Russia defence & technology updates

[Bahamut]

Leading young Russian scientist takes charge at Vector virology and biotechnology complex
By The Siberian Times reporter
09 September 2016
Smallpox expert Rinat Maksyutov appointed acting head of world famous institute at age of 34.


Recently Dr Maksyutov headed the laboratory of diagnostics - and the repository of DNA - of the variola virus. Picture: Leader ID

The complex is at the forefront of efforts to find cures and antidotes to the most virulent diseases. It is one of only two places in the world that holds stocks of eradicated smallpox.

Recently Dr Maksyutov headed the laboratory of diagnostics - and the repository of DNA - of the variola virus. He also performed the duties of Vector deputy director for scientific work.

He is the author and co-author of more than 70 scientific papers, and his doctoral thesis was entitled 'An experimental DNA vaccine against smallpox and other human orthopoxvirus infections.'

He is also involved in the research into cures for breast cancer, and the search for an HIV vaccine. He graduated from Novosibirsk State University in 2003, and received his PhD in 2010.

His father, Amir Maksyutov, also works at the State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology VECTOR, and is researching cures for breast cancer. The institute has been working on an Ebola vaccine to fulfil an order from the Russian government.

 

[Bahamut]

Arctic goes 4G as 'web crazy' Norilsk ups its speed
By The Siberian Times reporter
22 February 2016
Operator MTS plugs in key northern communities to fast mobile internet.


'Norilsk residents can be called the most active mobile Internet users in Siberia.' Picture: Kate Baklitskaya

The 'landmark' move is being hailed as leading to a significant improvement in the quality of life in nickel city Norilsk and the port of Dudinka.

MTS regional branch director Armen Avetisian said: 'Norilsk residents can be called the most active mobile Internet users in Siberia. More than 50 percent of residents use 3G from MTS, and the amount of traffic increases at 20 per cent annually.' This is 'a fast pace for current market volume', he said.

The work is due to be complete in May this year, with residents getting access to high-speed mobile internet at speeds up to 75 Mbit /s. MTS is investing 55 million roubles ($725,000) in installing 30 base stations.

Equipment was delivered to Norilsk - population 176,251, and the second largest city above the Arctic Circle - ahead of the annual freeze of the Yenisei River.

Deputy head the Krasnoyark region branch of the Federal Communications Agency, Nikolai Raspopin, said: 'It is very difficult to develop infrastructure in northern territories. In particular, this applies to Norilsk, which is located above the Arctic Circle, but is the second city in the number of inhabitants of the region.

'The emergence of 4G in Norilsk will be a landmark event for the region and especially for Norilsk. This will improve the quality of life and quality of public services.'

Norilsk and Dudinka - population 22,204 - currently has no broadband internet. Norilsk remains closed to non-Russians without special permission.

It is the world northernmost city with a permanent population of more than 150 000 people. The city has a longstanding problem with pollution.

Local photographer Nadezhd Rimskaya said two years ago: 'Norilsk misses just two things - oxygen and the internet.'

 

[Bahamut]

Irkutsk to get futuristic new $58 million Smart School, unique in the world
By The Siberian Times reporter
07 September 2015
Stunning new Danish-designed buildings will offer new hope to orphans and their adoptive families.


The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2018. Picture: Dezeen Daily

The modern 20-hectare campus on the banks of the Angarsk River in the historic city of Irkutsk will cater for 1,040 students aged three to 18. A key element is a village for families adopting children, but it will also be a kindergarten, an elementary and a high school, as well as a cultural and recreation centre.

Smart School board member and Russian businesswoman Tina Kandelaki said it was a pioneering model, bringing a new concept of education and targeting individual students' needs. 'We are implementing a model of socially responsible education,' she said.

'Smart School is intended to be a real home for adopted children, who will live with foster parents in a specially-built village and will go to school with children from regular families. While engineering this educational cluster, we pursued the goal of creating a community that can provide resources for self-development to all its members. It is, therefore, important that we will provide the best possible education for children who under other circumstances would not have the resources to obtain this level of education.'

'The goal is to raise a generation of active, enterprising and creative people'. Pictures: Dezeen Daily


Danish architecture studio CEBRA won an interenational competition to design the 'new kind of school' in Irkutsk. The modernistic design involves a ring of connected buildings with overhanging eaves and a landscaped 'meadow' in the centre. The total size of the buildings is 31,000 square metres.

'By turning a string of individual buildings containing the main functions into a ring, the emerging central area becomes an interconnected space of cross-functional relations,' said CEBRA co-founder Carsten Primdahl. 'At the same time, the gaps between the buildings along the ring make the meadow both visually and physically accessible from the outside, and allow for activities to diffuse between the meadow and the surrounding landscape.'

A white ridged roof will unite the structures, creating sheltered spaces in between.

The varying heights of the ridges and sizes of the eaves are intended to indicate the different functions of the buildings.

'The school is intended to be a real home for adopted children'. Pictures: Dezeen Daily


Mark Sartan, general director of the project, said the goal is to 'raise a generation of active, enterprising and creative people and provide an opportunity to generate positive changes in the educational system and the social sphere of the region and the country'.

The project, which is funded by the New House Foundation, has been under development by education experts for more than two years.

It is expected to be completed by the end of 2018.

 

[gadeshi]

Bust of Stalin ruled illegal and likely to be torn down
By The Siberian Times reporter
15 September 2016
Statue to Soviet dictator erected close to proposed memorial to his victims of political repression is labelled 'blasphemy’.


'The bust of Stalin that was erected today has been deemed illegal.' Picture: Denis Khanzhin

A row has erupted over the Stalin bust in the city of Surgut where many residents are the descendants of victims of political repression in Soviet times. Yekaterina Shvidkaya, spokeswoman for the Surgut administration, said: 'The bust of Stalin that was erected today has been deemed illegal.

'A commission... has approved a place nearby for installing a monument to the repressed and the funds are being collected.' She predicted the bust close to the Ob River 'will be removed'.

Another group applied in May to erect a bust to the USSR's wartime leader.

'Erecting the monument here is blasphemy.' Pictures: Denis Khanzhin

A decision was taken that the dispute should be solved by a public council due to be set up after elections to the State Duma - Russia's lower house of parliament - on 18 September.

Despite this, activists created their own council that decided in favour of putting up the statue.

Pavel Akimov, who initiated the installation of a monument to former political prisoners, condemned the plans to build a Stalin statue nearby.

