For years, Russia has been trying to improve its reputation around the world, but progress is regularly set back by international scandals, sanctions and the economic crisis. As a result, Russia’s development as a brand appears frozen, and international impressions of the country remain full of a thundering and stereotypical mixture of vodka, bears,...

On Aug. 21 the Russian Ministry of Finance announced it repaid the last remaining foreign debt it inherited from the Soviet Union. On Aug. 8 the Ministry transferred $125.2 million to Bosnia and Herzegovina for previously unpaid goods imported from Yugoslavia to the USSR - finally writing off the historic debts. Originally an obligation shared...

At the beginning of August a brand new Boeing 787-10 aircraft drew a huge outline of itself on a map in America’s skies, as an endurance test for its new Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines. As Boeing is an American company very few people know that a significant number of the aircraft’s features were in fact developed by Russian engineers in Moscow. ...

French goats will bring exquisite cheeses to Russian plates. / UGMK-Agro In November 2016, young French “aristocrats” packed for a trip that many only dream of. A herd of seven-month-old Alpine goats from La Boissiere-des-Landes traveled 5,000 kilometers and crossed the borders of five countries to reach a Russian farm. Their new home is now outside...

Last week German sportswear company Adidas revealed plans to close 160 stores across Russia by the end of 2017. The multinational corporation has been scaling back business in the country for the last three years - with many shops already shut down - as consumer demand continues to tail off amid the economic crisis. According to sources close to...

Fidget spinners are taking the world by storm at the moment. Everyone is obsessed with the little gadgets, from hipsters to...St.Petersburg officials. Yep, one of the city’s municipalities has officially ordered no less than 70 (just in case - they are rotating toys with a bearing in the center and small weights on three blades). The order was published...