Russia 100316

Basic Political Developments Ukrinform: Foreign Minister to make visit to Russia on March 16-17 - A plan of

interaction between Foreign Ministries of Russia and Ukraine is planned to be signed during a visit of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kostiantyn Hryshchenko to Moscow on March 16-17, UKRINFORM's own correspondent in Russia reports.

Unian: Two-day working visit of Hryshchenko to Moscow starts today RIA: Kiev wants to host signing of historic Russia-U.S. arms cuts deal -

According to Kommersant, new Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych made the suggestion to his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, during his visit to Moscow on March 5.

Russia Today: Missiles, Kiev-style - Viktor Yanukovich decided to, without a pause, break into the big world politics through the START

RIA: Turkmenistan views Russia as strategic partner – president: "Great Russia is a strategic and reliable partner," Berdymukhamedov said, adding that his country attached considerable significance to political, economic and educational cooperation with Russia.

Reuters; ANALYSIS-Russian wheat faces slog to satisfy Asian tastes - Not easy for Russia to achieve Asian wheat market ambition; Transport hurdles, reluctance for new-origin to slow plans; Moscow threatens U.S., Australian wheat market share; Russia may target smaller buyers to make a beginning

RIA: Medvedev continues shake up of Russia's law enforcement system - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has dismissed a deputy justice minister and appointed a new interior minister in the volatile North Caucasus republic of Ingushetia as part of his efforts to improve law enforcement in Russia, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.

Interfax: Patriarch Kirill goes to Armenia on three-day visit Public Radio of Armenia: Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia arrinving in

Armenia RIA: Russian doctors help people affected by Chilean earthquake Itar-Tass: Russian ombudsman for children goes to Finland over Rantala case Financial Mirror: Minister of Cyprus: Three more consulates in Russia to

facilitate tourism Brahmand: Govt agreed to pay USD 2.33 bln for Gorshkov - "The revised cost of

USD 2.33 billion has been approved by the government. Prices for the work to be carried out under the revised contracts and agreements are fixed," Defence Minister A K Antony said in reply to a Lok Sabha query.

People’s Daily: Chinese State Councilor to visit Russia - Chinese State Councilor Liu Yandong will pay a visit to Russia from March 21 to 25 and attend the opening ceremony of "Chinese Language Year" in Russia, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang announced here Tuesday.

Spaceflight Now: Aerojet confirms Russian engine is ready for duty Korea Times: Russia as Space-Race Mediator - Russian technological assistance

has boosted South Korea's space program. As an indirect consequence, it has also provoked North Korea.

Moscow Times: Drunken Pilot Blamed in 2008 Perm Air Disaster New York Times: Alcohol Cited in 2008 Russian Crash RIA: Russian police detain suspected killer of Moscow cop RIA: Sochi public council to discuss environmental issues of 2014 Games Itar-Tass: Amurian tiger protection under consideration in Vladivostok 24.kg: Kyrgyz association of entrepreneurs established in Russia - The core

activities of the association will be focused on rendering of legal and technical assistance to countrymen executing business activities in Russia. Moreover the association will help to establish business relations and realize investment projects on the territory of Kyrgyzstan and Russia.

RIA: 30 avalanches block Russia-South Ossetia road Expert Club: Large-scale operation in Chechnya to identify illegal immigrants - It

is believed that the main purpose of these activities is to identify members of the armed underground and their supporters.

AFP: 7 Russians jailed for attempted murder of Tanzanian - Seven young Russians belonging to an extremist group were jailed yesterday for the attempted murder of a Tanzanian in Saint Petersburg, investigators said.

St. Petersburg Times: Metro Tender Awarded Moscow Times: St. Pete Businessmen Won’t Sign Deal - St. Petersburg

businessmen forced out of the city’s Khasansky Market will refuse to sign a much-publicized agreement with City Hall, the market’s council of business owners said this week.

St. Petersburg Times: Hundreds Protest Against Hotel Construction Moscow News: Chocolate workers fired in Russia - Swiss confectionary giant

Nestle is set to make hundreds of workers redundant in the Moscow region after announcing that it is shutting down one of its factories.

BarentsObserver: Major job cuts in Murmansk schools - As many as 700 jobs will be cut in the school and education sector in Murmansk City in a bid to cut budget spending.

Moscow Times: Hermitage Opponents Hire 2 New Attorneys Russia Profile: Selective Justice - Newly published memoirs by Lord Browne, the

former chief executive officer of British Petroleum, cast new light on the Yukos affair just as Yukos shareholders filed a lawsuit for $50 billion against Russia in the European Court of Human Rights. The book includes an insider’s view of Russia’s oil oligarchs, which could hypothetically reinforce the claim that Khodorkovsky’s prosecution was politically motivated.

Independent: Mary Dejevsky: Illusions that the anniversary of perestroika should dispel - The Gorbachev-Yeltsin duel was as much about Russia as communism

Russia Today: Russian democracy turns 20 - “Initially, Gorbachev believed that the party could play a major role in Perestroika,” Pavel Palazhchenko, personal interpreter of Mikhail Gorbachev, recalls. “But the party was such a big and difficult bureaucracy that it soon became the hindrance on Perestoika.”

Russia Today: 16 March, 2010 in Russian Newspaperso Nezavisimaya: To Bulgaria – through Georgia: Azerbaijan plans selling

liquefied gas to Europe

o Kommersant: Missiles, Kiev-style - Viktor Yanukovich decided to, without a pause, break into the big world politics through the START

Moscow Times: Today in Vedomostio Finance Ministry Puts Limits on Official Gifts o Volvo 'Safest' Slogan Banned in Sweden o US AAA Credit Rating in Danger o Commentary: Georgian Media Playing With Fire

National Economic Trends Bloomberg: Ruble May Gain 18-20% Over Three Years, Klepach Says (Update1) RBC: Russia's GDP growth may reach 6% in 2010 Interfax: Banks have 475.4 bln rbs on CBR correspondent accounts on March 16 RenCap: CBR could take a break - With no significant volatility, we expect the

rouble/basket rate to stay close to its current levels. Interfax: Russia exports dual purpose products worth $6.36 Bln in 2009 – Ivanov

Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions Reuters: Russian markets -- Factors to Watch on March 16

o Kommersant runs an interview with Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov, who says the customs union with Russia will not include a common currency in the foreseeable future and that he would welcome Ukraine's joining the group.

Bloomberg: Lukoil, Norilsk Nickel, 36.6: Russian Equity Market Preview Russia Today: Russian Railway posts 1H 2009 net profit of 23.4 billion Roubles VTB Capital: Aeroflot to buy its shares from NRC with a larger discount

valueaccretive deal - deal with Rosavia also becoming more attractive SteelOrbis: Russia’s Mechel establishes representative office in China Bloomberg: RBC Information Says Bank Accounts Blocked, Stock Buyback

Halted Reuters: Russia's RBC postpones share buyback until debt deal Moscow Times: Changes in Trade Regulations: New Challenges Facing

Businesses – PWC: We believe that the Law raises many questions that need to be looked at carefully, both by trading companies and suppliers. In our opinion, any decisions should be based on a close examination of all issues — including those related to commercial, legal and tax. This of course will involve time and resources but will also help businesses to avoid mistakes and minimize risks.

Dow Jones: Wimm-Bill-Dann May Pay RUB30/Share Dividend For '07-'08 - Ifx AgriMarket.Info: Russia: Novorossiysk sea port increased grain shipment by

26.4% Evertiq: Sitronics to licence ST manufacturing technology for 90 nanometre in

Russia Nanowerk: UK opportunities to meet with Russian Nanotechnology Corporation Bloomberg: 6,200 Cars a Week Sold Under Scrappage Scheme Moscow Times: Aluminum Magnate Turns to Property Development - Lev

Chernoi has turned to property development, with an investment in a 380 million

euro ($522 million) apartment and hotel complex to be built on the site of the Mir hotel on Novy Arbat.

Moscow Times: Developers Resume Building as Industry Recovers

Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory) Oil & Gas Eurasia: Russian Oil Export Duty to Rise 6% VTB Capital: Zero export duty for East Siberia might be prolonged until the end

of 2010 - decision could be taken this week - if so, would be positive for sentiment

Gazprom Upstreamonline: Gazprom bags Bulgaria block - A Gazprom-led consortium has

landed the Provadia Block in eastern Bulgaria. Offshore: Songa Mercur signed up for Sakhalin Hurriyet: Gazprom makes a leap in Turkish market - The group has designated

four goals – electricity, natural-gas import, natural-gas storage and distribution – but will initially focus on the first three, said Dietmar Schulz-Oral, strategy director at Gazprom Germania, which owns a 71 percent share in Turkey’s Bosphorus Gas.

RIA: Nord Stream secures funding for Russia-backed Baltic pipeline Financial Times: Nord Stream wins funding for Baltic pipeline Moscow Times: Zenit St. Pete Budget Tops $99M - Zenit St. Petersburg,

sponsored by Gazprom, topped Russian football’s rich list with a 2010 budget of $99 million, 52 percent more than its nearest rival, Finans magazine said Monday.

Your Oil and Gas News: Gazprom commences drilling of first prospecting well in Africa

Alfa: Gazprom considers swapping its power assets with Fortum and IES

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Full Text Articles

Basic Political Developments

Ukrinform: Foreign Minister to make visit to Russia on March 16-17 http://bsanna-news.ukrinform.ua/newsitem.php?id=12573&lang=en

KYIV, March 15 /UKRINFORM/. A plan of interaction between Foreign Ministries of Russia and Ukraine is planned to be signed during a visit of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kostiantyn Hryshchenko to Moscow on March 16-17, UKRINFORM's own correspondent in Russia reports.

During the visit, a meeting of Kostiantyn Hryshchenko is envisaged with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Press Secretary of the Ukrainian Embassy in Russia Oleh Voloshyn underscored that Hryshchenko's visit to Russia is also related to measures dedicated to completion of his diplomatic mission as Ukraine's Ambassador to Russia.

[16.03.2010 10:22]  

Unian: Two-day working visit of Hryshchenko to Moscow starts today http://www.unian.net/eng/news/news-367649.html

Two-day day working visit of Foreign Minister of Ukraine Konstyantyn Hryshchenko to Moscow starts today.

According to Russian diplomatic circles, it is planned that during the visit K. Hryshchenko will meet with Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Lavrov. As a result of the negotiations the Ministers are to sign an interaction plan between Foreign Ministries of both countries.

The joint news conference of K. Hryshchenko and S. Lavrov is also planned.

RIA: Kiev wants to host signing of historic Russia-U.S. arms cuts dealhttp://en.rian.ru/russia/20100316/158212206.html

11:2316/03/2010

Kiev is seeking to be the venue for the signing of a new nuclear arms reduction treaty between Russia and the United States, a respected Russian business daily reported on Tuesday.

According to Kommersant, new Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych made the suggestion to his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, during his visit to Moscow on March 5.

The deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, Anna German, told Kommersant on Monday that Moscow showed interest in Ukraine's initiative. This issue will also be discussed on Tuesday in Moscow between the countries' foreign ministers, Sergei Lavrov and Kostyantyn Hryshchenko.

The talks will be held ahead of the upcoming visit by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Moscow, during which she and Lavrov are expected to coordinate the final details of the replacement to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START 1), the paper said.

German said the bid to host the signing ceremony was part of Yanukovych's efforts to position his country as a link between Russia and the West.

"I believe this is a very interesting idea," Kommersant quoted German as saying. "The Russian side responded with interest to it. If the Americans are not against it, Ukraine will finally become the bridge between the East and the West that our leader always speaks about."

Russia and the United States have been negotiating the arms reduction pact since the two countries' presidents met in April last year, but finalizing a document has dragged on, with U.S. plans for missile defense in Europe a particular sticking point.

Moscow wants to include a link between missile defenses and cuts in offensive weapons, but the U.S. Senate is unlikely to ratify any document formally linking the two issues.

START 1, the cornerstone of post-Cold War arms control, expired on December 5.

