What the media wrote about most - what was discussed most in society. See what "2014" is in other dictionaries What was in

2014 is coming to an end, the year of the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War and the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The countries of the world will continue to refer to the lessons of this year in the future. A Russia that has fought back against a police state that uses the word "democracy" to justify its aggression against other countries. The United States provoked the “Russian Spring”, and it will come back to haunt them...

Results of the year. Opinions of Russian residents

1. The main event of the year, of course, can be called the reunification of Crimea with Russia. The “Russian Spring” laid the foundation for the reunification of Russians, who seemingly did not exist during the Soviet era. Crimea revived the self-awareness of Russians, united the Russian world, returned a sense of dignity to Russia, and clearly showed who are friends and who are enemies in the world. BRICS, SCO, Eurasian Union, Customs Union, EAEU - these organizations have strengthened and formed a counterweight to the West.

Where did it all start? “It all started when Yanukovych changed his orientation and said, that’s it, we’re not going to the Customs Union, but we’re going to the EU. This was the impetus for the development of those phenomena, as a result of which Crimea returned to the Russian Federation. If not for him, then, perhaps, such trends would not exist,” said Crimean Governor Sergei Aksenov. Why did Yanukovych “change his orientation”? Because the world hegemon, the United States, wanted it. But Putin, we must give him his due, acted smartly and swiftly. As a result, Russia regained the territories of strategic importance “donated” by Khrushchev, with endless tourism potential, and gained one and a half million new citizens.

2. Sanctions and counter-sanctions. Sanctions from the West were first introduced as revenge for reunification with Crimea. Then as revenge for the fact that events in Ukraine are not developing as Washington would like. Then for the fact that Russia defends its sovereignty. The apogee of this war is the law recently adopted by US President Barack Obama, which allows the introduction of anti-Russian sanctions without the consent of Congress.

But this external threat, in addition to uniting the people, has positive aspects in the long term. All Russian economists, from neoliberals to patriots, talk about this. Sanctions will lead to import substitution. Russia, one hopes, will get off the oil needle, introduce a national payment system, and gain experience of coexistence with a hostile system. Countersanctions will allow Russian agriculture to make a breakthrough .

As the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev said, “Do not underestimate the power of Russia. It is the largest country in terms of territory and the richest. Due to sanctions, it, of course, lost income, but gas, oil and everything else remains in Russia. A crisis does not last long, and any war ends in peace.” .

3. The collapse of the ruble, a week-long panic and joyful prophecies of the “collapse of Russia”, predicted by “world analysts” and our fifth column. The event was accompanied by memories of how we were saved in 1998 and 2008. Now everything is much more optimistic. The country was insolvent in 1998 and non-sovereign in 2008.

Note that after several days of panic, the rate returned to values ​​corresponding to the price of oil. Mikhail Fradkov, head of foreign intelligence, said that the fall in oil prices is not only due to objective reasons. The president also spoke about the “external threat” as the main destabilizing factor. The same can be said about playing against the ruble. Many media outlets wrote that only a major external player could play to reduce it. For example, George Soros, who, for political reasons, once collapsed the pound sterling so that Great Britain would not join the euro zone.

4. Proclamation of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics. The south-eastern regions of Ukraine responded to the Bandera putsch with a “Russian spring”. In Odessa, Mariupol and Kharkov it was suppressed by force. But Lugansk and Donetsk survived.

It is now clear that this is a springboard for the formation of Novorossiya. Donbass will develop more successfully than Ukraine, if only because there are material and production resources there, there is help from kindred Russia, maybe not obvious, but effective. As the Russians say, Russia “doesn’t give a damn” about Novorossiya. The same cannot be said about Ukraine’s Western patrons.

5. Coup d'etat in Ukraine, starting with the Maidan on November 21, ending with the flight of Yanukovych on February 22. This is the root cause of the above events, but “lost” in terms of significance for Russians.

The coup was carried out under the neo-Nazi Bandera banners of the Right Sector. According to Victoria Nuland, five billion dollars were spent on it. Maidan promised Ukrainians sweet prospects for European integration and economic growth. As a result, they received devastation, rising taxes and falling income levels. Ukraine is on the verge of default. The remaining state-owned strategic factories in Ukraine will be transferred to American investment funds, the minister from Lithuania said recently. Congratulations to our Ukrainian brothers, Ukraine will become a US colony, but maybe that’s not a bad thing for them?

6. Olympics in Sochi. We put it in the middle of the rating, but perhaps it should have been at the beginning. Sochi is our springboard into the future, it is an indicator of the strength of the state, which from a hopelessly bankrupt state in the early 2000s has turned into a country capable of hosting the Olympic Games with dignity. This is valuable experience in developing national projects that will boost the country’s economy and provide the population with work and housing.

7. Gas and other agreements with China. This is the acquisition of an ally, which until recently was spoken of as an unreliable partner. And last week’s statements by the Minister of Foreign Affairs that China would provide assistance to Russia through the financial instruments of the SCO and BRICS immediately strengthened the ruble. Russia will adapt to the eastern markets, to settlements in national currencies, and in six months, in July 2015, the BRICS international bank, an alternative to the IMF and the US Federal Reserve, should start operating.

An alliance with China is the only alliance America fears. This is the military power of Russia plus the economic power of China.

8. The South Stream turns towards Turkey. This is the second significant and bold decision of Vladimir Putin after Crimea. It will force the European Union to think about warmth in its homes and that it is impossible to “drive the Russian bear into a corner”; it has levers of influence, and the gas tap is one of these levers.

American economist and political scientist Paul Craig Roberts said that Russia has two “black swans” for the West. This is a temporary refusal to pay the debt (you play against the ruble - you get it) and turning off the gas tap. Let us note that the President of Turkey does not trust the West and the suppression of the “Turkish Spring” by Recep Erdogan also occurred not without the influence of the “Ukrainian lesson”.

