6 December 2015. The Polar Sunset in Murmansk… Sunrise Won’t Be Until 12 January

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The Polar Night lasts for 41 unbroken days in Murmansk in the Far North… it started on 2 December… it’ll end on 12 January. That is, it’ll be dark for New Year’s and Christmas, and the sun will only rise again a week before Epiphany. At least, here in Upstate New York, we have light from 08.00 to 16.00 at the solstice. That ain’t much, but it’s much better than Murmansk has, which is NOTHING.

DARK! For 41 whole days… no wonder the Russians invented vodka… now, that’s an “All-Nighter”…

BMD

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20 October 2013. A Photo Essay. Братья наши меньшие… Our Smaller Brothers

International dog show Russia-2013 in Moscow (Federal City of Moscow. Central Federal District) RF 

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Children gather around a monument dedicated to Semyon the Cat in Murmansk (Murmansk Oblast. Northwestern Federal District) RF. Semyon gained wide recognition in Russia after he travelled for 6½ years, covering 2,000 kilometres (1,243 miles)… the distance between Moscow and his home in Murmansk 

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Zoo employee Daria Zhirnova feeds Lime, a 6-week-old Snowy Owl chick, at the Royev-Ruchey Zoo in a suburb of the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk (Krasnoyarsk Krai. Siberian Federal District) RF 

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Zoo employee Daria Zhirnova trains a wild Great Gray Owl inside a cage at the Royev-Ruchey Zoo, Krasnoyarsk (Krasnoyarsk Krai. Siberian Federal District) RF

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Bear cubs walk inside the forest enclosure of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) Bear Rescue Centre (near the Chisty Les (Чистый Лес: Pure Forest) Biostation), near the village of Bubonitsy (Pozhinskoe Rural Settlement. Toropetsky Raion. Tver Oblast. Central Federal Oblast) RF, 350 kilometres (218 miles) northwest of Moscow

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Bear cubs at the IFAW Bear Rescue Centre, Bubonitsy (Pozhinskoe Rural Settlement. Toropetsky Raion. Tver Oblast. Central Federal Oblast) RF

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Bear cubs at the IFAW Bear Rescue Centre, Bubonitsy (Pozhinskoe Rural Settlement. Toropetsky Raion. Tver Oblast. Central Federal Oblast) RF

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Italian Greyhounds participate in a sighthound racing hunt for a mechanical hare during the Federation National Russian Dog Championships in Yekaterinburg (Sverdlovsk Oblast. Ural Federal District) RF 

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A dog dressed in VDV beret and a telnyashka during the celebration of Airborne Forces Day in Moscow (Federal City of Moscow. Central Federal District) RF

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A Baltic Grey Seal cub inside a temporary rehabilitation centre in Repino (Kurotny Raion. Federal City of St Petersburg. Northwestern Federal District) RF, outside St Petersburg proper

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Polar Bears Uslada (left) and Menshikov investigate the contents of a parcel that zookeepers delivered to their enclosure for International Polar Bear Day at the St Petersburg Zoo, St Petersburg (Petrogradsky Raion. Federal City of St Petersburg. Northwestern Federal District) RF

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Mikhail, a trainer from a travelling circus troupe based in Moscow, grooms Masha, an 11 year-old bear, during rehearsals at the Bolshoi Circus on the Fontanka in St Petersburg (Central Raion. Federal City of St Petersburg. Northwestern Federal District) RF

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Watchdog in Tara (Tarsky Raion. Omsk Oblast. Siberian Federal District) RF

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Grigori Sirenko, an employee of the Primorye Aquarium, Far Eastern Department, Russian Academy of Sciences (RAN), engaged in training Far Eastern White Whales at the open-air enclosure in Paris Bay on Russky Island, Vladivostok (Primorsky Krai. Far Eastern Federal District) RF

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Almaz, a three-year-old male White African Lion, plays with a pumpkin inside his enclosure during the Zoo Halloween Weekend event at the Royev-Ruchey Zoo in Krasnoyarsk (Krasnoyarsk Krai. Siberian Federal District) RF