MOSCOW, March 16 (RIA Novosti

Russia Today: Missiles, Kiev-style http://rt.com/Top_News/Press/eng.html#

Viktor Yanukovich decided to, without a pause, break into the big world politics through the START

Vladimir Solovyev

Kiev had suddenly decided to fight for the right to become the place of signing of the new Russo-American Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START). Kommersant learned that the President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovich made an official proposal to his Russian colleague Dmitry Medvedev on March 5. Deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential administration, Anna German, told Kommersant yesterday that Moscow “was interested in the initiative”. Today, this issue will be discussed by the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov and Konstantin Grishchenko. The talks will be held on the eve of the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to Russia, which she is making in order to finalize the last details of START.

During his recent visit to Russia, Ukraine’s new President Viktor Yanukovich was engaged in more than normalization of relations with his neighbor (see Kommersant March 6 issue). Kommersant was notified yesterday by Russia’s Foreign Ministry that Kiev is bidding for the right to become the place of signing of the new START treaty, thus hosting the historic Russo-American nuclear disarmament summit. “The proposal was made on March 5, in the course of Yanukovich’s conversation with President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin,” an anonymous source told Kommersant.

This information was confirmed yesterday by sources from the team of the president of Ukraine. Deputy head of Mr. Yanukovich’s administration, Anna German, told

Kommersant that the initiative to hold the meeting of presidents of Russia and the United Sates belongs to Viktor Yanukovich. “I think this is a very interesting idea. Moreover, the Russian side displayed interest. And if the Americans are not against the idea, then Ukraine will finally become the bridge between the East and the West, about which our leader has always talked about,” noted Ms. German. She added that judging by Russia’s response to the initiative, things are moving fairly well in that direction. “The fact that the issue was raised during the meeting with Dmitry Medvedev and talks with Vladimir Putin is, alone, a sign that the process will continue,” the deputy head of the presidential administration assured Kommersant.

The discussion on Kiev’s involvement in the process of nuclear disarmament may be continued as soon as today, during the talks between Minster Lavrov, and Grishchenko. They will discuss the preparations of Dmitry Medvedev’s first visit to Ukraine, which has been tentatively scheduled for the end of May –early June, and according to Kommersant’s diplomatic sources, they may possibly sign a document on cooperation of the two ministries. It is also possible that the ministers will make mention of the issue regarding the signing place of the new START treaty, especially since President Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama, who spoke by telephone last Saturday, made it clear that work on the document is nearing completion. According to Kommersant’s sources, the document may be signed before the Nuclear Security Summit, which is scheduled to take place on March 12 in Washington. The press secretary of the Russian leader, Natalia Timakova, confirmed the parties’ determination for an early conclusion of the agreement: “Judging by the presidents’ last phone conversation, we quite optimistically look at the possibility of signing the agreement in the near future”.

It is in Ukraine’s best interest to move faster in lobbying of its capital as a meeting place for Mr. Obama and Medvedev – especially since Prague also really wants to become that place. It was there that in April of last year Barack Obama presented the initiative of a mass-scale reduction of nuclear weapons on a global scale. In this context, in the view of the Czech authorities, signing the agreement in the country’s capital would be most logical.

Meanwhile, Kiev’s arguments in its favor are not any weaker. Ukraine is one of the three post-Soviet states that voluntarily renounced nuclear weapons after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In 1992, Russia, United States, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan signed the Lisbon Protocol to the treaty between Moscow and Washington on reduction of strategic offensive arms. Article 5 obliged Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine to promptly join the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, thus joining the club of non-nuclear nations. Ukraine did meet its obligations.

The voluntary renunciation of nuclear potential is, in fact, one of Ukraine’s arguments in its competition with Prague. “Ukraine, which voluntarily renounced the world’s third-largest nuclear potential, could become the place [for signing the document]. This could be a clear signal that we unequivocally support President Obama’s non-nuclear world initiative,” Ukraine’s first Foreign Affairs Minister, Anatoly Zlenko, who 18 years ago signed the Lisbon Protocol, told Kommersant. According to the former minister, who was

succeeded by Konstantin Grishchenko in 2003 (Anatoly Zlenko headed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine from 1991 to 1994 and from 2000 to 2003), this is a way Kiev could remind the world about the role it plays in the movement toward disarmament and set an example to others. “This is not a bad idea, but its implementation calls for an agreement on the highest level,” noted Mr. Zlenko.

Other than the Russian authorities, Kiev will have to convince Washington in its attractiveness. And, if today’s talks between ministers Lavrov and Grishchenko in this direction are successful, the head of the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry could communicate Ukraine’s wishes to the head of the U.S. Department of State, Hillary Clinton, who will arrive in Moscow on March 18, in order to reach an agreement on the final details of the new START treaty.

RIA: Turkmenistan views Russia as strategic partner – presidenthttp://en.rian.ru/exsoviet/20100316/158211354.html

09:4916/03/2010

Turkmenistan views Russia as a strategic partner, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said at the start of a meeting with visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

"Great Russia is a strategic and reliable partner," Berdymukhamedov said, adding that his country attached considerable significance to political, economic and educational cooperation with Russia.

Lavrov, who arrived in the Turkmen capital of Ashgabat on Monday for a two-day working visit, said that his visit to the Central Asian country could give a new impetus to bilateral cooperation.

As well as the meeting with Berdymukhamedov, Lavrov was to hold talks with Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov. The talks are aimed at expanding mutually beneficial economic ties, raising trade and making cooperation between Russian and Turkmen regions more active.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited Turkmenistan in December 2009. On the sidelines of his visit, the countries' gas monopolies Gazprom and Turkmengaz signed a deal, ending a months-long gas dispute between the two ex-Soviet states.

Medvedev also said then that Russia and Turkmenistan will jointly build new gas pipelines "across Turkmenistan further on to Europe."

This year Turkmenistan inaugurated new pipelines to China and Iran, and it has been courted as a potential supplier to Nabucco, the European gas pipeline project that is a rival to Russia's South Stream for future gas deliveries to the EU.

ASHGABAT, March 16 (RIA Novosti)

Reuters; ANALYSIS-Russian wheat faces slog to satisfy Asian tasteshttp://in.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idINSGE62B04B20100316

Tue Mar 16, 2010 10:50am IST

* Not easy for Russia to achieve Asian wheat market ambition

* Transport hurdles, reluctance for new-origin to slow plans

* Moscow threatens U.S., Australian wheat market share

* Russia may target smaller buyers to make a beginning

By Naveen Thukral and Aleksandras Budrys

SINGAPORE/MOSCOW, March 16 (Reuters) - Russia's ambition to grab a slice of Asia's lucrative wheat business will take longer than the planned 2 or 3 years as transport hurdles and consumer reluctance to adapt to new supplies will slow Moscow's campaign.

Riding on growing production and bulging stockpiles, Russia is approaching the biggest wheat importers in Asia -- a market so far ruled by Australia and the United States -- and expects shipments to climb in the years ahead.

The move is part of Russia's strategy to develop its grain export infrastructure in order to double shipments to some 35 million to 40 million tonnes by 2015.

If successful, the campaign will add to pressure on Chicago wheat prices Wc1, which have wilted 30 percent from last year's peak after Russian and European suppliers won tenders in U.S. strongholds Egypt and the Middle East.

Russia has already grabbed a sizeable share of sales in what are the world's biggest wheat importers, a worry for suppliers in the roughly $5 billion a year Asian market.

"For Russia to have a big impact in Asia, two hurdles will need to be leaped -- logistics and quality," said Scott Briggs, an agricultural commodity strategist with ANZ in Melbourne.

"Most Russian exports currently go into Africa and the Middle East, where they have freight and cost of production advantages."

It is in direct talks with millers in Japan, Indonesia and Bangladesh to sell high-quality Siberian wheat, which is similar to varieties such as U.S. hard red winter wheat and Australian prime hard wheat.

Lobby group the Russian Grain Union expects grain shipments to Asia to rise to 1.5 million-2.0 million tonnes by 2012, from an estimated 500,000 tonnes in 2009. [ID:nLDE5BD0W7]

The Russian government hopes to sell 1 million tonnes of wheat to Japan by 2011 and is in talks to supply 300,000 tonnes to Bangladesh in a government-to-government deal.

But its strategy to make inroads into Asia was easier to chalk out than execute, said traders and analysts.

A major stumbling block is the lack of infrastructure such as grain elevators, silos and ports on the country's east coast that are capable of servicing large ships.

In addition, Russia needs to reduce the $60-$90 per tonne cost of transporting Siberian wheat some 4,000-6,000 km from its growing regions to the ports on the east coast.

Russia plans to invest up to $100 million over 2 to 3 years to refurbish ports on its east coast, as it moves to cut shipping time to Asia to just a few days from the 25 days now needed to send grains through Black Sea ports.

WHEAT QUALITY

Asian importers accustomed mainly to Australian and U.S. wheat are unlikely to switch to the Siberian grain unless they think it is substantially cheaper and are sure about the quality of the new origin, little seen in Asia.

"We don't know the characteristics of Siberian wheat, I think it will take time before Russian milling wheat can participate in the Japanese market," said Nobuyuki Chino, president of Tokyo-based trading company Unipac Grain.

"It will be an extremely slow process...maybe a few hundred thousand tonnes initially."

Asia imports more than 20 million tonnes of wheat a year, with top regional buyers Japan, South Korea and Indonesia taking some 14 million tonnes. Smaller buyers such as Malaysia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines take the rest.

Wheat processors are picky about grain quality, using specific varieties for items from bread to cakes and biscuits or noodles.

About 1 million tonnes of Australian standard wheat goes into Japan's popular "udon" noodles each year, for example, while bread is made from U.S. dark northern spring and Canadian spring wheat and Australian prime hard wheat goes into noodles.

Western white wheat is good for baking cakes and biscuits.

Switching origins for animal feed grains, such as corn and soybeans, is easier because the key concern is protein content, traders said.

"Wheat is a difficult commodity compared with corn and soybean meal, which are essentially fed to animals," said Genichiro Higaki, head of the proprietary fund management team at Sumitomo Corp in Tokyo.

"Even if they offer cheap, I don't think huge volumes will move until the quality matter is cleared."

Some traders said Russia would initially target smaller and more price sensitive players such as Bangladesh, Vietnam and Malaysia.

"They will go for lower hanging fruit, countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam -- Japan and South Korea will be later," said one trading manager with an international commodities firm in Singapore.

"The Japanese market will be tough, but South Korea may be a bit easier as they take some amount of feed wheat." In freight terms, U.S. wheat also has a $10 to $15 disadvantage for shipments to key Middle East and African markets. High U.S. prices and abundant global wheat supplies allow major importers to be more selective and buy nearer home. Although Russian wheat does not pose an immediate threat to Australian and U.S. wheat in Asia, analysts say it will be a wake-up call to those countries' producers.

"It does turn the spotlight back on the necessity to remain competitive," said ANZ's Briggs, adding that lower freight rates promised to slash the attractiveness of Australian grain, even before low Russian production costs were factored in.

"Thanks to both a bigger fleet and bigger volumes of grain from the Black Sea into Asia, the current positive freight differential Australia exhibits will be eroded before even speaking about the lower costs of production out of that region." (Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

RIA: Medvedev continues shake up of Russia's law enforcement system http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100316/158211696.html

10:5016/03/2010MOSCOW, March 16 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has dismissed a deputy justice minister and appointed a new interior minister in the volatile North Caucasus republic of Ingushetia as part of his efforts to improve law enforcement in Russia, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.

Yury Kalinin, who previously headed the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) for five years, was appointed deputy justice minister in August 2009.

In January, it was announced that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had removed Kalinin from a government commission on crime prevention.

Medvedev has recently dismissed a number of top local and federal FSIN officials after several deaths in Russian pre-trial detention centers sparked a wave of criticism across the country. The situation came to international attention in November with the death of a lawyer representing London-based hedge fund Hermitage Capital.

Putin said while on a visit to France that Sergei Magnitsky's death in pre-trial detention was "a tragedy" and a top prison official admitted the Federal Penitentiary Service was partly to blame.

Major General Viktor Pogolov was appointed interior minister of the republic of Ingushetia, which saw an upsurge of militant violence lately, with frequent attacks on police and officials.