9. Proclamation of ISIS. How is it going with Taras Shevchenko? The father gave birth to a son who stopped obeying him and promises to kill him. We'll see, but the "Islamic Caliphate", which has long been talked about as a quasi-state, unable to resist the West, has grown stronger and is withstanding the blow of the "broad coalition".

While ISIS does not directly threaten Russia, Islamists may seize some provinces of Afghanistan and include them in the “Islamic Caliphate.” Vladimir Putin reminded his allies and colleagues in the CSTO that “terrorist and extremist groups are already trying to spread their activity to Central Asia.”

10. Events in Ferguson showed that the USA is not a democracy, it is a police, racially intolerant country that is ready to suppress the uprising of black America.

“Psychopaths and sociopaths, hooligans who like to have power over others go to work in the police..

In the United States, not only blacks are not protected, but also whites. “There is no democracy in the US. The government in the US represents powerful interest groups that finance political campaigns, such as Wall Street, the military complex, the security complex, the Israel lobby, extractive industries and agribusiness.

The government does not represent the people. “Democracy is a word that Washington uses to justify its aggression against other countries,” said the American expert.

The year 2014 brought several new challenges to the inhabitants of the Earth, including an outbreak of a deadly disease that killed several thousand people. A new conflict appeared on the map, dividing Europe, and the civil war in Syria even led to the emergence of a previously unprecedented entity called the “Islamic State.” One way or another, the world has entered a new reality that no analysts could have predicted a year ago.

Ebola fever

The first cases of the deadly fever were recorded back in 1979 in the Ebola Delta, where it claimed the lives of 280 people. Subsequent cases did not result in significant casualties, so the new outbreak, which began in December 2013, took the global community by surprise. Thus, it turned out that the development of the vaccine, which was carried out by doctors at the US Army Institute of Infectious Diseases, was stopped at the end of 2012. Thus, in March, when it became clear that this time the infection threatened to turn into a pandemic, humanity did not have a vaccine against the virus tested in humans. Only in August, Canadian doctors announced their readiness to provide samples of the experimental vaccine Zmapp, which had been successfully tested on animals. Although the World Health Organization has deemed its use ethical, continued use of Zmapp . Currently, several countries, including Russia, are developing their own vaccines against Ebola, all drugs are at the stage of clinical trials.

The rapid spread of the virus was facilitated by the traditions of African countries, which involve direct bodily contact with the deceased after his death. Thus, the number of infected people grew exponentially for a long time. After European and American doctors began to become infected with Ebola, who, after being transported to their countries, began to infect the colleagues who were caring for them, panic was barely avoided in these countries by promptly quarantining all patients and people who had contact with them. Although at present the outbreak, through joint efforts, seemed to have been localized in the three states in which it actually began: Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, it is too early to talk about victory over the virus - the first case of Ebola was reported on December 29. At the end of December, the number of Ebola victims exceeded 7.5 thousand people, and another 19 thousand people continue to suffer from the disease.

The threat of Islamism

The civil war in Syria has led to an influx of jihadists from all over the world into the country. The loss of control by the Syrian government over large areas on the border with Iraq led to the fact that these territories began to be used by Sunni militants from Iraq as a “reserve airfield”. In the summer, militants launched a large-scale offensive against Syrian and Iraqi forces, establishing control over large areas of those countries. In the occupied territories, the so-called “Islamic State” was formed - a quasi-state entity in which the rule of Sharia was established and the “caliphate” was proclaimed. — in November alone, more than 2 thousand people died at the hands of Islamic State militants.

Another Islamist group that hit the front pages of the world press was the Nigerian sect Boko Haram, which organized primarily women in 2014. Boko Haram is currently the No. 1 threat to the Nigerian government, where hundreds of soldiers are deserting the army to avoid clashes with Boko Haram militants. The Pakistani Taliban also loudly announced themselves, organizing in December, during which more than 140 people died. Islamist attacks were recorded in Egypt, Yemen, the Philippines and others, including Russia, where it was carried out in December. In addition, cases of terrorist attacks in Western countries have become more frequent. So, during the assault of which two people died. A week later, two cases of “vehicle terrorism” were reported in France, during which more than 20 people were injured. The growing threat of Islamism led to a negative reaction from Western society: several anti-Islamist demonstrations took place in Dresden, Germany, the number of protesters at which was .

Ukrainian crisis

In February, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was forced to flee the country amid mass protests in Kyiv, and power passed to the protesters. Acting President, Prime Minister -. The forceful nature of the change of power in Ukraine caused massive discontent among the Russian-speaking population in Crimea and the east of the country, which led to and provoked. In turn, the annexation of Crimea and the actions of pro-Russian militias led to Western countries banning the import of food products from these countries.

In the early presidential elections that took place in May, the President of Ukraine. The parliamentary elections that took place in October focused on Ukraine's accession to the European Union and NATO. Already on December 23, at a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada, a decision was made, directly linking this decision with Ukraine’s course towards joining the Euro-Atlantic Alliance. In general, the political crisis has led to a sharp deterioration in relations between Russia and Ukraine, as well as Western countries. International sanctions coincided with a long-term fall in oil prices, a reduction in trade turnover between Russia and the EU countries, as well as increased inflation and stagnation of the Russian economy.

Referendums

The whole of 2014 was marked by referendums. It all started with Ukraine - as a result of which the peninsula became part of Russia - more than 96% of the population supported this. On the same day, in the Italian region of Veneto, the feasibility of re-establishing the Venetian Republic began. 89% of respondents voted to secede from Italy, but the referendum had no legal force. And on May 11, they refused to recognize the change of power in Kyiv. According to official results, 89% and 96%, respectively, supported the creation of independent Donetsk (DPR) and Lugansk (LPR) people's republics. The results of these referendums were not recognized by any country in the world, including Russia.

