Culture

“Nevada Declares State of Emergency Over Weed Shortage”

“Moscow is among the world leaders in the use of digital technologies in modern urban infrastructure, ahead of such mega-cities like Toronto, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Barcelona and Sydney. By the way, in certain aspects of the index, Moscow is among the top three: digital services in the interactions between the state and the citizens – actually first place, simply first place in the world. The creation of infrastructure for the implementation of innovative solutions: according this criterion, Moscow takes second place in the world. The development of new business models based on the mass adoption of advanced technologies – third place; and an education system that meets the needs of the labor market of the future – also third place.”

"We have hundreds of television companies and radio companies. The state doesn't control them at all, it is simply impossible."

“2016 was a landmark for us in terms of HIV. Firstly, because in 2016 the growth rate of new cases decreased by half and mortality was, accordingly, reduced. Overall, we had 86.8 thousand new HIV infections, while a year ago, in 2015, there more than 100 thousand. That is a decrease of 15%."

Rospotrebnadzor, the Russian consumer rights agency, says in its report for 2016 that the number of patients diagnosed with alcoholism for the first time has been reduced by 36% compared to last year, claiming its anti-alcohol campaigns are reducing consumption.

Major Russian state-own TV channels have repeatedly included as a guest on their flagship talk shows someone identified as Greg Vainer, a U.S. journalist and member of the Republican Party’s national committee who “represents the American point of view” on global issues. Vainer’s opponents invariably take apart his arguments, the result being that the pro-Russian side always prevails in the debate.

“Our church is being oppressed, they are trying to deprive it of civil rights, trying to adopt laws that exclude the normal registration of the Orthodox parishes in Ukraine; the forced takeover of the churches is taking place.”

"At the moment, a number of tasks directed at the liberalization of penitentiary policy and the humanization of the implementation of punishment are resolved. In 2016, the lowest number of persons held in detention facilities in the contemporary history of the Russian Federation was reached."

“For the first time in the history of Russian universities - even Soviet ones - a world rating placed us in third place by the criteria of (education) quality. That has never happened before - third in the world…among thousands of world universities…Stanford and Oxford are ahead of us and we are in third place.”

“Despite the fact that Coursera is an American company, they’ve persuaded the U.S. government to lift the prohibition for teaching in Crimea.”

"[Russia has] the only constitution in the word stating that any kind of censorship is forbidden."

"You’ve seen what’s happening: An immigrant raped a child in a certain European country. The court acquitted him based on two reasons: that he speaks the language of the receiving country poorly and did not understand that the boy -- and it was a boy -- did not consent."