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Romania goes on the diplomatic offensive to recover gold treasure stolen by Russia

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Newsroom
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fine gold ingots and nuggets on a wet golden background

National Bank of Romania (NBR) Governor Mugur Icerescu recalled this week that 107 years have passed since Romania’s First World War gold treasure was sent for safekeeping to Moscow, which Bucharest claims it has not yet fully recovered. Moscow, for its part, denies having any obligations to Bucharest.

The issue of the “hijacked” treasure has been a sensitive topic in the relations between Romania and Russia for years, and since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, the issue has effectively been “frozen”, Romanian media note.

“We have set ourselves the goal of organizing a number of events to confirm, especially internationally, that Romania has a fully valid historical and legal claim to its gold deposit evacuated to Moscow in 1916-1917 “, the governor of the central bank said during a symposium on Monday, as quoted by the Hotnews site.

Digi 24 TV stated on this occasion that “the NBR launched an international lobby for the treasure stolen by the Russians”.

This is Romania’s oldest legal dispute and truly unique in the world, Hotnews commented, noting that no other country had appropriated another country’s property entrusted to it for safekeeping.

Entering the First World War on the side of the Entente in August 1916, Romania soon faced an extremely difficult situation as a result of the battles on two fronts – both in Transylvania and on the Danube, Hotnews reminds.

Therefore, already in September 1916, the National Bank of Romania took the first measures to evacuate its gold treasure to a safe place. The Russian Empire, which at that time was an ally of the Kingdom of Romania, was considered such a safe place.

The Romanian government and the representatives of the National Bank of Romania sign with a representative of the Russian Empire in Iași (where, due to the advance of the Central Powers troops, all the institutions of the Romanian state have been temporarily relocated) a convention specifying the conditions for the first transport of Romanian gold to Moscow .

According to the document, the Romanian valuables are “under the guarantee of the Russian government regarding the security of the transport, the security of the deposit, as well as the return to Romania,” the news site said.

“This year, in December, marks the 107th anniversary of the evacuation to Moscow of the treasure of Romania. Since 1991, the National Bank of Romania has consistently implemented a strategy to present to public opinion at home and abroad the problem of the treasure sent to Moscow and then confiscated by the Soviet Union,” Mugur Icerescu also stated.

He said the first step would be to support Romanian MEP Eugene Tomac’s efforts to educate MEPs and bring international attention to the gold reserve issue.

In April of this year, the leader of the People’s Movement (PND) party stated during a debate in the European Parliament that “the entire treasure of Romania continues to be in Russia, and Moscow has repeatedly refused to return it to Romania”, reports the website News.ro .

“The entire treasure of Romania has been held illegally in Moscow for more than a century. Transported in 41 wagons, it contains over 91 tons of gold, the majority of which is jewelry and rare coins, as well as 2.4 tons of gold bullion from the NBR reserve. The total value is over 5 billion euros,” he said at a plenary session of the EP.

The value of the entire deposit made by the National Bank of Romania in Moscow amounts to 321,580,456 golden lei, Digi 24 TV noted.

The treasure also includes Queen Maria’s jewels valued at 7,000,000 gold lei, valuable works of art including paintings by famous Romanian artists such as Nicolae Grigorescu, jewelry, old books and miniatures, icons and other religious objects.

In information on this topic, the TASS agency writes that during the October Revolution of 1917 and the civil war, some of the treasures kept in the Kremlin, including the Romanian ones, were taken out of Moscow.

Various hypotheses have been presented in the historical literature about their further fate, but none of them has been definitively confirmed, the agency said.

Later, after the end of World War II and Romania’s entry into the socialist bloc, some of the confiscated gold was returned. The Soviet Union also agrees not to demand from Romania reparations in the amount of 300 million dollars, which Romania must pay to the USSR under the Paris Peace Treaty of 1947, reminds Lenta.ru.

The Romanian edition of “Newsweek” indicates that Romania is getting back part of the treasure in two tranches. The first was on June 16, 1935, when 17 freight cars loaded with 1,443 crates arrived at the Bucharest station. They came from Moscow by order of the USSR government, which decided to return part of the valuables stored in the Kremlin. A second such transport was carried out in 1956 as a “gesture of goodwill on the part of the Russian comrades”, the publication states. In both cases, however, the returned values did not include the gold deposited by the NBR, the central bank’s official website noted.

