#rtvi

[russianreader]

Speak Speech, Speaker (The Imperialist Mindset)

One day, I hope, someone will explain to me why “progressive” Russians find the English words speak, speaker, speech, etc., so sexy and exciting that they have to incorporate them needlessly into Russian every chance they get. Do they know that, in English, these words are less evocative than three-day-old bread, duller than dishwater? In this case, hilariously (and awkwardly, too: “speak”…

[narnik11]

Саммит США-Африка: что заявил Байден и чем отвечают Россия и Китай

[beardedmrbean]

The Russian defence ministry has been recruiting prisoners to fight in Ukraine, apparently taking over from the Wagner mercenary group which was the first to adopt the practice last year.

Such army units are commonly known as Storm-Z, the letter Z being one of the symbols of Vladimir Putin's so-called "special military operation" against Ukraine. It is also the first letter of the Russian word "zek", or "inmate".

The name Storm-Z is unofficial and can be applied to a range of Russian army units active in different parts of Ukraine.

Similarly to Wagner's prisoner units, Storm-Z detachments are reportedly often treated as an expendable force thrown into battle - with little consideration for the lives of their servicemen.

There are also indications that members of other army units can be sent to Storm-Z detachments as punishment for violations such as insubordination or drunkenness.

Wagner's role

Last year, Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin - known as "Putin's chef" - was allowed to recruit in prisons after tens of thousands of Russian troops were killed in Ukraine.

He personally visited numerous jails to promise convicted criminals that they would be able to go home free, and with their convictions removed, after six months of fighting for Wagner in Ukraine - if they survived.

The group, which employed experienced mercenaries as well as convicts, proved itself as a capable fighting force in locations such as the eastern Ukrainian town of Bakhmut.

But then Prigozhin very publicly escalated his criticism of Russia's top brass, accusing them of incompetence and of deliberately starving Wagner of ammunition. Two months after staging a short-lived mutiny, Prigozhin died in a plane crash in August 2023 together with Wagner's other top commanders.

The group has now all but disappeared from the battlefield in Ukraine.

Military takes over

Reports from Russia suggest that the defence ministry has taken over from Wagner as a recruiter of inmates for the war against Ukraine.

"It is the same scheme as with the [Wagner] private military company," said RTVI, a Russian news website. "Prisoners sign contracts with the defence ministry, and after completing them they can go home or continue serving."

One member of Storm-Z, a former prisoner interviewed by US-funded website Sever Realii, said defence ministry recruiters promised inmates lavish payments: a salary of 205,000 roubles (about $2,000 or £1,700) a month, a payment of 3m roubles ($31,000 or £26,000) per injury and 5m roubles ($52,000 or £43,000) to be paid to the recruit's relatives if he gets killed.

"It all sounded hunky-dory!" he said. But soon after being deployed to Ukraine the former prisoners realised they were being sent into a "total meat-grinder" without proper armaments or without even being told of the real situation on the front line, he said.

The man - whose real name Sever Realii did not give - lost a leg in battle, but he survived, unlike some of his fellow fighters from Storm-Z.

Even though the Russian military has not confirmed or denied recruiting convicts, there are numerous indications of them being sent to units known as Storm-Z.

For example, Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Russia-installed governor of the occupied city of Sevastopol in Crimea, on 17 October confirmed that one of the two Storm-Z members recently killed in fighting was an ex-prisoner who had "decided to atone for his guilt and signed a contract with the defence ministry in spring 2023".

Also in October, popular Russian newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets interviewed another member of Storm-Z, a convicted murderer who uses the call sign Bandit. He had served six years of his 19-year prison sentence before joining the Russian military.

"It doesn't matter if you're a contract soldier, if you've been mobilised or if you are even a convict. No, we're like family," Bandit told the paper. "I just hope the defence ministry does what it promised and secures a pardon for me."

'They're just meat'

The defence ministry in Moscow first referred to "storm units" on 25 January this year, publishing a video of them training, but without going into the detail of who their members were. It is possible that the unit mentioned by the defence ministry is different from Storm-Z units which comprise convicts.

It said that the "storm units' job is to break through the most complicated layered parts of Ukrainian defences".

In practice, this appears to mean that they are often readily deployed without much consideration for their chances of survival.

"Storm fighters, they're just meat," one regular soldier who has fought alongside members of Storm-Z, told Reuters. In its investigation, the news agency also said that, in an echo of Stalin's penal military units, servicemen from other army detachments can get sent to Storm-Z as punishment for disobeying orders or drinking alcohol.