'The tears of those people who had been sent here have not dried yet,' he said, according to TASS. 'Some 9,000 people were deported in 1932 - that is half of this community's citizens. Erecting the monument here is blasphemy.'

activists created their own council that decided in favour of putting up the statue. Pictures: Denis Khanzhin, URA.ru

The administration of Surgut, in the Khanty-Mansi autonomous region, said tensions flared over proposed installation of the monument due to the historic memories of the local citizens.

'Political prisoners were deported here, there was a whole village with people in exile,' said a local official. 'Now their relatives live in Surgut and, of course, they have a very negative assessment of the situation.'

Surgut was a key location in Stalin's gulag forced-labour-camp system, in which hundreds of thousands of Soviet citizens served prison terms after politically-motivated sentences.

Surgut was a key location in Stalin's gulag forced-labour-camp system, in which hundreds of thousands of Soviet citizens served prison terms. Picture: The Siberian Times

This article is a bullshit like all the western funded Russian "opposition" medias shit.

Отправлено с моего XT1080 через Tapatalk

 

[Bahamut]

This article is a bullshit like all the western funded Russian "opposition" medias shit.

Отправлено с моего XT1080 через Tapatalk

I do not know about the Siberian times funding but I find the info to be ok

 

[Bahamut]

International spotlight on Siberia as scientists unlock secrets from 'world's oldest' boy, and girl
By The Siberian Times reporter
22 November 2013
Unique remains give vital clues to man's origins and early travels, say experts.


Siberian archeologists work in the eastern part of Denisova Cave. Picture: Novosibirsk Institute of Archaelogy and Ethnography

Two separate cases this week show world scientists examining Siberia's deep past to understand the present. In one, the Royal Society in London was shown a genome analysis comparison between Neanderthals and the Denisovans, the latter from a girl's bone and teeth remains unearthed a cave in the Altai region of Siberia dating back around 50,000 years.

This points to a missing link, a 'missing human ancestor', say scientists, but also led to colourful headlines and stories on how 'ancient humans rampantly indulged in interspecies sex in a Lord Of The Rings-type world of different human groups'.

The other, based on publication in scientific journal Nature, is analysis of a 24,000 year old arm bone of a young Siberian boy which shows that the distant ancestors of native Americans looked more European than East Asian,a story revealed in The Siberian Times in October.

From this bone, scientists have sequenced the oldest-ever genome of a 'modern' human.

'Genetically, this individual had no east Asian resemblance but looked like Europeans and people from west Asia. But the thing that was really mind-blowing was that there were signatures you only see in today's Native Americans'. Picture: Russian State Hermitage museum

Disclosures about the first case were also foreshadowed in this story in The Siberian Times and are based on the discovery of early human remains in the Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains. David Reich, of Harvard Medical School, said: 'Denisovans appear more distinct from modern humans than Neanderthals. He added, according to New Scientist: 'Denisovans harbour ancestry from an unknown archaic population, unrelated to Neanderthals.'

Mark Thomas, an evolutionary geneticist at University College London, claimed: 'What it begins to suggest is that we're looking at a Lord Of The Rings-type world - that there were many hominid populations'.

Scientists say they discovered evidence of Neanderthal and Denisovan viruses in modern DNA, indicated they originated in a common ancestor more than half a million years ago. Neanderthals co-existed man's ancestors in Europe for thousands of years, but belonged to a different human sub-species, becoming extinct around 30,000 years ago.

The revelation brought vivid coverage for Siberia in the international media, with the Herald-Sun in Australia explaining: 'Ancient humans rampantly indulged in inter-species sex in a Lord of the Rings-type world of different human groups, new DNA analysis has revealed. And our ancient bedfellows appear to have included a 'mystery human ancestor' which has not yet been identified.'

The second Siberian case has sparked a cascade of interest from around the world this week, but especially in North America because of its stunning implications for the origins of Native Americans.

'Denisovans appear more distinct from modern humans than Neanderthals; Denisovans harbour ancestry from an unknown archaic population, unrelated to Neanderthals'. Pictures from Denisova Cave: Novosibirsk Institute of Archaelogy and Ethnography

As The New York Times told its readers: 'The genome of a young boy buried at Malta near Lake Baikal in eastern Siberia some 24,000 years ago has turned out to hold two surprises for anthropologists.

'The first is that the boy's DNA matches that of Western Europeans, showing that during the last Ice Age people from Europe had reached farther east across Eurasia than previously supposed. Though none of the Mal'ta boy's skin or hair survive, his genes suggest he would have had brown hair, brown eyes and freckled skin.

'The second surprise is that his DNA also matches a large proportion - some 25 percent - of the DNA of living Native Americans. The first people to arrive in the Americas have long been assumed to have descended from Siberian populations related to East Asians. It now seems that they may be a mixture between the Western Europeans who had reached Siberia and an East Asian population.

'The Mal'ta boy was aged 3 to 4 and was buried under a stone slab wearing an ivory diadem, a bead necklace and a bird-shaped pendant. Elsewhere at the same site some 30 Venus figurines were found of the kind produced by the Upper Paleolithic cultures of Europe.

'The remains were excavated by Russian archaeologists over a 20-year period ending in 1958 and stored in museums in St. Petersburg.'

Entrance to Denisova Cave, and Anui river valley where scientific 'Denisova Cave' camp is based. Pictures: Novosibirsk Institute of Archaelogy and Ethnography

Eske Willerslev, of the University of Copenhagen, and his research team, wrote in journal Nature: 'We estimate that 14 to 38 percent of Native American ancestry may originate through gene flow from this ancient population.'

Willerslev stated: 'Genetically, this individual had no east Asian resemblance but looked like Europeans and people from west Asia. But the thing that was really mind-blowing was that there were signatures you only see in today's Native Americans.'

Dennis H. O'Rourke, an anthropologist at the University of Utah, an expert of ancient DNA and the North American Arctic, urged new research efforts in Siberia to provide a better context for Dr. Willerslev's reconstruction of early American origins.

'I think it's a very important and really interesting result, but it is from a single individual,' he said.

The Toronto Star raised another issue which scientists are seeking to resolve.

'The discovery does not tell researchers on which side of the Beringia land bridge the groups intermixed, nor when they came to this continent, questions Willerslev would like to resolve by sequencing the DNA of ancient individuals discovered in North America.'

The land bridge connected the extreme east of the Siberian land mass to present-day Alaska.

