09.03.2022

The most important events. Guardianship decision to reduce oil production

One of the most anticipated economic events of 2016 was the decision of the US Federal Reserve System (US Fed) to increase the key interest rate from the level of 0.25-0.5% to 0.5-0.75%. Towards tightening monetary policy American authorities were forced by growing inflation (in November 2016 it reached 2%) and unemployment (4.5%) of the country's economically active population. The head of the monetary regulator, Janet Yellen, announced her intention to raise the rate three times this year, but made the decision after the presidential elections in the United States, wanting to emphasize her apoliticality new administration president.

Those surveyed by RT are confident that the strengthening of the US dollar against the national currencies of other countries will cause significant damage to the export potential of the United States and will lead to a decline in the consumer market, which will negatively affect the growth rate of the state’s GDP already in 2017.

Brexit is a fashionable neologism

In June 2016, in a referendum on Britain's membership in the EU, the majority of Britons (51.9%) voted for the kingdom to leave the union. The unexpected expression of the will of citizens forced Prime Minister David Cameron to resign.

The UK's sensational intention shocked the foreign exchange market: in less than a month, the pound sterling fell to a historical high of 1985 and is now trading around ₤1.25 per $1.

The reaction of the banking sector, which is the most sensitive to changes in exchange rates, was not long in coming. A study in December by the Bank of England found that Britain's three largest banks - Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), StanChart and Barclays - were doing very little to eliminate financial losses at their own expense.

Political uncertainty provoked an outflow of capital from the UK, which for the first time in seven years dropped out of the top five countries most attractive to investors, Ernst & Young experts calculated. Since the summer of 2016, the kingdom's economy has lost about 45% of all foreign investment.

In 2016, continental European banks also failed stress tests. The famous German banks, Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank, failed the inspection of the Eurocentral Bank, whose capitalization was below the required level by an average of 1.5-3%. I couldn’t resist this year and banking system Italy. In November 2016, Banca Monte dei Paschi was on the verge of default, owing creditors €28 billion.

"Asian tigers" showed their fangs

In 2016, foreign investors were attracted by the prospect of high profits (up to 14% per annum) in the countries of Southeast Asia. According to the MSCI international exchange, in the three quarters of 2016, the Asian Tiger markets accounted for about 12% of all foreign capital investments. For comparison: for the same period last year this figure was 9%. The investors' favorites were Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia.

“For the countries of Southeast Asia, 2016 was one of the most successful years for the development of investment potential. Thus, over the nine months of 2016, the volume of direct investment in Indonesia increased by 12.5% and amounted to about $11.7 billion. Investors are attracted by the transparency of legislation, the openness of the economy and quick income with justified risks,” explained RT the economic attache of the Indonesian Embassy Kiki Kuprabovo.

The papers scattered

This year has been successful for the yuan - China’s national currency entered the reserve currency basket of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The share of the Chinese national currency was 11%, displacing the euro by 6%. However, the IMF preference did not save the yuan from devaluation. Over the 11 months of 2016, the yuan exchange rate against the dollar fell to an eight-year low - $1 now costs about 6.9 yuan. Over the past year alone, the Central Bank of China has allocated about $500 billion to maintain the exchange rate of the national currency.

The national currency rates of other developing countries also suffered from the economic shocks of 2016. Thus, after Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election, the Mexican peso fell by 12% overnight - this is the strongest drop since 1994.

No less “tragic” has become, the rate of which has reached a historical maximum since 1923: $1 now costs more than 3.5 lire.

Among developed economies, the most significant was the collapse of the British pound, which pulled the euro into the currency hole, which collapsed to the values of March 2015 and almost reached parity with the US dollar.

Iran without sanctions

At the beginning of 2016, the world community lifted most of the sanctions against Iran, after which state revenues from oil sales soared by almost 90%. Currently, crude oil production in the country remains at the level of 3.7 million barrels per day, which, at the current oil price, will bring more than $21 billion to the country’s treasury, the Iranian government has calculated.

However, the Iranian authorities are directing most of the oil money to the development of the country’s high-tech industries, trying to minimize the economy’s dependence on hydrocarbons in the future. In an interview with RT, Ahmad Reza Alai, Deputy Chairman for International Affairs of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said:

“Today, energy exports provide less than 25% of Iran’s budget revenues. The lifting of sanctions allowed us to increase mutually beneficial cooperation in the transfer of new technologies. According to our estimates, there are over 3,000 research centers operating in Iran, the main task of which is the development and implementation of high-tech technologies.”