In February 2022, shortly before the outbreak of war in Ukraine, the then Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bogdan Aurescu, said that Romania wanted to resume negotiations with Moscow to return the gold treasure, which has been the cause of friction between the two countries for decades, writes the edition “Balkan Insight”.

“A right of claim of Romania more than a century old. This is not our first action along these lines. (…) Therefore, our main concern, at the National Bank of Romania, is to make public the documents we have on this matter. I am referring to the original documents collected in the special file that has been kept in the NBR governor’s safe since 1922. The “Treasure” file was passed from hand to hand from one governor to another since 1922, including during the communist period. So I also received it – as proof of the determination of the National Bank of Romania to get back the property that belongs to it”, stated the governor of the central bank, Mugur Isrescu.

At the moment, any discussion about the Romanian treasure is closed, and Russia and Romania have stopped all dialogue after the war in Ukraine, notes “Newsweek”. The last discussions on the topic were four years ago.

“Since November 2019, we have not met with the Russian side, the last meeting was in Moscow according to the principle of alternating seats. The meeting scheduled for 2020 in Romania did not take place due to the pandemic,” Prof. d- r Ioan Bolovan, Corresponding Member of the Romanian Academy, who is leading the negotiations with Russia.

“I have not received any response to my proposal in 2021 to resume meetings,” says the professor.

Source: According to BTA

Gaza: start of truce feeds hopes for respite, access to people in need: UN humanitarians

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United Nations News
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Gaza: start of truce feeds hopes for respite, access to people in need: UN humanitarians

They reiterated calls for access to all parts of the war-shattered enclave where the death toll inched towards 15,000 and many displaced people were sleeping in the streets.

UN humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA) spokesperson Jens Laerke told reporters in Geneva that the hope regarding the agreement between Israel and Hamas announced earlier this week is “that the pause is respected, that it enables us to reach the people who need us and that it will be extended into an actual humanitarian ceasefire in the long run”.

Besides the 96-hour humanitarian pause in fighting, the agreement, which was facilitated by Egypt, Qatar and the United States, stipulates the release of hostages taken during the Hamas terror attack on Israel on 7 October as well as of Palestinian detainees from Israeli prisons.

“We hope the agreement… will bring respite to the people of Gaza and Israel and some relief to the hostages and detainees who will be released, and to their families,” Mr. Laerke said.

Reaching people ‘wherever they are’

The OCHA spokesperson underscored the “volatile, intense situation” unfolding in the first hours of the truce, stressing that “the pipeline is quite long for relief and parts of it – a lot of it in fact – is beyond our control and has to do with verification of the consignments”.

Speaking of the urgency to reach people in need “wherever they are”, he highlighted the pressing need for access to northern Gaza “where the damage and humanitarian needs are the greatest” and which has long been cut off from the south of the enclave and from aid by Israeli military operations.

More hospital evacuations planned

Joining his voice to hopes for the pause to extend into a sustained ceasefire, UN health agency (WHO) spokesperson Christian Lindmeier highlighted the plight of patients and health workers trapped in north Gaza’s hospitals and said that planning and efforts towards further evacuations, notably from the Indonesia and Al-Ahli hospitals, are under way.

On Wednesday, in a joint effort between UN agencies and humanitarian partner organisation the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) 151 wounded and sick people, their family members and medical workers were evacuated from Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City and transported in an ambulance and bus convoy to the south.

Mr. Lindmeier said that WHO is “extremely concerned about the safety of the estimated 100 patients and health workers” remaining at the hospital. 

Out of 24 hospitals operating in the north prior to the war, 22 are either out of service or unable to admit new patients, while of the 11 medical facilities in the south, eight are functional. WHO said that of those, only one has the capacity to treat critical trauma cases or perform complex surgery.

Fuel for rescue operations

In the run-up to the Friday 7 am truce start time OCHA noted an increase in bombardments and violent clashes, saying that Israeli strikes from air, land and sea intensified across most of Gaza, “alongside ground battles with Palestinian armed groups in the north, Jabalia in particular”, and that many casualties were reported.

As the death toll in the enclave passed 14,800 as of Thursday evening, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office quoted by OCHA, thousands of people are estimated to be trapped under the ruins of their houses.

As part of the humanitarian scale-up OCHA’s Jens Laerke insisted on the need to get more fuel into the Strip to “operate machinery to get people out of the rubble”, given massive infrastructure damage and building collapse.

OCHA reported that 68,383 litres of fuel entered Gaza from Egypt on Thursday, following an Israeli decision from 18 November to “allow the daily entry of small amounts of fuel for essential humanitarian operations”. The UN Office said last week that some 200,000 litres of fuel per day were needed.