 

[Bahamut]

Why more and more Russian children are studying at home
September 15, 2016 ANASTASIA SEMENOVICH, SPECIAL TO RBTH
Family education is gaining in popularity in Russia. Why do parents educate their children through home schooling, and why do they consider the Soviet schools of the 1950s and 1960s to have been the best in the world?
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There are as many versions of family education as there are families. There are also large-scale communities of parents who teach children in organized groups. Photo: Yelena Gidaspova and her son Matvey. Source: Artem Zhitenev/RIA Novosti

Natalya Geda is not your ordinary mother – besides the normal duties involved in bringing up a family, she also opted to take on the responsibility of educating her two children at home, an unusual choice in Russia but one that is becoming more widespread.

"For me, this was a forced choice," says Geda, a resident of St. Petersburg, whose son and daughter take frequent assessments at private schools to make sure their education is on track. "In the senior group of kindergarten, my son was diagnosed with asthma, doctors found that its cause was psychosomatic and advised not to send him to school, to choose home schooling.

“The understanding of the matter came later, and immersion and the development of my own method came even later than that. I am now a staunch supporter of home schooling, even if I am convinced that this form of training does not suit all families and all children. "

According to her, the main disadvantage of a conventional school is the large number of random social ties, which are unnecessary for a child. "The child is taken out of the natural ecosystem of the family, and, for 11 years, has to spend long hours, in fact, among strange people," says Geda.



According to Russia's Public Opinion Foundation (FOM), 8 percent of respondents (15 percent among Moscow residents) like the idea of educating their children at home, citing an individual approach and psychological comfort among the advantages. But not all parents are willing to take this step, as this may deprive the child of communication, they say. According to the Foundation's surveys, the greatest willingness to educate their children at home is demonstrated by older-generation parents, those aged between 50 and 60.



No single methodology
There is no single program of family education. There are as many versions of family education as there are families. There are large-scale communities of parents who teach children in organized groups – in fact, they are more like chamber private schools.




Daddy’s girls: Life at the Russian Defense Ministry's boarding school


But many prefer to teach the child right in the family, outside any groups. All home schoolers are usually assigned to a school where they are assessed for admission into universities. It is not bureaucratically difficult to switch to home schooling; it is enough to speak with the director and file an application.

Methods of assessment before final examinations – just as day schedules – differ from school to school. Natalya Geda's daughter attended a private school called Express, where she had to go twice a month to take oral and written tests on various subjects. "It was more like a conversation with a teacher than a normal school test," she says.

Families usually get to a point where children are studying in depth the subjects that they are interested in, with a relatively free schedule.

"Every day we start with a Bible reading and prayer, then we do subjects (for two to three hours) and then groups and free time begin – we do sports and music," says Daniil Chersunov, describing the daily routine for his family of four children.

Families usually get to a point where children are studying in depth the subjects that they are interested in, with a relatively free schedule. Source: Artem Zhitenev/RIA Novosti

‘We want to educate children in the faith’
The case of the Chersunovs is one of those where the parents reject standard schooling for religious reasons, as well as to give the child the opportunity to attend more additional sections and groups.




Young foreign scientists head to Siberia to build an academic career


"We are religious and we want to educate children in the faith, but also we want to invest in them ourselves, not just to do school homework with them," says Chersunov."Mom has the opportunity to work at home and teach the children on her own."

In addition, the Chersunovs want to teach their children a craft, so that they could earn a living before their prom night, not just to "distribute flyers at subway entrances," as the parents put it.

Natalya Gerda talks about a similar situation: By the end of 11th grade, her son can program in multiple languages and is engaged in web development, which he would hardly have achieved if his mother had sent him to a regular school.

School teaches ‘opportunism’
Many devoted supporters of home schooling talk about the issue of upbringing – according to the parents, today's Russian schools ignore it altogether.




School expenses grow for Russian parents


But home schooling is inextricably linked with upbringing, Natalya Gerda says with confidence. "The Soviet school in the 1950s and 1960s was the world best's exactly because of the system of upbringing," she says. "As long as our school was concerned with the upbringing of a 'new type of man,' the Soviet education was the best."

Now, in her opinion, schools care only about exam scores. What is more, the Chersunov family believes that the "school teaches concealment, opportunism and destructive qualities of character."

Still, families who would advocate a radical rejection of education are almost non-existent. There is a percentage of underachievers among home schoolers, but it is not above average for the school to which they are assigned.

 

[Bahamut]

Russian Internet giant eyes global car market
September 15, 2016 VICTORIA ZAVYALOVA, RBTH
Yandex, one of Russia's largest Internet companies, is following Google's example and plans to enter the international car market. The Yandex services recently were built into the Toyota and Honda, and the company also plans to develop an artificial intelligence system for truck drivers.
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Yandex signed an agreement with the Russian truck maker KAMAZ to create a navigation system based on artificial intelligence. Source: Ramil Sitdikov/RIA Novosti

While Yandex doesn't plan to create its own autonomous car like Google, the Russian company is adapting its technologies to the needs of major car manufacturers. For example, the Yandex.Navigator service recently was built into the Toyota RAV4 Exclusive and Honda. Also, at the end of August Yandex signed an agreement with the Russian truck maker KAMAZ to create a navigation system based on artificial intelligence.

Going global
"We plan to continue collaboration with Toyota and Honda, and are willing to working with all major car producers," said Andrei Vasilevsky, director of Yandex's laboratory for built-in car solutions. He added that Yandex considers the car market a strategic one.

"We will integrate our technologies into existing multimedia Android car systems, as well as adapt them to other operational systems and services, such as Apple Car Play and Android Auto," said Vasilevsky. "We also plan to offer a solution to improve the user experience with music, voice, computer vision and other services."

AI for trucks

Most existing GPS systems only guide trucks as if they were light cars, which becomes problematic on narrow streets and under low bridges. Therefore, truck drivers rarely use such systems.




Can Russians save Tesla?


As part of collaboration with KAMAZ, Yandex plans to develop an artificial intelligence system to help truck drivers keep the vehicle in the lane, monitor whether the driver is tired, and initiate an emergency brake if necessary.

Also, the company plans to introduce voice control of the car's multimedia system and integrate it with mobile devices. "We are thinking of creating high-precision maps and solutions for semi-automatic driving that would be based on Yandex artificial intelligence technologies --- computer vision, machine learning and speech technologies," explained Vasilevsky.

Thinking locally
More technology companies are entering the car market. For example, Volvo Cars and Uber recently announced a joint venture to create a driverless car. Vasilevsky believes that Yandex has a significant advantage in Russia.