Cartel agreement

For the first time in eight years, OPEC countries reached an agreement on up to 32.5 million barrels per day. Restrictive quotas were a stumbling block for exporters: the unofficial leader of OPEC Saudi Arabia for a long time could not reach an agreement on the size of the oil freeze for Iran, its main strategic competitor in the Middle East. On November 30, at a summit in Vienna, OPEC agreed to reduce existing oil capacity by 1.2 million barrels: Iran will limit crude oil production at 3.79 million barrels per day, Saudi Arabia - by 10.06 million barrels, Iraq - by 209 thousand barrels .

Russia, an observer in the cartel, has joined the “freeze”: it is ready to reduce daily production by 300 thousand barrels. Oman decided to follow the example of the Russian Federation, which will reduce production by 350 thousand barrels per day.

Oil budgets are bursting at the seams

Restoring Iran's economic power and low prices oil prices dealt a crushing blow to the prosperity of the Gulf countries. In 2016, the budgets of the oil monarchies became deficit for the first time in 20 years, which forced the authorities to place debt securities for a record amount of $66 billion. The “emission” leader was Saudi Arabia, which issued foreign currency bonds for $17.5 billion. However, according to analysts from Moody's agency, such a large-scale “debt sale” will not save the Saudi economy from the expected budget deficit of 22% of GDP in 2017 (in 2016 - 15% of GDP).

Ecological alternative

2016 was rich in the active development of alternative energy sources. China spent more than $80 billion on the purchase and installation of new wind stations. Denmark is actively using wind energy, where the share of renewable energy consumption is more than 30% of all energy sources. Germany, the USA and India do not regret investing in environmentally friendly energy sources.

Investments in renewable energy will pay significant dividends by 2020, members of the World Wind Energy Council. According to economists, in four years the industry will provide the global economy with more than a million new jobs and attract about €95 billion of investment.

The US presidential elections, the Rio Olympics, the doping scandal, terrorist attacks in Brussels, Nice and Turkey, the crash of a Tu-154 in the Black Sea - these and other main events of the year in Russia and the world in the RBC review.

First meeting of the Russian Patriarch Orthodox Church and the Pope

On February 12, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' and Pope Francis met in Cuba. This was the first meeting in history between the head of the Russian Orthodox Church and the pontiff.

Explosions at the airport and metro in Brussels, Belgium

On the morning of March 22, two explosions occurred in the passenger check-in area in the departure hall of Brussels Airport. Later, another explosion occurred at the Maelbeek metro station near the European Quarter. The terrorist group “Islamic State” (banned in Russia) claimed responsibility for the attacks. The reason was the revenge of the alleged organizer of the terrorist attacks in Paris in November 2015. More than 30 people were killed as a result of the terrorist attacks in Belgium. The suspects were detained.

Aggravation of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh

On the night of April 2, fighting resumed in Nagorno-Karabakh. The unrecognized republic and Azerbaijan accused each other of provocations. Over the four days that the conflict lasted, Azerbaijan's losses amounted to more than 30 military personnel, Nagorno-Karabakh admitted the death of 20 military personnel, and another 26 military personnel are listed as missing. According to the UN, as a result of the escalation of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, 33 people were killed and more than 200 were injured.

"Panamagate"

On April 3, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), together with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and several global media outlets, published documents from the so-called Panama Archives. The archive of 11.5 million documents is named so because the company Mossack Fonseca, the leak from which formed the basis of the investigation, is registered in the Panama Islands. According to ICIJ, the company built a business on creating shell companies and corporate structures to hide the ultimate beneficiaries of assets.

The archive revealed data on offshore and foreign companies of Russian officials or members of their families, as well as on companies whose beneficiaries are the now former minister economic development Alexei Ulyukaev, presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov, former deputy manager of the presidential affairs Ivan Malyushin, Moscow vice-mayor Maxim Liksutov, cellist Sergei Roldugin and the main owner of Rossiya Bank Yuri Kovalchuk.