Mr. Laerke stressed that the fuel that goes into Gaza is “in UN custody at all times” and is being distributed by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.

‘Bare minimum’

Over 1.7 million people in Gaza are estimated to be internally displaced and about one million of them are staying in more than 150 UNRWA shelters across the Strip. 

Shelters in the south, where people were forced to flee by Israeli military operations, are many times over capacity and OCHA said that most displaced men and older boys are sleeping in the open, in school yards or in the streets nearby. 

In a statement on Thursday, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini stressed that people in Gaza “deserve to sleep without being anxious about whether they will make it through the night”.

“This is the bare minimum anyone should be able to have,” he insisted.

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Why does a dog spill its food while eating?

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Newsroom
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If you have noticed that while eating, your dog spills a large part of the contents of its bowl on the floor around it, then you are probably wondering what is the cause of this behavior in the animal? And, more importantly, what can you do to help your pet eat a little more cleanly and tidily?

Here are a few things you can try to limit the amount of dog food you spill on the floor of your home.

• Check that you are giving your dog the correct amount of food

If you fill his bowl too much, your dog may not be hungry enough to eat it all. Check the food package for suggested serving sizes based on your pet’s specific weight.

• Eating in private

Some dogs may become distracted or defensive during feeding. If you have other pets at home, your four-legged friend may become anxious when it’s time to eat. This may cause him to take a bite of the contents of his pan and carry it elsewhere to eat it. Dropping some of the granules along the way, of course.

• Maintain regular mealtimes

And clean your dog’s litter box between meals. This way, the animal will be hungrier when it’s time for dinner. This will also prevent him from rummaging through his bowl every day, leaving food on the floor.

• Change of food

Your dog may just be picky and doesn’t like the type of food you currently have. Trying something new can change that. Also, make sure the formula is appropriate for your pet’s breed, age, and size.

• Make sure the food has not spoiled

If your dog’s food is moldy and rancid, he will not want to eat it and may leave it on the floor. Be sure to store the granules in their original bag and airtight container to keep them fresh. Use within six weeks after opening the package.

• Change the food bowl

It may not be the food, but the litter box that is causing your dog’s behavior. Try changing it up by choosing a container of a different material or size.

• Point out your dog’s dropped bites

It is possible that your pet simply did not notice that he left uneaten food.

Photo by Summer Stock: https://www.pexels.com/photo/adult-german-shepherd-lying-on-ground-333083/

The European Parliament has rejected a Commission proposal on pesticide reduction

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EuropeanTimes
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The European Parliament has rejected a Commission proposal on pesticide reduction
European Parliament - Press conference on Sustainable use of pesticides

The European Parliament has outright rejected a proposal on the EU’s pesticide reduction plan, effectively killing off the regulation in a move lamented by green groups but celebrated by EU farmer associations.  

The contentious sustainable use of pesticides regulation (SUR) proposal aimed to slash the use and risk of pesticides in half by 2030, as set out in the EU’s flagship food policy, the Farm to Fork strategy.

After months of back and forth, the European Parliament attempted to hammer out its final position on the file but came up empty-handed after lawmakers ultimately voted to reject the text entirely thanks to a series of amendments – many of which were put forward by the conservative right wing of the Parliament –  which scrapped the core elements of the SUR.

This included, for example, the procedure for setting national reduction targets and monitoring their implementation, as well as a weakening of restrictions on the use of pesticides in sensitive areas. 

For Green MEP Sarah Wiener, who led the work on the file, the rejection was a “bitter blow” for the protection of the environment and public health, calling out an “unholy alliance of the far-right, conservatives and liberals” which managed to “kill the entire position of the Parliament”. 

However, she defended the decision to vote down the “amputated” final text, saying that the resulting text was “not one we could in good conscience vote for”. 

Likewise, liberal MEP Pascal Canfin, chair of the Parliament’s environmental committee (ENVI), said the bar was “so low” on the end compromise that it would have “backtracked the [2009] sustainable use directive”.

With this vote, Parliament has effectively rejected the Commission proposal and closed its first reading. The Council still has to decide on its own position on the proposal to determine whether it is definitively rejected or returns to Parliament for a second reading.

Clashes in eastern DR Congo displaced 450 000 in six weeks

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United Nations News
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Clashes in eastern DR Congo displace 450,000 in six weeks
© UNHCR/Blaise Sanyila - People who have fled clashes and violence in North Kivu seek refuge in Rusayo, in the DR Congo.

