October 27, 2009. Anti-Doping Control Centre in Moscow. Laboratory research
 

September 02, 2009. Pictured: Mikhail Puchkov preparing his submarine for the test underwater trip in the waters of the yacht club in the suburbs of St.Petersburg. Many russian `nouveau riche`s (new rich russians)can envy Russian Captain Nemo Mikhail Puchkov, the designer and owner of the only personal submarine in Russia ; as personal as just personal computers or personal cars can be... Puchkov`s mini-submarine have been built as a do-it-yourself project.The very idea of building a personal submarine came to him in 1979 in Afghanistan (the country where there is no ocean, sea , or even any deep river!!!! ) where he used to serve as a Red Army military man - tankist .Being eighteen years old ordinary Soviet guy from the city of Ryazan Mikhail was dreaming to join the Soviet Navy but the `Soviet Motherland` sent him strait to hot Afghanistan to support the puppet goverment of Afghanistan. (quotation)Mikhail says: `i started thinking of building a submarine in late 1979 in the Afghan city of Kandahar when during the night duties sitting inside the hot tank was dreaming of sea trips,i started thinking about the parts and details of construction and design of the would be sub. To build the submarine it took him about 20 years, working at night after returning from his factory job. Puchkov’s mini-submarine weights 2,300 kilograms (5,060 pounds), five meters (17 feet) long and 1.2 meters (4 feet) wide. It has two benzine engines and electronic navigation system and can dive as deep as 30 meters, the speed of the sub is 8 knots with 2 persons on the board. The interesting thing is that Mikhail is constantly working (for about 20 years) on improving and perfecting his submarine. So now Mikhail Puchkov`s model navigates various Russian waters spooking the local KGB authorities as they guess he can cross the russian border driving his mini-submarine and go abroad without any permission or visa, when he just built his sub KGB even suspected him of being a spy but could not find any evidence to prove it. Soviet military experts with big stars on the shoulders named him `genius` as his submarine whose body was made of plastics was not seen to radars. Mikhail designed and built his sub himself only and it is the smallest submarine in Russia, officially registered as a boat by Russian boat Registry and it has got it’s own personal number and name. Potentially, Mikhail can now make an underwater trip from St. Petersburg to Helsinki, Finland and back without any stops, and he can go as fast as 8 knots. In future Mikhail would like to use his submarine for underwater research of the Blatic sea including Scandinavian area of the Baltics. After the end of all necessary underwater tests Mikhail plans and dreams to cross the Atlantic Ocean with his submarine and he wants to take his wife with him.
 

August 25, 2009. MAKS 2009 Aerospace Exhibition . pictured: a combat jet and a kite
 

August 24, 2009. The accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya Hydroelectric Station took place on August 17 at 8:13 local time and was caused by a hydraulic surge in the second generating unit.At least seven people were killed and 11 injured in an accident at a hydroelectric station at Sayano-Shushenskaya in eastern Siberia. Station is located on the Yenisei river, near Sayanogorsk in Khakassia, Russia. It is the largest power plant in Russia and the 4th-largest hydroelectric plant in the world, by average power generation. Pictured: destruction at machine hall (turbine hall) of Sayano-Shushenskaya Hydroelectric Station
 

August 21, 2009. The Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory near St Petersburg.The Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory is the principal astronomical observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences.It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg.The observatory was opened in 1839.Originally, it was a brainchild of the German/Russian astronomer Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve (in 1861, his son Otto Wilhelm von Struve succeeded him). Instruments, such as the 65-cm (26-inch) refractor , horizontal meridian device , a photographic polar telescope , a big zenith telescope , stellar interferometer , 2 solar telescopes, coronagraph, a big radio telescope were installed in the Observatory. Pictured: Struve-Ertel instruments
 

August 17, 2009. The accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya Hydroelectric Station took place on August 17 at 8:13 local time and was caused by a hydraulic surge in the second generating unit.At least seven people were killed and 11 injured in an accident at a hydroelectric station at Sayano-Shushenskaya in eastern Siberia. Station is located on the Yenisei river, near Sayanogorsk in Khakassia, Russia. It is the largest power plant in Russia and the 4th-largest hydroelectric plant in the world, by average power generation. Pictured: Sayano-Shushenskaya Hydroelectric Station
 

July 16, 2009. First stage of Mars-500 experiment is over. Mars 500 is a ground-based experiment simulating manned flight to Mars. Pictured: l-r Sergei Ryazansky of Moscow`s Institute of Medical and Biological Problems, doctor Alexei Baranov, German military engineer Oliver Knickel, sports physiologist Alexei Shpakov, Air France pilot Cyrille Fournier and cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev seen after exiting the mock-up spaceship where the six-men crew spent 105 days isolated from the world
 

June 10, 2009. Professor Brian Spalding , International Scientist & Chairman of CHAM Limited, Wimbledon Becomes 2009 Global Energy International Laureate. Pictured: Professor Brian Spalding at the St.Petersburg International Economic Forum
 

June 09, 2009. The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) pipeline is an oil pipeline from Tengiz field to the Novorossiysk-2 Marine Terminal on Russia`s Black Sea coast. It is also a major export route for oil from the Kashagan and Karachaganak fields. Pictured: Southern Ozereevka (Yuzhnaya Ozereevka) Terminal of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC)near port of Novorossiysk
 

June 05, 2009. Canadian billionaire Guy Laliberté announced that he will fly on board Soyuz TMA-16[14] in late September 2009. Pictured: Canadian space tourist Guy Laliberté at the press conference in Moscow. ( Guy Laliberté is the founder and chief executive officer of Cirque du Soleil )
 

June 03, 2009. NISSAN car plant opened in St.Petersburg, Russia. Pictured: the ceremony of opening Nissan plant in St. Petersburg.
 

May 25, 2009. Utilization of old computers in St.Petersburg
 

May 25, 2009. The expert Interior Ministry criminalistic laboratory of non-identified corpses at work to identify finger prints
 

May 25, 2009. Technological accidents consequences liquidation trainings at Norilsk railroad terminal. Pictured: liquidation of consequences of poisonous substance leakage
 

April 22, 2009. Presentation of the project `Federation Island`in St.Petersburg. `Federation Island`(pictured) will be a 350-hectare artificial island located off the coast of Sochi, Black Sea resort , Russia.`Federation Island` is expected to be completed in time for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. The project will cost around 6.2 billion dollars (4.4 billion euros).Federation Island will offer private residences, hotels, as well as cultural, leisure and recreational facilities. Federation Island will be built in the shape of the Russian Federation and it will reflect Russia`s major geographical features. The Russian river network will be used as a reference for the island`s waterways.Federation Island will have seven main islands, more than a dozen private, and three breakwater islands. Sandy beaches, dunes, grasslands, bushes, small forests, and riverside will offer variety of accommodations: beach residences, luxury villas and apartments, dune, river and cliff houses.Federation Island construction will start in 2009