</a></blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the clips, Prince Michael allegedly told the journalists by Zoom that he would record a speech giving their company his royal endorsement for a fee of $US 200,000 ($254,000).</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The 78-year-old royal also said he was happy to use his home in Kensington Palace as a backdrop for the endorsement.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The royal’s business partner, Simon Reading, reportedly said the prince could be hired for 10,000 pounds ($17,800) a day to make “confidential” discussions with Mr Putin on behalf of the fictitious gold firm.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“If [Prince Michael] is representing the House of Haedong, he could mention that to Putin and Putin would find the right person who is interested in South Korea or interested in gold,” Mr Reading told the undercover reporters.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It just opens the door, you know, which is so helpful.”</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Vladimir Putin “regards Prince Michael as a friend of Russia.”<br />We asked Lord Reading if Prince Michael’s relationship with Putin has been damaged by growing tensions between Britain and Russia. <br /><br />He said “It hasn’t.” 6/ <a href="https://t.co/r4tyH1GKDs">pic.twitter.com/r4tyH1GKDs</a></p> — Channel 4 Dispatches (@C4Dispatches) <a href="https://twitter.com/C4Dispatches/status/1391078794841272320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2021</a></blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He also described Prince Michael as “Her Majesty’s unofficial ambassador to Russia”.</span></p> <p><strong>Royal response</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Prince Michael, who is tied to Russia through grandmother and speaks Russian, has since issued a statement.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">According to the royal’s office, Prince Michael “has no special relationship with President Putin” and that he “has not had contact with him or his office” since they last met in 2003.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Since Prince Michael isn’t a working royal and doesn’t receive public funds, his office also pointed out he “earns his living through a consultancy company that he has run for over 40 years.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Lord Reading is a good friend, who in trying to help made suggestions which Prince Michael would not have wanted, or been able, to fulfil,” his office continued.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mr Reading said he regretted his “over-promise” in trying to facilitate an introduction to Michael.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He told reporters, “I made a mistake and over-promised, and for that I am truly regretful.”</span></p>

Legal

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Scientists issue warning after Russia approves world first COVID vaccine

<p>Russia on Tuesday became the first country to approve a coronavirus vaccine, a move that was met with international skepticism because the shots have only been tested on a dozen people.</p> <p>President Vladimir Putin announced the Health Ministry’s approval and said one of his two adult daughters already was inoculated.</p> <p>He said the vaccine has gone through the required tests and proven to provide lasting immunity to the coronavirus, despite Russian authorities offering zero proof to back those claims.</p> <p>“I know it has proven efficient and forms a stable immunity,” Putin said. “We must be grateful to those who made that first step very important for our country and the entire world.”</p> <p>However, scientists in Russia and around the world have issued a warning, saying that speeding up the vaccine process before final-stage testing could have implications.</p> <p>Vaccines must go through a Phase 3 trial - which involves tens of thousands of people and can take months - and is the only way to prove if an experimental vaccine is safe and works.</p> <p>To compare, vaccines entering final-stage testing in the US require studies of 30,000 people each.</p> <p>“Fast-tracked approval will not make Russia the leader in the race, it will just expose consumers of the vaccine to unnecessary danger,” said Russia’s Association of Clinical Trials Organisations as they urge the government to postpone the approval process until advanced trials are conducted.</p> <p>While Russian officials have said large-scale production of the vaccine wasn’t scheduled until September, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said vaccination of doctors could start as early as this month.</p> <p>Mass vaccination may begin as early as October.</p> <p>“We expect tens of thousands of volunteers to be vaccinated within the next months,” Kirill Dmitriev, chief executive of the Russian Direct Investment Fund that bankrolled the vaccine, told reporters.</p> <p>The vaccine developed by the Gamaleya Institute in Moscow with assistance from Russia’s Defense Ministry uses a different virus called adenovirus.</p> <p>It has been modified to contain the genes for the “spike” protein that coats the coronavirus, as a way to prime the body to recognise if a real COVID-19 infection comes along.</p> <p>The technology is similar to vaccines being developed by China’s CanSino Biologics and Britain’s Oxford University, but unlike those companies, scientists in Russia have not published any scientific information about how the vaccine has performed.</p>