On September 18, Scotland held a referendum on secession from the United Kingdom, during which 55% of those polled voted. And on November 9, a referendum was held in Catalonia on the “political future” of the region, during which 94% of voters supported the idea of ​​​​creating a new state that is part of the EU. However, formally, a “consultative poll” was held on this day, which has no legal force, since the Constitutional Court of Spain recognized the referendum as contrary to the laws of this country.

Cuban deal

One of the main events of the outgoing year can rightfully be called the historic decision of Barack Obama and Raul Castro. Thus, for the first time in more than fifty years, there was a real prospect of lifting the embargo that had destroyed the Cuban economy. In addition to the opening of embassies, Obama ordered that Cuba's status as a "country sponsor of terrorism" be removed as soon as possible, and significant relaxations were made to the rules for visiting Liberty Island. Thus, the list of those allowed to enter Cuba was expanded to include artists, athletes, doctors and participants in professional conferences. In addition, the maximum transfer amount to Cuban citizens was increased and the list of goods allowed for delivery to this country was significantly expanded.

However, it is not yet possible to talk about the final restoration of relations. The main problem is that the embargo must be lifted by Congress, where Obama has a very weak position, while many Republicans, including Cuban-born presidential candidate Mark Rubio, are confident that by making concessions to Castro, Obama betrayed the national interest . According to critics of the restoration of relations, it was in no way linked to either democratic changes or the protection of human rights. These contradictions mean that the process of finally lifting the embargo, as has already happened with other landmark initiatives of Obama, first of all, with the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba, the ban on the sale of assault rifles or the introduction of a free health insurance system.

Malaysian airliner crashes

Malaysian aircraft have been the focus of global media attention three times this year. The first incident occurred on March 8, when a Boeing 777, flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing an hour after departure, suddenly veered off course. Despite long searches, they have not yet brought any results. Although the main version is considered to be the depressurization of the plane and the subsequent slow death of passengers and crew, the version of its hijacking cannot be ruled out. In any case, at the end of December about the location of the plane or its crash.

Another crash occurred on July 17, 2014, in the skies over Donetsk while flying over rebel-controlled territory from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. Immediately after the disaster, DPR and Ukrainian officials were quick to blame each other for the disaster. An investigation was launched at the crash site by an international team of experts, who issued a preliminary report in September, from which it follows that the plane was flying normally and was most likely shot down. The publication of the final results was postponed to August 2015; the investigation into the causes of the disasters is currently ongoing. On December 22, the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper published an interview with a witness who allegedly spoke about the involvement of a Ukrainian military aircraft in the crash. The Investigative Committee of Russia questioned the witness and stated that his testimony was credible.

At the end of the year, on December 28, another Malaysian plane crashed - an Airbus A320-200 belonging to AirAsia near the island of Belitung. At the time of the crash, there were 162 passengers on the plane, which was heading from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore, and the bodies of 40 of them have now been recovered. The search operation is greatly hampered by stormy weather in the crash area - it is expected that the bodies of the first victims of the disaster will be delivered to shore no earlier than January 1.

Police brutality

A wave of mass protests against police violence in the United States has caught the world's attention. The first high-profile incident occurred in New York on July 17, when in a clash with a police squad. It subsequently turned out that the cause of death was a chokehold, which one of the police officers used after Garner resisted arrest. After hearing testimony from Officer Pantaleo, who used the technique, the jury declined to prosecute, sparking protests across the country. People began to go to rallies with banners that read " " - these were Garner's last words upon arrest. In a short time, the hashtag #icantbreathe became one of the most frequently mentioned hashtags on American social networks.

Less than a month later, on August 9, a police officer in the city of Ferguson. As in the case of Eric Garner, the jury fully acquitted the officer who shot him, Darren Wilson, finding that his actions were in accordance with official instructions. After this, which forced the state authorities to declare a state of emergency in the city. Protests took place in many cities across the country, including New York. The incident also provoked a kind of protest flash mob, which was called “Hands up, don’t shoot!” Football players, artists and even members of Congress began to appear in public with their hands raised, thus protesting against police brutality. The culmination was the murder of two police officers in New York on December 20: after shooting the patrolmen sitting in their car, their killer went down to the subway and committed suicide. According to his posts on social networks, the motive for the massacre was revenge for the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown. After this incident, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a moratorium on all protests in the city.

Awakening China

All year, the world has watched China emerge as a new superpower, gradually strengthening its position on the world stage. After Russia lost access to many goods and technologies due to Western sanctions, China expressed its readiness to expand cooperation in the high-tech field. Thus, the conflict between Russia and Western countries became an impulse that pushed the development of Chinese-Russian relations. In May, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President for the entire history of bilateral relations. , which should connect the fields of Western Siberia with China, will cost more than $400 billion. According to the agreement, Russia will supply China with 38 billion cubic meters of gas annually over the next thirty years. A few months later, the Russian leadership announced the abandonment of the construction of the European gas pipeline South Stream, which was supposed to run under the Black Sea, thus emphasizing the reorientation to the East.

China's increased influence became evident at the November APEC summit in Beijing, where US President Barack Obama spent the lion's share of time talking with his Chinese counterpart. In addition, the summit featured a long-awaited meeting between Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Soon after, a decision was made to create a crisis mechanism to quickly resolve conflicts around the disputed Senkaku (Diaoyu) Islands in the South China Sea. However, this did not prevent Beijing from moving in close proximity to the islands in December. And already in December, China finally achieved the title of the first economy in the world, overtaking the United States in terms of purchasing power parity - China's GDP according to this indicator amounted to 17.6 trillion dollars versus 17.4 trillion for the United States.

Olympics and World Cup

The most memorable sporting events were the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi and the FIFA World Cup in Brazil. The Olympics in Sochi, for which Russia has been preparing for seven years, not only transformed the Black Sea coast of the Krasnodar Territory, but also brought the Russian national team: Russian athletes received 13 gold, 11 silver and 9 bronze medals. One of the main “stars” of the competition was the young figure skater Yulia Lipnitskaya, who won the hearts of millions of fans around the world with her performances.

