1997

Overview

1997 (MCMXCVII) was an ordinary year of the Gregorian calendar, which began on Wednesday.

Events

### January

* January 1:
+ A new criminal code of the Russian Federation, containing, among other things, an article “for violation of copyright and related rights”, has begun to operate.
+ Kofi Annan became Secretary-General of the United Nations (until 1 January 2007).
+ The beginning of the REN TV channel.
* January 2: The tanker Nakhodka is killed in the Sea of Japan, resulting in the death of Captain Dmitry Melnikov and pollution of hundreds of kilometers of the coast of Japan.
* January 4: Vyacheslav Kislitsyn is elected President of the Republic of Mari El.
* January 7: Romanian President Constantinescu called an extraordinary meeting of the Supreme Council of Defence of the Country (CSAT) to discuss ways to combat corruption.
* January 8:
+ The Federal Law “On the Enactment of the Criminal Executive Code of the Russian Federation” was issued.
+ Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation "On the establishment of the Academy of Management of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation".
* January 9: Monroe (Michigan, USA) - a plane crash occurred when trying to land on lane 3R of Detroit Metropolitan Airport in a snowstorm.

### July

* July 8-9: NATO summit in Madrid.
* July (no specific date mentioned): Severe disturbances caused by the climate phenomenon El Niño.

### November

* November 2-13: Global warming conference in Buenos Aires.
* November (no specific date mentioned): United Nations greenhouse effect conference in Kyōto, where 160 countries decided to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Note: The original sources had some minor inconsistencies and missing information. This merged article aims to provide a comprehensive and accurate overview of the events that occurred in 1997.