What the media wrote about the most - what was discussed most in society. Crises in the Russian economy by years Events in the world

From the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan to the first space tourists

A lot of interesting things will happen in 2014. In particular, 138 million children will be born. If the warning of fugitive NSA contractor Edward Snowden is to be believed, the current generation of children will not have privacy - but there will be many interesting gadgets. What can we expect in 2014?

Policy

In 2014, preparations for the 2016 presidential election will begin to gain momentum in the United States.

After the Republican ratings fell due to the closure of government offices in October 2013 due to a conflict over health care reform, it was the Democrats' turn to suffer a fall in popularity - due to the problematic implementation of that very reform.

According to a December CNN poll without mentioning personalities, 49% of voters in the election today would support a Republican candidate, 44% a Democrat. When it comes to potential candidates in the 2016 presidential election, 48% are ready to vote for Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and 46% for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (two percent difference within the poll's margin of error).

Technology

Google glass

"Smart watch"

With the help of "smart watch", you can surf the Internet, check mail, listen to music or news - the device communicates with your smartphone via Bluetooth. Cons: limited amount of information, and the eternal curse of modern gadgets is the battery. With the introduction of Apple's iWatch, and its competitor from Google, some analysts believe that 2014 could be the year of the smartwatch's breakthrough to the mass market...if manufacturers can convince consumers they really need it.

3D printers

In the past year, with the help of three-dimensional printers, a metal pistol, a fully functional plastic pistol capable of withstanding up to 11 shots, and a gun were “printed”. In the new year, Siemens will start using 3D printing technology to produce parts for industrial gas turbines. In 2014, a 3D printer will also appear on the International Space Station, where it will be used to make parts and tools.

At the same time, Microsoft released an application for Windows 8.1 last fall that allows users to create and print three-dimensional objects, thereby simplifying the process of three-dimensional printing for ordinary people. According to Forbes magazine, much safer items can be made on a home printer than guns, such as eyeglass frames, wedding rings and busts of oneself.

Tablets

Information technology market research and consulting firm Gartner predicts that by 2015, tablets will outsell personal computers. With this development, the American organization One Laptop Per Child, created under the auspices of the UN to provide educational opportunities for children from developing and poor countries, will have to switch from laptops to tablets.

Processors in 14 nanometers

Chips continue to shrink: in 2014, Intel is going to start releasing 14nm Atom processors. It is expected that the energy efficiency of the new processors will increase the battery life of portable devices.

Drones instead of postmen?

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) prohibits the commercial operation of drones. However, by 2015, Congress required the FAA to prepare a plan to integrate drones into US airspace. In 2014, regulations on the use of drones weighing less than 25 kilograms will be published. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced that within 4-5 years, his company intends to provide customers with a new service: automated home delivery of orders using drones. Bezos expects that the delivery time of the order within the city will not exceed 30 minutes.

Smart cities

The trend of "smart cities" continues to develop all over the world - the efficient allocation of resources through the planning and implementation of innovative technologies. The concept of "smart city" is broad enough to include interactive maps of the movement of vehicles to unload traffic jams, payment for parking using mobile phones, monitoring of urban crime, optimization of construction in order to create more "green" buildings with reduced energy consumption.

However, critics of the trend ask logical questions: who will be responsible for the "brains" of the city, whether all segments of the population will be able to use smartphone applications, and whether this will make citizens passive consumers of a limited set of "optimal" options in education, healthcare, transport, and so on. further, while limiting the occasions for communication with other townspeople?

Mobile wallets, virtual currency

The widespread use of mobile phones is turning them into a popular way to pay for services. Different countries use different systems of "mobile wallets", but their turnover will only grow. The virtual currency - bitcoin - launched on the Internet in 2009, is becoming so popular that they even held hearings in Congress on this topic, concerned that bitcoins could weaken the influence of the dollar, as well as that the cryptocurrency was appreciated by specialists in shadow transactions.

War and Peace

Espionage reforms

In January of the new year, US President Barack Obama promises to make a statement about reforms in the intelligence gathering policy of the US secret services. The impetus for the revision of policy was a series of scandals over the exposure of NSA activities, including the collection and storage of information on the location of billions of telephones around the world and tapping the phones of foreign leaders.