Violent clashes between non-state armed groups and government forces have displaced 450 000 people in the last six weeks in Rutshuru and Masisi territories in North Kivu province.

People arriving in the town of Sake, located near the provincial capital Goma, spoke of having to make harrowing choices, with men risking death to feed starving children and women risking rape to collect firewood. 

‘Concerning pattern of abuse’

UNHCR said its monitoring in the region has showed over 3,000 reported human rights violations in October, nearly double the figure from the previous month.

“Rape and arbitrary killings feature prominently in these results, along with kidnappings, extortion, and the destruction of property, illustrating a deeply concerning pattern of abuse inflicted upon civilian populations,” the agency said.

The intensification of violence is also having a devastating impact on the lives of children, with protection partners reporting a sharp increase in the number of overall violations against them.

Major roads obstructed

The UN agencies said the severity of the crisis is further exacerbated by the limited humanitarian access to those in dire need, mainly due to the obstruction of major routes, with some 200,000 displaced people cut off from aid.

The disruption also increases the vulnerability of displaced populations, leaving them without essential resources and protection.

Although UNHCR has built shelters in recent months for more than 40,000 people near Goma, and distributed more than 30,000 kits containing tarps, cooking pots, and blankets, the partners more action is needed to ensure that the nearly seven million people affected by conflict receive urgent help.

Humanitarian funding shortfall

UN partners and humanitarian groups are urgently ramping up efforts to tackle urgent needs stemming from overcrowding and inadequate shelter in spontaneous sites, with limited access to food and clean water. 

Since June 2023, UNICEF has reached nearly 700,000 people with lifesaving assistance, including clean water and sanitation, child protection, non-food items, health, nutrition and education. 

Together with UNHCR, the agency urgently appealed for an end to the violence and underlined their commitment to alleviate the suffering of those affected by the crisis.

However, they stressed that the international community must act swiftly and generously, noting that a $2.3 billion humanitarian response plan for the DRC this year is only 37 per cent funded.

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Over 600 Undisclosed Workplace Injuries at Elon Musk’s SpaceX

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Newsdesk
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A recent investigation has uncovered over 600 previously unreported workplace accidents at Elon Musk’s rocket company, SpaceX.

These undocumented injuries were severe in their nature. They range from crushed limbs and amputations to burns and electrocutions. Those familiar with this matter say the grave trend reflects the toll of Elon Musk’s aggressive pursuit of space colonization.

The report authors said this investigation revealed a pattern of SpaceX neglecting worker-safety regulations and established practices, and the fact that this negative and dangerous trend is present at its rocket and satellite facilities nationwide.

The investigation primarily covered the time period since 2014 and was based on a number of interviews and government records. Among at least 600 documented injuries, the severity varies, with over 100 cases of cuts or lacerations, 29 instances of broken bones, and 17 cases of crushed hands or fingers, among others.

The report underscores the challenges posed by Elon Musk’s ambitious goals in the space exploration industry and raises concerns about worker safety within SpaceX.

Present and former employees have revealed that these injuries are indicative of a disorderly work environment where often inadequately trained and fatigued staff frequently overlooked basic safety procedures to meet Musk’s ambitious deadlines for space missions.

SpaceX, established by Elon Musk over two decades ago, reportedly maintains a stance that places the responsibility for self-protection on workers, as indicated by numerous current and former employees, including a former senior executive.

Musk himself has, on occasion, displayed a nonchalant attitude towards safety during visits to SpaceX sites. According to four employees, he occasionally engaged in playful activities with a novelty flamethrower and discouraged workers from wearing safety yellow due to his aversion to bright colors.

“Elon’s concept that SpaceX is on this mission to go to Mars as fast as possible and save humanity permeates every part of the company,” commented Tom Moline, a former SpaceX senior avionics engineer. “The company justifies casting aside anything that could stand in the way of accomplishing that goal, including worker safety.”

In total, Reuters conducted interviews with over three dozen individuals knowledgeable about safety practices at Elon Musk’s SpaceX, a majority of whom were current or former employees. Many of these sources chose to remain anonymous due to concerns about potential career or legal consequences.

It’s important to note that the documented injuries, exceeding 600, represent only a fraction of the total case count, a figure not publicly disclosed. Since 2016, OSHA has mandated companies to annually report their overall injury figures; however, SpaceX facilities neglected to submit reports for most of those years.