The position had been vacant since August 2009, when Ruslan Meyriyev was dismissed following a terror attack in the republic's largest city of Nazran, which left 24 dead and 20 wounded. Ingushetia's deputy interior minister, Valery Zhernov, was then appointed acting interior minster.

Pogolov earlier served as criminal police chief in the Saratov region in Russia's Volga area.

Medvedev announced in December extensive Interior Ministry reforms. Following a series of brutal crimes by police officers, the president has moved to introduce tougher punishment for police found guilty of crimes, submitting a bill to parliament imposing harsher sentences than for civilians convicted of similar offences.

16 March 2010, 11:15

Interfax: Patriarch Kirill goes to Armenia on three-day visithttp://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=7034

Moscow, March 16, Interfax - Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia will be visiting Armenia on March 16 to 18 at the invitation of Catholicos Karekin II of All Armenia.

The visit will begin with a trip to the Etchmiadzin monastery, the center of the Armenian church and the seat of the Armenian Catholicos. The Russian Patriarch will go to the Etchmiadzin Cathedral, the Catholicos's residence, view the monastery's sacred relics and lay a wreath on the monument for Russian soldiers who fell fighting in the Battle of Oshakan in the 1826-1828 Russian-Persian War.

The next day Patriarch Kirill will visit the memorial for victims of the Armenian genocide, Tsytsernakaberd, and meet with President Serzh Sargsyan. Later on Wednesday the Russian Patriarch will be received at the Orthodox Church of the Intercession in Yerevan and talk with representatives of the Russian ethnic community in Armenia.

On March 18, Patriarch Kirill will attend a stone-laying ceremony for the Orthodox Church of the Exaltation of the Cross in Yerevan, and meet with students and professors of the Yerevan State University.

An agreement will be signed between Etchmiadzin and Sergiyev Posad, to make them twin cities.

Public Radio of Armenia: Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia arrinving in Armenia http://www.armradio.am/news/?part=soc&id=17017

16.03.2010 11:42Today is 16.03.2010, Time in Yerevan 13:04:45

Upon the invitation of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, His Holiness Kirill I, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, will pay an official visit to Armenia from March 16 to 18.

On March 16 a welcome service will be offered in the Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin. On this occasion, an ecclesiastical procession will bring the relics of St. Gregory the Illuminator to the Cathedral for the leaders of the two Churches, the clergy and the faithful to have the opportunity to kiss and be blessed by the Holy Right Hand.

On March 17 a Prayer of Thanks will be offered in the St. Gregory the Illuminator Mother Cathedral of Yerevan. At the conclusion of the service the Pontiff of All Armenians and the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia will extend their blessings and messages to the faithful.

RIA: Russian doctors help people affected by Chilean earthquakehttp://en.rian.ru/world/20100316/158211641.html

10:4116/03/2010

Russian specialists have helped 41 people affected by the Chilean earthquake since they arrived to the devastating country, a Russian emergencies ministry representative said on Tuesday.

"Russian Emergency Situations Ministry doctors have already helped 41 people, including 35 people during the last day," the spokesperson said, adding that doctors had performed 18 surgical operations, 14 of them during the last day.

In addition, the ministry's psychotherapists have helped 38 people.

Two Russian emergencies ministry planes flew to Chile last week carrying personnel, supplies and equipment including a mobile hospital to help the earthquake-stricken country.

A 6.7-magnitude earthquake, the latest in a series of powerful tremors, was registered in western Chile on Tuesday.

Some 150 tremors, about 20 of them powerful, have been registered in Chile since an 8.8-magnitude earthquake occurred to the north of Concepcion on February 27. According to official reports, 497 people died as a result of that tremor, which left some 2 million Chileans homeless and damaged about 1.5 million houses.

Chile's newly-elected President Sebastian Pinera has said it would cost at least $30 billion to rebuild the country after the devastating earthquake.

MOSCOW, March 16 (RIA Novosti)

Itar-Tass: Russian ombudsman for children goes to Finland over Rantala case

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=14919455&PageNum=0

16.03.2010, 08.23

HELSINKI, March 16 (Itar-Tass) - The situation around the Russian-Finnish Rantala family from Turku and the future of seven-years-old Robert Rantala placed in orphanage will be in the focus of attention during a visit to Finland by Pavel Astakhov, children’s rights commissioner under the Russian President.

Sources from the Russian Embassy to Finland told Tass that Astakhov “will spend three days here. At first he will meet in Helsinki with Finnish Ombudsman for Children Maria Kaisa Aula, and on Wednesday he is scheduled to meet in Turku with Inga and Robert Rantala as well as with social service officials”. The Russian ombudsman is to look into details of the incident and look for ways to settle it in the interests of the child.

Robert Rantala, who has double - Finnish and Russian - citizenship, was taken away from his parents, Inga and Veli-Pekka Rantala, by officials from the social guardianship bodies. They put Robert in an orphanage in the city of Turku after the boy said at school that he could go to Russia with his mother. The Finnish social guardianship bodies

decided that it was dangerous for the boy to remain in his family and started legal proceedings for stripping the Rantalas of their parental rights.

The boy suddenly returned home on Monday. “On the decision of the Finnish authorities, the boy again went to his school today, which is only 50 metres away from his home, and fled home, to his parents, after the first class,” Johan Beckman, an official representative of the Rantala family, told Itar-Tass on Monday.

The Finnish side has not officially commented on the situation with the Rantala family as of yet, referring to confidentiality obligatory in the work of local social services with those under care.

Speaking at a press conference at the Itar-Tass regional information centre in St. Petersburg on Monday, Astakhov said he had already talked with the boy’s mother, Inga Rantala, and the Russian consul general in Finland.

Astakhov advised the boy’s mother to calm down and report the incident to the orphanage immediately. “This should be done to make sure that the parents are not charged with having organised the escape,” he said.

Astakhov also recalled that during his conversation with Inga Rantala her son was crying and did not want to go back to the orphanage.

The ombudsman said Robert Rantala’s grandmother had asked him to meet with the Finnish president. Astakhov said he had addressed this request to the Finnish president, but he doubts that his request will be granted. He also believes that Finland’s parliamentary ombudsman may be used to protect the rights of the Rantalas.

On the eve of his trip, Astakhov had a meeting with Matti Anttonen, Finnish ambassador to Russia, who promised his assistance in the solution of this problem.

Specifically, they discussed the possibility of concluding a bilateral treaty on assistance in civil and family cases. The Rantala issue will be discussed with the Finnish minister of justice on March 16.

The ambassador said it was high time such a document was signed due to the “the growing number of marriages between Russian and Finnish nationals and problems emerging in case of divorce”.

Beckman said “no one forced Robert to flee. He told his parents about his intention to return home the day before, when they visited him in the orphanage.”

Robert’s father, Veli-Pekka Rantala, a Russian national, is planning to initiate official proceedings for giving up the Finnish citizenship and getting the Russian one, Becman said earlier. The Rantala family hopes that their situation will change for the better after Astakhov’s visit to Finland on Tuesday.

Financial Mirror: Minister of Cyprus: Three more consulates in Russia to facilitate tourism http://www.financialmirror.com/News/Business_and_Finance/19763

March 16, 2010

The government of Cyprus will soon open three more consulates in Russia, in the framework of its policy to facilitate Russian tourists who wish to visit the Mediterranean island, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism Antonis Paschalides has said.

In statements on Monday before leaving Moscow, the Cypriot Minister said that the new consulates will operate in Samara, Krasnodar and Yekaterinburg.

The Minister noted that the government of Cyprus will take more steps in order to reverse the negative impact caused by the world economic crisis on Cyprus’ tourism last year, including increasing regular flights between the two countries and starting new charter flights to more Russian cities.

As regards tourism, he said that tourism from Russia fell last year by 17 %, but noted that during the first two months of 2010 an increase of 14,3% was recorded.

“Russia is for Cyprus a very important strategic partner, not only for tourism but also for economy and energy” he said.

Paschalides expressed the gratitude of the government of Cyprus to the Russian government for its “consistent and continuous support” and said that Nicosia works within the EU to upgrade and support the EU – Russia cooperation.

Referring to the official visit of Russian President Dmitri Medvedev to Cyprus in October this year, he said it sends clear political messages, since it will be taking place in the framework of celebrations for the 50th anniversary since the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus and the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between both countries.

Brahmand: Govt agreed to pay USD 2.33 bln for Gorshkovhttp://www.brahmand.com/news/Govt-agreed-to-pay-USD-233-bln-for-Gorshkov/3393/1/14.html

Last Updated: Mar 16, 2010

NEW DELHI (PTI): Government said that it has agreed to pay USD 2.33 billion as the revised cost of aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov and the warship is expected to arrive in India by December 2012.

"The revised cost of USD 2.33 billion has been approved by the government. Prices for the work to be carried out under the revised contracts and agreements are fixed," Defence

Minister A K Antony said in reply to a Lok Sabha query.

He said the Russian side had submitted a revised Master Schedule indicating a delay in delivery of the warship and increase in its price after the deal was signed in 2004 for USD 974 million.

On the delivery of the carrier ship, he said, "The aircraft carrier was originally scheduled to be delivered in August 2008. The ship's delivery is re-scheduled for December, 2012."

He also said India has signed Inter Governmental Agreements (IGA) with Russia for co-development and co-production for Multi Role Transport Aircraft (MTA) on November 12, 2007 and for a Prospective Multi Role Fighter Aircraft (PMF) on October 18, 2007.

"The percentage share of investment by the Indian side towards the development will be 50 per cent each for both aircraft," Antony added.

The Minister said both the aircraft were expected to be inducted into the IAF during the 13th Plan Period.

People’s Daily: Chinese State Councilor to visit Russiahttp://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90883/6921421.html#

17:29, March 16, 2010 

Chinese State Councilor Liu Yandong will pay a visit to Russia from March 21 to 25 and attend the opening ceremony of "Chinese Language Year" in Russia, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang announced here Tuesday.

Liu, also chairwoman of the organizing committee of the China side for the Language Year, makes the trip at the invitation of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov, said Qin at a regular news briefing.

Source: Xinhua

Spaceflight Now: Aerojet confirms Russian engine is ready for dutyhttp://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1003/15nk33/BY STEPHEN CLARKSPACEFLIGHT NOWPosted: March 15, 2010

As SpaceX prepared to ignite its Falcon 9 rocket on a launch pad in Florida, its primary competitor for commercial cargo services to the International Space Station verified a Russian engine is more than able to drive the Taurus 2 booster toward space.

Russian engineers successfully fired a stockpiled NK-33 engine three times in the last two weeks, totaling more than 600 seconds of cumulative run time, according to a statement by Aerojet and Orbital Sciences Corp.

The tests occurred on a stand in Samara, Russia.

"The success of the NK-33 engine tests in Russia is an important step forward in the development of the Taurus 2 rocket," said Ron Grabe, Orbital's executive vice president and general manager of its launch systems group.

The goal of the Russian tests was to demonstrate the NK-33 engine's ability to fire twice as long as planned in future acceptance testing and during a real Taurus 2 flight. The firings were sponsored by Aerojet.

The Taurus 2 rocket is being developed to launch Orbital's Cygnus cargo freighter to the space station. Its first launch from Wallops Island, Va., is scheduled for no earlier than March 2011.

An earlier round of NK-33 testing was cut short in October because of an unspecified problem with a liquid oxygen system. One burn went as planned, and a second attempt ended prematurely.

"We stressed the engine pretty hard, and we discovered some limits we want to re-evaluate in [another] test," said Frank Culbertson, Orbital's senior vice president, in a January interview with Spaceflight Now.

This month's testing successfully overcame the issues encountered in October.

"Completing the margin testing is a significant milestone in Aerojet's contract with Orbital," said Julie Van Kleeck, Aerojet's vice president for space programs. "This success demonstrates the engine's robust design and its ability to operate at the power levels and duration times compatible with the Taurus 2 flight profile with additional performance margin."

Officials wanted to make sure the kerosene-fueled engine could still perform after four decades in storage. The NK-33 engines were originally designed and built in the 1960s and 1970s for the ill-fated Soviet N1 moon rocket.

A modified version of the NK-33 engine, named the AJ26, is being prepped by Aerojet to power the Ukrainian-built first stage of Orbital's Taurus 2 rocket.