A special commission has prepared a list of 40 recommendations for changing the policy of surveillance. However, at the final press conference in 2013, President Obama warned: “we need intelligence, we cannot lay down our arms unilaterally,” so the changes are likely to be quite cosmetic. Telecommunications companies will continue to lobby to limit the ability of intelligence to collect information about their customers, but it is worth remembering that 2014 is the year of midterm elections in Congress, and in the run-up to elections, politicians tend to try to abstain from voting on sensitive topics.

Withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan

By the end of 2014, the military operation in Afghanistan should end with the withdrawal of NATO troops. The operation began on October 7, 2001 in retaliation for the September 11 attacks and without the approval of the UN Security Council, like the subsequent war in Iraq. The Taliban left Kabul, but to this day it is difficult to call the results of a long-term war a victory.

Using the tactics of guerrilla warfare and the weakness of the Afghan government, the Taliban managed to regain de facto control over many territories. Since 2004, the war has spread to the border areas of Pakistan, where the Americans used mainly drones for targeted eliminations of militant leaders. Barack Obama, promising to switch attention from the war in Iraq to the war in Afghanistan, ordered to increase the American contingent in Afghanistan to 100,000 troops. However, the tipping point was reached not by an additional 30,000 troops, but by the assassination of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden during a sting operation in Pakistan on May 2, 2011.

After the withdrawal of the main contingent from Afghanistan, the US intends to leave a few thousand soldiers to train Afghan troops and participate in small operations against the Taliban in order to prevent al-Qaeda from re-establishing itself in Afghanistan. However, President Hamid Karzai is still unable to sign an agreement on the deployment of foreign troops in Afghanistan after 2014, despite the fact that the agreement was already approved in November by the Council of Elders (Loya Jirga). At the same time, Karzai himself should leave the presidency in 2014 - new elections will be held in Afghanistan in April.

Iran

2014 will be a year of testing the interim agreement on Tehran's nuclear program, signed in November in Geneva between Iran and six world powers. Within six months of the agreement, the parties must come to an agreement on the final settlement of the issue of the Iranian nuclear program. However, at this stage, according to State Department officials, "technical negotiations" are still ongoing on the terms of the implementation of the interim agreement - that is, even this interim agreement has not yet entered into force.

Society

Trial of a lone racist

In January 2014, the trial of prominent racist Craig Cobb will begin in North Dakota. In 2012, Cobb began buying up cheap lots in Leith, a town of 19 (including one black resident), with the goal of turning Leith into Cobbsville, an Aryan enclave with an Adolf Hitler theme park dedicated to the history of racism. Purchased sites Cobb with like-minded people marked with swastikas, and began to patrol the streets of the city with weapons in their hands, shouting curses and terrorizing local residents, who soon began to complain to the police about such "guardianship". In November this year, 62-year-old Cobb was arrested along with 29-year-old neo-Nazi Keenan Dutton.

If Cobb is convicted, he faces up to 35 years in prison. Three state-appointed public defenders have already declined to represent a preacher of a "racist religion," as he himself defines it, at trial.

Internet vs TV

A number of studies conducted in the past year have shown that Americans spend less time in front of the TV and more in front of the screens of tablets and smartphones. The number of streaming company subscribers is growing, the number of new cable TV subscribers is steadily declining. Residents in developing countries also get more news from the Internet than from newspapers, radio or television.

Education

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)

The New York Times declared 2012 the year of Massive Open Online Courses as one after another, prestigious universities began offering free open online courses to an unlimited number of Internet users around the world. In just a few years, MEPs on platforms like coursera.org, udacity.com or edX.org began to reach millions of audiences, and the teachers participating in them could boast of truly world-wide fame - in certain circles of interest in knowledge, and not in a formal diploma. Some platforms have even begun offering a certified course completion certificate for a nominal amount.

Sobering up came when it turned out that, despite the convenience of learning (lectures can be viewed at any convenient time, as well as doing homework), in the absence of incentives, such as money paid for tuition, a meager percentage of those who enrolled in these courses - around 5%.