Another memorable competition that managed to attract billions of television viewers was the FIFA World Cup, which was held in the stadiums of Brazil in the summer. Although the Russian team initially showed good results, it never managed to leave the group, just as the famous “red fury” - the Spanish team - failed to do so, suffering a crushing defeat from the Netherlands with a score of 5:1. But the German team led by Jochim Löw made a real splash, defeating the Championship host team with a score of 7:1. As a result, Germany became the world champion, scoring Argentina's only goal in extra time. The best player of the Championship is quite expectedly Lionel Messi, who managed to almost single-handedly lead his team to the final.

Kidnapping of Mexican students

One of the most shocking tragedies of 2014 was the mass abduction of 43 students in Mexico. The incident occurred at the end of September in the state of Guerrero: students were heading to the city of Iguala to protest against education reform, but were stopped along the way by police officers who forced them into trucks, after which the trace of the students was lost. A large-scale investigation made it possible to reconstruct the subsequent events: it turns out that the police did not take the detainees to the department, but handed them over, who took the students to a landfill, where they tortured them for some time, and then killed, dismembered and burned their corpses.

It subsequently emerged that the collusion between the police and the bandits was made possible thanks to close family ties between the mayor of Iguala and his brother-in-law, who headed the cartel. The brutal massacre prompted large-scale purges of the police and state administration, and also provoked rallies of thousands that shook the authority of Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. During the search, dozens of mass graves were discovered, but the remains in them did not match the DNA of the missing students - only in December by charred bones found in a nearby river. Mass graves discovered across Mexico have revealed a brutality on a scale comparable to that of the Islamic State in one of Latin America's most developed countries.

The global agenda in 2014 was full of events taking place in Russia and along its borders.

Of course, against the backdrop of the annexation of Crimea, the war in Donbass and the fall of the ruble, much more that happened in Russia did not make it to the front pages of the world's newspapers. But the first disaster in the Moscow metro or the collapse of the domestic tourism industry did not become less significant events for people living in Russia. RBC presents its view on the main Russian events of this year.

Falling oil prices

After the events of the “Crimean Spring” and harsh Western sanctions, an even greater misfortune befell Russia – the fall in oil prices. OPEC's decision not to reduce production completed the matter - the decline in oil prices turned into a collapse. The price established at the end of the year was $60 per barrel. in 2015 threatens the Russian economy with a decline of almost 5%.

Sanctions

The year 2014 was marked by sanctions aimed at international isolation of the Russian economy. The new type of Cold War, according to the Ministry of Finance alone, costs Russia $40 billion a year. Together with falling oil prices, Western sanctions remain the main risk factor for Russia next year.

Countersanctions

Russia's main response to international sanctions has been to close its gigantic consumer market to foreign products. But which side lost more is the question: the reduction in imports accelerated the already high inflation, and the retired goods were replaced by parmesan and shrimp “made in Belarus.”

Economic recession

A perfect storm is heading towards Russia; it will cover the country in 2015. All possible crises – from financial to demographic – coincided at one point. It's a good time for reforms, economists say, but they expect the authorities to increasingly move away from market methods of management.

"Case« Bashneft"

In 2014, the state, which already controls more than 50% of oil production and refining, continued its consolidation in the oil market. Following YUKOS, Sibneft and TNK-BP, Bashneft also came under state control. In the context of the economic crisis and low oil prices, the expansion of the state will stop, market participants and experts believe. But we shouldn’t expect a sale of state assets in the near future.

Olympics in Sochi

At the beginning of 2014, the Winter Olympics in Sochi had every chance of becoming the main event of the year in Russia, but then they were pushed aside by other, bleaker events. True, the Olympics are too large-scale an event to give it an unambiguous assessment.

Attack on the media

In 2014, Russian media experienced major upheavals: in addition to the high-profile resignations of top media managers, business media faced losses to newsmakers in the courts, the emergence of new laws, including those limiting the influx of foreign capital and earnings from advertising. However, already at the beginning of the outgoing year, 56% of the media industry belonged to the state or businessmen close to it.

Withdrawal of pension savings

In 2015, the Russian pension system will face serious challenges. The main risk is the cancellation of the funded part of the pension. The selection of non-state pension funds for the guarantee system will continue: they will have to create a special fund to pay clients of bankrupt non-state pension funds.

Turn to the East

If in the Western direction things were not going well for Russia this year - sanctions, closure of capital markets, mutual accusations and threats, then in the East everything was exactly the opposite. Gazprom managed to conclude a record contract for gas supplies to China worth $400 billion, Rosneft actively invited Asian investors to its Russian projects, and also agreed on oil supplies to India. Experts timidly expressed that many announced contracts with Asian partners may be politically motivated, but the authorities and state-owned companies claim that they are guided only by economic feasibility. However, this does not stop them from dreaming about gas pipelines to India and a high-speed highway from Moscow to Beijing.

Yukos's victory in court against Russia

On July 18, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague decided that Russia must pay the former shareholders of Yukos, led by Leonid Nevzlin, $50 billion. This is a record compensation for the bankruptcy and sale of the oil company's assets. The arbitration decided that Russia violated the Energy Charter and in 2004 actually expropriated Yukos from its rightful owners. The plaintiffs argued that the state directly benefited from the bankruptcy of Yukos, since the company's key asset, Yuganskneftegaz, came under the control of state-owned Rosneft. The claim was only partially satisfied - the amount of demands was $114 billion. In November, Russia challenged this decision in the District Court of The Hague, but it is not yet clear whether the court will meet the Russian authorities halfway, said Minister of Justice Alexander Konovalov. The appeal hearing will begin on January 28, 2015. In case of final victory, former Yukos shareholders are going to seize Russian state assets around the world. Nevzlin also did not rule out that the amount of demands could be reduced in exchange “for some other things that we could achieve within the framework of the law”; By this he meant, among other things, the termination of criminal cases against himself and other shareholders and top managers of YUKOS.