"Local knowledge is an important feature in Yandex's services and technologies; for example, Yandex.Navigator helps create itineraries in most cities, and the maps are updated not only by professional cartographers but also by the users themselves who are the first to learn of changes regarding traffic circles, street cameras, speed limits and so on," said Vasilevsky. By integrating the locality service in its models for the Russian market it is possible for international carmakers to have a product well-adapted for the needs of Russian users.

 

[Bahamut]

Radio waves help find metals, minerals, and gems deep under the surface
September 16, 2016 OLGA BAKLITSKAYA-KAMENEVA, SPECIAL TO RBTH
Russian scientists have pioneered imaging technology that can peer into the Earth's subsurface.
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Two mine engineers with protective helmets standing on a huge drill machine. Source: Shutterstock/Legion Media

Technologies developed by the Russian scientist Vyacheslav Istratov are already in use in various countries helping to prospect for uranium, diamonds, gold and other natural resources.

This imaging technology can also help study the ground under buildings, bridges, tunnels and even shine light into areas covered by permafrost.

Highly effective
"My goal was to develop a universal technology to help us obtain images of structurally non-homogeneous geological areas," said Vyacheslav Istratov, founder of the company Radionda.




Revolutionary Russian filters use light to purify air


In the Soviet era, Istratov worked at the Central Scientific Research Geological Institute of Non-Ferrous and Precious Metals. At that time, geophysicists were developing the remote radio occultation, which is based on the fact that rocks absorb radio waves in different ways. The method was useful in looking for gold and non-ferrous metals in conditions where massive amounts of ores are embedded in structurally homogeneous rocks.

Today, many deposits are located more than 500 meters below the Earth's surface, but they do not contain large amounts of precious metals. In such conditions exploratory drilling can be economically risky. "Remote study helps do away with unnecessary drilling, and increases effectiveness," explained Istratov.

Underground tomography
How does the technology work? Studies of the space between wells are made according to the so-called fan system where a transmitter is placed in one well and a radio wave receiver in another.

"Our highly sensitive equipment is better than anything previously used -- the emitter can be controlled from the surface, and we significantly have decreased the dimensions of drilling, from as much as 80 meters to as little as three meters in depth," said Istratov. "The wide range of operating frequencies allows us to operate in highly difficult environments and at great distances - up to two kilometers."




Recycling in Russia - time to get dirty


The company applied the method at a depth of 1,560 meters for a copper-nickel deposit in Norilsk, as well as one at a depth of 1,640 meters for an oil field in the western Urals.

Istratov believes that in the oil service sector Schlumberger is Radionda's main competitor, but he feels he has an advantage over that company. "We have an advantage in terms of highly resistant rocks, and also our method is cheaper and faster," noted the scientist.

4D maps
In 15 years Radionda has undertaken more than 100 projects for the world's largest mining and oil companies. For example, Russian scientists conducted exploratory work in diamond deposits for ALROSA, a major player in the global diamond industry.

They successfully collaborated with Spain's Rio Tinto Minera and Promotora De Minas De Carbon. They also did research for the Anglo American Corporation of South Africa, and many others.

Currently, the company's technologies help follow changes in the Earth's subsurface, such as the thawing of frozen rocks. For this, Radionda makes 3D and 4D maps to help obtain information on the structure and qualities of the rocks, as well as to evaluate a deposit's effectiveness.

 

[Bahamut]

Can Russians save Tesla?
August 26, 2016 VICTORIA ZAVYALOVA, RBTH
The Moscow-based company Cognitive Technologies is offering an intelligent system of autonomous driving that will be on the international market next year. The recent accident involving a Tesla driverless car offers a chance for Russian developers to muscle in on the market.
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Members of the media tour the Tesla Gigafactory which will produce batteries for the electric carmaker in Sparks, Nevada, U.S. Source: Reuters

The Russian company Cognitive Technologies has developed C-Pilot, an intelligent autonomous driving system that can be installed in cars and other vehicles. The company told RBTH that the technology will be embedded in international automakers systems starting next year, and bulk deliveries of C-Pilot will start in 2019.

The Russian developers said that gaining access to world markets was a direct result of a fatal accident with a Tesla car that ran on the autopilot system developed by the Israeli startup, Mobileye. That company and Tesla recently announced the end of their partnership.

"Leading automakers that previously collaborated with Mobileye are considering alternative proposals about equipping their cars with intelligent driver-assistance systems," said Olga Uskova, president of Cognitive Technologies. "By 2022, we plan to have about 3 to 5 percent of the world market of autonomous driving systems."




Are driverless cars the next frontier in crime?


C-Pilot includes a set of sensors to guarantee the recognition of a wide variety of objects in road infrastructure. The system is also equipped with a high-accuracy positioning sensor based on GLONASS and GPS. Tests were carried out on a prototype of the Nissan X-Trail car.

"Our main competitive advantage over foreign companies is the more advanced artificial intelligence that allows the autonomous-driving system to work well even in bad weather conditions, as well as on bad roads when street signs are missing and the road surface is damaged," said Yury Minkin, director of the unmanned vehicles development department at Cognitive Technologies.

Total investment in the project will amount to about 750 million rubles ($11.6 million) over the next three years, of which about 360 million ($5.6 million) has been invested to date. In addition, the Russian government has invested 45 million rubles ($697,000) in the project.

The company plans to soon complete features that will warn the driver of situations on the road, including Line departure warning, Traffic sign recognition, and Forward collision warning.

In the second stage, in 2018, the active driver assistance system will be implemented, and in the third stage, 2018- 2022, developers will finalize those technological components that enable autonomous movement in certain modes; for example, in traffic jams or on motorways. The project's final stage will be fully automated movement.

 

[Bahamut]

Young foreign scientists head to Siberia to build an academic career
September 8, 2016, Elena Proshina, RBTH
Partner generated content

A meeting with the postdoc candidates of SFU. Source: Press Photo
Seven foreign scientists with post-doctorate degrees have been admitted to the Siberian Federal University in Krasnoyarsk as research fellows after winning an open competition. An RBTH correspondent recorded their impressions and plans, as well as their expectations of working as scientists in Russia.

From December 2015 to March 2016, the Siberian Federal University (SFU) in Krasnoyarsk (2,100 miles east of Moscow) held an open competition for young scientists with a PhD. More than 30 applications were received and seven foreign scientists were finally able fill the vacancies for SFU researchers.