In addition to motivation, for international students, the language barrier can become a problem (most of the courses are offered in English), as well as the fact that employers still prefer a formal “crust” when hiring. However, with private colleges in the US costing tens of thousands of dollars per year, the development of cheaper alternatives may become inevitable.

Bo and Yana

Do not drag the child by the ears from the tablet? The creators of two cute robots, named Bo and Yana, decided to turn children from passive users of technology into little programmers. In the summer of 2014, Bo and Yana will go on sale. With the help of a special program, children from five years old will be able to control them, forcing them to perform simple commands.

Ecology

Fifth IPCC Report on Climate Change

In 2014, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) plans to release its fifth report on the state of knowledge on climate change and the possible effects of global warming. The previous part, released in 2007, warned of a 6.4 degree Celsius rise in global temperatures by the end of the 21st century. The organization was founded in 1988, and each subsequent report painted an increasingly alarming picture of the impact of man-made factors on global warming.

According to the Pew Research Center, 69% of Americans are convinced that global warming is a real phenomenon, but only 42% believe that it is due to human activities. According to a Gallup poll, six out of ten Americans believe that global warming will not become a risk in their lifetime, and only 18% are convinced that this issue should be a top priority for the US administration.

Milestones

Completion of the World Trade Center

On September 11, 2001, the main element of the World Trade Center complex in New York, the 110-story twin towers, were destroyed in a terrorist attack by al-Qaeda. At the time, US President George W. Bush promised that the complex would be restored. In 2014, the first and fourth towers will be put into operation (the first tower is considered the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere), and the museum is scheduled to open on September 11 in the spring of 2014.

space tourism

In 2014, it will be possible to fly on a ship of Virgin Galactic, the first company to offer space tourism services. A flight into space will cost those who wish a symbolic 250 thousand dollars (the owner of the company, Sir Richard Branson, has already announced that he is ready to accept payment in bitcoins). The spacecraft will launch from a brand new spaceport in New Mexico.

Next super food?

The fashion for organic and hypoallergenic food is not going away (numerous mobile applications only spur the obsession with counting calories and healthy elements). Quinoa seeds have been replaced by kale, kale has been supplanted by chia seeds, and in 2014 chia is likely to lose the title of “superfood” to cereals such as Ethiopian tef, which is high in iron and calcium, and Middle Eastern freekeh. The capital's Washingtonian magazine predicts the popularity of Korean soybean paste with red pepper - gochujang.

Sport

Reinvent the wheel

In 2014, FlyKly and Superpedestrian plan to start selling smart wheels designed for cycling to work. The rear wheel has a built-in battery with a battery (weighing 4 kg), which can be controlled via a smartphone. The electric wheel-bicycle generator reduces the load on the muscles, and also acts as a charger for the gadget.

In addition, in 2014, eight other cities in the US, including Seattle, Philadelphia, Milwaukee and Austin, are set to introduce a municipal bike-sharing program.

Mobile fitness devices

In 2014, the popularity and variety of mobile fitness devices will continue to grow, such as bracelets that measure how many calories we actually burned, which will be harder to deceive than ourselves.

The next summer month turned out to be very eventful in terms of events. Below are pictures taken in the hot spots of Ukraine, Israel and the Gaza Strip, pictures from the World Cup and the riots that the victory of the German team led to, as well as showdowns at the Grand Prix, Bastille Day celebrations and much more.

A huge moon looms over houses in Olvera, in the southern Spanish province of Cadiz on July 12, 2014.

15-year-old Russell dives into cold water. Taken on the Swift River in Coos Canyon, Maine.

A woman cleans the kitchen, sending her husband to work and the children to school.
New, interesting and useful products for the home from the TV Sale online store. The products are very popular. The assortment is constantly updated. There are promotions and discounts. Goods are delivered by mail throughout Russia and by courier in Moscow and the Moscow region.

Germany's Mario Götze (left) and his teammate Thomas Müller celebrate the winning goal. The photo was taken during the final match between Germany and Argentina. at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on July 13, 2014.

Fans greet the winners of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The picture was taken on July 15 after the arrival of the German team from Brazil in Berlin.