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“Poorly informed teenager”: Vladimir Putin weighs in on Greta Thunberg

<p>Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken aim at Swedish schoolgirl and climate change activist Greta Thunberg, calling her a “poorly informed teenager” who is being “used by adults”. </p> <p>The world leader, 66, said the 16-year-old should quit “telling developing countries why they should live in poverty” over her campaign to cut fossil fuel use.</p> <p>While at the energy forum today Putin expressed he did not share the same excitement about Thunberg’s United Nations speech last month. </p> <p>The swede unleashed at the UN summit in New York when she denounced world leaders for failing to tackle climate change issues. </p> <p>While Putin did not name any specific groups, he said it was “deplorable” Thunberg was being used by groups to achieve their own goals. </p> <p>“I may disappoint you,” the Russian leader said at  a session titled<span> </span>Energy Partnership for Sustainable Growth<span> </span>in Moscow, Russia. </p> <p> “But I don't share the common excitement about the speech by Greta Thunberg.</p> <p>“No one has explained to Greta that the modern world is complex and different and...people in Africa or in many Asian countries want to live at the same wealth level as in Sweden.</p> <p>“Go and explain to developing countries why they should continue living in poverty and not be like Sweden.”</p> <p>US President Donald Trump mocked Thunberg and Canadian Member of Parliament Maxime Bernier labelled her alarmist and mentally unstable. </p> <p>Thunberg was not deterred by the comments however and said the mockery of children who were protesting showed her message had become “too loud to handle”. </p> <p>Putin said while young people who paid attention to environmental issues should be supported, he believes: “when someone is using children and teenagers in personal interests, it only deserves to be condemned.</p> <p>“I'm sure that Greta is a kind and very sincere girl. But adults must do everything not to bring teenagers and children into some extreme situations.”</p> <p>Thunberg made international headlines in September as she inspired millions of people across 150 countries to take to the streets for the Global Strike 4 Climate.</p>

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President Donald Trump grilled in 60 Minutes interview: "I'm not a baby"

<p>US President Donald Trump has faced some tough questioning in an interview with the US’s 60 Minutes program, which airs on the CBS network. Journalist Lesley Stahl grilled the President on everything from his close ties with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Russian interference with the 2016 election, and the cutthroat nature of Capitol Hill.</p> <p>In a sign of his tumultuous presidency, that has been filled with scandal and the resignation of several cabinet members and advisers, the commander-in-chief said he mistrusted some of his staff, and called Washington DC “a vicious, vicious place,” reports <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/current-affairs/donald-trump-grilled-in-extensive-60-minutes-interview/news-story/445a1688bddf5722c68d738be2940df7" target="_blank">news.com.au</a>. “I don’t trust everybody in the White House, I’ll be honest with you,” said Mr Trump.</p> <p>“I’m not a baby. It’s a tough business. This is a vicious place. Washington DC is a vicious, vicious place. The attacks, the badmouthing, the speaking behind your back.</p> <p>“I have some people that I’m not thrilled with. And I have other people that I’m beyond thrilled with.”</p> <p>When questioning turned to President Trump’s close relationship with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, he was unrepentant about his recent comment that the pair “fell in love”.</p> <p>“And then we fell in love, OK? No, really. He wrote me beautiful letters. And they’re great letters. We fell in love,” he said at a recent political rally.</p> <p>Stahl took Mr Trump to task on the statement, reminding him of the Supreme Leader of North Korea’s shocking and cruel acts.</p> <p>“I want to read you his resume,” said the journalist. “He presides over a cruel kingdom of repression. Gulags, starvation, reports that he had his half-brother assassinated, slave labour, executions — this is a guy you love?”</p> <p> </p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Lesley Stahl on Kim Jong Un: "He presides over a cruel kingdom of repression, gulags, starvation…slave labor, public executions. This is a guy you love?"<br />President Trump: "I know all these things… I get along with him, okay? … Let it be whatever it is to get the job done.” <a href="https://t.co/J6Gbuns2t6">pic.twitter.com/J6Gbuns2t6</a></p> — 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) <a href="https://twitter.com/60Minutes/status/1051619117789302784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2018</a></blockquote> <p>“I know all these things. I mean, I’m not a baby. I know these things,” said the President. He put his recent remarks down to “a figure of speech”.</p> <p>“Look. Look. I like, I get along with him, OK?” he said.</p> <p>It seems the pair have gotten over the acrimony which involved threats of nuclear attacks and name calling.</p> <p>“I believe he likes me. I like him,” said Mr Trump. “We have a good relationship.”</p> <p>“I do trust him. I trust him. That doesn’t mean I can’t be proven wrong.”</p> <p>On Russian interference in the 2016 election, the President admitted that “they meddled. But I think China meddled too,” he said. “I think, frankly, China is a bigger problem.”</p> <p>He said that he had taken a “tough” stance with Russian President [check] Vladimir Putin over the matter, despite claims he’d avoided the accusations of political tampering.</p> <p>“I think I’m very tough with him (Putin) personally. I had a meeting with him. The two of us. It was a very tough meeting and it was a very good meeting.”</p> <p>Of the investigation into Russian interference in the election and possible collusion with US officials, Mr Trump said it was “very unfair".</p> <p>“There was no collusion of any kind,” he said. “There is no collusion.”</p> <p>In a rare moment of humility, President Trump admitted that he had made some missteps during his tenure so far, saying, “Everybody makes mistakes.”</p> <p>He reiterated his scathing attack on Washington DC and its hard-bitten politicians as another learning curve since winning the top job, comparing the environment to the tough world of Manhattan real estate, a world he knows all too well.</p> <p>“I always used to say the toughest people are Manhattan real estate guys. Now I say they’re babies,” said Mr Trump.</p> <p>“This is the most deceptive, vicious world. It is vicious. It’s full of lies, deceit and deception.”</p> <p>And again President Trump lashed out at media outlets that have questioned and criticised his presidency, calling them “dishonest".</p> <p>“I never knew how dishonest the media was. I really mean it. I’m not saying that as a sound bite,” he said.</p> <p>His antagonistic relationship with the media was apparent when he <span>arrogantly dismissed Stahl’s probing on the issue.</span></p> <p>“Lesley, it’s OK. I’m president and you’re not.”</p> <p>Did you learn anything new about the US President from his latest interview? Let us know in the comments below.</p>