At a meeting with the winners of SFU, Rector, academician Yevgeny Vaganov confirmed that had they selected the best and most suitable academics for the development of the leading areas of science. "All of them have signed a three-year contract, the work involves research, but possibly also teaching. As a result, the contract may be extended,” said Vaganov.

As he admits, in spite of the fact that Krasnoyarsk was a city closed to foreigners for a long time and is little known among foreigners, the SFU received many applications. "It was the first contest, and we plan to increase the number of postdocs. This is the most active part of the young research contingent," he said.

"I saw an ad about the contest on the SFU website, applied and came here. In Krasnoyarsk, the nature is very beautiful, and the people are open. At the moment I can hardly speak Russian, but, nevertheless, I work quite well,” said Indian postdoc Venugopal Nakkala who is currently a researcher at the laboratory of nonlinear optics and spectroscopy at SFU.

Venugopal Nakkala / Press Photo

He came to SFU to be engaged in the developments in the field of solar cells: "Over the past decades in the solar cells industry they use expensive materials made of silver or gold. We are exploring the possibility of using nano-plasmonic materials. This will reduce the cost of the process by many times.”

"This is not the first time that I have come to Siberia; I’ve been here before and made friends with the local scientists, and they advised me to apply to participate in the competition. What amazes me the most in Siberia is the nature – it is really amazing, there are a lot of trees. In addition, there is a developed infrastructure and you can work on the university’s base," said Alberto Arzaka from Spain, whose scientific work is related to the study of tree rings.

Alberto Arzaka / Press Photo

"Though all the work is conducted in English, in September I plan to start learning Russian because it is useful to me in personal communication. I’m not ruling out the possibility of staying in Russia, everything will depend on how the planned work will progress during the three years. "

Abolhasem Tohidpur came from Australia, but he is Iranian. He has been in Russia for one and a half years, and has already managed to get acquainted with the cold Russian winter, "Once I tried to ski, but I nearly broke my leg, and now prefer to just watch my Russian friends ride while I drink delicious coffee, which they treat me with," he said.

Shubhra Pande / Press Photo

"It is very cold in Siberia, but people have warm hearts, and I really like it here, despite the fact that I left India for the first time," said young Indian scientist Shubhra Pande. "I have chosen to continue my career at the SFU, because it is a center of science and higher education, and the university also contributes to scientists’ productive work."

By conducting experiments on laboratory mice, Pande is looking for a way to extend life, by studying protein production using the biofluorescent method.

What is there for a young scientist in Siberia?
Many universities around the world have mastered the practice of engaging foreign experts to work and teach on the basis of grants and special competitions.

In launching the competition, the SFU made a bid to search for talent in order to attract young and active researchers from around the world. Postdocs could be no more than 35 at the time of applying for the research vacancies.

"The requirements for the candidates were serious, such as the availability of publications in journals indexed in the Web of Science and Scopus, but also the conditions the universities offered were quite good," said rector Yevgeny Vaganov.

Yevgeny Vaganov / Press Photo

"It's not so much about the salary, but about the opportunity to work on unique equipment and under the guidance of scientists known in their field far beyond Russia. As practice shows, this is the leading motive for a young scientist who has decided to go to a Siberian university."

The second Postdoc SFU competition is to be announced in January 2017.



Siberian Federal University, Krasnoyarsk
In 2014, the SFU received 3 out of 5 possible stars in the QS Stars ranking, an annual assessment carried out by UK company Quacquarelli Symonds.

According to the Webometrics 2015 ranking SFU is in 10th place among Russian universities.

According to the data for 2016, SFU has over 30,000 students, including about 400 foreigners.

 

[Bahamut]

Want state-of-the-art scientific equipment? Try SPbU
July 4, 2016, Gleb Fedorov, RBTH

St. Petersburg University's Vice-Rector for Research, Sergei Allonov. Source: Press Photo
In an interview with RBTH, St. Petersburg University's Vice-Rector for Research, Sergei Allonov says the university has better software than some of Russia's leading defense design bureaus. He also talks about why it is important to use scientific equipment to its full capacity.

St. Petersburg University's Research Park comprises of dozens of resource centers, with state-of-the-art scientific equipment worth more than $200 million. You provide free access not only for the staff and students, but also for scientists who are not connected with St. Petersburg State University. How does such openness benefit the university?

Those who use the Research Park’s facilities for their research are required to acknowledge the St. Petersburg University when publishing their findings.

Just this?

There is also an economic rationale. Equipment becomes obsolete in three or five years. And even if it is used for one hour per day, you will still have to replace it after five years. Why? Because good magazines stop accepting articles if the experimental results were obtained using past-generation equipment.

Therefore, we must ensure that the equipment operates at its full capacity throughout its lifetime. We have equipment that is used on average for 16 hours a day. Other Russian universities have an average use of four hours.

But because it is technically difficult to make full use of this class of equipment for the university's research only, we opened it up for outside access. Half of our users now are not from the university.

Through this approach, we totally wear out the equipment within five years. This is understood by the equipment manufacturers who work with us. They, hence, begin to conclude contracts with St. Petersburg State University to supply us with samples of the experimental equipment. That is the equipment, which is not present at other universities.




St. Petersburg University researchers battle corruption


Therefore, we also serve as an experimental platform for manufacturers.

Can you give us an example that could help us understand the level of resources that your university has compared to other research centers?

One well-known Russian defense equipment design bureaus has software that is similar to ours, but our computer center is two or three times bigger and used at 97 percent of its capacity. We also have the kind of software that they do not have, but could use. For example, Ansys, the software that Siemens and Airbus use for industrial calculations and engineering analysis for the design of aircraft, cars and trains.

Now, we are ready to offer all government organizations the opportunity to use our resources for free.

Who works at the Research Park?

About 300 engineers, each certified by equipment manufacturers. They attend training courses once every three years or even more frequently, because they must not only be able to use, but also to conduct complex research on the equipment.

Research is always being improved. And if somewhere in Tokyo, they have come up with something new on this equipment, our engineers go there and learn. Several times a year, there are cases when the equipment manufacturers are trying to recruit these professionals with unique competencies.

How does one get access to the Research Park's resources?

The rules on access are open and available on the website. The site also has the necessary information about the resource centers and equipment.

There is no way to get access to the Research Park's resources other than through the web site, which also exists in English. It does not matter if you are a university employee or not.

International students and teachers have full access to the Research Park. Source: Press Photo

There are only three limitations. Firstly, since we spend the resources allocated to us by the Russian government, the access for the Russian scientists to equipment is free, but foreigners have to pay.