Buenos Aires. Crowds of fans had to be dispersed with tear gas after Argentina lost 1-0 to Germany in the final match. Dozens of police officers were injured in the riots caused by frustrated fans (many were arrested as a result).

A child hugs a bag of cabbage at a vegetable wholesale market in Jinan, Shandong province, China.

Traces of fired rockets are visible over the city of Gaza.

An Israeli Apache helicopter launches a rocket into residential areas of the Gaza Strip on July 18, 2014.

A Palestinian carries the lifeless body of a boy who was killed by an exploding shell fired from an Israeli naval gunboat. Taken on the beach in Gaza City on July 16. According to the latest data, four children died, one was seriously injured.

An Israeli rocket explodes in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to launch a ground attack on the city. Palestinian officials report the death of 233 local residents.

A Palestinian girl with multiple shrapnel wounds was taken to the Khan Younis hospital (southern Gaza, July 16, 2014).

The Israeli army from an American-made self-propelled howitzer (155 mm shell) on the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip on July 18.

Part of an ancient city in Fenghuang County (Hunan Province, China) was flooded due to prolonged heavy rains, which contributed to the overflow of rivers. More than 50,000 local residents and tourists were evacuated, Xinhua news agency reported.

Contestants of the Beauty of South Sudan pageant before entering the stage in Juba on July 13, 2014.

Fireworks near the Eiffel Tower in honor of the annual celebration - Bastille Day (1789). Taken July 14, 2014 in Paris, France.

Young people have fun with surfboards in Brighton. Filmed in one of the most.

.
The plane crash occurred near the village of Gabrovo in the Donetsk region on July 17, 2014. Passenger flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people. The cause of the tragedy is being investigated.

A militiaman examines the wreckage of the nose of a Malaysian passenger plane shot down over Ukraine.

The miners are combing the area in search of the bodies of passengers flying this ill-fated flight. Grabovka, Ukraine.

Locals at the crash site of a Malaysia Airlines plane on July 17, 2014.

A Buddhist monk prays in front of the Dutch embassy in Kyiv, where people lay flowers and light candles in memory of the dead. Taken the day after the crash of a passenger plane flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur and shot down in eastern Ukraine.

Washington. Ferry "Cathlamet" in Puget Sound, near Seattle.

People carry a statue of the Virgen del Carmen (the great god of nourishment). Taken in Puerto de la Cruz on the Canary Island of Tenerife, Spain. Since 1921, the statue of the Virgin del Carmen, the patron saint of fishermen, has been carried along the beach and then taken aboard a decorated boat. In good weather, a ship with a statue, accompanied by a flotilla of other boats, sails along the entire coast, after which it returns to its native harbor. More than 35 thousand local residents gather at this celebration every year, including tourists.

US President Barack Obama in a high-tech car simulator. The picture was taken at the Turner and Fairbank Research Center in McLean, Virginia.

Motorcycle racer Brian Schouten of the Netherlands (Mahindra Moto3) took on his compatriot Scott Deroue (Kalex KTM Moto3) after they collided during the Grand Prix. Taken at the Sachsenring circuit in the eastern German city of Hohenstein-Ernstthal on July 13, 2014.

Godzilla (doll, 6.6 meters high) in Tokyo, Japan.

Children play in the fountain. Nice, southeast France.

Cat at a youth party at Bleecker Street Records, New York.

Photo taken by an eyewitness on a smartphone on July 12, 2014. People are fleeing the beach from a hailstorm the size of a fist. Ob River, Western Siberia, Novosibirsk, Russia.

People born this year are not characterized by stubbornness and self-will. 2014 is the year of the Wood Horse animal, which ensures that people born this year have such character traits.

Among all other representatives of the Horse sign, they the most accommodating and friendly, easy to communicate, sociable. They are well-read and highly moral. Wooden Horses are people with strong energy who are constantly looking for someone else's company and fuss, and loneliness is a burden for them. They are active in social activities.

Those born in 2014, whom nature has delivered from the selfishness inherent in other Horses, are excellent partners for personal relationships.

Softness of character and harmlessness - these are the qualities that are so highly valued in them by others.

