Reports that China is building a digital infrastructure for cross-border settlements are regularly accompanied by headlines about the “end of the dollar.” This kind of dramatization, it seems, misses the point. In reality, we are witnessing a process that is far more prosaic and at the same time profound: a new layer of international settlements is taking shape, in which the object of rivalry is not so much the currencies themselves as the payment architectures behind them. The competition is among clearing mechanisms, data-exchange standards, liquidity channels, and—most importantly—central bank digital currencies themselves, what professionals refer to as “wholesale CBDCs.”

In 2022–2024, comprehensive draft laws were submitted to the State Duma proposing to закрепить the concepts of wine tourism. Although the direct inclusion of the term “wine tourism” in Federal Law No. 132‑FZ “On the Basics of Tourism Activities in the Russian Federation” did not take place, its content is in fact covered by the concept of rural (agricultural) tourism.

In recent years, the decarbonization of the transport sector has been viewed as one of the key elements of the European Union’s climate agenda. As part of this strategy, the European Commission promoted ambitious targets, including a ban on the registration of new cars with internal combustion engines (ICE) from 2035. However, following the results of the first half of 2026, it became clear that the trajectory of the transition to “green” transport is undergoing significant adjustments. Despite the growing share of electric vehicles—every fifth new car in the EU now falls into this segment—regulators and automakers are increasingly leaning toward hybrid solutions as a more realistic compromise.

When people come to me with the question “What should I do about my team / partner / child?”, I always bring them back to the starting point: AND WHO are *you* yourself in this coordinate system?

Why does a brilliant strategy fail at the implementation stage? Most often, the issue isn’t the employees, but the leader losing touch with three key points in the system. Let’s break down real management mistakes and the tools that help regain control over business processes and prevent a crisis.

Over the course of life, people inevitably experience losses—the death of loved ones, breakups, the loss of a job or business, health or savings, the collapse of plans for the future. So how should you behave if someone dear to you is going through such a tragedy?

On August 1, 2026, at the VDNH Green Theater, with the support of the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives, the First All-Russian Musical Festival of Soviet Song "Voices of the Heirs" kicked off. The festival officially opened with a "Songs of the War Years" concert performed by the legendary A. V. Alexandrov Academic Song and Dance Ensemble of the Russian Army. Nearly two hundred artists of the ensemble, founded almost a century ago, took the stage of the Green Theater: soloists of the choir, which is considered one of the benchmark male choirs in the world, an orchestra with a unique lineup where Russian folk instruments sit alongside brass, and a dance group renowned across all continents.

“Fragile Art. Pastels from the Graphic Arts Collection of the 18th — Early 20th Century” is the title given to this unique exhibition. Around 150 works from the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery are on display, including masterpieces by Mikhail Vrubel, Valentin Serov, Ilya Repin, Natalia Goncharova, and Nicholas Roerich. Visitors enter a suite of dimly lit halls with the most carefully regulated climate in the gallery — conditions required for works created in this beautiful yet vulnerable technique.

At the Benois Wing of the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, a large-scale retrospective of Pyotr Konchalovsky, “Garden in Bloom,” dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the artist’s birth, runs until September 14, 2026.

Recently in Accra, at the partner Russian House of the Center for Public Diplomacy, an intensive course was launched to help Ghanaian students of the targeted enrollment program adapt to life in Russia before they soon leave to study at Novosibirsk State Technical University (NSTU).

An 8% decline in the number of students in India's primary schools over the past two years could lead to serious consequences.

As of January 1, 2025, Russia has 1,115 higher education institutions, with Lomonosov Moscow State University taking first place in the ranking of the best universities in Russia in 2024. But which other institutions train highly qualified specialists?