Accident in the Moscow metro

This summer, the largest accident in its history occurred in the Moscow metro - three train cars derailed on the stretch between the Pobedy Park and Slavyansky Boulevard stations on the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line. The accident claimed the lives of 23 people, 159 were hospitalized with various injuries. The head of the metro, Ivan Besedin, lost his position, and the road foreman Valery Bashkatov and his assistant Yuri Gordov, who, according to a preliminary version, violated safety rules when working in the metro tunnel, are still under investigation.

Russia without smoke

On June 1, for the first time in history, there was not a single person with a lit cigarette in Russian restaurants and cafes. The provisions of the “anti-tobacco law” adopted a year earlier, prohibiting smoking in public places, came into force. Despite the fact that before the ban was introduced, almost half of adult Russians considered themselves active smokers (42%, according to a 2013 VTsIOM survey), the absolute majority of citizens supported the ban.

Bank sweep

The Bank of Russia has done most of the work to clean up the banking sector, First Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank Alexei Simanovsky announced on December 24. In 2014, the Central Bank revoked 84 licenses: 71 from banks and 13 from non-bank credit institutions. During the cleanup, various schemes for drawing balance sheets and people emerged who, by coincidence, regularly ended up in problem banks. RBC has compiled a small encyclopedia of such concepts and heroes.

Increasing the tax burden

The threat of a serious increase in the tax burden became one of the main leitmotifs of 2014, although back in early April, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov promised that it would not increase until 2018. Shuvalov then stated that proposals to increase taxes, including the tax on dividends from 9 to 13%, were not supported, as well as proposals from the expert community to increase VAT. This principle was recorded in the “Main Directions of Tax Policy for 2015–2017.” However, already presenting the document at parliamentary hearings in the State Duma in May, the head of the Ministry of Finance Anton Siluanov called for an audit of tax breaks on federal taxes, due to which the regions are not receiving enough money. Almost immediately after the adoption of the document, the Ministry of Finance proposed introducing a sales tax in Russia, which was abolished in the early 2000s. Business and the Ministry of Economic Development opposed it, and the discussion in the government continued until the fall. And although the Ministry of Finance abandoned this idea in mid-September, an actual increase in the tax burden could not be avoided.

Closing the global financial market for Russia

In 2014, the access of Russian public and private companies to the global financial market was blocked. The reason for this was the sanctions imposed on Russia by the world's leading creditors - the USA, EU, Canada and Japan. The sanctions had a negative impact on the entire economy of the country. Even those companies that were not on the sanctions lists suffered from the most serious cooling in relations between Russia and the West in several decades.

Deoffshorization and declared amnesty

For big business, 2014 began with the slogan of fighting offshore companies and ended with the promise of a full-scale capital amnesty.

Russia's first school shooting

On February 3, 2014, the first case of shooting at a school from a civilian weapon “according to the American scenario” occurred in Moscow. A student of class 10 “A” of school No. 263 in the Otradnoe district came to a geography lesson with a hunting carbine and rifle, shot teacher Andrei Kirillov, took his classmates hostage and managed to shoot the first police officers who arrived at the signal of the panic button. The response to the tragedy was the tightening of legislation on storing and carrying weapons

Collapse of the tourism industry

2014 was a dark year for the tourism industry. In July–September, several large tour operators went bankrupt; the number of affected tourists numbered in the tens of thousands. The industry legislation reformed two years ago failed to protect consumers.

MOSCOW, December 19 – RIA Novosti. RIA Novosti sums up the results of 2014 and offers its view on the events that have become the most important in the life of the country and its citizens.

Return to native shores

The main domestic and foreign political event of the past year for Russia, of course, was the entry of Crimea and Sevastopol into the country as two new subjects of the Federation. This became possible after a referendum on March 16, in which residents of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea decided to secede from Ukraine, where, as a result of a deep political crisis and unrest, President Viktor Yanukovych was removed from power. The corresponding agreement with Russia was signed on March 18 in the Kremlin - a historical event took place 60 years after Crimea was transferred from the RSFSR to the Ukrainian SSR in 1954, and after the collapse of the Soviet Union it became part of independent Ukraine. “After a difficult, long, exhausting voyage, Crimea and Sevastopol are returning to their native harbor, to their native shores, to their permanent home port, to Russia!” said Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at a ceremonial rally on Red Square.

He later admitted that security at the referendum, unrecognized by the Ukrainian authorities, was provided by Russian military personnel - “polite people,” as journalists began to call them. Putin explained that the military personnel stood behind the backs of the Crimean self-defense forces, since “it was simply impossible to hold the referendum openly, honestly, with dignity and to help people express their opinions in any other way.”

In Kyiv and in the West, Russia was accused of violating international law and called the events in Crimea annexation, which marked the beginning of a deep crisis in relations with the Russian Federation. In Moscow, on the contrary, they referred to the right of nations to self-determination, enshrined in the UN Charter, and to the Kosovo precedent.

"Krymnash"

The situation around Crimea caused an incredible patriotic upsurge among Russians, most of whom perceived the entry of two new entities into the country as a historically fair reunification. The expression "Crimea is ours!" became a symbol of support for the course of the country's leadership and the president personally, whose rating reached a maximum of 85.9% in May. Public opinion polls showed that more people were ready to vote for Putin in the event of presidential elections than did so in March 2012 - as of the end of October, 71% of respondents would vote for the current head of state.

Popularity also reached store shelves, where clothes and souvenirs with the image of Putin began to appear, as well as “polite people” as a collective image of the Russian army that ensured the return of Crimea. The president himself spoke out against the commercialization of his image, but there was no fight against counterfeit use of his portraits.