Independent Russian website Agentstvo quoted a Russian soldier fighting in Ukraine's Kherson region (whose identity the website says it has confirmed) as saying that regular servicemen were sent to Storm-Z as a form of punishment. The man shared with Agentstvo a video of three masked men who he said were members of his brigade, one of whom says:

"This means they're running out of people, and our commanders plug these holes by sending people to Storm-Z. We think this is unlawful and illegitimate. This has to stop."

One Russian Telegram account believed to be run by a military instructor involved in training Storm-Z units claimed that some of their members had been driven to desperation and attempted desertion after being mistreated by their commanders.

"People can simply go berserk because they're being treated like dispensable meat which deserves no sympathy. And this attitude is in reality not uncommon," the account calling itself the Grey Zone Philologist said.

But then, it claimed, Storm-Z servicemen are not the only members of the Russian army subjected to mistreatment by "unhinged man-eating commanders".

The UK ministry of defence says it is possible that Storm-Z units were originally envisioned as "relatively elite organisations".

In an intelligence update published on 24 October, it says they have now effectively become "penal battalions, manned with convicts and regular troops on disciplinary charges".

[mariacallous]

Little-known Russian company disappears after reporting trillions of rubles in profit

A new investigation from the Russian-language broadcaster RTVI examines a little-known Russian company called Banknota LLC that, according to financial reports, took in 3.7 trillion ($40.4 billion) rubles of revenue and made a net profit of 3.4 trillion ($37.1 billion) rubles last year — more than any other Russian company except Rosneft and Gazprom. Despite apparently earning the equivalent of 8.5 percent of Russia’s GDP after its creation in June 2023, Banknota has now “disappeared,” RTVI reports. The address the company was registered under now leads to a garden supply store in a shopping center on a Moscow highway, though a sign bearing the mysterious business’s name is still mounted above the entrance. An archived version of the firm’s now-deleted website says it offered home, auto, and business loans, though it did not have a banking license.

Russia’s Unified State Register of Legal Entities lists Banknota’s sole owner as Dmitry Frolov, a Moscow resident who the database notes has been “deemed unreliable by the Federal Tax Service.” Journalists from RTVI found that Frolov has multiple past convictions for petty theft, with his last sentence handed down in 2022. The following summer, five companies were registered in his name, including Banknota, though his brother believes he was in prison at the time. The journalists were unable to get in touch with Frolov, though they learned that in May of this year, he told tax authorities he was neither the founder nor the chairman of Banknota.

Banknota’s real owners and true revenue source remain a mystery; experts interviewed by RTVI said it’s impossible that the company earned trillions of rubles through lending alone. In December 2023, the firm informed the Russian tax authorities that it had a branch in Belarus, though no such branch appears in Belarusian business databases. If it does exist, according to experts, the company’s owners may have used it to transfer money abroad.

[alphabetsoup-blogposts]

The lack of praise for his group's role in what would be Russia’s largest battlefield success in months drew a sharp response from Prigozhin.

The millionaire former restaurateur and ally of President Vladimir Putin claimed victory in Soledar on Wednesday, and the Wagner Group posted a photo that appeared to show Prigozhin with fighters in one of the town's salt mines.

In an interview with Russian broadcaster RTVI on Friday, Prigozhin accused the military of “constantly trying to steal Wagner’s victory.”

[rfo-ona]

В Челябинской области тоже взялись за репродуктивное здоровье россиянок, а в Воронежской создали бота «Zа-рождение»

Ранее мы писали о том, что репродуктивным здоровьем озаботились в Москве. Теперь эту же идею стали продвигать в Челябинской области. Челябинки сообщают, что им звонят из страховых компаний и предлагают пройти диспансеризацию для проверки репродуктивного здоровья.

Региональное издание «74.ру» получило комментарий местного минздрава: «Оценка репродуктивного здоровья появилась в 2024 году. Своё репродуктивное здоровье могут проверить мужчины и женщины с 18 до 49 лет. Цель — выявление факторов риска и заболеваний, способных негативно повлиять на течение беременности, родов и послеродового периода. В последние годы в России отмечается снижение рождаемости. Борьба за рождаемость — одна из причин. Причиной роста числа семей, которые не могут иметь детей, во многих случаях являются вовремя не диагностированные заболевания и откладывание репродуктивных планов на более поздний период».

Первый этап репродуктивной диспансеризации у женщин включает: гинекологический осмотр, пальпацию молочных желез, осмотр шейки матки с забором материала на исследование, микроскопическое исследование влагалищных мазков, цитологическое исследование мазка с поверхности шейки матки и цервикального канала, плюс лабораторные исследования на выявление возбудителей инфекций органов малого таза для тех, кому от 18 до 29 лет. Если есть проблемы, то направляют на второй этап для диагностики.

