The most important events and the world
Contents:
• In 2021, the whole world seemed to be under the influence of the Chinese curse “may you live in times of change!”. There have been so many changes that it is difficult to keep track of them.
• Here are the top 12 most striking events and in the world.
12. Completion of the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline
One of the events that Russia can be proud of is the completion of the large-scale construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. It runs along the bottom of the Baltic Sea from the Russian Ust-Luga to the German Greifswald, which makes it possible to avoid gas transit through Ukraine, which is unfriendly to Russia.
• The construction was opposed by both the Ukrainian authorities (expectedly) and the United States, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland and Slovakia. Despite all the obstacles, Nord Stream 2 has been completed, but has not yet been put into operation, as the German side is dragging out the issue of Nord Stream 2 certification.
11. The accident of the container ship Ever Given in the Suez Canal
• If hauling a hippopotamus out of a swamp is hard work, then refloating one of the largest container ships in the world is just hellishly hard work. And at the same time, it is very expensive, because the 400-meter Ever Given, which since March 23 “corked” the Suez Canal like a cork bottle, provoked a multi-day collapse of cargo transportation.
• And although the most gloomy forecasts did not come true, and the ship was released by the end of March, this event only exacerbated the global supply crisis.
10. Mass vaccination against COVID-19
In the past year, the government of various countries has introduced widespread vaccination of its citizens in an attempt to protect them from the coronavirus. In Indonesia, they are already fined for refusing to be vaccinated, and some European countries (Greece, Austria) are planning to introduce the same measure. In other countries, vaccination against covid is still a conditionally voluntary matter.
Such unpopular measures divided citizens into supporters i opponents coronavirus vaccinations.
9. Joe Biden came to power in the USA
One of the most significant events is the victory of Joe Biden over Donald Trump during the intense presidential race in the United States. Biden became the 46th American president.
• At the beginning of December, the approval rating for Biden's activities as leader of the nation is 36,3% (down 3,3% since October), and disapproval is 59,1% (up 3,1% since October). Data provided by The Trafalgar Group.
8. Storming the Capitol
On January 6, hundreds of supporters of US President Donald Trump gathered at Capitol Hill. They burst into Congress and demanded the cancellation of the result of the US presidential election, which took place in the country in November of this year.
• For several hours, the Capitol was at the disposal of the protesters, then the police dispersed them using tear gas and stun grenades. As a result of this action, 4 people died (the fifth, which was reported in the media, died of natural causes) and dozens were injured.
• The events at the Capitol caused a split in American society and were condemned by politicians. And the social networks Twitter and Facebook banned Trump's account and deleted posts related to this incident.
7. Arrest of Alexei Navalny
In January, after returning from Germany, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was detained at the airport. He was charged with violating probation in the Yves Rocher case.
After that, protests were held in various Russian cities, more than 50 cases were opened against their participants (according to the head of the Agora human rights group Pavel Chikov, as he reported in ).
• The Anti-Corruption Foundation, created by Navalny, is recognized as a foreign agent and an extremist organization banned.
• In the colony, Navalny got a job in a sewing shop. And Vladimir Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov refused to answer Tina Kandelaki's question about Alexei Navalny's chances for a pardon.
6. Hasty withdrawal of Americans from Afghanistan
• After 20 years in Afghanistan, US troops left the country, along with a select few who were in danger of reprisals. The military left cars, military equipment and weapons worth millions of dollars in Afghanistan.
• The rest of the inhabitants of Afghanistan, who wanted to emigrate, were even ready to cling to the wings and landing gear of aircraft, fleeing from the Taliban militants, a terrorist organization banned.
• The Pentagon explained the super-fast evacuation of military security measures.
• “I can’t speak to how the Afghan side interpreted this decision, but it was made in the interests of the security of our forces,” said US Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby.
• But former US President George W. Bush, under whom the Afghan campaign began, said that the Americans' departure was a mistake, and now Afghan women and girls will suffer.
5. Departure of Angela Merkel
Merkel's tenure as German chancellor lasted 16 years, and she was the first woman to hold the post.
• This year, she refused to nominate herself, and on October 26 received an official notice of the end of her term.
• Her successor was the Social Democrat Olaf Scholz.
4. Invasion of migrants on the Polish-Belarusian border
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko's refusal to restrain migrants seeking to enter the European Union has led to the fact that thousands of migrants from Africa and the Middle East have become a camp on the border of Belarus and Poland.
• Now the border with Poland can only be crossed illegally, breaking through the border barriers or finding a detour through forests and swamps.
• The exact number of migrants who have accumulated in Belarus is unknown, their status is also in question. The president himself calls them either migrants or refugees. How and when this crisis will end is still unknown.
3. Publication of the Pandora Dossier
• A large investigation into the possible belonging of politicians, businessmen and media personalities from different countries to offshore schemes was published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
• The Pandora dossier includes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the leaders of Chile, Pakistan, the Czech Republic, several high-ranking Russians, and others.
• The dossier included over 11 million documents and was prepared by 600 journalists from 117 countries.
2. Tragedies in Perm and Kazan
Among the most memorable and most tragic events are the massacres in two Russian cities.
• In May, 19-year-old Ilnaz Galyaviev came with a shotgun and a homemade bomb to Kazan gymnasium No. 175, killed seven children and two teachers, and injured 24 others. During the interrogation, Galyaviev, who was nicknamed the "Kazan shooter" in the media, said that he considers himself a god, and the rest – "bio-garbage".
In September, 18-year-old student Timur Bekmansurov staged a massacre at the Perm State National Research University, killing 6 people, more than 40 were injured. Currently, Bekmansurov, who received several wounds during the arrest and was left without a leg, is in custody. Perhaps he will receive a life sentence, and his disability will not commute the sentence.
• These events showed how bad things are with the protection of educational institutions. In this regard, the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights proposed to develop a unified federal standard for the security of educational organizations.
1. The emergence of the omicron
Currently, omicron is actively replacing the delta strain, and has already been found in 100 countries around the world.
• Some virologists consider the emergence of a new strain of coronavirus a blessing, since although it reproduces 70 times faster than previous strains (according to scientists from the University of Hong Kong), it proceeds much more easily. And over time, COVID-19 could become a common seasonal illness, like the flu.
• Others believe that due to its rapid spread, omicron will lead to a high burden on public health, and the WHO has rated the overall risk of this strain as "very high".
• Due to the large number of mutations, omicron is resistant to existing vaccines. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin, referring to the head of the Gamaleya Center, said that the Sputnik V vaccine provides somewhere around 90% protection against omicron.