The influence of the Russian head of state was noted not only inside, but also abroad: Putin, for the second year in a row, topped the rating of the most influential personalities in the world according to the American magazine Forbes (next on the list are US and Chinese leaders Barack Obama and Xi Jinping). Another authoritative publication, Time, based on the results of 2014, put the Russian President in first place among politicians in the “Person of the Year” nomination and third in the overall list (the first two places went to collective images of an Ebola fighter and a participant in protests for the rights of blacks in Ferguson, USA).

Exchange of sanctions

The reaction of the United States and the EU to the events in Crimea was quick - the very next day after the referendum on joining the Russian Federation, Washington and Brussels imposed sanctions on a number of high-ranking politicians, banning them from entering and blocking assets and property. A little later, several entrepreneurs were included in the list, and by coincidence, among them were people with Ukrainian surnames - Yuri Kovalchuk and Gennady Timchenko, whom the United States called “close to Putin.” The president himself then ironically commented on the first sanctions: “I think they are just “polite people” in camouflage, with machine guns... I think we should stay away from them.” And he seriously added that assistance will be provided to banks affected by restrictions. Later, in November, Putin called the West's response to events in Crimea "absolutely inadequate"

As the conflict in Donbass developed, more and more Russian companies in the financial, defense, and industrial sectors fell under sanctions. First of all, they were denied access to the European and American borrowing markets.

Moscow's patience ran out in August, when the import of food products from countries that had imposed sanctions on the Russian Federation: the USA, EU, Canada, Australia and Norway was limited. The list includes beef, pork, poultry, seafood, vegetables, fruits, cheeses and dairy products. At the same time, Putin instructed the government to develop measures to support domestic producers and look for new foreign suppliers in order to prevent a shortage of products. In general, the situation on the food market remains stable, although on Russian social networks the topic of the ban on the import of gourmet foods (“how to live without jamon and Parmesan?”) has caused widespread discussion, often with an ironic slant.

War and peace in Novorossiya

As the US and EU launched a war of sanctions against Russia, a civil war flared up in Ukraine, where pro-Western politicians came to power. The Donetsk and Lugansk regions refused to submit to Kyiv, and in response it launched a military operation against the militias in April. During the confrontation, both sides used heavy weapons. According to the latest UN data, 4.3 thousand civilians became victims of the conflict, almost 10 thousand were injured. There are no exact data on the losses of the armed forces. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of refugees, fleeing the war, moved to Russia, where many of them decided to stay permanently and take Russian citizenship.

In May, Donetsk and Lugansk held referendums on independence and announced the creation of the Union of People's Republics - Novorossiya. This 17th-century term was revived by Putin when he recalled that historically Donetsk, Lugansk and a number of other territories did not belong to Ukraine, but were transferred to it in Soviet times. Despite the fact that none of the people's republics was officially recognized by Moscow, the West did not stop accusing it of “supporting separatists,” “increasing tension” and “military intervention” on the territory of Ukraine. And he introduced new sanctions.

However, it was precisely after Putin’s proposed plan for resolving the conflict that the militias and representatives of Kyiv managed to meet in Minsk in September and conclude agreements that led to a shaky, but truce. The intensity of shelling on both sides has decreased significantly. On the morning of December 9, a new truce agreed upon by the militias and security forces through the mediation of the OSCE began in Donbass. A ceasefire is expected to precede new contact group talks in Minsk, but a date for the meeting has yet to be set.

In addition to diplomatic efforts, Russia began providing humanitarian assistance to Donetsk and Lugansk in August. In total, more than 11 thousand tons of food, construction materials and equipment for the operation of socially significant facilities have been delivered to the affected regions today.

Conflict with the West, friendship with the East

The change in geopolitical realities, which led to a cooling of relations between Russia and the West, again emphasized the importance of developing relations with the East. Moreover, Moscow was no longer invited to a number of forums: in June, for the first time since the 90s, the G8 summit was held without the participation of representatives of the Russian Federation. Putin then ironically commented on the fact that world leaders gathered at the table without him: “I would like to wish them bon appetit.”

By this time, Russia had already achieved much greater success in the eastern direction: in May, Gazprom and the Chinese CNPC, after negotiations that lasted almost ten years, were able to agree on gas supplies to the PRC via the Power of Siberia pipeline. The total volume of the contract amounted to $400 billion, unprecedented for the gas sector. In early September, Gazprom began construction of this gas pipeline with a length of about three thousand kilometers and a capacity of 38 billion cubic meters of gas per year. The gas pipeline is planned to be used to supply gas to the domestic market, as well as for export to China. It was also expected that Gazprom could receive an advance from China for the construction of the Power of Siberia in the amount of $25 billion. Gas supplies may begin in 2018-2020.

At the same time, Russia agreed to expand trade with India and Turkey, including in the field of energy supplies and cooperation in nuclear energy. Thus, during Putin’s state visit to Turkey on December 1, Gazprom and the Turkish company Botas signed a memorandum of understanding on the construction of a gas pipeline across the Black Sea in the direction of Turkey with a capacity of 63 billion cubic meters per year. Of this volume, 14 billion cubic meters are provided for Turkey, the rest of the gas - about 50 billion cubic meters - will be supplied to the border of Turkey and Greece.

During a visit to India last week, the parties agreed to begin supplies of Russian oil in the amount of 10 million tons annually for 10 years and to build at least 12 nuclear power units, in addition to the four that Moscow and New Delhi agreed on earlier .

"South Stream"

Russia presented an unexpected surprise to European countries in the last month of the outgoing year. The Russian Federation’s response to the long-term “spears in the wheel” from the European Commission, which does not want to exclude the project for the construction of the South Stream gas pipeline from the jurisdiction of the Third Energy Package, was unequivocal: “If Europe does not want to implement it (the South Stream project - ed.), well, this means that then it will not be implemented,” the Russian President said during a visit to Turkey. One of the reasons for such a step, according to Putin, was the still not received permission from Bulgaria to enter this project into the country’s exclusive economic zone. Taking into account the Russian-Turkish agreements on gas supplies, in fact, South Stream will be redirected to this country and Gazprom’s costs for the implementation of the previous project will not be in vain.