Secondly, the research and experiments must meet the technical parameters of the equipment.

And thirdly, there is an electronic queue for the equipment. After registering online. you will get a number and be able to monitor the progress of your application online. From the information on the portal, each researcher can see in real time all the necessary information about the progress of the application such as the waiting time, and who is in front of you in the queue.

Can one access the park’s facilities from outside St. Petersburg?

Yes, you can remotely set the task and send materials. Engineers will conduct experiments and send you the results.

Moscow State University has satellites. Do you work with space data?

We do not need satellites. To launch such a flying vehicle is very expensive. To operate the satellite at a minimum 50 percent of its capacity is a huge task.

Instead, we installed equipment that can receive information from satellites. We signed contracts with four international companies that own non-stationary satellites, and received an opportunity to send requests during the first launch of the satellite, and get the result during the second.

We spend 130,000 rubles (around $2000) a year on it instead of one billion, which we would have to spend to launch one satellite. At the moment we are working actively with six satellites. And let's not forget about the Roscosmos Geoportal, a public service providing satellite images.

 

[Bahamut]

Moscow scientists work to upgrade monitor production technology

16 Sep '16
An international team of researchers led by Russian scientists has come up with a method of lowering the cost and improving the quality of monitors and other optoelectronic devices by using silicon nanoparticles in lieu of expensive semiconductor materials currently utilized in monitor production, portal Science & Technologies RFreported. The technique has been described in an article published in the latest Physical Review B issue.

Physicists at the Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU) are said to have managed to make silicon nanoparticles glow when impacted by radiation, and do it manifestly enough to use the particles in a replacement for today’s costly semiconductors used in monitor production. According to Maksim Shcherbakov, a research fellow at MSU’s Department of Physics, the new technique helps boost the efficacy of nanoparticle photoluminescence “by several times.”

 

[Bahamut]

Virtual reality fights multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s

14 Sep '16

Scientists at the Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) have partnered up with colleagues from the Tomsk-based Siberian State Medical University (SSMU) to develop an innovative system for early-stage diagnostics of neurodegenerative diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s and others. At the core of the new diagnostics is virtual reality; a person is immersed in a virtual environment for physicians to conduct functional tests. Researchers model the VR environment as they deem fit, and then register changes in the way the testee moves. The team hopes to complete preparations for project launch next year.

The new diagnostics is a joint effort that has brought together eight scientists, postgraduates and students from TPU and SSMU.

Problem in focus

“A lot of physiological systems are responsible for our sense of balance and movements. First of all, it’s the vestibular system that contributes to our spatial orientation; it’s also our muscles; it’s our vision helping us watch the horizon. This is a well-oiled system that works automatically. However, when a person develops a neurodegenerative disease such as Parkinson’s, the system fails,” the TPU website quoted Ivan Tolmachov as saying. Mr. Tolmachov is a professor at TPU and associate professor at SSMU.

Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s—all these are neurodegenerative diseases. These are a group of slowly advancing, hereditary or acquired diseases of the nervous system. A common feature for these diseases is neurodegeneration, or progressive loss of nerve cells which leads to various neurological symptoms—primary to trouble with coordinated movements.

Scientists say that in the case of Parkinson’s, for instance, cells may start deteriorating as early as at the age of 30, but symptoms won’t grow noticeable until about 50.

That’s why researchers across the world are looking for effective and affordable methods of identifying the neurodegenerative diseases as early as possible.

“For a person to feel the loss of a function, about 80% of cells responsible for the function have to be lost—a point of no return for the human body. It’s so important to diagnose a case at early stages, when help is still possible,” said Mr. Tolmachov, adding that instrument-aided diagnostics of the neurodegenerative diseases is still a problem area.

How it works

The system the TPU/SSMU team is developing consists of augmented reality glasses, a contactless movement sensor, and a mobile platform.

The developers use some of the already existing devices, such as the Google AR glasses and the Kinect contactless sensor controller. For a test, a person puts on the glasses and gets immersed in virtual reality where the skyline/horizon is changed. The movement sensor detects changes in his body’s position in 20 points. While a healthy person adapts easily to the virtual environment and keeps his balance, a neurodegenerative patient fails to do both.

Results and prospects

About 50 volunteers are said to have already undergone tests using the new system.

“In experiments, we saw how the virtual reality impacted people. Each test lasted about 10 minutes. The volunteers included both healthy people and confirmed neurodegenerative patients. The system helped us say how noticeably one’s current status differed from a norm. We now understand that different patients respond differently to a virtual environment. For example, Parkinson’s patients had their upper extremity tremor (rapid and uncontrolled movements of an arm—Editor’s note) revealed more manifestly,” Mr. Tolmachov said.

He believes the project team will take another year to complete the research part of the effort, with clinical trials and an array of certification procedures to follow.

“It’s too premature to talk about the ultimate cost of the system, but it will surely be just a fraction of that of international analogs. Longer term, we have plans to use the system not only in diagnostics but also in the rehabilitation process,” Mr. Tolmachov said.

Oleg Kouzbit, managing editor: “I’m glad you join us here and take The Bridge walk for Marchmont’s weekly review of the Russian regions’ innovative present and future. Stay close and you’ll find out more of how Russia is bridging the existing gap between its researchers and businesses.”

 

[Bahamut]

Siberian artificial intelligence to aid welding robots

15 Sep '16
Scientists at the Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) in Siberia are developing an artificial intelligence algorithm expected to improve the precision of electric resistance welding. Using the new method is believed to make welded joints much stronger, the TPU website announced.

The new system could be used at companies that manufacture motor vehicles, aircraft, ships and other sizable mechanical engineering products to boost their quality.

“This welding technique utilizes high pressure and temperature to connect parts in a number of spots. For each spot, welding takes a few milliseconds. It’s a robotized process,” said Boris Pyakillya from TPU’s integrated computerized control systems chair, the chief developer in this project.

He pointed out that today industrial welding robots use a standard algorithm for all items, based on a recommended electrical current value and duration of impact on a specific metal. Individual features of each specific material, for example, alloy content, possible impurities, etc., are typically disregarded, which compromises the quality of a welded joint, making it potentially too fragile.

“We suggest that our proprietary artificial intelligence algorithm, based on a mathematical model of the welding process, be used to determine electrical current and time for each specific welding joint, taking the material’s individual features into account. The welding machine has sensors that can identify voltages in the welding circuit, as we know that the properties of surfaces to be welded can alter voltages in the circuit as welding continues,” the chief developer said.

