As always, the very end of the year is the time to take stock. The outgoing year was really rich in a variety of events. Forbes experts have selected the most surprising, exciting and meaningful of them.
It was this impressive selection that formed the basis of today's Top 10 most striking events of 2013... It is not easy to categorize them according to their importance, so the top ten are arranged in chronological order.
10. January 2013 - Obtaining Russian citizenship by Gerard Depardieu
The famous French actor became a Russian citizen. Together with his passport, Depardieu received apartments in Grozny and Saransk for his great contribution to the development of culture and cinematography. The actor himself said that he loves France and Russia equally, but intends to live in the Belgian city of Neshen.
9.February 2013 - The fall of the Chelyabinsk meteorite
Since the time of the Tunguska meteorite, the Chelyabinsk "guest" from space has become the largest of all meteorites that exploded not over the ocean surface. The blast wave knocked out windows in 7000 buildings, and 1600 people were injured. The largest fragment of a meteorite weighing 600 kg was raised in the fall from the bottom of Lake Chebarkul.
8. March 2013 - Financial crisis in Cyprus
The depositors of two banks of the Republic of Cyprus Popular Bank and Bank of Cyprus lost up to 60% of their invested funds. It is believed that Russian citizens and companies kept up to 55 billion euros in these banks. The crisis in Cyprus erupted despite the fact that the European Union allocated 10 billion euros in financial assistance to the island.
7. April 2013 - The case of embezzlement in the Skolkovo Foundation
A criminal case was opened against the senior vice president of the Skolkovo Foundation, Alexei Beltyukov. He was accused of misappropriating 3.5 billion rubles of budget funds. The money went to the illegal construction of facilities, as well as the unjustified issuance of scientific grants.
6.May 2013 - IPO of Qiwi
The company, which owns a large network of payment terminals, conducted an IPO on the Nasdaq exchange. Investors valued Qiwi at $ 884 million. Most of the securities put up for trading were bought by specialized investment funds from the United States.
5. June 2013 - Edward Snowden arrives in Russia
The controversial former CIA and NSA employee spent five long weeks at Sheremetyevo airport. Only on August 1, Snowden was granted political asylum in Russia for a period of 1 year. According to Snowden's lawyer, the latter works for one of the Russian Internet companies.
4. June 2013 - Divorce of President Putin
The reason for the breakup of the marriage was declared the president's permanent employment. The Putin couple lived together for about 30 years, raising two daughters. Also, by the end of 2013, rumors about a possible divorce of the American couple Barack and Michelle Obama began to spread actively in the press.
3. November 2013 - Criminal case against Anatoly Serdyukov
The case against the ex-defense minister was initiated under the "negligence" article. Serdyukov was dismissed back in October 2012 after a scandal with the misuse of funds of the Oboronsersis holding subordinate to the Ministry of Defense.
2. November 2013 - the beginning of a new banking crisis
On November 23, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation revoked the license of the Master Bank, which caused a wave of talk about the impending crisis. Smolensky, Investbank, BPF, Rublevsky and Askold soon joined the ranks of the banks deprived of their licenses. To avoid becoming hostage to license revocation, keep your savings in reliable banks.
1. December 2013 - Pardon of Mikhail Khodorkovsky
This was the highlight of the year. The former head of YUKOS spent more than 10 years behind bars. According to polls, 47% of Russians approve of a pardon, about 40% are indifferent to it, and only 13% do not approve of such a decision by the president. Even the people closest to Khodorkovsky do not yet know where this former businessman will live and what he will do.