The reaction of European countries was contradictory. Thus, Hungary stated that it is looking for alternative opportunities for gas supplies bypassing Ukrainian territory, in particular from Azerbaijan. At the same time, Serbia and Bulgaria, the first two European countries through which the pipeline would pass, expressed concern about plans to cancel the project. The energy ministers of the EU countries participating in the project noted the unofficial nature of the information about its suspension, but confirmed their position regarding the need for such significant projects as South Stream to comply with EU legislation.

Another controversial pipeline issue remains Gazprom's 100 percent access to the Opal gas pipeline, which is an overland continuation of Nord Stream. However, the outcome of this story should be expected next year. The European Commission has repeatedly delayed a decision on Opal. The last deadline that was announced was the end of October. However, later a RIA Novosti source in the EC reported that the EC decided to extend the deadline for making a decision until the end of January 2015.

"Mistral"

However, in the West they tried to insert “sticks” not only into the gas pipe, but also to sink very profitable deals in the field of military-technical cooperation. The story of the Russian-French contract for the supply of two Mistral-class helicopter carriers, which was signed back in 2011, is very illustrative of this point. The contract value was estimated at 1.2 billion euros.

The delivery of the ships was initially opposed by the US State Department, which stated that in the context of the situation in Ukraine it considered the transfer of even one Mistral to Russia unacceptable. At the same time, the ship manufacturer DCNS said that US sanctions cannot prevent the supply of helicopter carriers. Official Paris gave conflicting signals for many months. The first ship, according to the invitation sent to the Russian side, was supposed to be transferred by France to the Russian Navy on November 14, but the transfer has not yet taken place, and there is still no clarity when this might happen. Officially, the reason for the refusal was Russian policy regarding the situation in Ukraine.

Russian Head of State Vladimir Putin said that he did not discuss the situation with the Mistral helicopter carrier with French President Francois Hollande during Hollande's short visit to Moscow in early December. At the same time, Putin emphasized that the Russian Federation is counting on the fulfillment of the contract.

Rosoboronexport is preparing for various scenarios regarding the development of the situation with the supply of Mistrals, including going to court. According to Russian Presidential Aide Vladimir Kozhin, Russia expects a final answer from France on the Mistrals by the end of the year.

Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said that Russia, after the story with the French Mistrals, will no longer buy ready-made military equipment abroad.

Death of an Investor

Russian-French relations suffered a much more tragic loss in connection with the death of Total President Christophe de Margerie. A well-known entrepreneur who headed one of the world's largest energy companies died in a plane crash at Moscow's Vnukovo airport on the night of October 21: his plane crashed into a snowplow that somehow ended up on the runway. Along with de Margerie, three other crew members were killed, all of them were French citizens.

Currently, the driver of the snowplow Vladimir Martynenko, the leading engineer of the Vnukovo airfield service Vladimir Ledenev (he supervised the snow removal work), as well as the airport flight director Roman Dunaev, trainee dispatcher Svetlana Krivsun and dispatcher Alexander Kruglov, who were in charge of air traffic, have been arrested in this case at the time of the plane crash. All defendants have been charged.

The charming Frenchman with a luxurious mustache has for many years advocated the development of cooperation with Russia and participated in the implementation of a number of important projects in which Total has invested billions of dollars. During the period of sanctions, de Margerie was one of the few European entrepreneurs who publicly advocated their abolition. To some extent, he personified positive Russian-French cooperation, which with his death lost very important support.

Oil ruble fall

The main negative event, or rather the trend of the year for millions of Russians, was the devaluation of the ruble against the backdrop of falling world oil prices - the main product of the export-oriented economy of the Russian Federation. Since the summer, the price of Brent oil has dropped from more than $100 to record lows since the crisis five years ago—on Tuesday the price fell to $58.84 per barrel, hitting a new low since May 2009. At the same time, the 2014 budget initially included an oil price of $96. Now the 2015 budget is set at $80.

The ruble followed oil and, thanks to the support of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, decreased smoothly. However, from November 5, the regulator canceled unlimited foreign exchange interventions, and from November 10, it essentially completed the transition to free floating of the ruble, canceling regular interventions and the bi-currency basket corridor. “The Bank of Russia made the only correct decision - this is an absolutely objective thing, confirmed not only by what we think about this, but also confirmed by the best world experts - a floating exchange rate,” Putin said then.

As a result, in 2014, the world’s main reserve currencies - the dollar and the euro - experienced the most dramatic drop since the default year of 1998 (then it depreciated several times), exceeding the indicators of the crisis year of 2008, when the dollar soared against the ruble by a little less than 50% .

On “Black Monday” on December 15, the ruble exchange rate against the bi-currency basket experienced the strongest drop since the default year of 1998. Foreign currencies rose during the day by a record six rubles for many years, exceeding 64 rubles per dollar and almost reaching 79 rubles per euro. Against this background, on Tuesday night the Central Bank suddenly and sharply increased the key rate - from 10.5% to 17% per annum, explaining this by significantly increased devaluation and inflation risks. However, this did not stop the fall of the national currency - at their peak, the dollar and euro jumped above the psychological levels of 80 and 100 rubles, respectively.

The official inflation forecast for 2014 has already been raised to 9% from 7.5%, and for 2015 to 7.5% from 5.5%. Experts attribute this both to low oil prices and pressure on the ruble, and to import restrictions imposed by the Russian Federation.

In the meantime, against the background of the weakening ruble, Russians are actively buying large household appliances and televisions, and retailers are preparing to raise prices.

Olympics: the triumph we were waiting for

The XXII Winter Olympic Games in Sochi in February became not only the main sporting, but also the main positive event of the year for Russians.

