From Russia With News

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From Russia With News

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th January, 2023) In this digest, we will tell you the proportion of Russians who opted to travel within their country during the New Year holidays, about Russian scientists' plans to grow watermelons in Antarctica, and how many Russians still read print newspapers and magazines.

In total, 96% of tourists chose to travel within Russia during the New Year holidays this year, according to a fresh study by MTS Travel and MTS Research services.

The top three most popular destinations by numbers of tourists included, as per tradition, Moscow (12%), St. Petersburg (6%) and the Krasnodar region (6%), according to the findings.

Among other popular destinations were the Vladimir and Tver regions, Bashkiria, Tatarstan and the Kaluga region, each accounting for 3% of the total tourist flow within the country. The Smolensk and Tula regions (each 2%) closed the top 10.

This year, only 4% decided to spend the long New Year-to-Christmas public holiday abroad, with Belarus, Kazakhstan and Turkey being the most popular foreign destinations.

Additionally, the study has found that the most active tourists were residents of Moscow (31%), St. Petersburg (9%) and the Krasnodar region (5%).

FRUIT AND VEGETABLES IN ANTARCTICA

Participants in the 68th Russian Antarctic Expedition plan to grow watermelons and cucumbers at the Vostok station in Antarctica, Aleksandr Makarov, the director of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI), told Sputnik.

"Now we are growing 58 species of plants and will continue to work. This year, we are planning to grow watermelons and cucumbers for the first time," Makarov said.

The AARI is collaborating with the Agrophysical Research Institute and the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian academy of Sciences, the scientist said. Part of the work is related to experiments in growing greens and vegetables on artificial soils.

"In the phytotechnical complex at the Vostok station, our scientists were able to achieve fairly high yields � twice the average in modern greenhouse complexes that use hydroponic technologies with artificial lighting and controlled microclimate conditions," Makarov said.

Only 14% of Russians regularly read print newspapers and magazines today, a fresh poll by by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) has revealed.

Most of these regular readers are people aged 45 and above, while those aged 25 to 44 read newspapers and magazines on a regular basis less often (14%).

Additionally, the poll found that people read print media on a regular basis more often in villages (20%), cities with a population of up to 100,000 people (16%), as well as in Moscow and St. Petersburg (15%), but less often � in cities with a population of 100,000 to 500,000 people (12%) and from 500,000 to 950,000 people (8%), and in million-plus cities (6%).

One in five Russians used to read print media regularly, but no longer do that. Another 63% have never read newspapers or magazines regularly.

When asked why they stopped reading print newspapers and magazines, most respondents said they had transitioned to reading online (29%). Other reasons given include the rise in price of newspapers and magazines (18%), and the fact some have ceased publication (11%).