Those born in 2014 according to the Eastern calendar are extremely hardworking and conscientious. Their opinion is always respected, and their views are shared and considered interesting. Thanks to the perseverance of the people of the Wood Horse sign never lack money, never get into debt. In business, they always act reasonably and know the measure of everything.

People born in 2014, who are characterized by out-of-the-box thinking and a rich imagination, can easily build a career in the advertising and PR business, as well as in the arts. Courteous and gallant, they become excellent TV presenters, designers and artists.

Those who were born in 2014 Animal Year Wood Horse, are energetic and passionate natures. And they will love and hate with equal force. But such a stormy temperament does not affect their endless loyalty to the chosen one.

What year of the Horse can still be?

With all their positive qualities, representatives of this sign are still somewhat selfish. Sometimes they bend their line and try by all means to become the head of the family, to take a dominant position. All responsibility, including material, they also take on themselves.

2014 according to the Eastern calendar endows people with some shortcomings. They are characterized by assertiveness, irascibility and categoricalness, which sometimes interferes with relationships.

Curious and fickle, they can change jobs, and sometimes professions, one after another. With all the hard work work for them is just a way to earn money. With more willingness Wooden Horses will focus on building a life and arranging a home.

They do not tolerate monotony. Lovers of travel, they choose those places where others are unlikely to venture to go.

Video: Chinese horoscope - Horse

2014 has been a year of many incredible accomplishments that could have a significant impact on the science of the future. They took place on the earth, under the earth, in the sky and in the Cosmos. And in this review we will talk about 10 most significant scientific events of 2014 in different industries.

Astronomy. Controlled descent to a comet

On November 12, 2014, an epoch-making event in the history of space exploration took place. The first man-made spacecraft was landed on the surface of a comet by remote control.

The Rosetta spacecraft was sent towards the comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko back in 2004. During this time, he managed to fly millions of kilometers through the Solar System, making several revolutions around the Sun.

The Philae module that separated from the Rosetta apparatus worked on the surface of the comet for about sixty hours, sending to Earth a huge amount of information about the structure of this celestial object.

Genetics. Yeast artificial chromosome

In 2014, science approached an incredibly important milestone - the creation of complex artificial life according to predetermined parameters. American scientists from the New York Medical Center were able to create a chromosome that can fully function in yeast.

Work on this project lasted seven years. Scientists attracted hundreds of students from around the world to create an artificial chromosome, who actually manually collected 273,871 base pairs of DNA. Moreover, in a real chromosome, this number is 316667 pairs, however, among them there are many so-called. "junk" and "jumping" genes that do not produce any specific proteins or cause uncontrolled mutations.

As a result, yeast with an artificially created chromosome has become more hardy and resistant to external influences.

Anthropology. Encounter with a non-contact tribe

There are still a huge number of places on planet Earth where the foot of the "white man" has not yet set foot. And a significant part of these unexplored spaces is in the Amazon jungle. A certain number of so-called "non-contact" tribes even live there - communities of Indians who have never met civilized people or deliberately refused such meetings.

Finding such a tribe is a huge success for modern scientists. And in 2014 they succeeded. Usually, when such peoples are discovered, it is necessary to carry out a long work in order to win them over and force them to let strangers into their world. But this time the Indians themselves appealed to the authorities.

A tribe living on the border of Brazil and Peru asked to be protected from illegal loggers who began to cut down the jungle in the habitat of this people. But in this situation, not only the destruction of their living space is dangerous for the Indians, but also the consequences of direct contact with the outside world - potential epidemics of simple diseases, flu or colds, from which a significant part of the indigenous people of the Amazon who are not immune to them may die.

Biology. Telepathy

2014 opened a new page in the scientific dispute whether it is possible to transmit thoughts remotely from one person to another, that is, telepathy. And if earlier it was considered charlatanism, now everything has become not so unambiguous.

After all, an international group of scientists was able to create a technology that allows people who are at a distance from each other to communicate without words using thought processes. During the experiment, one participant was in France and the other in India. Special devices were attached to their heads that can read the electroencephalogram of the brain. Subsequently, this information can be transmitted via the Internet to the brain of another person using robotic transcranial magnetic stimulation.