However, the competition was only the culmination of many years of work that began in 2007, when Russia received the right to host the Olympics. All these years, in addition to the sports facilities themselves, which were built from scratch, unprecedented construction and modernization of the infrastructure of Sochi and the entire region was carried out by Russian standards. It was the scale of the work, as well as periodic delays from the construction schedule, that caused concern among Russian fans and skepticism among critics of the project - will the authorities have time to prepare everything on time and in the way they promised to the whole world? The intrigue was fueled by foreign athletes and journalists who posted photographs of defective hotels and Olympic venues on social networks. Later, after the triumphant completion of the Olympics, Putin expressed the opinion that in addition to constructive comments, “another cohort of critics, far from sports, used this Olympic project to achieve their own goals in the field of anti-Russian propaganda.” None of the competition participants or sports authorities expressed any official complaints. Moreover, the IOC leadership and ordinary athletes were able to appreciate the advantages of the Russian application: the compact location of the Olympic venues, built according to the most modern standards, the proximity to the Olympic village, transport links, the work of thousands of volunteers and much more, thanks to which Russia won the right to host the Winter Games. “Now you live in the Olympic region. I am sure that you will enjoy its benefits for many years to come,” said IOC head Thomas Bach at the opening of the competition, addressing the Sochi residents.

The opening ceremony of the Games became a symbolic reflection of the overall picture of Russia's readiness for the main event of the four years: during the grandiose show, one of the five Olympic rings did not open, remaining a glowing snowflake. However, the organizers of the show very quickly managed to turn this mistake into a Sochi “trick”, playing up the theme at the closing ceremony, and some enterprising clothing manufacturers immediately offered T-shirts and baseball caps with four rings and a snowflake. The technical discrepancy was actually the only failure of the Games organizers.

The sports competitions turned out to be no less exciting than the opening ceremony. For millions of Russians, the Winter Games in Sochi will be remembered not even for the fact that they were held for the first time in our country, and not even for the overall long-awaited victory in the overall medal standings (33 medals, including 13 gold). They will be remembered, first of all, for the triumph of Russian Olympians, often unexpected, but no less convincing. Just like the victories of the Korean Victor Ahn (short track) and the American Vic Wild (snowboard), won under the Russian flag, did not become less valuable and less “ours.” The success of the four bobsledders, biathletes and marathon skiers on the last day of the competition became the golden cherry on the Olympic cake of the Russian team.

However, there were some disappointments - the country's men's hockey team failed at the home Games, reaching only the quarterfinals and being left without medals at the third Olympics in a row, and without gold for 22 years.

In general, the organization of the Olympics was highly praised by the IOC. Thus, the Chairman of the Coordination Commission of the International Olympic Committee, Jean-Claude Killy, called the Winter Olympics in Sochi the best in the history of the Games.

“All people open to new ideas saw the face of the new Russia, effective and friendly, patriotic and open to the world,” summed up IOC President Thomas Bach at the closing ceremony of the Olympics.

Even just a quick glance at the ranking of the ten most discussed events in Russian domestic politics over the year, and one can immediately identify two concepts. Putin and Ukraine.

Against the backdrop of everything that is happening in Ukraine, and the impact of what is happening on Russia, the LDPR deputy, who lost his Duma post (tenth line of the rating), looks like the old woman who stole the teapot from Plevako’s classic judicial speech. Yes, the local government reform law. Yes, the creation of a unified Supreme Court. It is important. More important are the old ladies with the teapot and even the fate of deputy Alexei Mitrofanov. But these reforms in the two branches of government pale in comparison to the Ukrainian background. Leadership positions in Crimea and Sevastopol (sixth position in the ranking) are a more important topic for discussion than chairmanship of any State Duma committee. But the most important thing is what Vladimir Putin will say. About the border with Ukraine, about Russian troops, about Crimea and Sevastopol. This is not flattery or accusation. It is a fact. The reality of Russian political life in 2014.

The rating of incidents opens with the plane crash in Vnukovo. The tragic death of the head of Total, Christophe de Margerie, who was considered an active supporter of the lifting of Western anti-Russian sanctions. Contrary to all the statements of the leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, about the complete elimination of terrorism in the republic, two lines of this rating are occupied by terrorist attacks in Grozny. However, in terms of the number of occupied positions in the “catastrophic” rating, Moscow is ahead of the capital of Chechnya. In addition to the plane crash in Vnukovo, there was also a train crash in the metro and a hostage-taking at a school.

The ranking of the most discussed public events of 2014 was topped by the opposition Peace March. In eighth place in the ranking is the “Russian March”, in ninth place are ethnic riots in Pushkino. As we can see, the topic of Russian-Ukrainian relations attracted more attention than the topic of Russian nationalism. Among the many aspects of what is happening in Ukraine is the massive flow of Ukrainian refugees to Russia (third place in the ranking). Three lines are occupied by events in which many Russians saw an infringement of their rights (or an attempt to infringe them). These include the possible introduction of a requirement to work in a specialty, a fight against smoking and a requirement for the identification of persons connecting to public wireless networks.

Of the 20 laws adopted in Russia in 2014 that caused the most active discussion in society, three have the word “Crimea” in their titles. The admission of Crimea to Russia, the creation of a free economic zone on the peninsula and the creation of a gambling zone there. At least five laws out of twenty are aimed at weakening the harmful influence of the West on the life of Russia. Lawmakers have targeted the storage of money offshore and personal data on foreign servers, the financial influence of the West on Russian public organizations and the media, and, finally, dual citizenship. The legislative branch paid serious attention to political and organizational reforms (changes in election rules, reform of local government and the judicial system). Two more laws are an attempt to reform the virtual space (the law on bloggers and the “anti-piracy” law). Surprisingly, the most discussed law of the year has nothing to do with the political system, the Internet, an external enemy, or Crimea. With this law, Russia was sent back to the past. For an hour.

Information center of the Kommersant Publishing House, Alexey Alekseev