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Kiara, a Liliger, a hybrid cross between Ligress Zita and Lion Sam, was born in the Novosibirsk Zoo, Novosibirsk (Novosibirsk Oblast. Siberian Federal District) RF

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Spectators at a traditional goose fight in Pavlovsk (Pavlovsky Raion. Voronezh Oblast. Central Federal District) RF, some 450 kilometres (280 miles) outside Moscow

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A newborn Polar Bear cub with its mother at the Moscow Zoo, Moscow (Presnensky Raion. Central Okrug. Federal City of Moscow. Central Federal District) RF

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Frank the Cheetah, who appears to be laughing, at the Moscow Zoo, Moscow (Presnensky Raion. Central Okrug. Federal City of Moscow. Central Federal District) RF

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Avrora, a one-year-old female Polar Bear cub, plays in a swimming pool at the Royev-Ruchey Zoo in Krasnoyarsk (Krasnoyarsk Krai. Siberian Federal District) RF

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Two cats in a park grooming one another… somewhere in Russia

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1 October 2013. A Photo Essay. Our Great Russian Motherland… The Kola Peninsula in Autumn

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One of the most northernmost parts of Russia is the Kola Peninsula. The ice-free port of Murmansk is here, along with the main Northern Fleet bases of Polyarny and Severomorsk. The Peninsula lies completely within Murmansk Oblast, and virtually all of the oblast’s territory is on the Peninsula. This is one of the most militarily-significant regions in Russia, the main base for Russia’s submarine strategic nuclear deterrent force is here (although Sevmash, the builder of all Russian nuclear-powered submarines, is in Severodvinsk near Arkhangelsk). Nevertheless, most of the Peninsula is wild, with the total population of 800,000 spread over an area of 144,900 square kilometres (55,946 square miles)… 40 percent of the population is in the single city of Murmansk. Most of the people live in a small area between Polyarny on the Barents Sea and Kandalaksha on the White Sea.

BMD

24 March 2013. RIA-Novosti Infographics. Global Event “Earth Hour”: History, Purpose, Participants

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Click here for an “Earth Hour” image gallery

The World Wildlife Fund sponsors “Earth Hour” annually. On the last Saturday in March, at 20.30 local time, all participants turn off lights and electrical appliances for an hour. This is the fifth “Earth Hour” held in Russia; last year, about 20 million people in Russia took part in it. According to WWF, about 70 Russian cities will participate in the action in 2013. The WWF specifically mentioned that Moscow, St Petersburg, Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, Lipetsk, Serpukhov, Vladivostok, Krasnoyarsk, Voronezh, Irkutsk, Krasnodar, Vologda, Nizhny Novgorod, and Syktyvkar would have special events. For the first year, Novy Urengoy will take part.

In Moscow, on 23 March, more than 80 buildings will plunge into darkness for an hour. On Saturday, the main attractions of St Petersburg… the Winter Palace, Palace Square, and the Petropavlovsk Fortress… will turn off their architectural and artistic lighting. The same thing would happen at St Petersburg State University, as well as at Troitsky Bridge, Blagoveshchensky Bridge, Bolsheokhtinsky Bridge, and Aleksandr Nevsky Bridge.

A giant ball, symbolising planet Earth will be set on fire in Nizhny Novgorod on Rozhdestvenskaya Street. The organisers of the action said, “The contours of the Earth’s continents would burn only for a short while, thus, presenting a representation of the limited and exhaustible basic resources used by mankind”. The event will take place on Markin Square near Rozhdestvenskaya Street. Residents of Krasnodar shall place candles outside a shopping mall on Stasov Street. The candles will have the inscription “Kuban +” as a symbol that the Krasnodar Krai joined the “Earth Hour” event. The shopping mall will turn off all its lights and signs.

23 March 2013

RIA-Novosti

http://ria.ru/infografika/20130322/928492089.html

http://en.rian.ru/infographics/20130323/180186908/Earth-Hour.html