Notably, approximately two-thirds of the injuries brought to light by this recent Reuters investigation occurred in years when SpaceX did not report this annual data.

The details about the 600-plus injuries were uncovered by analyzing court documents from worker lawsuits, employee medical records, state workers’ compensation claims, public records requests, and emergency-call records.

Written by Alius Noreika

Residents of Belarus must obtain permission from the authorities to live abroad

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Newsroom
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Residents of Belarus who wish to settle and live in another country must send an application to the migration authorities in Minsk, according to a government decree promulgated today, DPA reported, citing BTA.

The office will then review the case and issue a decision within 35 days based on information about tax obligations, mandatory military service and previous convictions. Previously, citizens only had to inform the Belarusian consulate in a given country about the residence permit received there.

The authoritarian former Soviet republic is tightening controls on people living abroad, DPA notes. Recently, citizens were informed that their personal documents will be able to be issued only in Belarus and not abroad. This means that residents of the country will have to return to Belarus at least once every ten years to renew their documents.

Belarusian citizens living abroad number about 1.5 million people, and some of them have fled because of the repression of the country’s leader, Alexander Lukashenko, DPA notes. The population of Belarus is just over 9 million inhabitants.

The number of political refugees from Belarus in Europe has increased significantly especially since the disputed presidential elections in 2020, after which Lukashenko remained in power and ordered the police and judiciary to apply brutal measures against the protesters.

Illustrative Photo by Natallia Rak: https://www.pexels.com/photo/people-gathering-in-a-rally-5235341/

Russian Actress Killed While Performing in Occupied Donetsk

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Newsroom
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A Russian actress was killed by Ukrainian shelling while performing for the Russian military in the Moscow-occupied Donetsk region.

The death of Polina Menshikh, 40, was confirmed on the 22 Nov. 2023 to the state-run TASS news agency by regional officials and in a VKontakte post by a St. Petersburg theater.

“It is with great pain that we inform you that Polina Menshikh … died yesterday at a performance in the Donbas as a result of shelling,” the Portal theater said Monday.

Menshikh had been performing at a volunteer concert for soldiers in the village of Kumachovo at the time of the attack, the Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper said.

Video published by the Astra Telegram news channel appears to show the moment of the attack. 

In the footage, a woman is seen singing to an audience that appears to include members of the military before the performance is interrupted by a loud noise and the screen goes dark.

Donetsk occupying authorities have reported other civilian deaths as a result of Ukrainian shelling in recent weeks, as Ukrainian forces have made inroads into other Russian-occupied areas.

Russia-backed officials in Donetsk said that the 27th Rocket Artillery Brigade under Colonel Dmitry Khrapach was responsible for the attack. 

They also said that Ukraine used U.S.-supplied M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) had been used, as well as other missiles.

A Telegram post by Platon Mamadov, a onetime pro-Kremlin troll now volunteering for the Russian war effort, said HIMARS first hit volunteers’ cars, a stage, and the artists’ dressing room. A second attack hit those who came to pull people out of the rubble and provide first aid, he said.

The DNR officials said two apartment buildings and four “civil infrastructure” buildings had been damaged, but mentioned no deaths beyond Menshikh.

The independent Holod news website and Newsweek reported that 25 Russian soldiers had also been killed in the attack, citing Ukrainian military sources.

Russia’s Investigative Committee said Monday that it planned to open an investigation into the death of a civilian.

Source: The Moscow Times

Illustration: Mosaic Cain kills Abel

Where do snakes hibernate?

By
Gaston de Persigny
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0

Snakes are known both for their love of the sun and choosing warm and sunny places to bask, and for the fact that they themselves are called cold-blooded. Are cold-blooded animals colder in the winter than warm-blooded animals and how do snakes survive the winter?

The habitats of hissing reptiles in the summer are familiar to most people – you’ve probably heard: “Don’t walk in the grass or beware of stones heated by the sun, snakes can hide there”, but where these reptiles hibernate remains a little known fact to the general public .

What do snakes do in winter?

You certainly haven’t seen a snake in the winter, which makes you wonder if they’re actually hibernating. Reptiles, including snakes, stop feeding in winter, their activity drops dramatically, their metabolism slows down and they fall into a state close to hibernation. During this kind of hibernation, which is different from the hibernation of mammals, snakes do not sleep deeply, they use the milder winter days to come out of their burrows to the surface and look for water.