The people who participated in the experiment were able to communicate in simple words and concepts: “Hi”, “Bye”, “Good”, “Bad”, etc. Statistics show that the number of matches in this case reaches about 90 percent.

Chemistry. 117th element of the periodic table

When the author of these lines was in school, one hundred and eleven positions were noted in Mendeleev's periodic table. But since then, chemists and physicists have been able to create a few more chemical elements. In particular, in 2014, the existence of 117 of them was confirmed.

Back in 2010, scientists from Russia and the United States announced that they had managed to jointly fix a new chemical element. However, according to scientific rules, such a discovery must be confirmed by two independent groups. This took four years. And only in May 2014 the existence of ununseptium (the temporary name of the element) was officially recognized by the scientific community.

Interestingly, the existence of elements 113, 115 and 118, discovered at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna (the same place where ununseptium was discovered), has not yet been proven by independent researchers.

Astronomy. Earth-sized exoplanet

For more than a decade, astronomers around the world have been studying distant solar systems in search of planets that would be similar in all respects to Earth. However, of the nearly two thousand currently known exoplanets, only one meets these requirements.

Exoplanet Kepler-186 f (in honor of the Kepler orbiting telescope) is located at a distance of 492 light years from Earth. Its opening became known in the spring of 2014. Kepler-186 f was discovered along with four other planets that orbit the star Kepler-186. But only this object is similar in size to the Earth, though not completely, it has a radius 10 percent larger than the radius of our planet.

Preliminary data suggests that life is possible on Kepler-186 f. However, the data that scientists know about this planet is not enough to state this unequivocally.

Archeology. The world's largest dinosaur

In the spring of 2014, paleontologists during excavations in Argentina discovered the fossils of a giant dinosaur, the largest prehistoric lizard and possibly the largest animal that has ever lived on Earth.

The giant reptile measured up to 40 meters in length and 20 in height, which is comparable to a seven-story building. The weight of the dinosaur was 77 tons, which is approximately equal to the mass of fourteen elephants.

The new dinosaur species was named Dreadnoughtus schrani. It is believed that these lizards lived on Earth 66-88 million years ago.

Virology. A 30,000-year-old virus that has come to life

In the permafrost of Siberia, scientists from time to time find frozen mammoths. In the future, this makes it possible one day to clone this animal in order to bring back to life a long-extinct species. However, in 2014, scientists managed to literally resurrect a form of life that lived in Siberia 30,000 years ago.

As a result of research, scientists even managed to revive this ancient virus, which had been in a frozen state for about thirty thousand years. It is also interesting that this is the largest virus described by scientists in history.

Biology. Paralyzed rat started walking again

2014 brought hope to millions of people who are forever confined to wheelchairs. After all, scientists have said that even the most damaged spinal cord is not the final guarantee that you will never be able to walk again.

The reason for optimism may be the results of studies in which Swiss scientists first completely cut the spinal cord in the middle of a rat, and then taught it to walk again. They implanted flexible electrodes into the rodent's spine just below the incision line, and then adapted the parameters of the electrical impulse thus transmitted to the animal's nervous system.

As a result, the rat was able not only to run, but even to overcome various obstacles, including climbing stairs. Scientists promise to start similar experiments on humans in the summer of 2015.

Physics. Evidence for the existence of the Big Bang

Thanks to the blockbuster Interstellar, in 2014, the word "gravity" became one of the most popular. Moreover, physicists themselves have made a serious scientific breakthrough in this direction. They discovered gravitational waves, which are direct evidence of the Big Bang theory.

According to the currently accepted inflationary model of the expansion of the Universe, about 13.7 billion years ago, the so-called Big Bang occurred - an almost instantaneous growth of the embryo of the Universe from zero to huge values. However, such an expansion should have left a certain signal in the CMB, which is essentially an "echo" of the Big Bang.

In 2014, the BICEP2 project found gravitational waves, which are indirect traces of the signal mentioned above and, therefore, evidence of cosmic inflation.

: 5 events that first happened in space in 2014.

The #1 sporting event that needs no introduction. Starting from February 6, the attention of the whole world will be riveted to the Krasnodar Territory, where the XX Winter Games will open. We smile, wave, dress in the colors of the national tricolor, get on skis, study the rules of curling and skeleton, create idols for ourselves and chant: "Russia - go ahead!" Know ours!

