Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin [wiki] became the first human being to journey into outer space, and also the first to orbit the earth, on April 12, 1961.
Russian Federation
Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics mascots
The Hare, Polar Bear and Leopard have been chosen as the official Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games mascots following the results of a public vote, while The Ray of Light and the Snowflake will be the Paralympic Winter Games mascots.
The world’s smallest aquarium?
Russian artist Anatoly Konenko [Rs], who specializes in micro-miniature art, has created possibly the world’s smallest aquarium.
The tank measures just 30 x 24 x 14 mm and holds only 10 ml of water (about two teaspoons) – enough to hold three miniature plants, several stones, real fish, and a fully working air pump. Info via Gotweird.
Russia & Qatar to host 2018 & 2022 FIFA World Cup
FIFA has chosen Russia to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup, while the 2022 tournament was awarded to Qatar. Official press release from FIFA…
FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter announced the result of the FIFA Executive Committee’s vote on Thursday 2 December 2010 in Zurich’s Messe.
The contenders for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, other than Russia, were England, a joint bid from Belgium and the Netherlands, and a joint bid from Spain and Portugal. Meanwhile, for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Australia, Japan, Korea Republic and the USA were competing with Qatar.
22 members of the FIFA Executive Committee were entitled to vote. 12 votes were needed for an absolute majority and therefore to obtain the right to host the FIFA World Cup. Here are the full results of the voting rounds:
2018 FIFA World Cup
Round 1: England 2 votes, Netherlands/Belgium 4 votes, Spain/Portugal 7 votes and Russia 9 votes (as no absolute majority was reached, the candidate with least amount of votes, England, was eliminated).
Round 2: Netherlands/Belgium 2, Spain/Portugal 7, and Russia 13.2022 FIFA World Cup
Round 1: Australia 1 vote, Japan 3 votes, Korea Republic 4 votes, Qatar 11 votes, USA 3 votes (Australia eliminated).
Round 2: Japan 2, Korea Republic 5, Qatar 10, and USA 5 (Japan eliminated).
Round 3: Korea Republic 5, Qatar 11, and USA 6 (Korea Republic eliminated).
Round 4: Qatar 14 votes and USA 8 votes.
Russian rain, chivalry, surfboy
A rainy day in Russia > street was flooded > two ladies attempted to cross the street > a Russian knight came into rescue + a WTF moment at 2:14…
Andrey Arshavin x Men’s Health Russia
[HD Photo] Russian footballer Andrey Arshavin on the cover of Men’s Health [Ru] Magazine. He’s one of the stars who won’t be featuring in the FIFA World Cup this summer as Russia couldn’t qualify for the tournament in South Africa.