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Melania Trump’s priceless reaction after shaking Vladimir Putin’s hand

<p>A video has emerged of Melania Trump’s priceless reaction after shaking Vladimir Putin's hand during her husband Donald Trump’s summit with the Russian president.</p> <p>Putin smiles and nods in the clip as he is introduced to Melania by US President Trump in Helsinki, Finland on Monday.</p> <p>Melania also smiles during the handshake, but as soon as she steps back into position she pulls a bizarre face that many have labelled as shock or horror.</p> <p><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://imagesvc.timeincapp.com/v3/mm/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpeopledotcom.files.wordpress.com%2F2018%2F07%2Fmelania-trump.jpg&amp;w=1100&amp;q=85" alt="Melania Trump and Vladimir Putin" title="Melania Trump and Vladimir Putin" /></p> <p><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://imagesvc.timeincapp.com/v3/mm/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpeopledotcom.files.wordpress.com%2F2018%2F07%2Fmelania-trump-12.jpg&amp;w=1100&amp;q=85" alt="Melania Trump, Donald Trump (left) and Vladimir Putin" title="Melania Trump, Donald Trump (left) and Vladimir Putin" /></p> <p>The video has now gone viral, prompting many readings of Melania’s facial expression.</p> <p>“She looks like she just stared into the eyes of evil,” one user said of the video.</p> <p>“The only one in the room who understands how dangerous this man actually is,” said Aaron McCord.</p> <p>“I think she looked scared to death,” another said.</p> <p>Others have jumped to Melania’s defence pointing out her countenance looks neutral.</p> <p>What do you think? Judge for yourself below.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-7yM0Av0au0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0"></iframe></p> <p>And if you can't quite catch it, here's another video: </p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> <p dir="ltr">Watch Melania's face and body language after shaking Putin's hand. She is scared to death of him.<a href="https://t.co/4tEj7rXuLl">pic.twitter.com/4tEj7rXuLl</a></p> — KT CounterIntelligence (@KremlinTrolls) <a href="https://twitter.com/KremlinTrolls/status/1019612069379887105?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 18, 2018</a></blockquote>

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