The draw for the group stage of the final of the 20th FIFA World Cup has ended in Brazil. The national teams of Belgium, Algeria and South Korea have been declared rivals of the Russian national team. The opening match of the championship will take place in Sao Paulo, and the final will take place at the Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janeiro. Whose team will receive the "gold" prize of $35 million - we will find out on July 13. Cheer for ours!

Following the Winter Games, the second sports coming to Sochi will take place in October. So do not rush to pack your suitcases and bikini, leaving the Black Sea coast. This time we are waiting for the greatest racers of our time to visit as part of the Formula 1 Grand Prix stage, many of whom have already tested the cars on the track in the Olympic Park. It seems that this time Sochi is seriously claiming the title of Russian Monte Carlo. The main print of autumn is a nesting doll in a racing helmet.

All flags are welcome! In the summer of the coming year, Chelyabinsk will temporarily become the capital of judo. Emirates, the USA and Korea fought for the right to host one of the most prestigious tournaments, as a result, Russia boldly knocked out its rivals, becoming the host of the Championship. In a country where the president is the owner of a black belt, it could not be otherwise.

CULTURE

Cross Year of Culture of Great Britain and Russia 2014

January - December 2014

Following the past year, Holland is waiting for eminent Britons in Russia. It is announced that in June, as part of an international project, the Multimedia Art Museum will show an exhibition dedicated to the design and style of James Bond films, as well as an exhibition of the most expensive expressionist in history - Francis Bacon. In September, the Catherine Foundation will introduce everyone to the influential movement of contemporary British artists - a collection of works by Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, Sam Taylor-Wood. Fashionistas will love The Rise of Fashion Film, a multimedia project about English brands Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, Ossie Clarke and Hussein Chalayan. The start of the new cultural year will be informally given in London at the April opening of the exhibition "The Golden Age of the Russian Avant-Garde", curated by director Peter Greenaway.

The main hero of the year is William Shakespeare. To be or not to be in our country celebrations in honor of the best-selling playwright on the planet? Of course to be! Two "Othellos" - in "Satyricon" by director Yuri Butusov and a dance performance at the Vakhtangov Theatre, "The Taming of the Shrew" at the Theater of Nations with Chulpan Khamatova, a joint project of the Pushkin Theater and the English Cheek by Jowl - "Measure for Measure" from Declan Donnellan - a low bow to the birthday man from Russian theaters. Plus, on February 18 in Moscow, St. Petersburg and 23 other cities of Russia, as well as in 3 cities of Kazakhstan, as part of the @theatrehd (National Theater Live) project, Coriolanus will be shown with Tom Hiddleston in the title role.

The Wind of Winter, the penultimate book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels by George R.R. Martin, was expected in 2013. The miracle didn't happen. The release date for the book is still vague; in a recent interview, the writer threatened that perhaps this would happen in 2014. Where is the fantasy world heading, filmed in the most popular series on the planet about the war and peace of the seven kingdoms? Wait and see.

MOVIE

We follow the outfits on the red carpet, the smiles of the losers and the tears of the winners. We keep our fingers crossed for Leonardo DiCaprio, we vote for the Coen brothers, we bet on the record holder Meryl Streep and we never cease to admire George Clooney - at the main "distribution of elephants" of world cinema - the Oscars.

The main gossip of the film industry in 2014 is the return to the screens of the deadliest bride, the lyrical heroine of Tarantino. The release date is not disclosed even in the circles closest to the director. It is only known that in the third part of the Black Mamba (Uma Thurman) two of the "88 Mad" will take revenge, having lost their eyes and hands through her fault (including Ellie Driver). Liters of blood, feelings on the verge of a nervous breakdown and, as always, an amazing soundtrack, where all the songs are only about love.

According to IMDB, the world's largest movie database, this is the most anticipated film of the last three years. Russian critics confirm the excitement around the picture in our country as well. Steven Spielberg's brilliant idea was brought to life by the Nolan brothers - director Christopher and screenwriter Jonathan. A fantastic film with Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway tells about the intergalactic travel of a group of researchers through a space-time tunnel. The premiere is set for November 7th.