Shooting at the Pulse club in Orlando, USA

On the night of June 12, 29-year-old Omar Mateen, a resident of Port St. Lucie, Florida, broke into the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando and went on a shooting spree, holding more than 300 people hostage for an hour and a half. 49 people were killed and more than 50 were injured. Mateen was shot dead during the assault. The attack on the club was classified as a “domestic terrorist attack.” Matin’s direct connection with the Islamic State, banned in Russia, was not established, but during the attack on the club, he called the rescue service and stated that he had sworn allegiance to the terrorist group.

Death of 14 schoolchildren from the camp on Syamozero, Russia

On the evening of June 18, 14 children from the health camp “Park Hotel “Syamozero” in Karelia died after being caught in a storm during a rafting trip. The Investigative Committee opened criminal cases against the director of the park, Elena Reshetova, and her deputy, Vadim Vinogradov.

Brexit, UK

On June 23, British residents voted in a referendum for the country to leave the EU (Brexit). The country's Prime Minister David Cameron resigned, his successor Theresa May promised that the procedure for leaving the EU would be launched before March 2017. Brexit led to a sharp collapse of the pound and a decrease in the attractiveness of the country for doing business.

Photo: Press service Investigative Committee RF/TASS

Arrest of Nikita Belykh, Russia

On June 24, in the restaurant of the Lotte Plaza shopping and office center on Novy Arbat, Nikita Belykh, Governor of the Kirov Region, was detained while receiving a bribe of €400 thousand. According to investigators, in exchange for this amount he promised to help the companies JSC Novovyatsky Ski Combine and LLC Forestry Management Company» when implementing investment projects. Belykh himself did not admit the charges, saying that this money should have gone to the needs of Kirov. The investigation continues, Belykh was dismissed and is in a pre-trial detention center.

Terrorist attack at Istanbul airport, Türkiye

On June 28, a terrorist attack occurred at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul near the security checkpoints at the entrance to the passenger arrivals area. The attack involved three suicide bombers who arrived at the airport in a taxi. The attackers first opened fire with weapons and then blew themselves up. More than 40 people were killed and more than 200 were injured. It was later established that the terrorist attack was carried out by persons with citizenship of Russia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan; Turkish authorities linked the attack to the activities of the Islamic State banned in Russia.

Terrorist attack in Nice, France

On July 14, during the Bastille Day celebrations, on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, 31-year-old Mohamed Boulel drove a truck into a crowd of vacationers and drove almost 2 km before the police managed to shoot him. Five suspects were detained in connection with the terrorist attack. The Islamic State terrorist group, banned in Russia, claimed responsibility for the crime. More than 80 people were killed and more than 300 were injured.

Coup attempt in Turkey

On the night of July 15-16, a military coup was attempted in Turkey. As Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, the coup was initiated by supporters of Fethullah Gülen, a preacher, philosopher, former supporter of Erdogan, who fled persecution in the United States in the 1990s. A state of emergency was declared in the country, more than 40 thousand people were detained, many media outlets and schools financed by Gülen were closed.

Doping scandal

In July and December, the independent commission to investigate doping in Russian athletics, created by WADA, published two parts of the report on the results of its work. She came to the conclusion that over the past six years the Russian Ministry of Sports has created a system for falsifying doping tests of Russian athletes.

The first report led to the disqualification of the Russian team for the 2016 Paralympics, the suspension of the track and field and weightlifting teams from the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, the cancellation of international tournaments planned in Russia, and the revocation of international licenses from Russian anti-doping structures. After the publication of the second part, Russia was deprived of the right to host the bobsleigh and skeleton world championships, which were to be held in Sochi, and also lost several major competitions in biathlon and speed skating. Investigations into most Russian athletes are ongoing.

Earthquake in Italy

On the night of August 24, one of the most destructive events occurred in Central Italy. last years earthquakes. A shock of magnitude 6.2 was recorded at the junction of the regions of Umbria, Lazio and Marche, several cities were completely destroyed. More than 240 people died, several thousand people lost their homes.

Rio Olympics and impeachment of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff

In August, the summer Olympic Games. Russia took fourth place in them, receiving 56 medals, of which 19 were gold.

