“A person who would personify the hero of 2020, according to Russians, is honest, decent, and fair (13%). Of the options proposed, Russians most often referred to the heroes of the year as doctors and medical workers (55%), as well as EMERCON employees who save people in emergency situations (31%).”

-Results from a poll by the All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion (VTsIOM)on who Russians consider to be the heroes of 2020

“Maximum conspiracy – this is of utmost importance. No one must be seen.”

– Konstantin Kudryavtsev, suspected as one of the FSB agents responsible for the poisoning of opposition figure Alexei Navalny in August, in a phone call with Navalny

“Not working at all is death… The authorities chose a blow worse than a lockdown. Any sane person understands that the coronavirus is terrible. But this does not mean that the coronavirus should kill an industry to the point that it cannot be restored in any way.”

- Alexander Konovalov, organizer of the “Map of Resistance,” a group of bars and restaurants in St. Petersburg that plan to defy new coronavirus restrictions calling to close all bars and restaurants from December 30 through January 3

“The share of completely non-cash customers who use a bank card but do not withdraw cash from an ATM for a month is steadily growing. Now it is 39%, which is 5 percentage points higher than before the pandemic.”

– Alexander Vedyakhin, First Deputy Chairman of the Board of Sberbank, on the growing number of clients who are not using cash at all

"I will transfer the amounts collected from the slanderers to an orphanage, I will publish a copy of the payment here."

– Head of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin, writing on his Facebook page that he would donate any proceeds from his suit against three news portals for slander

“A man caught the pillow. As it later turned out, it was the driver of the Tomskoe Pivo [Beer] enterprise, and he tried to hastily hide it in his car… The driver was detained.”

– A source in Tomsk region’s law enforcement on the latest developments in the arrest of the town’s mayor

"Today, this absurdity is the rule. Who told you that [a graduate] has not forgotten 95 percent of what he actually studied there?"

– Dmitry Peskov, suggesting the idea of instituting an expiration date for university diplomas

“In general, yes, winter is expected not to be cold. Winter is predicted in this color - I'm even afraid to pronounce the word – pink."

– Roman Vilfand, scientific director of Russia’s Hydrometeorological Center, on the colors that will appear this winter on meteorological maps (pink means temperatures higher than norms)

“Almost the entire first batch of iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro was bought up over the weekend. A number of models with the most popular blue colors have already sold out. The highest demand was for the Pro version, with 70% of customers choosing it. New consignments of goods are expected in the near future.”

– Report by MTS, on the popularity of new iPhones in Russia, which sold out at MTS stores within three days

“Let's dance and hug a little less, and give less work to our healthcare system.”

– Yevgeny Yelin, vice-governor of St. Petersburg, on a recent proposal to close restaurants in the city at 11 PM.

“Compared to the crisis period, the share of people adhering to a savings policy in economic behavior has decreased: 68% of Russians believe that it is better to spend as little as possible, saving as much as possible for the future.”

– Results of a poll conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Center, on how Russians are saving and spending money