The young researcher wants to link a welding machine up to a small computer with a special app he has developed. The app will receive voltage data and take just seconds to compute electrical current and welding duration required.

Mr. Pyakillya’s TPU team is conducting experiments to fine-tune their model. The developers hope to unveil their inaugural prototype next year.

 

[Bahamut]

New solution for super-fast data processing under way

13 Sep '16
A team of physicists representing MIPT, one of Moscow’s most renowned tech universities also known as Phystech, and ITMO, a sizable St. Petersburg-based university, has demonstrated the potential to use silicon nanoparticles in efficient nonlinear control of light, the MIPT website announced. The research has beendescribed in detail in English in ACS Photonics.

The scientists believe the results of their work may pave the way for the development of silicon nanoparticle based optical devices with diverse functionality enabling, for example, the penetration, reflection or scattering of light in any direction chosen, depending on light intensity. That, in its turn, may lead to the development of tiny chips for super-fast data processing in optical communications lines and optical computers of the future.

In their experiments, the researchers demonstrated that impacting a Si nanoparticle by a powerful laser pulse may result in an ultra-fast switch between different light scattering modes, and put together an analytical theory that describes such nonlinear nanoantennas.

“The results of our work show high potential silicon nanoparticles have for the creation of super-fast optical nanodevices. The model we have come up with may be used to develop far more sophisticated Si particle containing nanostructures with the capacity to control light in a completely unorthodox manner. For example, we have plans to not only change the amplitude of an optical signal but also move it to position it at an angle we need, and do it within an ultra-short period of time,” Sergei Makarov, a senior research fellow at ITMO’s nanophotonics and metamaterials chair, was quoted as saying.

 

[Bahamut]

New device for visionless users: accessible and portable keyboard

11 Mar '16

The article was written by an ITMO University staff and first published on the ITMO website.

Maksim Dadochkin, a PhD student at the ITMO University’s chair of mechatronics in St. Petersburg, together with his colleague developed a prototype of a keyboard for partially sighted and visionless people. Developers spent only two months to invent a portable communication device, which made the Internet accessible for everyone.

According to Mr. Dadochkin, most of the devices currently available in the market cost several thousand dollars as they use piezoelectric elements, and are therefore prohibitive for many partially sighted customers. Unfortunately cheaper prototypes are not widespread nowadays.

“Thanks to the Braille script users can communicate in the Internet and acquire information. Although these devices don`t provide all forms of interaction and services, they enable work with a text. However, such devices are not affordable for everyone; this inspired us to develop an alternative one,” said Maksim Dadochkin.

The prototype consists of a box with ten buttons (five on one side and five on the other) that generate symbols consecutively. They also manage cursor moving, symbol deleting, entry approval and a switch as well. The design is ergonomic: the buttons are placed to match finger positioning. The prototype weighs about one kilogram. Each button is equipped with a vibratory sensor, which warns about an error. Having entered a symbol one should approve the input. If required, a user can also record information to use it later.

Currently Mr. Dadochkin plans to improve his invention using his own money. However, after a series of tests he is going to seek investors.

“We want to give the visionless and partially sighted the opportunity to use the Internet. Our target is to make such common things as email or social networks` chatting accessible for them,” the inventor pointed out.

Oleg Kouzbit, managing editor: “I’m glad you join us here and take The Bridge walk for Marchmont’s weekly review of the Russian regions’ innovative present and future. Stay close and you’ll find out more of how Russia is bridging the existing gap between its researchers and businesses.”

 

[Bahamut]

Russian scientists blaze their own trail to light-based computing

20 Feb '16

Developing a photonic computer, a technology that would retire the entire concept of silicon-based computing, making it way faster than what we have imagined so far, is a phrase du jour across the world’s leading research labs. Here’s just a fraction of what Russian developers have come up with to make the dream a next day reality.

Siberian light

At the Tomsk State University of Control Systems and Radio Electronics (TUSUR), researchers have developed new technology that could make it possible to build computers which use light to transmit a signal rather than electricity.

“Studies being conducted at TUSUR are bringing scientists closer to creating compact, very small and non-volatile components to control light beams, which could then be used to process and transmit data in photonic computers with a reduced loss of energy and at much higher speeds than it is possible with current electronics,” the developers claim.

The project results stemmed from broader research, in which the scientists were figuring how to control light beams in a crystal. A method was developed, enabling the team to use laser technology to ‘save’ information in lithium niobate crystals.

At the core of the innovative approach was a combination of what’s known as the beam refraction effect inside a crystal at a certain angle in certain conditions and the electrical field effect in the crystal.

The approach enabled the researchers to obtain crystals with a photonic structure ‘built’ by the light, a network of waveguides a few microns each in diameter, which were then used to transmit a light signal.

“Such crystals with waveguide optical structures ‘saved’ inside could be likened to printed circuit boards that are currently used in electronics,” the developers said.

A small ball from Moscow

Moscow researchers and their international colleagues have also contributed to the overall effort. The team was led by Michael Tribelsky, a physicist representing the Moscow Lomonosov State University (MSU) and the Moscow State University of IT, Radio Engineering and Electronics (MIREA), and scientists from France and Spain also entered the fray.

They have come up with a probable prototype of a structural component of what is expected to emerge in the future as a photonic computer.

The collaborative team is said to have created a small dielectric sphere, a silicon ball two centimeters in diameter, which has a high refractive index and low losses.

Computers whose architecture is built around original technologies are reaching the limits of their capabilities, scientists across the world believe. As an alternative capable of increasing the speed of processors, they suggest ultra-capacity optical technologies which could replace electronic circuits. To achieve the goal, they began looking for materials which could be handled at scales below emission wavelength.

They would from time to time run into certain problems, including losses, as well as scattering of electromagnetic emission small objects are exposed to. Mr. Tribelsky and his international partners are reported to have solved these problems.

The Russian scientist first offered his theoretical solution as far back as 1984, but it has taken researchers 31 years to bring theory into practice.

The article was first published on the website of the Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod’s Technology Commercialization Center.

Oleg Kouzbit, managing editor: “I’m glad you join us here and take The Bridge walk for Marchmont’s weekly review of the Russian regions’ innovative present and future. Stay close and you’ll find out more of how Russia is bridging the existing gap between its researchers and businesses.”