А канал RTVi рассказал, что власти Воронежской области запустили Telegram-бота «Zа-рождение» (жесть!). Его разработали минздрав и Воронежский центр охраны здоровья семьи и репродукции. С помощью бота можно будет поговорить с врачами/инями, психологами/инями, связаться со священником для обсуждения репродуктивного выбора. Также там есть возможность заполнить анкету на тему репродуктивного здоровья. Если укажете, что не живёте половой жизнью, бот похвалит и отметит, что практиковать секс до брака не стоит.

Авторство фото: ArtPhoto_studio (freepik)

[open-society-news]

В середине 2024 года, когда все российские компании стали отчитываться о финансовых результатах за прошлый год, RTVI сделал неожиданное открытие — в России появилось некое ООО “Банкнота”, чистая прибыль которого за год составила 3,4 трлн руб. компания зарегистрирована на номинала, неоднократно судимого за кражи колбасы и водки. О том, как появилась и исчезла самая загадочная компания.

https://t.me/open_society_news/14275

[goshminherz]

В России за год появилась и исчезла компания «Банкнота», которая оказалась на третьем месте среди всех российских компаний по выручке и прибыли за прошлый год. Никакой открытой информации о том, чем она занималась, нет

Об этом говорится в расследовании RTVI. Журналисты установили, что выручка этой загадочной компании за прошлый год составила 3,7 трлн рублей, а чистая прибыль — 3,4 трлн рублей. По этим показателям она стала третьей компанией в России после «Роснефти» и «Газпрома», опередив «Лукойл», «Сбер» и «Вайлдберрис».

Кто управлял этой компанией и чем она занималась — доподлинно неизвестно. На ее уже закрытом сайте говорилась, что она занимается ипотечным кредитованием, автокредитами и займами под проценты для бизнеса.

Опрошенные эксперты сошлись во мнении, что на ипотеке и автокредитовании «Банкнота» даже в теории столько денег заработать не могла — на осуществление такой деятельности у нее даже не было лицензии.

Единственным владельцем и руководителем компании в ЕГРЮЛ указан Дмитрий Фролов по прозвищу «Фрол Вертун» — как выяснили журналисты, он многократно был судим за мелкие кражи. В момент регистрации компании он, вероятно, тоже находился в колонии и, по утверждению его брата, никакую компанию создать не мог — «у него своих мозгов не хватит».

«Банкнота» какое-то время имела офис в ТЦ Metromall. Сейчас на месте офиса осталась лишь вывеска, под которой работает другой арендатор, который не успел убрать табличку.

В декабре 2023 года «Банкнота» уведомила ФНС о наличии филиала в Беларуси — эксперты RTVI предположили, что компания могла заниматься выводом денег за рубеж. Сейчас никаких физических следов существования «Банкноты», за исключением неснятой вывески, нет.

[intnewst]

В Госдуме призвали готовить мобилизационный резерв после атаки ВСУ на Курскую область 💬Нам как минимум надо готовить мобилизационный резерв. Не для конфликта с Украиной, а для противостояния с Западом💬, — сказал RTVI первый зампред комитета Госдумы по обороне Алексей Журавлев. Журавлев также предположил, что ВСУ начали вести бои на приграничных территориях, так как властям Украины «необходима хоть какая-то победа». «С точки зрения тактики, [ВСУ] куда проще было напасть на мирные приграничные российские города, чем противостоять нашей армии на поле боя», — заявил депутат. Он также допустил, что в приграничье Курской области могут находиться набранные по мобилизации бойцы украинских подразделений, которые ранее «никак себя не проявляли» и не появлялись в Донбассе

[7ooo-ru]

В Израиле прокомментировали угрозу войны с Ираном

Израиль готов к любому развитию ситуации с Ираном, будь то в обороне или нападении. Об этом заявил советник офиса премьер-министра Израиля Биньямина Нетаньяху Дмитрий Гендельман, сообщает RTVI.

«Израиль пребывает в повышенной готовности к любому сценарию — как в обороне, так и в нападении. Мы нанесем очень тяжелый урон в ответ на агрессию против нас с любого направления... Любой, кто нападет на нас, заплатит очень высокую цену», — заявил он.

Ранее стало известно, что власти Израиля задумались о возможности нанесения превентивного удара по Ирану, если станет понятно, что атака со стороны арабской республики будет неизбежной.