Aerojet converts the NK-33 to an AJ26 engine by removing some harnessing, adding U.S. electronics, qualifying it for U.S. propellants, and modifying the system to gimbal for steering, Van Kleeck told Spaceflight Now in a January interview.

Van Kleeck said Aerojet currently has 37 NK-33 engines at its headquarters in Sacramento, Calif. More engines are ready to be exported from Russia.

A handful of NK-33 engines were fired in 1995 as Aerojet competed to supply the Atlas 5 rocket propulsion system. Another Russian engine was eventually selected to power the Atlas 5 first stage.

AJ26 engine firings will begin in April, but those design verification tests will be of much shorter durations than the hotfires in Russia. Acceptance tests of flight engines will follow later this year.

"With the performance of the heritage engine now confirmed and well understood, we can move forward with confidence to configuration verification and acceptance testing of AJ26 engines at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi beginning in April," Grabe said.

The Taurus 2's solid-fueled upper stage was ignited for its first ground test in December.

03-16-2010 18:25Korea Times: Russia as Space-Race Mediatorhttp://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2010/03/137_62462.html

By Teke Wiggin

Russian technological assistance has boosted South Korea's space program. As an indirect consequence, it has also provoked North Korea.

Governments have been quick to condemn the North for its space program as a thinly-veiled ballistics missile program. But they have been far less critical of South Korea's space program, which like the North, bears the label of ``civilian."

It is perfectly rational for the North to conclude that South Korea's program will serve a military function. After all, the 1999 U.S. Cox report censured China for using U.S.-furnished commercial space technology to bolster its ballistic missile program and ended joint space-projects between the two countries.

A report from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars by Selig Harrison said that Japan's commercial rockets could readily be converted into U.S.-caliber ballistic missiles. U.S. National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair told the Senate Armed Services Committee he believed North Korea genuinely attempted a satellite launch but added that ``the technology is indistinguishable from intercontinental ballistic missiles."

In other words, even if a space rocket's payload is a commercial item, that rocket employs precisely the same technology used for an inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM).

Russia has provided South Korea with this kind of rocket, so it can launch its Korea

Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1). With this assistance, South Korea hoped to acquire intimate knowledge of the sensitive Russian technology for itself, so it could build its next space vehicle, the KSLV-2, without any foreign assistance.

Russia, for sensible reasons, has refused to let this happen by severely restricting Korean scientists' access to the technology.

Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) scientists have expressed frustration as a result. This is despite the Technology Safeguard Agreement (TSA) Russia and South Korea signed explicitly banning technology exchanges over the Russian-provided KSLV-1 first-stage rocket.

Had Korea planned on reaping the same sort of technological benefits China had from U.S. space-technology assistance? Yes.

Was Russia taking its cues from the Cox Report when it stipulated the TSA and stuck to it? Yes.

Nonetheless, joint construction with Russia has already helped South Korea ``a great deal" to "pick up" new technology according to head of South Korea's Naro Space Center Min Kyung-ju in an interview with the JoongAng Daily. Russia is contracted for at least one more rocket launch.

More aggressive measures also appear to have been taken in South Korea's effort to acquire first-stage rocket technology.

In April of 2009 notorious arms dealer Yun Ju-whan, a Korean-American who said he has been ``the largest one-stop supplier" of military equipment for South Korea over the past 30 years, was charged by the U.S. for trying to obtain Russian booster rocket technology. Court papers said the technology was meant for nothing less than the KSLV-2 rocket Korea wants to build domestically.

Despite the well-known links between commercial-rockets and ICBMs, North Korea remains subject to a double standard that condemns military potential in its program but accepts or altogether fails to acknowledge it in the South's.

The West regards South Korea's program as ``transparent." But there's a reason why the U.S. originally opposed South Korea's rocket ambitions and still won't lift a cap it placed on South Korean solid-fuel rocket size: satellite launching capability means ICBM capability.

Against this political backdrop, we can see how Russia's instrumental role in South Korea's program must be quite aggravating to the North: South Korea now has a serious shot at beating the North in a domestic satellite launch and the construction of an ICBM-convertible rocket.

Furthermore in 2001 Kim Jong-il selected Putin as the leader to whom he would propose a deal that offered the discontinuation of his rocket program in exchange for North Korean satellite launches executed by outside powers.

A few years later Russia proceeded to provide that technology ― what Kim said he'd stop developing ― to South Korea. In the most autocratic state in the world a slight of that kind has a lot to bear on policy-making.

This could prove advantageous: Russia could exploit Kim's smarting ego and offer space assistance to the North as a ``carrot" for denuclearization.

The appeal to the North would be threefold.

It would restore Kim's face after the Russian snub, diminish the perception of a double-standard and provide North Korea with reliable satellite launches, something it still can't do on its own.

This would be a strong brokering chip if presented as part of a larger denuclearization aid-package endorsed by other six-party members. If realized, it would place a major power as mediator of the peninsular space race opening North Korea's program up to at least some outside scrutiny and halting sensitive rocket-technology development.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has publicly recognized the potential of such a deal in the past.

Still, outsourcing to Russia would deprive the North of the prestige it sees to be gained by becoming the first Korea to launch a domestically-produced rocket. That means all of this could only work if the South also agrees to halt rocket development. Would South Korea be willing to make this concession?

The writer is a freelancer based in New York and a former college English teacher in Korea. His articles have been published by the L.A. Times and The Korea Times. He recently helped write a paper on Russia's relations with the two Koreas for a think tank based in Washington D.C. He can be reached at tkwiggin@mac.com.

Moscow Times: Drunken Pilot Blamed in 2008 Perm Air Disaster http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/drunken-pilot-blamed-in-2008-perm-air-disaster/401765.html

16 March 2010The Moscow Times

A drunken pilot was to blame for the 2008 crash of an Aeroflot-Nord jet in Perm, which killed all 88 people on board, the Investigative Committee said Monday.

Captain Rodion Medvedev lost control of the Boeing 737 shortly before landing, causing it to rotate to the left, quickly lose altitude and crash into the ground, the committee said in its final report, released on its web site.

The pilot was "in unstable mental condition caused by alcohol," it said, citing a medical examination that found light levels of intoxication. The report did not repeat earlier claims by investigators who said the pilot's poor training was the reason for the crash.

The case had been closed because Medvedev was killed in the crash, the statement said.

Aeroflot-Nord, a subsidiary of state-run Aeroflot, Russia's biggest airline, had operated the plane for just seven weeks.

March 15, 2010

New York Times: Alcohol Cited in 2008 Russian Crashhttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/16/world/europe/16aeroflot.html

By ANDREW E. KRAMER

MOSCOW — A pilot’s drunkenness was a contributing cause of a commercial airline crash in Russia in 2008, Russian prosecutors said Monday, reaching a conclusion extraordinarily rare in airline crash investigations.

Russia’s aviation safety authorities had reported a year ago that the pilot of the Boeing 737 operated by a domestic subsidiary of Aeroflot, the national airline, had alcohol in his blood at the time of the accident. It was left undecided whether the alcohol had played a role in the crash, which killed all 88 people aboard.

As the jet descended through thick clouds, the pilot, Capt. Rodion Medvedev, became disoriented and lost control, the Investigative Committee of the Prosecutor General’s Office said in a statement carried by Interfax on Monday.

His disorientation was the cause of the crash, it said, and in turn was the result of “a mentally unstable condition stemming from the presence of alcohol in his body.” Initial reports suggested engine failure as a cause.

Paul Hayes, the director of Ascend, a London-based aviation consultancy that maintains a database of thousands of accidents dating back decades, said that pilot drunkenness is rarely cited by the authorities as a cause of crashes. “It is so rare, it is truly exceptional,” he said.

Commercial pilots are from time to time caught trying to fly drunk, and alcohol is sometimes cited as a possible cause of a crash early in an investigation because the

remains of pilots become naturally infused with alcohol as they decompose; usually alcohol is eventually ruled out, Mr. Hayes said.

In one of the more definitive cases, the National Transportation Safety Board in the United States concluded that the American pilot of a Japan Air Lines DC-8 cargo airplane was drunk when he crashed during takeoff from Anchorage on Jan. 13, 1977, killing all five crew members aboard. A taxi driver had seen the man obviously staggering in the airport before the departure.

On Jan. 1, 1978, an Air India Boeing 747 crashed shortly after takeoff from Mumbai, killing 190 passengers and 23 crew members. An Indian investigation blamed cockpit instruments; later in civil lawsuits in the United States, a federal court in Washington State found the pilot had been drinking at a New Year’s Eve party, Mr. Hayes said.

In Russia, Miroslav Y. Boychuk, president of the Russian Pilots Union, said that the prosecutor’s statement on Monday was the first concluding that Captain Medvedev was drunk, and that this was the first such conclusion in a Russian commercial airline crash investigation he could recall.

Aeroflot has a safety record rivaling many Western carriers.

Mr. Boychuk said that no witnesses had come forward saying the pilot had been drinking before the flight, operated by Aeroflot Nord, left Moscow for Perm and went down on Sept. 14, 2008.

He said his group would study the autopsy findings when they became available, and contest the prosecutor’s position if the results were ambiguous. He said specific piloting errors as the plane approached the Perm airport had already been identified as the cause of the accident, and in response there were changes to pilot training unrelated to the issue of sobriety.

“Such a tragedy should never be repeated,” he said.

RIA: Russian police detain suspected killer of Moscow cophttp://en.rian.ru/russia/20100316/158211025.html

09:1416/03/2010

The suspected killer of a policeman in western Moscow was detained in the early hours of Tuesday, the chief spokesman for the Russian capital's police told RIA Novosti.

"Last night at 02:00 in the Moscow Region village of Tuchkovo agents from the Moscow criminal investigation department... arrested the suspected murderer of police officer Denis Klimovich," Viktor Biryukov said, identifying the suspect as Yakub Kartakayev.

A law-enforcement source said Kartakayev had confessed to the crime.

Klimovich was shot dead early on Saturday when he and a colleague stopped a BMW car and asked to see the driver's identification. His colleague, Konstantin Bykov, was seriously injured in the incident.

"The detainee admitted that he was involved in robberies in Moscow and had gone out on Friday night out to commit a crime too, but was stopped by police and opened fire," the source told RIA Novosti.

Klimovich died at the scene, while Bykov was taken to a hospital and underwent surgery for wounds to the abdomen and shoulder.

Investigators found a passport belonging to a resident of the North Caucasus republic of Dagestan at the scene, and reports said that one of the three assailants may have been injured when police returned fire.

Biryukov added that Kartakayev had an injury, and that his father had helped to find him.

"The best agents in Moscow were put on the case to find the killers of the policeman," Biryukov said.

RIA: Sochi public council to discuss environmental issues of 2014 Gameshttp://en.rian.ru/russia/20100316/158209294.html

03:3216/03/2010

The Public Council which oversees preparations for 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games will gather on Tuesday to address environmental issues.

Russia's independent environmentalists have been protesting against developers' plans for Sochi, warning they could damage the unique landscape of the region, where some territories are protected as natural UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

The meeting will gather the region's lawmakers, members of the local Public Chamber and prominent public figures. It will be also attended by Russia's natural resources minister, Yury Trutnev and vice president of the Olimpstroy state construction corporation, Stanislav Ananyev.

Russia is spending billions of dollars on hosting the Games.

During his annual TV and radio phone-in early last December, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the government is working with environmental organizations to "do everything to ensure that state resources are used not only in a way that does not harm nature, but in a way that benefits the environment."

In October 2009, the Natural Resources Ministry said it intends to support the work of independent environmentalists in overseeing the construction of Olympic facilities in Sochi.

SOCHI, March 16 (RIA Novosti)

Itar-Tass: Amurian tiger protection under consideration in Vladivostok

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=14919352&PageNum=0

16.03.2010, 07.21

VLADIVOSTOK, March 16 (Itar-Tass) - A National strategy for the conservation of Amurian tiger and regional Action Plans for its protection in the Primorsky (maritime) and Khabarovsk Territories will be the main subject of discussion at an international conference, which opened here on Tuesday. The theme of the conference is "The Amurian Tiger in Northeast Asia: Problems of Conservation in the 21st Century".