On August 31, a few days after the end of the Olympic Games, the Brazilian Senate voted for the resignation of President Dilma Rousseff. The reason for impeachment was Rousseff's accusation of budget fraud: allegedly the government, at the initiative of the president in 2014-2015, used the so-called fiscal pedaling - the authorities moved planned spending on social programs to the next financial period to improve performance in the current period. Rousseff denies the allegations.

Arrest of Colonel Zakharchenko, Russia

On September 10, Interior Ministry Colonel Dmitry Zakharchenko was arrested. He was accused of accepting a bribe, abuse of power and obstruction of a preliminary investigation. According to the investigation materials, in December 2015 he received 7 million rubles. for “general patronage” from the former head and co-owner of the company “Rusengineering” Anatoly Pshegornitsky. This company has been one of the large contractors company FGC UES and carried out a number of government orders for laying electrical networks.

Another episode is related to the investigation into the theft of funds from Nota Bank. According to the case file, in January 2016, Zakharchenko warned the sister of one of the leaders of Nota Bank about the impending search and summoning of Galina Marchukova for questioning. In the fall of 2015, a financial hole was discovered in the bank’s budget, as a result of which the Central Bank revoked the structure’s license. Now a criminal case has been opened regarding the theft of money, and Nota Bank itself is in the process of bankruptcy.

In addition, during a search in the apartment of Zakharchenko’s sister and in the car he used, an unprecedented amount of money was found - almost 9 billion rubles.

Scandal with exploding Samsung Galaxy Note 7

In early September, Samsung suspended sales of the new Galaxy Note 7 smartphone after it became known that the phones could overheat during use and explode. The cause was a defect in batteries produced by one of the suppliers. This led to the fact that in November the company's shares fell by 30% in the third quarter, and management announced its readiness to consider a proposal to split the company.

US presidential election

On November 8, the US presidential elections took place. Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton was ahead of eccentric billionaire Donald Trump. His election sparked protests across the country, but in the end Clinton accepted the election results, and Trump began to assemble a team. The inauguration will take place on January 20.

Arrest of the Minister of Economic Development Alexey Ulyukaev, Russia

On November 15, Russian Minister of Economic Development Alexey Ulyukaev was placed under house arrest. Previously, he was detained while accepting a bribe of $2 million at the office of the Rosneft company. According to investigators, he received money for a positive assessment of the transaction for the acquisition of Bashneft by this company. Ulyukaev, who was later dismissed, denies the charges. The investigation is ongoing.

OPEC decision to cut oil production

On November 30 in Vienna, representatives of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreed to reduce oil production for the first time since 2008. They decreased by 1.2 million barrels per day, to 32.5 million barrels. Indonesia, not agreeing with this decision, suspended the action in the organization.

Russian oil workers agreed to reduce production following the OPEC decision. As a result, by the end of the year, the cost of a barrel of Brent oil increased from $50 to $55.

Privatization of Rosneft and Bashneft

In early October, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree on the sale of a 50.08% stake in Bashneft to Rosneft. The transaction amount amounted to 329.69 billion rubles.

How the privatization of Bashneft was prepared

On December 7, Rosneft Chief Executive Officer Igor Sechin informed President Putin about the completion of the transaction to privatize a 19.5% stake in Rosneft. Investors included Glencore and the Qatari sovereign wealth fund, which received 50% stakes in the consortium that is acquiring the shares. The transaction value was €10.5 billion.

The situation in Syria and Iraq

Throughout the year, the fight against the terrorist group “Islamic State” continued in Syria and Iraq. By the end of the year, the coalition had lost Aleppo to the militants, but Palmyra had been recaptured by terrorists again in December. Iraqi Mosul.

On December 29, it became known that the Syrian government and the armed opposition had signed a ceasefire agreement. Russian President Vladimir Putin that we are talking about a ceasefire, a set of measures to monitor the ceasefire and a statement of readiness to begin peaceful negotiations to resolve the situation in the country. According to him, the signing of the agreements was the result of Russia’s work with Turkey and Iran.

Assassination of the Russian Ambassador to Turkey

On December 19, Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov was killed during the opening of an exhibition at the Center for Contemporary Art in Ankara. The shooter, 22-year-old former Turkish police officer Mevlut Altintas, was killed. The Russian Foreign Ministry and the UN Security Council qualified the incident as a terrorist attack, and Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the ambassador to be nominated for a government award.