5 августа исполняющий обязанности главы МИД Ирана Али Багери Кани пообещал, что исламская республика жестко ответит Израилю на ликвидацию в Тегеране главы политбюро палестинского движения ХАМАС Исмаила Хании.

Подробнее https://7ooo.ru/group/2024/08/05/619-v-izraile-prokommentirovali-ugrozu-voyny-s-iranom-grss-330247941.html

[pc7ooo]

Apple не захотела платить «Лаборатории Касперского» за найденные уязвимости

Руководитель исследовательского центра «Лаборатории Касперского» Дмитрий Галов рассказал в интервью каналу RTVI о том, что Apple не захотела выплатить компании причитающиеся по традиции bug bounty — деньги за обнаруженную уязвимость.

Подробнее на https://7ooo.ru/group/2024/06/05/298-apple-ne-zahotela-platit-laboratorii-kasperskogo-za-naydennye-uyazvimosti-grss-313783360.html

[inprimalinie]

Zakharova: Zelenski va avea nevoie în curând de o mulțime de specialiști în domeniul digital

Purtătoarea de cuvânt a Ministerului rus de Externe, Maria Zaharova, a declarat pentru RTVI că președintele ucrainean, Vladimir Zelenski, va avea nevoie în curând de o mulțime de specialiști în domeniul digital. Georgiana Arsene Judecând după cât de vesel îndeplinește Zelenski ordinul occidental de a-i distruge pe ucraineni, el va avea nevoie în curând de o generație de masă de vorbitori,…

[asestgrin]

Президент ЦАР предложил разместить в стране российскую военную базу

Президент Центральноафриканской Республики (ЦАР) Фостен-Арканж Туадера выразил поддержку идее размещения российской военной базы на востоке страны. В интервью телеканалу RTVI он заявил, что такой шаг помог бы обеспечить безопасность границ ЦАР и усилить защиту национальных сил. По словам Туадеры, российские инструкторы уже внесли значительный вклад в подготовку местных военных, обучив более 10 тысяч военнослужащих. Эти подготовленные силы уже активно задействованы в операциях по всей территории... Читать дальше »

[beardedmrbean]

A Russian chess player is under investigation for allegedly attempting to poison another player ahead of a match last week.

Security video shows the chess player Amina Abakarova smearing what is alleged to be mercury on a chess board later used by rival Umaiganat Osmanova.

Osmanova said she began feeling unwell soon later, complaining of nausea and dizziness, and security camera footage of the incident launched a police investigation into Abakarova, an article from Chess.com said.

Attempted poisoning happened during tournament

The incident occurred during a tournament in Russia's Dagestan region on Friday, according to a statement posted to Telegram by Republic of Dagestan sports minister Sazhid Sazhidov. No one else was harmed in the incident, and the tournament is scheduled to be completed Thursday, according to Sazhidov.

"The motives of such an experienced competitor as Amina Abakarova are incomprehensible," Sazhidov said. "The actions she took could have led to a most tragic outcome, threatening the lives of everyone who was present, including herself. Now she must answer for what she did by the law."

The statement was linked to a post by Baza, a Telegram news channel, and included a security video.

Poisoned player shares her experience

"I still feel bad. In the first minutes, I felt a lack of air and a taste of iron in my mouth. I had to spend about five hours on this board. I don’t know what would have happened to me if I hadn’t seen it earlier," Osmanova told Russia Today.

She told the Russian newspaper Izvestia that she saw "some tiny balls" rolling out under her board, and had no idea what it was until she realized it could have been mercury, NBC News reported. That was when she alerted the organizers.

Abakarova has reportedly said she wanted to "knock her opponent out of the tournament," Russian media RTVI reported. A police report quoted by Russian media said Abakarova's plan was to scare Osmanova, not harm her.

Abakarova has now been detained by police and is facing up to three years in jail, according to The Mirror.  Andrey Filatov, the President of the Russian Chess Federation, has also confirmed that Abakarova is temporarily suspended from Russian chess events, pending an investigation into the incident. She is potentially facing a lifetime ban. 

What is mercury poisoning?

Mercury is a naturally occurring element and is a silver liquid at room temperature. It is used in several products, including in manufacturing electronics, and can be found in fish.

Mercury is dangerous for humans to breathe and consume. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, all forms of mercury can affect the nervous system and kidneys.

If inhaled, mercury can cause permanent lung damage and brain damage, according to the Cleveland Clinic, and large amounts of mercury or long-term exposure can lead to death if not treated.