The forum is being attended by ecologists and biologists, representatives of financial and public organizations from China, the Republic of Korea, Germany, Switzerland, Britain, the United States, Japan, India, Malaysia, and Russia.

Yuri Darman, director of the Amur branch of the World Wildlife Fund, has said the forum is one of their important steps on the way to an international summit on tiger conservation problems. The summit is to be held in Vladivostok in September this year.

"Before the Heads of Government of 'tiger' states get to the negotiating table, it is logical for scientists of those countries and leading international experts on the felines to discuss problems of how to preserve the global tiger population," Darman pointed out.

Russia is the only tiger-habitat country where the stock of the species considerably grew since the middle of last century and has been relatively stable in the past decade. Russian now affords the largest tiger population in a single habitat -- 450 species or 11 percent of the world's tiger stock.

24.kg: Kyrgyz association of entrepreneurs established in Russiahttp://eng.24.kg/cis/2010/03/16/10615.html

16/03-2010 12:22, Bishkek – News Agency “24.kg” Kyrgyz association of entrepreneurs was established in Russia, the association was registered in the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation. The information was revealed by the information analysis portal KGinfo.

The decision of establishing of an association was accepted by a group of Kyrgyz citizens in December, 2009.  For the last years was registered the increase of number of

commercial, charitable, not-for-profit organizations, funds and different exhibitions and presentations.  The core activities of the association will be focused on rendering of legal and technical assistance to countrymen executing business activities in Russia. Moreover the association will help to establish business relations and realize investment projects on the territory of Kyrgyzstan and Russia.

RIA: 30 avalanches block Russia-South Ossetia road http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100316/158212764.html

12:1916/03/2010

Around 30 avalanches have come down on the Transcaucasian highway, cutting off the only direct road between Russia and South Ossetia, a spokeswoman for North Ossetia's emergencies ministry said on Tuesday.

"Traffic on the highway has been suspended due to heavy snowfalls changing with thawing weathers," Yulia Starchenko said, adding that such weather guarantee avalanches and the road had already been closed for over a day.

Electricity supplies from Russia to South Ossetia were also cut due to the heavy snowfalls and avalanches, which are believed to have brought down power lines.

"Since one o'clock in the morning, the republic [South Ossetia] has been completely without electricity," Starchenko said, adding that specialists had been sent to area.

She said that all maintenance crews responsible for the highway were working in emergency mode, so the road's operation depends only on weather conditions.

Snow interchanging with rain made the work of emergency and highway crews and rescuers more difficult due to a lack of visibility.

Local weather forecasts predict more snow in the next 48 hours and an increased likelihood of avalanches in the area, but Starchenko said conditions could be improving.

"The snow is already easing and there is hope that the weather will allow to trigger the most dangerous avalanches," the spokeswoman said.

Moscow recognized South Ossetia as independent following a brief war with Georgia in 2008 and the republic relies on Russia for its energy supplies and links with the outside world.

VLADIKAVKAZ, March 16 (RIA Novosti)

Expert Club: Large-scale operation in Chechnya to identify illegal immigrants http://eng.expertclub.ge/portal/cnid__3888/alias__Expertclub/lang__en/tabid__2546/default.aspx

16/03/2010 10:39

Law enforcement agencies of Chechnya and the federal migration service began large-scale operations in the republic to reveal illegal migrants. A purpose of the operation is identification of foreign nationals, persons without citizenship, or persons living in the country illegally.

In 2009 900 similar events were held which found that 8.5 thousand workers, mainly from Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Georgia and Central Asian countries are living in the country illegally.

It is believed that the main purpose of these activities is to identify members of the armed underground and their supporters.

AFP: 7 Russians jailed for attempted murder of Tanzanian

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/jailed_7488478

AFP

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

SAINT PETERSBURG, Russia (AFP) -- Seven young Russians belonging to an extremist group were jailed yesterday for the attempted murder of a Tanzanian in Saint Petersburg, investigators said.

The seven, aged between 18 and 25, were handed jail sentences of between two and a half years to 11 years for beating and stabbing their victim in a night-time attack.

"It was established in court that on November 11, 2007, the accused who were part of an extremist anti-social group... attacked the victim with a clearly African appearance and beat him about the arms, legs and torso," investigators said in a statement.

Alexander Maslenikov, 24, received the maximum sentence of 11 years for race-motivate crimes for having stabbed the victim six times in the chest and back "with the intent to kill", the statement said.

"Maslenikov could not carry out his intention only because the victim's shouts drew the attention of passer-bys and the accused fled the scene."

Russian courts have recently handed down heavy sentences to groups taking part in hate crimes against people of non-Slavic appearance.

In March, nine Russians from a neo-Nazi group that called itself Simbirsk White Power were jailed for up to 22 years over the murder of an African.

In February, nine young members of a Moscow group that called itself the White Wolves were sentenced for up to 23 years in prison for the racist murders of six people.

A total of 74 people were killed in racist attacks in Russia in 2009, a drop from the 120 people killed in 2008, according to the Moscow Bureau for Human Rights, which tracks hate crimes.

St. Petersburg Times: Metro Tender Awarded

Issue #1556 (17), Tuesday, March 16, 2010http://www.times.spb.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=30988

ST. PETERSBURG (Vedomosti) — The entrance complex to the new Obvodny Kanal metro station will be built by the company Nevsky Dom.

The results of a closed tender to construct a 30,000 square-meter multifunctional complex comprising the entrance to the new metro station on the corner of the embankment of the Obvodny canal and Ligovsky Prospekt were announced last week by Petersburg Metropolitan.

The project is due to be completed by the first quarter of 2012, according to Yulia Koroleva, deputy director of Nevsky Dom.

According to SPARK data, at the beginning of 2008, Nevsky Dom was headed by Igor Leitis, president of Adamant trade and industrial holding.

Moscow Times: St. Pete Businessmen Won’t Sign Deal http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/st-pete-businessmen-wont-sign-deal/401746.html

16 March 2010The Moscow Times

ST. PETERSBURG  — St. Petersburg businessmen forced out of the city’s Khasansky Market will refuse to sign a much-publicized agreement with City Hall, the market’s council of business owners said this week.

The agreement had been presented as guaranteeing the businessmen trading space in the yet-to-be-built trade complex planned to replace the market, the council said. But the prospective tenants say the document would force them out of their current shops and only let them return under commercial rates.

The confrontation between City Hall, which wants to use the land for a new, city-owned trade complex, and the businessmen, who have invested in infrastructure and communication and do not want to leave the market, has lasted for years. The traders say the city authorities have used a range of tactics to drive them out of the premises, including smear campaigns in City Hall-controlled media, state inspections, fines, police raids, criminal cases and beatings.

St. Petersburg Times: Hundreds Protest Against Hotel Constructionhttp://www.times.spb.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=30980

Issue #1556 (17), Tuesday, March 16, 2010

By Sergey ChernovStaff WriterHundreds of concerned St. Petersburg residents and preservationists gathered in the historic Lopukhinsky Gardens on Saturday to protest plans to build a multistory hotel on the site.

Last April, an area within the small scenic park located on the Petrograd Side was stripped of its state heritage status and sold for an extremely small sum to the private developer RBI, which opened the way for the garden’s destruction, preservationists say. They claim a number of laws were broken in the privatization process.

City Hall is now set to exclude the plot from the city’s register of public green areas, which could make construction work imminent.

The developer argues that the 4,586-square-meter plot, which covers the territory surrounding the abandoned Stalin-era boathouse, is not part of the Lopukhinsky Gardens and is located “nearby,” RBI’s press officer said Monday.

Following a series of protests last year, St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko said that there would be no construction in the Lopukhinsky Gardens. “The city will not allow any construction work here, even if this territory is owned by a private proprietor,” she was quoted as saying on City Hall’s official web site in October.

In December, however, City Hall’s town-planning and architecture committee issued RBI with a permit for the construction of a hotel up to 33 meters in height on the land.

“The owner owns a piece of land, and it’s natural that they want to build something on it,” Matviyenko was quoted by Novaya Gazeta as saying in January.

“But this private piece of land has nothing to do with the territory of the Lopukhinsky Gardens; it is beyond their border,” she added.

On Saturday, from 250 to 300 protesters gathered to call for construction to be called off and for Matviyenko’s dismissal.

The price for which the site was sold has provoked questions. According to the web site of City Hall’s land resources and land management committee, the 4,586-square-meter site was sold for 274,265.72 rubles ($9,356) — or 59.8 rubles ($2) per square meter.

According to Alexander Karpov, director of the ECOM Center of Expertise, the deal was illegal.

“The law on public-access green areas, which clearly designated the gardens as a public territory, had already been in force for two years by the time the deal was done,” he said by phone Monday.

“The privatization of public territories is forbidden by federal law. Basically, the privatization of a plot that partly encroaches on public territory is against the law — that’s the essence of the outrage that is happening now.”

Karpov said he could not see any way in which the hotel could be built and operate on the site without affecting the rest of the park.

“All this is a shameless attempt to get permission to damage the Lopukhinsky Gardens to an even greater extent,” he said Monday.

Legislative Assembly deputy Sergei Malkov has written a letter to the city’s prosecutor asking him to look into the legality of the plot’s privatization and annul it if it is found to be illegal.

Dating back to the early 19th century, the Lopukhinsky Gardens are a tranquil green zone in a prestigious area of the Petrograd Side near the Kamennoostrovsky Bridge on the bank of the Malaya Nevka River. The land was part of the estate of Count Pyotr Lopukhin (1753-1827), after whom it is named.

“It’s important to obey the law,” artist and human rights activist Andrei Rybakov said by phone Monday.

“By law, the Lopukhinsky Gardens are a cultural heritage project and were also part of the green zone, when all of a sudden, at the whim of the investors, a section of the park was cut off and then a statement was made saying that this land has nothing to do with the park. That’s not supported by anything.

“There’s no reason to cut off this section — it can only be accessed through the territory of the park, it’s all surrounded by trees and is a single complex. It’s a very pleasant area that is loved by locals. It’s an arbitrary decision obviously taken on behalf of business.”

Rybakov, who described the hotel design as an “ugly iron-and-glass box,” expressed concern about the fate of the Lopukhinsky Gardens as a whole.

“If a hotel appears there, then a parking lot will appear, then a restaurant, then a VIP zone — and the garden will cease to exist as a garden altogether.”

Moscow News: Chocolate workers fired in Russia http://mnweekly.rian.ru/business/20100316/55421469.html

16/03/2010

Anna Sulimina

Swiss confectionary giant Nestle is set to make hundreds of workers redundant in the Moscow region after announcing that it is shutting down one of its factories.

The chocolate factory in Tuchkovo, a town of around of 19,000 people 80 kilometres west of Moscow, will be closed and production will be transferred to plants in Samara and Perm, the company has said.

While Nestle is seeking to cut costs to protect its profits in Russia, the closure of the factory is likely to hit the town particularly hard. Many of the town's residents depend directly or indirectly on the factory.

Two of the factory's workers have written a letter on the factory's website, pleading for help. 

When Ivan, a line operator, started working at the factory six years ago, the Ruzskaya factory - as it was called before Nestle bought it in 2007 - appeared to have a promising future.

"All employees were very enthusiastic about Nestle coming - we were glad to become a part of a world-renowned brand and thought the salaries would be higher," said Ivan, who didn't give his surname.

Now, the company's promises "to develop production" and "take care of the people" are sounding hollower than next month's Easter eggs.

The problems started when the crisis hit and, despite a host of surveys saying that the chocolate industry wouldn't suffer, Nestle announced that the factory was facing losses and started to cut back production.

Last month, Nestle announced worldwide profits of 7.1 billion euros, down only 2 per cent year-on-year, while Russia is seen as a quickly developing market.

In Tuchkovo, however, employees were laid off, bonuses cancelled and working conditions made tougher as the firm scrimped on free water and toilet paper.

At the same time, dismissed employees were replaced by a group of out-of-town workers on temporary contracts from Chuvashia, leading to the first wave of discontent among long-time workers last year.