Tu-154 crash in the Black Sea

A Tu-154 Ministry of Defense plane taking off from Adler crashed on the morning of December 25. The airliner disappeared from radar screens in the second minute of the flight and fell into the Black Sea near Sochi. The aircraft was heading to Syria, with 92 people on board: military personnel, artists from the Alexandrov Ensemble, journalists, and the head of the Fair Aid Foundation, Elizaveta Glinka.

Investigators are considering several versions of the tragedy, including pilot error and technical problem. The possibility of a terrorist attack has not been completely ruled out, although it is certain that there was no explosion on board the plane. Preliminary examination data will become known in January, and final conclusions about the causes of the disaster will be made after the flight recorders are deciphered.

Obama Administration's New Sanctions

On December 29, US President Barack Obama signed a decree expanding sanctions against Russia in connection with the investigation into hacker attacks on political parties in USA. The list included federal Service security, Main Directorate of the General Staff, ANO "Professional Association of Informatics System Designers", LLC "Special Technology Center", LLC "Digital Weapons and Protection".

List of sanctions against individuals expanded by six surnames. It includes the head of the GRU of the General Staff Igor Korobov, his first deputies Igor Kostyukov and Vladimir Alekseev, as well as Korobov’s deputy Sergei Gizunov.

On the same day, the US State Department announced the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats from the country, who must leave the United States within 72 hours.

Invites its readers to familiarize themselves with a selection of the most high-profile and significant events of the outgoing year.

The fight against ISIS (Daesh)* in Syria

The fight against Islamic State militants continues in Syria. In February it became known that a stabilization fund would be created to provide humanitarian assistance to the population of Iraq and Syria. Representatives from 23 countries" small group"International Coalition to Fight ISIS (Daesh) - Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Great Britain, Denmark, Egypt, Germany, Jordan, Iraq, Spain, Italy, Canada, Qatar, Kuwait, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, the USA, Turkey, France, Sweden - confirmed all their commitments to increase efforts to combat terrorists in all areas, including by cutting off terrorist financing channels.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in a telephone conversation with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, supported the Russian-American initiative to establish a truce and confirmed that the Syrian authorities are ready to facilitate its implementation.

The cessation of hostilities between government forces and armed opposition groups in Syria came into force at 00:00 Damascus time (04:00 Astana time) on February 27. An hour before the ceasefire, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution in support of a cessation of hostilities in Syria.

Thus, on March 8, about 300 more people laid down their arms and supported the ceasefire in Syria, but the established truce was constantly violated.

At the same time, the UN stated that there is no “Plan B” to stop civil war in Syria, there are no inter-Syrian peace talks in Geneva.

In March, Putin ordered the withdrawal of the main Russian forces from Syria from March 15. He stated that he considers the tasks assigned to the Ministry of Defense to be completed. Putin hopes that the beginning of the withdrawal of Russian troops from Syria will be a good incentive for the negotiation process of the political forces of this country.

Later it became known that Putin and Turkish leader Erdogan agreed to invite the conflicting parties in Syria - government troops and the armed opposition - to conduct new stage negotiations

*ISIS (Daesh) is a terrorist organization whose activities are prohibited on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Exit of Great Britain from the European Union

The heads of the UK's largest banks are exploring the possibility of leaving the country at the beginning of 2017 due to the risks that may arise as a result of the launch of the Brexit procedure.

Terrorist attack in Nice

The terrible tragedy on July 15 in Nice during the French national holiday. The truck crashed into a crowd of people who came to watch the fireworks on the Promenade des Anglais. It was reported that the mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, claimed that the driver's actions were deliberate - he fired several shots into the crowd, windshield More than 30 bullet holes were found in the truck. The driver was shot and killed by police.

More than 80 people were killed, in addition, the media reported about 100 wounded. According to unofficial police data, “entire families were killed” during the terrorist attack. Among the dead were four residents of Pavlodar Lyubov Panchenko (1956), Marina Panchenko (1983), Sylvia Panchenko (2013) and Antwerp Russian school teacher Otto Natalya (1959).

The Daily Mail reported that the terrorist group ISIS (Daesh) claimed responsibility for the attack in Nice.

Internet users around the world expressed their condolences to the French people. People have been coloring their profile photos in social networks into the French tricolor. The main hashtag on the Internet on July 15 was #PrayingForNice.