As well as Wes Anderson's new masterpiece "The Grand Budapest Hotel", Leonardo DiCaprio as "The Wolf of Wall Street", Megan Fox as reporter April O'Neil in "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", a film adaptation of the game Need for Speed, two-episode "Nymphomaniac » Lars von Trier, Hayao Miyazaki's cartoon about airplanes, the sequel to Sin City and Johnny Depp proving the computer's Supremacy.

SERIES

Sherlock is alive and will live! However, like Watson, Mrs. Hudson, Moriarty, sparkling remarks, cunning intrigues and the soul-piercing eyes of the protagonist. Why list the details of the third season of the best detective series of our time - soon they will be obvious to everyone. We rub our hands in anticipation of new evidence! There is not long to wait. Season 3 starts on January 1st.

One of the most anticipated television projects of 2014 is the fantastic thriller Existing by the American CBS channel. A 13-episode film about a female astronaut performed by Halle Berry, intergalactic odysseys and the fatal fate of all mankind from producer Steven Spielberg is another weighty proof of the global trend in space-themed paintings.

As well as the fourth season of "Game of Thrones", "Vatican" from Ridley Scott, the comedy "Together", new series about secret agents "Intelligence" and "Spy", Alfonso Cuarón's drama "Believe", horror films "The Strain" and "Spiral".

MUSIC

Santa Claus finally heeded our requests, which we year after year with all the passion we wrote in neat handwriting - the most charming, attractive and successful pop artist in the galaxy Justin Timberlake will come to Moscow and St. Petersburg with concerts. It seems that May 15 and 17 in 2014 will become an alternative to Women's Day in our country.

And also with tours in Moscow and St. Petersburg will come: Backstreet Boys (February 26, 27), Depeche Mode (March 4, 7), 30 Seconds to Mars (March 15, 16 and 18), Aerosmith (May 24, 27), Nine Inch Nails (June 13, 15), Roxette (December 1).

Just two months after the release of the album Artpop, and Lady Gaga is already promising to release a brand new disc of "classic jazz standards" - Cheek To Cheek, recorded in collaboration with American pop legend 87-year-old Tony Bennett. I wonder what outfit the pop diva plans to hit the world before the music premiere? Will he take the stage as a sexy saxophone? Frank Sinatra's mustache? Or try on a hat in the form of a glass of whiskey with ice?

Restless producer, music video director and composer Pharrell Williams has announced that he will release a new solo album in 2014. This is the artist's first disc in the last eight years, and it will certainly include the song Happy, on which the 24-hour clip of the same name was filmed. What happiness!

We also download new albums by Sophie Ellis-Bextor / Wanderlust in 2014 (January 20); Limp Bizkit / Stampede of the Disco Elephants (January); Lily Allen (March); Jay-Z and Kanye West / Watch the Throne II (April); Jennifer Lopez (April) and waiting for releases from Adele, Chris Brown, Garbage, Guns N’ Roses, Iron Maiden, Mariah Carey, No Doubt, Red Hot Chili Peppers.

TECHNO

Remember, after April 8, 2014, technical support for Windows XP will not be available, including automatic updates that make your computer more secure. You can continue to use Windows XP, but your computer may become vulnerable to attacks and viruses. An occasion to hang a black ribbon on the monitor screen of an old PS. The future is in Windows 8.1. A curtain.

The future that we have been waiting for since the premiere of the second "Terminator" and then from the show of the Diana Von Furstenberg collection, where the models flaunted in gadget accessories from Sergey Brin, is coming! The commercial launch of computer glasses has been postponed several times. The final release date is May 2014. The happy owner of Google Glass will be able to see reality through messages from friends, air temperature indicators, turn-by-turn navigator, a guide to an unfamiliar city, and much more. You won't believe until you try!

In 2014, Apple promises to introduce several must have and must touch products in autumn 2014. The main sensations, according to analysts, will be: a budget version of the iMac desktop computer, a new screen for the iPad tablet and the first affordable 12-inch MacBook. There are also rumors that Apple is working on an iPhone with a larger screen, a TV and a smartwatch.