MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd July, 2021) � Today's digest will focus on a new decree making once important stamps in Russians' passports no longer mandatory, on Russians' awareness of their country's participation in the Olympics, and on a fresh Netflix interpretation of a classical novel.
LAWYERS DIVIDED ON PASSPORT 'REFORM'
Marriage registration stamps and information about children aged under 14 will no longer be obligatory for Russian passport holders, it will now be reflected in the passport only upon the holder's request, according to a fresh decree by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.
In line with the new legislation, only residence registration and military duty stamps will be obligatory. At the request of a citizen, passport can also reflect information about marriage and divorce, children aged under 14, previously issued passports, travel passports, blood group and Rh factor, and taxpayer identification number.
Lawyer Igor Trunov expressed the belief in his comment to Sputnik that mandatory passport stamps are "a relic of the past,: while the future belongs to plastic cards and computer systems.
"Stamps are an anachronism, a relic of the past. We are moving forward, now all our life goes online, where people are identified by eye retina or DNA. In general, I think it will be great to abandon the passport system and switch to plastic cards, which are incorporated into computer systems enabling instant access to information," Trunov said.
However, Dmitry Krasnov � an honored lawyer and a legal expert of the Strong Russia movement � is not optimistic at all.
"I don't see any advantages here. From my point of view, it will now be easier for various fraudsters and marriage swindlers to commit illegal actions. A man can introduce himself to women as an unmarried person ... and cheat on unfortunate women. Women can also deceive men, take possession of their heart and property and then just leave them," Krasnov told Sputnik.
This could also complicate obtaining loans, and sales of real estate and jointly acquired property in cases where a spouse's official permission is necessary, the lawyer warned.
MAJORITY OF RUSSIANS DONT KNOW WHO REPRESENTS COUNTRY AT OLYMPICS
In total, 97% of Russians failed to name a single athlete who will represent the country at the Tokyo Olympics that officially starts on Friday, according to a poll by the VTsIOM pollster, obtained by Sputnik.
One percent of respondents named Mariya Lasitskene, an athlete who specializes in the high jump.
Overall, 61% of Russians plan to follow the games, 15% plan to regularly watch all sporting competitions while 10% will watch only if Russian athletes have chances of winning a medal.
Russians are mostly interested in athletics (33%), swimming (31%), artistic gymnastics (23%), football (15%) and volleyball (14%).
At the same time, 8% of respondents plan to follow figure skating, and 5% plan to watch hockey, but these sports are not part of the Summer Olympics.
The poll was conducted among 1,600 Russian adults via phone interviews on July 16.
NETFLIX FRESH INTEPRETATION OF ANNA KARENINA
US streaming service Netflix started filming its first Russian tv series, dubbed Anna K., a modern interpretation of Leo Tolstoy's famous novel Anna Karenina, where well-known actors Svetlana Khodchenkova, Fyodor Bondarchuk, Gosha Kutsenko, Yura Borisov and Tatyana Dogileva will play key roles.
The company is yet to announce who will perform the role of Prince Alexei Vronsky, noting that "other amazing actors will take part, so not all secrets have been revealed."
"We are honored to start work on the first Russian Netflix series. It is exciting to master production in a new and interesting region for us, and we hope that our project viewers around the world will like our project. We are working together with outstanding representatives of the Russian film industry," Anna Nagler,� the head of original series department for Central and Eastern Europe and Russia, said.
The events will enfold in modern Russia, where socialite Anna Karenina, the wife of the future governor of St. Petersburg, has an affair with Alexei Vronsky, a heir of an "aluminum empire." The film shooting will take place in Moscow and St. Petersburg in Russian, the series will be subsequently dubbed into other languages.