Earthquake in Italy

Many people have been worried about the fate of Italians since August 2016. An earthquake of magnitude 6.0 struck the mountainous regions of central Italy on the night of August 24. The epicenter was 113 kilometers northeast of Rome. About 280 people died, most of whom were residents of Amatrice. In the settlement, 75 percent of the buildings were destroyed, and the surviving ones became uninhabitable. The consequences of the disaster were eliminated over the course of several weeks.

The next tremors were not long in coming. A powerful earthquake was recorded on October 27. The second wave of fluctuations occurred a few hours later, and the third with a maximum magnitude of 6.5 points occurred on October 30. The number of homeless people in Italy, according to preliminary data, may reach 100 thousand people.

US presidential election

One of the memorable events of 2016 was the presidency in the United States. The race for the position of head of state was turned into a spectacular show, watched all over the world. The election of the president took place on November 8 (November 9, Astana time). The procedure for their formal electoral vote took place on December 19, and on January 6, 2017, Congress will approve its results. The inauguration is scheduled for January 20, when the US President-elect will take office.

The main candidates for the presidency were Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump. As a result of the voting, Donald Trump won the presidential election, leading in a number of key states, crossing the threshold of electoral votes required to win the election according to this indicator.

Excitement in OPEC

For the first time in eight years, the countries of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) have achieved a reduction in oil production to 32.5 million barrels per day. For a long time, the unofficial leader of OPEC, Saudi Arabia, could not come to an agreement on the size of the oil “freeze” for Iran.

On November 30, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, at a meeting in Vienna, agreed to reduce oil production from January 1, 2017. The organization's president, Qatar's Minister of Energy and Industry, Mohammed Bin Saleh al-Sada, said at a press conference that oil production is being reduced by 1.2 million barrels per day, to 32.5 million. On November 30, the price of Brent oil futures for delivery in February 2017 during trading on the ICE exchange in London increased by 7.9 percent to $51.7 per barrel.

Terrorist attack in Istanbul

On December 11, in the Besiktas district of Istanbul, two bombs were planted in cars near the Vodafone Arena stadium. Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said it was likely that one of the explosions was carried out by a suicide bomber. The country's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the explosions were planned so that the number of victims was as large as possible, and in connection with the incident he canceled his visit to Kazakhstan.

The terrorist attack killed 44 people. More than 150 people remained in hospitals, some of them in serious condition.

Murder of the Russian Ambassador to Turkey

On December 19, an assassination attempt was made on the Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov in the gallery of modern art in Ankara, where the opening of the photo exhibition “Russia through the eyes of the Turks” was taking place. At some point during the ambassador’s speech, a young man standing behind him pulled out a pistol and shot the diplomat several times. Local publications reported that the suspect shot the diplomat 11 times. As a result, the ambassador received eight bullet wounds. Andrey Karlov in the hospital.

In Russia, the incident was classified as a terrorist act.

Later it became known that the alleged killer of Andrei Karlov took part in the security of the embassy during the rally Russian Federation in Ankara.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu previously said that the country's authorities decided to name the street in Ankara, where the Russian embassy building is located, after Andrei Karlov.

Also in 2016, large-scale sports competitions took place. The world watched the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and the European Football Championship.

Olympic Games 2016

Summer 2016 took place from August 5 to 21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A record number of medal sets were awarded at the competition - 306, a record number of countries - 206 took part, including Kosovo and South Sudan being represented for the first time.

The Olympic Games in Rio gave the sports world four striking, grandiose achievements. Two of them belong to real sports heroes from the USA. Katie Ledecky won four gold and one silver medals in the signature American sport of swimming. Unexpectedly, everyone was captivated by the four golds and one bronze won by the black American rhythmic gymnast Simone Biles. And yet, the Olympic Games in Brazil will remain the Games of two people - swimmer Michael Phelps and track and field athlete Usain Bolt.

Phelps, having won five heats, became a 23-time Olympic champion - an unprecedented feat in the history of world sports. He became a brilliant, great decoration of Olympic sports and a symbol of US victories. Following Phelps, Usain Bolt wrote his name in golden letters in the history of Olympism. Now eightfold Olympic champion from Jamaica forever the favorite of the whole planet, perhaps his victories were the most beautiful.