Ivan, along with many others, found himself out of a job several months ago. He pinned his hopes on his wife keeping her job at the factory, but she will also be made unemployed when the factory closes its doors later this year.

"The factory closure will enable the company to optimise production and use resources more effectively, developing the successful brands Komilfo and Ruzanna," Nestle's CEO in Russia, Stefan de Loecker, said in a company statement.

Workers are complaining that the company has just used the brands made at Tuchkovo and left them without work, while they are skeptical that a redundancy deal which gives them five months' salary will be honoured.

"The information has leaked from the top that people will get three months of pay, maximum, but many will be made to leave without any extra payment," said Ivan. He added that some people have contacted lawyers, and that they had advised workers that the terms of the contract could be easily changed by the company at any moment.

Ivan said working conditions at the factory had deteriorated recently, with some workers being sacked over minor infringements such as having a cup of tea during a 12-hour working day, or for mistakenly wearing shoe covers while leaving the factory floor.

Workers say they are unlikely to find new jobs in the area. The other major employers near the town, an LG factory and a coffee-roasting plant, have no vacancies currently.

Nestle said in a statement it would offer jobs in other factories to Tuchkovo workers. The workers have complained that Nestle's factories in Zhukovskoye and Voskresenskoye are both more than 100 kilometres from Tuchkovo, and the company would not cover the extra transport costs.

A trade union representing Nestle workers in Perm, one of the company's factories, has said it will take up the fight for employees' rights, but it does not currently represent workers in Tuchkovo. The global campaign "STOP Nespressure" is stepping up its action in Russia, while the International Union of Food Workers has said it will fight for employees to keep their jobs and get salaries in time.

Unions have said they are unable to help the Tuchkovo workers as they didn't sign up, though the employees said this was due to management pressure.

"We suggested that the workers at the Nestle factory in Ruzsky join our union, which was already working in Perm, but they refused, so now we can't do anything for them," said Galina Yurova, a spokeswoman at trade union APK.

Local authorities in Tuchkovo are trying to find new jobs for town residents and have called a meeting for Thursday. The head of the Ruzsky region is attending the factory to discuss the problem with the workers and senior company managers.

"The closure of production will be crucial for at least 600 locals, [plus] working pensioners and migrant workers, so we have to do something about it," said Tatyana Goliganova, head of a local employment centre. "Anyway, the factory premises are rented - so we are looking to attract new investors."

BarentsObserver: Major job cuts in Murmansk schoolshttp://www.barentsobserver.com/major-job-cuts-in-murmansk-schools.4760057-16180.html

2010-03-16 As many as 700 jobs will be cut in the school and education sector in Murmansk City in a bid to cut budget spending.Local authorities say that the school and education budget will have to be cut by 15 percent and that as many as 700 jobs in the sector will be cut. It is first of all administrative and service personnel, as well as assistant teachers, which will lose their jobs, Murman.ru reports.

The job cuts will at the same time help raise salaries for pedagogues, the news site informs.

Moscow Times: Hermitage Opponents Hire 2 New Attorneys http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/hermitage-opponents-hire-2-new-attorneys/401753.html

16 March 2010By Anatoly Medetsky

Hermitage Capital's legal opponents have stepped up their efforts to eradicate evidence that may expose the people behind one of the country's largest tax frauds, the company said Monday.

A man convicted of defrauding the government of $230 million in tax rebates has hired two new lawyers to represent him in a related case that is key to recovering further evidence in the sham, said Hermitage founder and chief executive William Browder. A Kazan court that is considering the case adjourned hearings for a month on technicalities Monday, he said.

Hermitage filed the lawsuit in an effort to prove that the felon, Viktor Markelov, illegally acquired three Hermitage subsidiaries back in 2007 in a deal that made the tax scam possible, it said. A court sentenced Markelov to five years in jail last year after being convicted of arranging $230 million worth of fraudulent tax rebates for the companies, a crime that appears a bit sophisticated for a former sawmill foreman, the investment fund maintains. It accuses several police and tax officials of complicity.

The Kazan lawsuit — now including two “eminent” local lawyers on the opposite side — is part of a broader courtroom campaign that Hermitage is waging against the people it describes as illegal proprietors of its stolen companies to recover the assets and trace the fraud's details, Browder said.

“There's a big legal battle where they are trying basically to destroy all evidence in this crime,” he said by phone from London. “These companies contain the evidence of everybody's involvement in this crime.”

From his prison cell, the former lumber worker hired “top-flight counsel” from the Kazan-based law firm StroiKapital, attorneys Konstantin Yegorov and Marat Fetyukhin, Hermitage said in a statement Monday. Yegorov is also a member of the Russian Academy of Justice, a research and education center founded by the Supreme Court and the Supreme Arbitration Court. Fetyukhin has a second job as an associate professor at Kazan State University. Last week, they first stepped into the trial to defend the deal to buy the Hermitage subsidiaries, which the fund said were sold by a man with counterfeit power of attorney.

Yegorov said by phone from Kazan that Pluton, the vehicle Markelov used to buy the Hermitage subsidiaries, believes that the man who identified himself as a Hermitage representative back in 2007 had legitimate powers to sell the assets. In a twist, he said Hermitage didn't have the right to sell one of those three companies, a deal that Pluton contested in the court Monday.

The trial was adjourned because the judge's mother had died shortly before, and the court handed the case over to another judge who said he needed until April 15 to study the case, the lawyer said.

The Kazan proceedings, which have now taken more than a year, are important because another judge — in the appeals department of the Moscow Region Arbitration Court — is waiting for their outcome to rule on whether to return the three disputed companies to Hermitage, said Vadim Kleiner, another Hermitage executive. In its decision, the Moscow region court would rule on an appeal Markelov filed against the same court's ruling that in September awarded the companies back to Hermitage.

A different judge in the same court earlier formally dissolved the companies after ruling that they were insolvent — using what Hermitage said were forged liabilities. Even so, if Hermitage succeeds in regaining ownership over the now nonexistent firms, it can obtain

all possible records of their activity from either the Central Bank or the Federal Tax Service, Browder said.

Hermitage has said a criminal group seized the assets after prompting a police raid on the fund's offices in Moscow, which helped it lay hands on the fund's corporate documents, seals and tax certificates. The group then used the papers to steal the subsidiary companies and file for the tax refunds on their behalf, Hermitage has said.

March 15, 2010Russia Profile: Selective Justicehttp://www.russiaprofile.org/page.php?pageid=Politics&articleid=a1268678170

By Graham StackSpecial to Russia Profile

Many of the Murky Dealings in the Yukos Affair Remain a Mystery, But It Is Safe to Say That Khodorkovsky’s Arrest Was Political

Newly published memoirs by Lord Browne, the former chief executive officer of British Petroleum, cast new light on the Yukos affair just as Yukos shareholders filed a lawsuit for $50 billion against Russia in the European Court of Human Rights. The book includes an insider’s view of Russia’s oil oligarchs, which could hypothetically reinforce the claim that Khodorkovsky’s prosecution was politically motivated.

The European Court of Human Rights held its first hearing of the lawsuit brought against Russia by the shareholders of the now-defunct Russian oil major Yukos on March 4 in Strasburg. Yukos, once one of Russia’s foremost oil companies, fell victim to massive tax claims in 2003 to 2004 that eventually led to its dismembering, while the company’s co-owners and top managers, oligarchs Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev, ended up behind bars with lengthy sentences. The case was one of the major political crises during the 2000 to 2008 presidency of Vladimir Putin, with most analysts claiming that politics were behind the decision to level tax and criminal charges against Yukos and its owners.

The basis of the suit filed by Yukos is that the law was applied selectively against Yukos with the aim of expropriating the shareholders. Only days before the European Court hearing, Lord Browne of Madingley, better known as John Browne, star CEO of global oil major BP in 1995 to 2007, published his memoirs titled “Beyond Business.” Browne had extensive dealings with the oligarchs in his attempt to expand BP into Russia, eventually establishing a joint venture between BP and the local oil group TNK. But in his autobiography, Browne says that his first choice of partner in Russia was Yukos. He duly met with Yukos CEO and majority owner Mikhail Khordorkovsky. This was to be his first and last encounter with Khodorkovsky, since the tone of the meeting deterred

him from further dealings with the oligarch – according to Browne, the “initially unassuming” Khodorkovsky started detailing the growing extent of his political reach. “As the conversation progressed,” writes Browne, “I felt increasingly nervous. He began to talk about getting people elected to the Duma, about how he could make sure oil companies did not pay much tax and about how he had many influential people under his control. For me, he seemed too powerful.”

Browne concludes that he was not surprised to hear of Khodorkovsky’s arrest in October of 2003: “It is easy to say this with hindsight, but there was something untoward about his approach.” He also records for posterity that shortly before Khodorkovsky’s arraignment, in a private conversation, Putin made a passing steely remark: “I have eaten more dirt than I need to from that man,” Putin said to Browne about Khodorkovsky. “Khodorkovsky did what Putin regarded as unforgiveable,” Browne writes. “He started meddling in the political arena when he was only a businessman. Putin’s rule was ‘stay out of politics, just do business, and you will be alright.’ Khodorkovsky crossed the line.”

Browne’s account of the politics behind Khodorkovsky’s arrest chimes remarkably well with another rare insider account of the affair: from late and much lamented former Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar. Gaidar’s hour in the headlines may have been in the early 1990s when he implemented radical economic reforms, but his most productive period may have been as a deputy in the State Duma in 1999 to 2003: Gaidar played a key role in shaping reformist tax legislation in Putin’s early presidency. But while it proved possible to get urgently needed legislation through the Duma for the first three years, starting in late 2002 things suddenly changed. “Everyone knows perfectly well what happened in February of 2003 in the Duma,” Gaidar told NTV talk show host Vladimir Solovyov in 2005. “Of course, Yukos was pursuing very energetic and fraudulent activity in the Duma. It was making use of the corresponding technologies and, in fact, already in 2002, toward the end of the year, it became clear that it was very hard for the government to get a single law through the Duma without a green light from Yukos.”

“I asked why the mineral oil tax was at the level it was, and was told that ‘Dubov wanted it like this’,” Gaidar recalled on another occasion. Vladimir Dubov was a Yukos shareholder, and as deputy head of the Duma tax committee he was the leader and organizer of the increasingly powerful Yukos lobby in the Duma.

Gaidar said that the Yukos lobby was in fact useful to the government for a time to get liberal reforms, such as the new tax code – with the introduction of a 13 percent flat rate income tax – through Parliament. “The interest of the oil lobby initially coincided with the interests of the country, because they wanted order and an efficient tax system,” Gaidar said. “But at a certain point in time they decided to measure up to the government.”

According to Richard Sakwa, a politics professor at England’s University of Kent who recently published the seminal cradle-to-grave history of Yukos, “by 2003 it was clear that Khodorkovsky was no longer willing to abide by the informal rules of the game. Putin was informed that 226 deputies in the Duma owed allegiance to Yukos, a simple

majority of the total of 450, although this figure is probably exaggerated and the real figure was closer to 100. This was a Duma in which the word ‘lobbying’ barely describes the ability of interested parties to shape preferences, with activists running about with packets of money on the eve of important votes. The budget committee had practically turned into a structural subunit of Yukos.” Sakwa estimates that Yukos’ “lobbyist” work in the Duma saved the company around $3.5 billions in taxes.

But most experts believe that the Kremlin-Yukos standoff did not just relate to tax legislation, but cut across a whole range of issues essential to the state. The Duma being the most public area of Russian political life, it is simply the one that there is most information about. Other perhaps more critical aspects of the Yukos-Kremlin clash, which took place behind the scenes, are still shrouded in mystery, and await the memoirs of those involved.

Determining the direction of strategic oil pipelines was one such issue. But Sakwa recounts that it was the U.S. invasion of Iraq in March of 2003 that may have been the game-changer: Yukos aligned itself with the George Bush administration in assuming an active anti-OPEC and pro-Iraq war stance. Khodorkovsky, Sakwa points out, was positioning himself as the wingman in Russia for an increasingly unpredictable and penetrative U.S. foreign policy. He was also holding talks to sell Yukos – which after a merger with the oil company Sibneft would have controlled 50 percent of Russia’s oil reserves – to a U.S. super-major, a deal which would have made him one of the richest men on the planet. Khodorkovsky may have even appeared as a threat to Russian sovereignty in the eyes of the Kremlin, although he always denied harboring any presidential ambitions.