[gorky-gorod]

❗️Сотрудники службы судебных приставов получат право на применение огнестрельного оружия, законопроект Минюста РФ одобрен правительственной комиссией по законопроектной деятельности, пишет RTVI. Сейчас применять оружие имеют право силовые подразделения органов принудительного исполнения (ФССП). После принятия закона оружие могут получить не только судебные приставы по обеспечению установленного порядка деятельности судов, но и другие сотрудники органов принудительного исполнения. Директор ФССП утвердит перечень должностей сотрудников, имеющих право на ношение, хранение и применение специальных средств — аэрозольных баллончиков, электрошокеров, наручников, а также огнестрельного оружия.

[eulbkrad]

Another year. Another year avoiding FB. It feels like hiding 😶‍🌫️ It maybe 🤔 un-admitted shame of not doing enough but just venting.

If you are reading this, I choose to share with you.

But I didn’t. I choose to share with void. With someone who just simply stumbles accidentally because of tags 🏷️, or g-d knows what else .

Today I no longer can separate acceptance from giving up. But I don’t want to leave room for any misinterpretations on what “giving up” means here. It is damn hard to explain it on paper with clarity when you’re out of practice. And yes - I don’t want silent 🤫 judgement or words of encouragement. So I’m back here, in my safe place, on tumblr.

I always hold high hopes that for M to succeed just enough awareness and acceptance needs to be in place with a slight addition of support; far from what he is getting at school. That I can’t give up.

Self-talk anywhere and everywhere for no reason and to self-soothe

No attempts to make friends or to keep the ones who reach out

* Recording subway 🚇 tunnels

* Watching 2hr long videos of subway tunnels

* K-5 level cartoons

* RTVi along but resistance to learn Russian

* Talking pretend Russian to people who don’t speak 🗣️ a word of the language

* Visits to Times sq to record trailers available on YouTube for months

I used to try to redirect or mask 😷 (big negative word in ASD community that seems to me extremely self-indulgent, coming from people who don’t deal with complexities of being adult on a lower end of the spectrum). I tried to tap into whatever inappropriate and give it a spin that would bring it closer into fitting into what in foreseeable future will be societal norms.

I accepted defeat and just let it be. Sometimes it backfires badly in public and otherwise; most of the times it’s ignored if noticed. Of course, I can’t ignore it. Sheer for the fact for needing to be alert 🚨 enough to step in when it hints danger ⚠️ levels or awkwardness overload. Like with the rest of this quirky and unpredictable life, the unpleasant reality became mundane and normal. Well… MY normal. I can’t ask anyone to subscribe to it because once in blue moon 🌖, I get a day of respite into the actual normalcy and it still hurts to return into the ASD routine. Not like a bleeding 🩸 hurt more like a paper 📄 scratch that takes annoyingly few days to heal.

I almost gave up on

* not having a conversation that hasn’t been played out gazillion times already

* having hard time between picking favorite, even when it is obvious (like picking cake 🍰 over sandwich 🥪)

* Mistaken pronouns (I am not MY mom but YOURS) and preposition (the cup NOT at the table; it is ON the table)

* And general silliness of your sentence structure and thought 💭 expression

* …

I started this post yesterday after a long day of brewing thoughts 💭 of what and where to write ✍️. It’s 5:30 am and M already woken up ⬆️ like he always does regardless whether it’s a school day or a weekend. I should’ve done soooo many things yesterday but I chose to write until I crashed into sleep 😴

it’s April 2. I write every year on Apr 2. It is silly as I don’t quite believe in traditions. But in a similar vein as I can’t forgo Christmas tree🎄for New Year, I can’t skip ⏭️ and not post today. On the eve of Apr 2 I’m reflecting more than any other day. Again I’m reflecting on acceptance: personal and general. Nobody forces me to write. And yet I hold some slight hope that this is something that someone needs / needed to read. Exactly as I wrote TODAY (which for all I know might not be even the day or month or year). I read so many encouraging posts and they helped. I read so many despot cries and they help. This one is neither. But, if you read thru the end and now feel a feather 🪶-bit lighter, I’m glad for both of us. Hugs 🫂

P.S. dedicated to the lack of regular emojis bank 🏦 -lol… I used to ace social stories with pictures. I thought 💭 that in 14 years the options for OOTB emojis would expand a lot, given the number of spectrum folks and their supporters in the industry. Oh well… here is to another ten 🔟 years 🥂

🔵🟦 🌀 🗣️ 🖌️ for Ⓜ️ 🩵🌐💙

(In all seriousness, social stories what helped a lot us with transition and training for public events. Do that. It’ll be the easiest thing today you’ve done ✅ to help yourself and your kid. )