77th Victory Day parade rehearsal near Moscow A rehearsal of the parade devoted to the 77th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War took place at the military testing ground in Alabino.

Is Putin putting us into the gold standard? The gold standard is coming back? Russia announces fixed-price gold buyback. On Monday, the Russian Central Bank announced it was continuing to buy gold at a fixed price from local banks there. The established price is 5,000 ruble (about 52 U.S. dollars) per gram, and the buyout process will last until June 30, 2022, according to the Russian Central Bank. In doing so, the current market price of gold in the rest of the world is approximately $ 68 per gram. The continued purchase of gold will ensure the supply and production of local gold without interruption. Remember, two weeks ago, the Russian Central Bank announced an end to the official purchase of gold from local banks due to too much of a rush and rising demand from end consumers. According to commercial bank reports, this month citizens of Russia rushed to abruptly exchange their savings for investment gold, especially gold coins and gold bars. This came as a result of predictions of a ruble collapse, which nevertheless has currently stabilised at the level it was before the military interventions. Russia's largest bank, Sberbanka, reports a strong, nearly fourfold increase in demand for gold and palladium in recent weeks. The Russian Ministry of Finance also labeled gold as an ideal alternative against the US dollar. Setting a fixed price on gold reminded many analysts of U.S. policy during the gold standard period. From 1879 to 1914, gold was worth approximately 21 US dollars per ounce, however in the 1930s the US banned the possession of gold and raised its price to $35 an ounce. This second price remained fixed until the frequently mentioned one in 1971, when US President Nixon abolished the gold standard, that is, removed the possibility of converting the dollar into gold. This also meant that all other world currencies, pegged to the dollar through the Bretton-Woods system, also lost their indirect link to gold cover, turning into fiat currencies (money without coverage). Given Russia's latest move to take a step back in this context, analysts believe it is possible that Russia is considering a return to the gold standard. Setting a fixed price on gold could prove crucial to Russia's future financing and its central bank's operations outside the dollar system. In terms of sanctions, the transition to gold is an extremely logical choice compared to any other world currency. In addition, Russia owns over 2,300tons of gold in its reserves (valued over $140 billion), making it the world's fifth gold superpower.United States bans its citizens from gold transactions with Russia Last week, the US Treasury Department banned all gold transactions made with the Russian Central Bank. "American citizens are prohibited from establishing transactions, including those in gold, with the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the National Wealth Fund of the Russian Federation or the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation" – the Ministry of Finance of the United States said.