Whatever the behind-the-scenes maneuvering in this “great game” of global energy and geopolitics, it is clear from Lord Browne’s and others’ accounts that the decision to prosecute Khodorkovsky was political. The scale of Khodorkovsky’s tax evasion was probably not greater than that practiced by all other oligarchs. The others, however, went unscathed, although they apparently upped their tax payments by around 20 percent to stay on Putin’s good side. But no other oligarch so boldly violated Putin’s command to “keep what you own, but stay out of politics.”

The dilemma the European Court of Human Rights now faces is that of the selective application of justice. As Lord Browne observes of Russia in his memoirs, “the problem is not the lack of laws, but their selective application. This is what creates the sense of lawlessness. While bureaucratic legalistic processes are the hallmark of Russia, you never know whether someone will turn a blind eye or whether the laws will be applied to the hilt.”

Independent: Mary Dejevsky: Illusions that the anniversary of perestroika should dispelhttp://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/mary-dejevsky/mary-dejevsky-illusions-that-the-anniversary-of-iperestroikai-should-dispel-1921854.html

The Gorbachev-Yeltsin duel was as much about Russia as communism

Tuesday, 16 March 2010

It seems like only yesterday and, at the same time, like a hundred years. In fact, it is a quarter of a century since Mikhail Gorbachev became General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union – and set in train the changes that brought the end of both the system and the country.

For many Russians, though, the accession of 54-year-old Gorbachev after a string of old and sick men is a muted, even bitter, anniversary. Celebrated throughout the Western world as a liberator, Gorbachev is widely reviled in his homeland for destroying Soviet power. Vladimir Putin only articulated what many of his compatriots also felt, when he described the Soviet Union's collapse as "one of the greatest catastrophes of the 20th century". It will take many years for that judgement to be revised across the great Eurasian land mass, if it ever is.

But it is not only the people of the once-feared Soviet Union who are labouring under an illusion about the legacy of Mikhail Gorbachev. So is Gorbachev himself and, for quite different reasons, the outside world where the last Soviet leader is still lionised and – rightly – protected.

In an article to commemorate this anniversary, Gorbachev allowed himself one of his periodic critiques of today's Russia. With Putin, unnamed, but clearly in his sights, he regretted what he saw as Russia's failure to embark on serious modernisation and the way the democratic process had, in his words, "lost momentum" or, "in more ways than one, been rolled back". He also suggested that the reform plans of Dmitry Medvedev, Putin's successor in the Kremlin, had stalled because he was scared of civil society.

Now you can agree or disagree with Gorbachev here: much remains to be played out. But there is less room for divergence on Gorbachev's view of his years in power. He still believes that he could have brought democracy to the Soviet Union, if only he had set about reforming the Communist Party sooner; if only misguided and malevolent individuals had not set out to thwart him; if only the coup-plotters of August 1991 had stayed their hand. Even 25 years on, Gorbachev maintains that evolutionary change, through his twin projects of glasnost and perestroika, was feasible and the Soviet Union could have stayed intact.

This is not quite how I remember it, as a witness to the country's death throes as a correspondent in Moscow. Gorbachev came across always as just one move behind history. There is no shame in that: would any leader have kept pace, given that communism throughout Europe was already dead and food shops throughout Russia were empty? Was it not rather that even incremental reform was too much for the system to bear?

The most compelling reason for favouring this view – aside from the small fact of the Soviet collapse – is that the contest triggered by perestroika was in the end about Russia as much as communism. The collapse of the Soviet Union was a victory for Russia, and for Russians' frustrated sense of national identity. Boris Yeltsin's trump card was that he presented himself not just as communist apostate, but as champion and leader of Russia. Steeped in the internationalism of communist orthodoxy, Gorbachev had no national card to play.

How far the rise of Russia contributed to, even caused, the demise of the Soviet Union, tends to be forgotten. While Russians have settled more or less happily into being Russian again, the outside world has found it harder to adjust. Post-Soviet Russia is seen all too often not just as the legal successor-state to the Soviet Union, but as its reincarnation. No wonder there have been so many misunderstandings since 1992.

The anniversary of Gorbachev's accession may help to mark, belatedly, the passage of time. It means that no citizen of the former Soviet Union under 30 has any first-hand memory of life under communism; no one under 40 has had their career dictated by the regime. Those in their mid-40s – among them Medvedev, but not, it is worth noting, Putin – were students when perestroika began. Tossed around by the chaos of the 1990s, they benefited from the stability Putin imposed as they settled down to family life.

A generation unscarred by Soviet communism is the legacy Gorbachev bequeathed – through strength or weakness is still not clear. And it is a worthy one, even if it is not the peaceful evolution of the Soviet Union he still laments.

m.dejevsky@independent.co.uk

Russia Today: Russian democracy turns 20http://rt.com/prime-time/2010-03-15/russian-democracy-turns-20.html/print

15 March, 2010, 21:14

On March 14, Russian democracy celebrated its 20th birthday remembering the past and speculating about the future.

Changes proposed by General Secretary of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev to Article 6 of the Soviet Constitution on this day in 1990 opened the door to political pluralism in Russia.

The fight for a multi-party political system, however, began even earlier – back in May 1989 at the Congress of People's Deputies.

The idea quickly gained widespread national support – with 200,000 people taking to the streets of Moscow in February to call for changes to the constitution.

“Initially, Gorbachev believed that the party could play a major role in Perestroika,” Pavel Palazhchenko, personal interpreter of Mikhail Gorbachev, recalls. “But the party was such a big and difficult bureaucracy that it soon became the hindrance on Perestoika.”

The amendments pushed through by Gorbachev permitted political parties to form and take part in political decision making.

“By that time, within the communist party, within the Central committee and within the party apparatus, there were all kinds of people and all kinds of tendencies and even different ideologies. There were traditional communists, social democrats, and those who later became liberals,” Palazhchenko told RT. “The problem and the challenge for Gorbachev was to initially integrate those groups and find a way to make decisions given those conflicts and dividing lines. But then he concluded that is no longer sustainable and that those groups basically separate and go their separate ways into different political parties and organisations. So he came to believe in a multi-party system.”

Russia Today: 16 March, 2010 in Russian Newspapershttp://rt.com/Top_News/Press/eng.html

Nezavisimaya: To Bulgaria – through GeorgiaAzerbaijan plans selling liquefied gas to Europe

Sokhbet Mamedov (Baku)

Bulgaria is searching for alternative options to Russia’s gas supply. Azerbaijan’s supply of liquefied gas may be one of them. In case the parties are able to come to an agreement, a plant producing this type of fuel will be constructed in Georgia, from where gas will be transferred by sea to Bulgaria and Romania. Nezavisimaya Gazeta (NG) learned about these plans from the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR).

Kommersant: Missiles, Kiev-style Viktor Yanukovich decided to, without a pause, break into the big world politics through the START

Vladimir Solovyev

Kiev had suddenly decided to fight for the right to become the place of signing of the new Russo-American Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START). Kommersant learned that the President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovich made an official proposal to his Russian colleague Dmitry Medvedev on March 5. Deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential administration, Anna German, told Kommersant yesterday that Moscow “was interested in the initiative”. Today, this issue will be discussed by the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov and Konstantin Grishchenko. The talks will be held on the

eve of the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to Russia, which she is making in order to finalize the last details of START.

Moscow Times: Today in Vedomostihttp://www.themoscowtimes.com/vedomosti/Issue 4350. Last Updated: 03/16/2010

Finance Ministry Puts Limits on Official GiftsBy Dmitry KazminThe Finance Ministry has become the first federal agency to issue a clarification of the rules regarding officials receiving gifts. All gifts are subject to assessment by a commission on official conduct, and anything more expensive than 3,000 rubles has to be given to the ministry with the right of redemption.

Volvo 'Safest' Slogan Banned in SwedenBy Alexei Alexeyev and Yelena Vinogradova

Volvo has been banned in court from using the slogan “safest in the world” to advertise its compact crossover SUV model XC60.

US AAA Credit Rating in DangerBy Tatyana Bochkaryova

Moody's issued a warning to the United States: If the Obama administration does not improve the situation with the state finances, the country's AAA credit rating will be in danger. The ratings of Britain, France and Germany may also suffer.

Commentary: Georgian Media Playing With FireBy Anton Oleinik

A fictional report about a terrorist attack in Tskhinvali shown March 13 at prime time on Imedi, a major Georgian television channel, has caused a media storm not only in Georgia but also in Russia. In the spoof broadcast, Russian troops were forced again to come to the defense of the community of South Ossetia, as-yet unrecognized by the world, and to physically destroy Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.

National Economic Trends

Bloomberg: Ruble May Gain 18-20% Over Three Years, Klepach Says (Update1)http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-16/ruble-may-gain-18-20-over-three-years-klepach-says-update1-.html

March 16, 2010, 4:12 AM EDT

(Adds GDP, industrial output from fifth paragraph.)

By Anastasia Ustinova and Maria Levitov

March 16 (Bloomberg) -- The ruble is expected to strengthen between 18 percent and 20 percent in the next three years, hurting manufacturers and constraining economic growth, Russian Deputy Economy Minister Andrei Klepach said.

The minister, speaking to reporters at a conference in Moscow today, reiterated concern about the currency’s strength voiced on March 14, when he said the central bank should rethink its policy of paring back currency intervention because the ruble is already stronger than it was before the credit crisis, once the effects of inflation are stripped out. His comments in Zurich were reported by news agency RIA Novosti.

“A series of risks seriously limits the recovery of the economy,” Klepach said today. Even so, economic growth of 4 percent to 4.5 percent this year is a “more realistic” estimate than the official government forecast of 3 percent to 3.5 percent expansion, he said.

The ruble slipped 0.3 percent to 29.3622 per dollar in Moscow trading today, its first one-day depreciation since March 5, as oil prices declined. The currency has gained 5.7 percent against the dollar since January 2009 as the price of Urals oil, Russia’s chief export blend, rose more than 56 percent to as high as $76.15 a barrel yesterday.

Industrial output and consumer spending has boosted gross domestic product, which the Economy Ministry estimates rose an annual 5.2 percent in January after last year’s record contraction of 7.9 percent. A stronger ruble makes imports relatively cheaper for consumers than locally-made goods, threatening to slow the manufacturing recovery.

Industrial production expanded an annual 7.8 percent in January and retail sales rose 0.3 percent, the first increase in a year, boosted by higher wages, according to the Federal Statistics Service. Manufacturing continued growing last month, though “improvements in business activity were too weak to justify new hiring,” according to VTB Capital’s Purchasing Managers’ Index.

--With assistance from Denis Maternovsky in Moscow. Editor:

To contact the reporters on this story: Anastasia Ustinova in St. Petersburg at austinova@bloomberg.net Maria Levitov in Moscow at mlevitov@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chris Kirkham at ckirkham@bloomberg.net

RBC: Russia's GDP growth may reach 6% in 2010

http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20100316105515.shtml

      RBC, 16.03.2010, Moscow 10:55:15.Russia is likely to see a 6-percent rise in GDP in 2010, Deputy Economic Development Minister Andrei Klepach stated at the 13th international automobile forum.

      "If Russia's GDP continues to rise in the third, and especially in the fourth quarter, we may see a 6-percent increase, but the risks are putting certain restrictions on the economy's rehabilitation," Klepach explained. Considering this, the official believes that the actual GDP rise will amount to 4-4.5 percent. Meanwhile, the official conservative forecast for 2010 is a 3-3.5-percent increase.

      Klepach also indicated that stable economic growth was expected as early as the second half of 2010, even if the Urals oil price drops from its current level of $70-75 per barrel to $66-75 per barrel. Meanwhile, a decline in state demand and stagnations in bank lending are hindering growth. Klepach is confident that Russia has excellent economic growth potential in 2012-2014. "Russia has everything it needs to become a dynamically developing country in the next three to five years," he stated.

      He warned, however, that there could be a second wave of the crisis in 2018 due to a drop in export revenue.

