News

This week the State Duma passed new bill entailing punishment for hampering ambulances’ access to patients. There are separate sanctions for not letting medics do their job which caused either bodily harm to a patient or even death. That entails a prison sentence of up to two and four years respectively. Causing bodily harm or threat of death to the medics themselves would land up to a five-year prison sentence.

The “Blockade Classes” will start at St. Petersburg’s schools with the new academic year – where children will be told about the tragic period of their city’s history. That is according to the interim governor Alexander Beglov.

Anna Bezkrovnaya, reporter: “The most famous Russian contemporary art group AES+F has never had such a large-scale exhibition anywhere – neither in St. Petersburg, nor in Russia, nor the world. This represents a microcosm of modern art over the last 20 years. Their key works – each one of those can become either a prophecy or a revelation”.

Mariya Marchenko, reporter: “Griffons atop the Bankovsky Bridge have become the victims of people’s superstitions. Sculptures have recently been restored, but the gold plating on their wings has again been rubbed off. Every passing tourist wants to rub the feathers - as a good luck charm”.

Using the bus lane as a runway, taking off to fly above the Earthly traffic rules. The potential punishment is not a threat. This “cheekiest driver” reality show has hundreds of participants. And the most bizarre rides happen during the day when there are no traffic jams.

Yuriy Zinchuk, host: “And now let’s talk about the main political event of the week. I am talking about President Putin’s phone-in. Almost 2 million questions were addressed to the President – basically meaning every 70th Russian asked a question. But in 4 hours of conversation, the President managed to answer 81 questions.

Yuriy Zinchuk, host: “One of the main topics of this year’s Economic Forum – digitization and robotics. The innovations which are destined to change many of our habits, behavior and even lifestyle. So.

Yuriy Zinchuk, host: “And now let’s enjoy the event that our channel has broadcasted. I am talking about the festive concert and show marking the City Day by the Dvortsovy Bridge.

Yuriy Zinchuk, host: “This week, Alexander Beglov kicked off the “My city – my opportunities” contest. Its main aim is to attract young managers into the city administration. Hey, young ones! Attention! Stop laying on your sofas. You can apply for the contest – if you’ve turned 20. The selection will have three stages – remote, semi-final and final. Participants will have to write an essay about the city’s current problems and the ways to solve those. The winners will get the right to work in executive entities and deal with these issues themselves. As Soviet newspapers called it – aiming for the young. This is something the time dictates.

Yuriy Zinchuk, host: “We begin with the biggest political news of this week. St. Petersburg’s Parliament exercised its right and set the date for the election of the city’s highest ranking official. And now St. Petersburg will have to make its choice – on September 8th. So the election race has officially began. It is impossible to cancel it or move it. And a very important period – from political and historical perspectives – is on. This is how the Speaker of the Legislative Council has described it”.

Dmitriy Pavlov, reporter: “What an opportunity – to be able to stand right beside the “Ural” ice-breaker. You feel tiny and defenseless – it’s height already reaches 30 meters. This is almost twice more than the initial plan. It’s overall height, together with the mast, will reach 52 meters. The “Ural” has been built at Russia’s biggest ship dock.

It has taken St. Petersburg just a little over three centuries to go through such a number of historic events which other European cities have taken over ten centuries. London – 20 centuries. Paris – 23 centuries. And we only had 316 years. Only. That is five generations – and these have witnessed construction sites in the swamps, fires, floods, existence as a capital of one of the biggest Empires in the world. A revolution, which changed the entire course of history on the 20th century. The War and The Blockade – the biggest humanitarian tragedy. Repressions. All that squeezed into just over 3 hundred years. So many events that they can fill histories of entire countries. But St. Petersburg is part of the country, indeed. Part of Russia. And its fate has often been decided on the banks of Neva.

Yuriy Zinchuk, host: “Now, let’s talk about the main political event of the week. It was quite expected. It was talked about. But it had to happen – and that is why it has become the most expected political sensation of the week. Members of the Public Chamber at the Legislative Council have asked Alexander Beglov to run for Governor’s office. This proposal was voiced by the Hero of the Soviet Union, head of famous Klimov enterprise, member of the Public Chamber – Alexander Vatagin.

Yuriy Zinchuk, host: “This week marked a noteworthy event for our aviation. The legendary turbo-reactive jet TU-134 took off for its ultimate flight. It was the most mass-produced civic airplane in the country and the pride of domestic aviation. A slick design, which earned these airplanes a “stylish stud” nickname, and incredible flight qualities for that era.

Yuriy Zinchuk, host: “Now let’s move on to the main news event of the week. Which directly relates to those which change our city. And exactly such took place this week.

“We sat at the classroom and heard a loud noise”

This is a pretty atmosphere one can see atop St. Petersburg’s roofs – with a bird’s eye view. The classic postcard view of our city. But a serious utility problem is concealed behind this glitter.

Yuriy took his first bank loan – 700 thousand rubles – to renovate his apartment. He understood that interest rates would be higher than advertised, that he would be urged into loan insurance and a credit card. But he has not estimated all risks.

In music, art, cinematography, literature and religion it can cry, triumph and be restless. But all this has nothing to do with the real human heart, which is defined by Wikipedia as “a muscle organ, enabling blood flow”. The engine – which sometimes malfunctions.

Natalya Bandurina, reporter: “This is the address of the St. Petersburg’s only shelter for the disabled homeless. In reality, it is merely a tent which had originally been planned as a temporary night place. Despite those plans, it has been there for several years – and even GPS navigator knows the address”.

Visit Dvortsovaya, take a picture with the Bronze Horseman and walk past Isaakievskiy. Take a series of photos at Nevsky and enjoy lunch at one of the city’s numerous cafes – that is a must for just about everyone visiting St. Petersburg for the first time. Do you recognize yourselves, dear guests of the city?