Kazakhstan finished the Games with 17 medals, finishing 22nd in the medal standings. The athletes won three gold medals, five silver and nine bronze medals.

Euro 2016

Football 2016 took place from June 10 to July 10, 2016. Of the 54 teams, 24 teams made it to the finals.

On July 10, the final game of the tournament took place, in which the Portuguese won in extra time with a score of 1:0. The Portuguese team won the tournament for the first time in history. The Portuguese national team set a kind of record by winning only one match in regular time during the entire tournament. In addition, the Portuguese qualified for the playoffs from the group only from third place thanks to the new rules, gaining only three points in the group stage.

On July 11, 2016, the UEFA technical group determined the symbolic team of the tournament, consisting of the 11 best players based on the results of the championship. UEFA also named best player tournament, it was the striker of the French national team Antoine Griezmann.

Sergei Kiriyenko received an unexpected appointment for the second time in his careerImage caption: Sergei Kiriyenko received an unexpected appointment for the second time in his career

Quote Message: When the current government begins to be re-elected, someone perceives it not as power, but as one of the candidates, and controllability disappears. Therefore, we are involved in additional anti-crisis monitoring" from Sergei Kiriyenko’s 2004 statement
Sergey Kiriyenko 2004 statement

First Deputy Head of the Russian Presidential Administration. He replaced Vyacheslav Volodin, who left for the post of Speaker of the State Duma.

Russian domestic policy will be overseen by one of its old-timers, the man brought to power by Boris Nemtsov.

Kiriyenko’s transition to the AP was preceded by almost a month of discussion in the media about Volodin’s possible replacements. Kiriyenko's candidacy was the last to emerge.

Kiriyenko is one of the old-timers of Russian politics. In 1990, he was elected to the Gorky Regional Council of People's Deputies. Three years later he became chairman of the board of the Nizhny Novgorod bank "Garantiya".

Nemtsov was the governor of the region at that moment. In 1996, thanks to good relations with Nemtsov, Kiriyenko headed the oil company Norsey Oil - he was recommended for this post by the administration of the Nizhny Novgorod region and the Russian government.

Just a year later, Kiriyenko moved to Moscow, taking the post of Deputy Minister of Fuel and Energy. Nemtsov took him there too. And in April 1998, having already become Minister of Fuel and Energy Complex by that time, Kiriyenko headed the government. He remained the youngest prime minister in Russian history - in 1998 he was 35 years old.

Already on August 17, the prime minister declared a default, which resulted in economic crisis, the collapse of the ruble and a jump in inflation. On August 23, his cabinet of ministers was dismissed.

He was then elected to the State Duma in the 1999 elections, but did not last long in parliament: in the spring of 2000, the president appointed him as his plenipotentiary representative in the Volga Federal District.

And on November 15, 2005, by order of the government, he headed Federal agency in nuclear energy, where he worked until 2016.

Experts told the BBC Russian Service that Kiriyenko's AP will have to prepare and conduct presidential elections. They are scheduled for 2018.

At a press conference on December 23, President Vladimir Putin said that their transfer is possible, but impractical.

Putin again avoided answering the question about his participation in the presidential race.

Quote Message: Time will mature, I will look at what is happening in the country, in the world, and based on what we have done, based on what we can do, how we should do, a decision will be made about my participation or non-participation in future presidential elections of the Russian Federation" from Vladimir Putin President of Russia
Vladimir Putin President of Russia

The year is coming to an end and we can begin to take stock.

So what was popular this year?

1. Art therapy

Method of treatment using artistic creativity. Art therapy today is considered one of the softest, but effective methods, used in the work of psychologists and psychotherapists, and it smoothly flowed into our everyday life.

Buns have been popular for a long time, but the loose bun has become a hit this year.

3. Brooches and badges

Once upon a time there was already a fashion for round badges of favorite musical groups and TV series, and again, the fashion for them has returned, albeit in a slightly modified form.

4. Nose piercing

Previously, it was popular to pierce the wing of the nose, but this year piercing in the middle of the nose became a hit.

5. "Funny videos"

“Funny videos” - as they call them themselves, from girls who know how to laugh at themselves and others. Some do it pretty well, some do it not so well, but these vines have become a symbol of 2016