However, feeding does not resume until spring, when temperatures rise. Where do snakes hide in winter? Snakes are hypersensitive to the cold, and as temperatures drop, they seek a place underground to hide from surface temperature changes, snow, moisture and ice.

It is known that underground the temperature remains relatively constant and the reptiles are protected from the cold. Very rarely do snakes crawl out of their burrows in the winter when the weather is unseasonably warm to drink water. However, the first feeding after the beginning of the cold months for snakes is only in the spring. Their low activity and the fact that they slow down their metabolism helps them not need food during the winter months. Where snakes hide in winter depends on their habitat, continent, lifestyle and species, writes actualno.com.

Usually, and in the general case especially when we talk about snakes in our latitudes, among the preferred winter habitats and hiding places from the cold of these reptiles are abandoned rodent holes, cracks or holes in rocks, haystacks, tree roots, etc. And though the place is secluded and hidden, the snakes’ hibernation itself is far from secluded and lonely. A curious fact is that they do not winter alone, but in groups, forming a ball.

Fun facts about snakes in winter:

A curious fact about the hibernation of snakes is that, of all species of hissing reptiles, garden snakes are the first to wake up in the spring and the last to go to sleep in late autumn. This is due to their higher resistance to cold. They retain their vitality even at temperatures slightly lower than 14 degrees and fall asleep when the degrees permanently fall below 14. In our folk art, traditions and customs, a curious name has been preserved for one of the Saturdays in late autumn – snake Saturday – the day, in which snakes enter their burrows and shelters, form a ball and fall into hibernation, lasting until spring, when the warm rays of the sun will warm and awaken both the earth and the plants and the snakes.

Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/brown-2-snake-87428/

Russia, A defendant in the case of military “fakes” told about humiliation and torture in a psychiatric hospital

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Newsdesk
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Male psychiatrist leads female patient in straitjacket, mental hospital. Woman in strait jacket undergoing "treatment" in clinic for the mentally ill

St Petersburg. Last November 15th, OVD-info reported that a defendant in the military “fakes” case has told about humiliation and torture in a psychiatric hospital.

The staff of the psychiatric hospital No. 3 named after I. I. Skovortsov-Stepanov abuse Victoria Petrova, a defendant in the case of military “fakes” from St. Petersburg. This is reported in her Telegram channel by her lawyer Anastasia Pilipenko.

As Petrova told her, she was forced to undress for a “bodily examination” in front of male staff, with women nearby at the time. Afterwards, the hospital staff mocked and laughed at her in response to her request to change her pad before the examination, as she was bleeding on her legs due to menstruation.

Petrova’s hands were then clasped when she refused to take a shower in front of everyone present and asked to be left only with the women, as was the case in the pre-trial detention centre. The girl was then tied up and shaken “like a mutt” and promised to be beaten “just as a welcome to the new place”.

In addition, Petrova was tied to the bed by her hands and feet and injected with medication that made her unable to speak for two days. While she was under the influence of the medication, the hospital staff threw her clothes over her face.

The case against Petrova was initiated in May 2022 because of a video in VKontakte dedicated to the war in Ukraine. She was charged with spreading military “fakes” on the grounds of political or ideological hatred (item “e” part 2 of article 207.3 of the Criminal Code). In the same month she was detained and sent to pre-trial detention centre. In October this year, the court transferred the girl to a psychiatric hospital. In addition, the girl was appointed a legal representative – her uncle became her legal representative.

18 November Petrova’s lawyer Anastasia Pilipenko said that the girl was transferred to another ward. She was no longer beaten, humiliated and tied to the bed, as well as injected with tranquilisers.

“Once again I am convinced that the main thing that can change the situation in such a closed institution is close attention from the outside,” Pilipenko commented.

Since 24 February 2022 – the first day of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine – residents of Russian cities have been going on anti-war rallies every day and speaking out about the tragedy online. Anti-war speeches and statements become a reason for criminal prosecution. So far, more than 750 people have been prosecuted for protesting against the war with Ukraine. Read more about it in our infographic.

Article 207.3 (Public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the armed forces of the Russian Federation) was included in the Criminal Code in March 2022 – this is how the authorities responded to anti-war speeches and statements, as well as the dissemination of information about the war that does not come from official Russian sources. The maximum penalty under the article is 15 years in prison.

“Anti-war case”

Since the first day of the invasion of Ukraine, residents of Russian cities have been holding anti-war actions and speaking out about the “special operation” on social networks. These actions become a reason for criminal prosecution.


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