 

[Bahamut]

Private and government players team up to back high tech

14 Sep '16
AFK Sistema, a large publicly traded Russian holding company, and Rusnano, this country’s largest state-owned nanotech firm, are launching a joint fund to support high technology projects, Rusnano announced.

This is going to be an up to $100m fund with the two partners participating on a 50/50 basis. The fund will be capitalized on a per-project basis, each time a specific project has been approved for support. The fund will operate for seven years, and then for another three years if proven successful. The partners are shooting for anything between $5m and $20m in investment per project; plans are to invite external co-investors at later stages of the fund’s operation.

The new fund is expected to back seed, growth and expansion stage high technology projects in Russia, the former USSR, Europe and Israel with the focus on microelectronics, energy efficiency, robotics, IT and telecom, and some other areas.

AFK Sistema operates in areas such as telecom, banking, retail, forestry, agriculture, real estate development, pharma, tourism, and medical services.

 

[Bahamut]

This article is a bullshit like all the western funded Russian "opposition" medias shit.

Отправлено с моего XT1080 через Tapatalk

What Russians think about Stalin
May 4, 2012 VLADIMIR RUVINSKY
Sixty percent of Russians have incompatible images of Stalin in their heads: the cruel tyrant and the victor over fascism.
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Ghosts, mutant rats and Metro-2: Unearthing Moscow’s urban legends

• Napoleon is back to Russia: The reconstruction of the Borodino battlefield

• Russia’s Balkar people: Eager for education and success after Stalin terror

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HISTORY, SOVIET UNION, POST SOVIET,JOSEF STALIN, DE-STALINIZATION

Some older communists still revere Stalin and use his image at their protests. Source: AFP / East News

Moscow history teacher Stephan Bochkarev often recalls a lesson he taught his students several years ago. It was a lesson about Joseph Stalin that he happened to be teaching on the day the director of his school decided to observe his class.

“I went strictly by the book, talking about the repression, when the director interrupted me and stopped the lesson,” he recalled. “She really did not like the fact that Stalin was presented in a negative light.” Bochkarev, who now works for a private school in Moscow, said his lesson caused a scandal at the school and he subsequently resigned.


The Norilsk Golgotha: Memorial to those who suffered in Norillag

Sixty years after Stalin’s death, he is still cursed, worshipped, and monetized in Russia. Communist Party members march under his image and tourists get their photos taken with Stalin look-alikes on the pedestrian streets. Yet what happened to Bochkarev is becoming less common—and less acceptable.

The percentage of Russians with a positive attitude toward the Soviet leader is 30 percent today, according to a Levada Center study.

Asked whether they would like to live under Stalin now, only 3 percent said yes.

The perception outside Russia is that society is split into Stalinists and anti-Stalinists. But this is outdated, according to sociologists. A majority of Russians, 60 percent in fact, have two seemingly incompatible images of Stalin in their minds: the cruel tyrant who murdered millions of people and the wise statesman who led the Soviet Union to prosperity.

In the West, Stalin is best remembered for his forced collectivization of farming, which led to famine and millions of deaths, and the Great Terror, during which thousands were executed and millions more sent to the Gulag for long terms of slave labor. In Russia, his memory is more complex. For some, he is inextricable from the victory over fascism.

In Russian society, there is no rational understanding of Stalin’s role, said Boris Dubin, head of sociopolitical research at Moscow’s Levada Center. Any focus on the achievements of the U.S.S.R. under Stalin is interpreted as an attempt to justify his crimes, while putting the emphasis on the terror of his crimes upsets Russians who want to be proud of their past.

This duality can be seen in today’s classrooms, where opinions are changing slowly, even if history textbooks published in the last few years tend to ignore Stalin’s crimes.

“From my nearly 15 years of teaching, I have the impression that Stalin is the central figure in Russian history of the 20th century in the eyes of the vast majority of students,” Bochkarev said. “And, often, this image basks in an aura of heroic grandeur.”

At the request of RBTH, Bochkarev asked his students to write essays about Stalin to express their thoughts. He requested that RBTH use first names only.

“I think that Stalin’s terror will be imprinted on people’s minds for a long time,” said student Eugene. “And even now you can hear its echo in the position ‘I do not care about what does not concern me directly.’ Stalin is often spoken about in a half-bad, half-good light.”

When discussing Stalin’s popularity, sociologists refer to the “Stalin myth,” which reflects more of a generic heroic symbol of the Soviet people rather than a specific historical figure, Dubin said.


Related: Boris Drozdov: "There is no one to tell the young generation"

This myth was cultivated in the 1960s and 1970s, when Russian were even more divided, according to Boris Drozdov, 78. Drozdov’s father was sent to a prison camp and his grandfather was executed. “Those who were unaffected by the repression thought of Stalin as a genius,” he said. “But those run down by the repression machine believed that he personified evil.”

The pain of memory was so intense that amnesia has been a favorite response, according to sociologists. “This happened by way of erasing the memory of the repressive nature of the totalitarian regime, mass murder, gulags, deportation of entire nationalities,” said Dubin.

“In Russia, the memory of the terror has been driven to a far corner, not least because there are no monuments, no memorial plaques, no museums – there is nothing,” added Arseny Roginsky, who heads the Memorial Historical Society, which aims at rehabilitating the victims of political terror.

Memorial notes that people are much more interested in their relatives, who died as victims of political repression, than they were in the 1990s. In recent years, the number of people visiting Memorial in search of relatives who disappeared during Stalin’s purges has been growing. About 1,000 people come to Memorial each year, he said, a dramatic increase from the 1990s.

The most recent official effort to deal with the issue of Stalin’s crimes took place in 2011 under President Dmitry Medvedev. “This is essentially an attempt to perpetuate the memory of the victims of political repression rather than a de-Stalinization crusade,” said Mikhail Fedotov, head of the Presidential Human Rights Council, which initiated the campaign.

The Human Rights Council supports the establishment of memorials to the victims of repression in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The council also proposed creating a National Institute of Memory.

Related:
"Stalin will not be forgiven for anything"

No excuse for stalinism

Russia’s post-traumatic stress

Fedotov noted that if Medvedev is appointed prime minister to Putin’s president, the program will continue, though now government officials have slowed the process until the new presidential administration is in place.

Roginsky said he was skeptical about the program, since many archives are still kept secret and not open to the public.

As for history teacher Mark Bochkarev, he feels free to discuss Stalin in a private school, “where children have a fairly high level of knowledge,” he said. “However,” he mused, “even they sometimes employ the image of ‘Stalin-creator’ rather than “Stalin-destroyer.”