Russian traveller Fyodor Konyukhov set off the 5th of July 2019 from Severka airport near Moscow and landed to Evpatoria (Crimea) on the experimental electric plane.

The plane, called the Flying Laboratory, with a wingspan of 25 meters, is equipped with Russian-made flexible solar panels and energy storage systems. The weight of the plane is only 900 kilograms. Plane created specifically to develop technological solutions to be implemented within the “Albatross – around the world on solar energy” project.   

This project developed by Russian hi-tech companies ROTEC and TEEMP, supported by the RENOVA Charitable Foundation, under several years already.

Aim of the Albatross project is to create an airplane with an electric power plant and solar modules as an energy source for the world’s first non-stop round-the-world flight.

Aviation enterprise for the construction of the aircraft to be chosen still in 2019. Private companies from Germany, France, England and Russia may be given such an opportunity.

Beginning of the construction of the aircraft for the round-the-world flight planned for second half of 2019. The construction period is 20-24 months.

Flight of the aircraft “Albatross” is supposed to be carried out at altitudes of 10-12 kilometres in the southern hemisphere. Albatross airplane will cover 35 thousand km in 150 hours. Fyodor Konyukhov planning to stick to the route of his successful round-the-world flight on the MORTON balloon. https://konyukhov.ru/project/expedition/proekt-albatros/

On July 1, 2019, the piece of legislation will become effective approving a scheme ofelectronic visas for foreign citizens entering the Kaliningrad Region. The facilitation of visa regime will enable more foreign nationals to become acquainted with our country, to see it with their own eyes, both in terms of tourism and for potential cooperation and further collaboration in various areas.

The legislation was developed in a manner similar to the preference currently in effect for Vladivostok, with an extended list of countries considering the specificity of the Kaliningrad Region. The list of states covered by the new development is available on the website of the Consular Department of the RF Ministry of Foreign Affairs : https://electronic-visa.kdmid.ru/klgd_home_en.html/

In order to obtain an electronic visa, a foreign resident is supposed to fill in the electronic application form for obtaining an electronic visa on the website of the RF Ministry of Foreign Affairs https://electronic-visa.kdmid.ru/klgd_home_en.html, at least 4 days prior to the expected date of entry, but not earlier than 20 days. A photo must be attached to the application as an electronic file.

Once the application is checked, all the data will be sent to border crossing points, and no later than 4 days from the date of submission of an application, a notification of issuing an electronic visa will be placed on the website. A foreign resident will receive a notification with an identification number, which must be shown at the crossing point together with the personal ID.

Kindly note that foreign residents must carry a medical insurance, as well as travel tickets or confirmation of their purchasing for leaving the Russian Federation (in case of travelling by railway, air- or sea transport). A foreign resident must leave the Russian Federation from the territory of the Kaliningrad Region.

The electronic visa is valid for 30 calendar days, with permitted period of stay of up to 8 days.

Consular fee will not be charged for this visa.

Novatek, Russia’s largest private gas producer, has started to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its newly built small-scale LNG plant in Russia’s Baltic Sea port of Vysotsk.

Novatek, along with Gazprombank, has built but not yet officially launched its Vysotsk plant, which has a capacity of 660,000 tonnes of frozen gas per year.

Novatek’s Yamal facility exports both to Europe and Asia and has a capacity of 16.5 million tonnes of frozen gas per year, with the possibility of expansion.

According to Refinitiv Eikon flows data, Novatek shipped seven cargoes with a total volume of 67,800 cubic meters of frozen gas between March 31 and April 16 from Vysotsk.

Three cargoes were received by Lithuanian port Klaipeda, one each by the Finnish ports of Tahkoluoto (Pori) and Tornio, and the remaining two went to Visby and Nynäshamn in Sweden.

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Den andra april 2019 träffades Aleksandr Abramov, Ryska Federationens Handelsrepresentant i Sverige med Wictoria Amandustin, Kansliråd – Näringslivsfrämjare, Enheten för Östeuropa och Centralasien, Utrikesdepartementet, och Björn Kavalkov-Halvarsson, Ambassadråd, Gruppchef, Sveriges Ambassad i Moskva. Under mötet diskuterade man aktuella aktiviteter riktade till utveklandet av direkta affärskontakter mellan ryska och svenska företag, samt möjligheter och problem i de svensk-ryska handels och ekonomisk förbindelserna.

On March 21, a round table on the hiking trails topic was held at Trade Representation. The Swedish and Russian parties hold consultations regarding the establishment of a tourist route – a 1200 km long Lomonosov trail, in Russia. This route can attract not only Russian, but also foreign tourists. Among the Swedish participants were employees of the Swedish office of UNESCO, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, as well as profile historians. The Russian delegation was headed by the Deputy Governor of the Arkhangelsk Region – the Head of the Representative Office of the Arkhangelsk Region under the Government of the Russian Federation. E.S. Kutukova.

During the Round Table, the parties not only were able to discuss various aspects of the functioning of hiking routes, such as regulatory framework, financial and administrative issues, informational support, preservation of historical monuments, but also agreed on a constant exchange of expert opinions and support provided by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. There is a possibility that this cooperation can lead to the creation of a walking route that will connect several Scandinavian countries with the Russian North.