March 16, 2010 09:15

Interfax: Banks have 475.4 bln rbs on CBR correspondent accounts on March 16http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=151923

MOSCOW. March 16 (Interfax) - Russian banks have 475.4 billion rubles on correspondent accounts in the Central Bank as of March 16 including 330.6 billion rubles for Moscow banks.

The balance on March 15 was 532.5 billion rublesand 384.8 billion rubles, respectively.

Banks had 793.5 billion rubles on deposit accounts in the Central Bank on March 16 against 815.4 billion rubles on previous day.

RenCap: CBR could take a breakhttp://www.businessneweurope.eu/dispatch_text11302

Renaissance Capital, RussiaTuesday, March 16, 2010

The rouble started the week (15-19 Mar) slightly weaker against the basket on the back of some deterioration in global sentiment and lower commodity prices. During trading, the rouble moved away from the Central Bank of Russia's (CBR) support level of 34.20 to

wobble around 34.28-34.30 for most of the day. Trading volumes in the rouble/dollar section (next-day settlements) were $2.8bn. NDF rates moved somewhat up, with the one-year rate gaining 20 bpts to close at 4.75-4.85%. Monday insurance premium payments to the Pension Fund drove money market rates to 3.25-4.25% from 2.5-3.5% on Friday, although demand for one-year CBR repos remained within the regulator's limit (RUB10.0bn). We are not expecting to see any major changes in market players' sentiment today. With no significant volatility, we expect the rouble/basket rate to stay close to its current levels.

March 16, 2010 12:01

Interfax: Russia exports dual purpose products worth $6.36 Bln in 2009 – Ivanovhttp://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=151948

MOSCOW. March 16 (Interfax-AVN) - Measures to expand the geographical area of deliveries of dual purpose products helped Russia maintain its pre-crisis volume of these exports last year, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said.

"I am pleased to announce that last year, despite the world economic crisis, Russia managed to maintain its previously achieved volume of exports of dual purpose products, which totaled $6.36 billion [in 2009]. This is a good result," Ivanov said at a session of the country‘s export control commission on Tuesday.

The number of countries that purchase Russian-made dual purpose products grew from 62 in 2008 to 86 last year, the deputy prime minister said.

"We can see that the geography of deliveries expanded considerably," he said.

tm mj

Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions2010-03-16 07:07 Reuters: Russian markets -- Factors to Watch on March 16http://www.iii.co.uk/news/?type=afxnews&articleid=7793890&action=article

MOSCOW, March 16 (Reuters) - Here are events and news stories that could move Russian markets on Tuesday.

You can reach us on: +7 495 775 1242

STOCKS CALL (Contributions to moscow.newsroom@reuters.com):

Olma: "A correction is possible on the RTS today, tracking oil prices, but strong moves are unlikely. Traders' activity has fallen. We can expect a revival after the U.S. Federal Reserve comments this evening."

Gallion Capital: "The financial sector will do better than the market. Against the backdrop of falling oil prices, oil and gas stocks should underperform the market."

EVENTS (All times GMT):

MOSCOW - Sberbank, Russia's biggest lender, publishes Jan-Feb results according to Russian Accounting Standards

MOSCOW - Adam Smith Conferences' to hold Russian automotive forum (to March 18). LINK: http://www.adamsmithconferences.com/en/arc010

BREST, Belarus - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to take part in Russian-Belarussian council of ministers

BAKU - EBRD President Thomas Mirow visits Azerbaijan

IN THE PAPERS:

Kommersant runs an interview with Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov, who says the customs union with Russia will not include a common currency in the foreseeable future and that he would welcome Ukraine's joining the group.

Alexander Lebedev sold his stake in Aeroflot at a 28 percent discount to the market -- thus losing 3.3 billion rouble ($112.5 millions), Vedomosti reports. But Lebedev plans to compensate for the loss when he sells his stake in aircraft leasing company Ilyushin Finance to state bank VEB -- for which he hopes to get 5.3 billion roubles.

TOP STORIES IN RUSSIA AND THE CIS:

TOP NEWS: Kremlin party's support falls in regional vote

COMPANIES/MARKETS: Nutritek plans to raise $100 mln in SPO

WBD may pay 30 rbls per share as '08-09 dividend

ECONOMY/POLITICS:

Rouble rally pauses, has room to resume

Corruption 'may force Western firms to quit'

ENERGY: Russia March oil supplies to Belarus fall 50 pct

COMMODITIES: Russia watchdog says could readmit U.S. poultry

ANALYSIS-Russia wheat faces slog to satisfy Asia

MARKETS CLOSE/LATEST:

RTS 1,520.60 +0.41 pctMSCI Russia 825.30 -1.79 pctMSCI Emerging Markets 983.93 +0.09 pct

Russia 30-year Eurobond yield: 4.953/4.912 pct

EMBI+ Russia 164 basis points over

Rouble/dollar 29.3900

Rouble/euro 40.2900

NYMEX crude $79.66 -$0.14ICE Brent crude $77.74 -$0.15For Russian company news, double click on

Treasury news Corporate debtRussian stocks Russia country guideAll Russian news Scrolling stocks newsEmerging markets top news

Top deals European companies($1=29.33 Rouble) Keywords: RUSSIA FACTORS/(Moscow Newsroom, +7495 775 1242, moscow.newsroom@reuters.com)

Bloomberg: Lukoil, Norilsk Nickel, 36.6: Russian Equity Market Previewhttp://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-16/lukoil-norilsk-nickel-36-6-russian-equity-market-preview.html

March 16, 2010, 1:52 AM EDT

By Maria Kolesnikova

March 16 (Bloomberg) -- The following shares may have unusual price changes in Russian trading. Stock symbols are in parentheses and prices are from the previous close unless otherwise noted.

The 30-stock Micex Index fell 1.1 percent to 1,400.19. The dollar-denominated RTS Index declined 1.3 percent to 1,514.40.

OAO Lukoil (LKOH RX): Crude oil fell to the lowest level in more than a week as the dollar gained, curbing demand for most commodities as an alternative investment. Russia’s largest non- state oil producer dropped 0.9 percent to 1,589.09 rubles in Moscow.

OAO GMK Norilsk Nickel (GMKN RX): Copper fell to a two-week low on concern that demand from China, the world’s largest user, may weaken because of steps aimed at cooling economic growth. Nickel also dropped. Russia’s largest mining company fell 1.3 percent to 4,903.19 rubles.

OAO Pharmacy Chain 36.6 (APTK RX): The Russian pharmaceutical market may expand 16 percent in dollar terms this year to reach $20 billion, after rallying 18 percent in 2009, marketing and advertising company DSM Group said. Russia’s largest drugstore company fell 9.2 percent to 168.16 rubles.

--Editor: Alan Mirabella.

To contact the reporter on this story: Maria Kolesnikova in Moscow at mkolesnikova@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Gavin Serkin at gserkin@bloomberg.net.

Russia Today: Russian Railway posts 1H 2009 net profit of 23.4 billion Roubleshttp://rt.com/Business/2010-03-16/rzd-1h-2009-profit.html/print

16 March, 2010, 10:50

Russian Railways, Russia's railway giant, has posted a 1H 2009 net profit of 23.4 billion Roubles under IFRS.

The bottom line is down from 68.2 billion Roubles for the same period in 2008, on the back of Revenues also falling to 532 billion Roubles from 575.6 billion Roubles in 1H2008.

According to the statement, profit before tax plummeted 60% year-on-year in 1H 2009 to 42.6 billion Roubles from 106.5 billion Roubles in 1H 2008, which was mostly due to the exchange rate loss of 6.8 billion Roubles, compared to a 1.5 billion Roubles profit in 1H 2008, and interest expenses going up to 14.5 billion Roubles from 7.8 billion Roubles a year ago.

VTB Capital: Aeroflot to buy its shares from NRC with a larger discount valueaccretive deal - deal with Rosavia also becoming more attractive

http://www.businessneweurope.eu/dispatch_text11302

VTB Capital, RussiaMarch 16, 2010

News: According to Vedomosti, Aeroflot is to pay RUB 11.07bn (USD 377mn) to purchase 25.8% of its shares from National Reserve Corporation (NRC). This implies a 28% discount to the current price. Previous reports put the value of the deal at USD 400mn.

Our View: We have always highlighted the deal as value-accretive for Aeroflot and the lower-than-expected price, if true, boosts its attractiveness further.

Aeroflot has already bought 6.3% of its shares from NRC as part of this deal.

According to previous reports, at a later stage Aeroflot plans to exchange some 10-12% of its shares for control in Rosavia's assets. Given that the reported purchase price of its shares from NRC is lower than expected, this could also increase the attractiveness of the deal with Rosavia.

SteelOrbis: Russia’s Mechel establishes representative office in China http://www.steelorbis.com/steel-news/latest-news/russias-mechel-establishes-representative-office-in-china-518974.htm

Mechel, one of the leading Russian mining and steel groups, has announced that it has established an official representative office in the Chinese capital Beijing.

"The representative office will support Mechel's business in China, cooperate in the expansion of Mechel's business in the country, work directly with Chinese partners, establish new business contacts and perform studies on market dynamics," reads the company's statement.

Accordingly, since 2007 Mechel has been delivering iron ore concentrate produced at its Korshunov Mining Plant to China, and since 2009 it has also been supplying ferroalloys as well as coking coal concentrate produced at Yakutugol to its Chinese customers. Currently, the volumes of these shipments are being gradually increased. In 2005 and 2008, Mechel signed contracts with China Coal Overseas Development Co. for the purchase of new coal excavation technologies and equipment for its subsidiary Southern Kuzbass Coal Company.  Moreover, Mechel also signed a memorandum of intent with Minmetals, one of China's largest state industrial corporations, within the framework of which the first contract to construct the new universal rail and structural steel mill at Mechel's Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant has already been inked.

The new representative office is already the third one opened by Mechel in the Asia-Pacific region. Other representative offices of the company were previously opened in South Korea and Japan.

<16.03.2010, Tuesday>

Bloomberg: RBC Information Says Bank Accounts Blocked, Stock Buyback Haltedhttp://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-16/rbc-information-says-bank-accounts-blocked-stock-buyback-halted.html

March 16, 2010, 2:52 AM EDT

By Maria Ermakova

March 16 (Bloomberg) -- RBC Information Systems, operator of Russia’s first 24-hour business television channel, said its bank accounts were frozen amid talks on restructuring debt to banks.

RBC was forced to halt its share-buyback program because of the frozen accounts, the Moscow-based company said on its Web site late yesterday. RBC said it will “fulfill its obligations” once the debt deal is completed and the acccounts are unfrozen, which is expected in the “nearest future.”

Link to Company News:{RBCI RU <Equity> CN <GO>}

To contact the reporter on this story: Maria Ermakova in Moscow at mermakova@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Brad Cook at bcook7@bloomberg.net

Reuters: Russia's RBC postpones share buyback until debt dealhttp://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE62F03Q20100316

2:19am EDT

MOSCOW, March 16 (Reuters) - Russian business news provider RBC <RBCI.MM> has postponed its buy-back from minority shareholders, saying its bank accounts have been frozen due to a protracted debt restructuring process. "As soon as OAO RBC Information Systems finalizes its debt restructuring and the money is released from the blocked accounts, the company will perform its obligations to the shareholders in full," the company said in a statement late on Monday. "RBC expects this to take place in the near future."

Successful restructuring of RBC's debt is the key condition to clearing the way for magnate Mikhail Prokhorov to buy a 51 percent share in the company, whose brand includes a business television channel, a newspaper and a news wire service.

The company -- which has been hard hit by the financial crisis -- said it was "currently is at the final stage of the debt restructuring process".

Minority shareholders had applied for the buyback of over 2 million shares, worth 89.5 million roubles ($3.05 million) under the scheme, Vedomosti business daily reported on Tuesday. (Writing by Toni Vorobyova; Editing by Mike Nesbit)

Moscow Times: Changes in Trade Regulations: New Challenges Facing Businesses http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/business_for_business/article/changes-in-trade-regulations-new-challenges-facing-businesses/401735.html

16 March 2010PricewaterhouseCoopers

The global financial crisis, together with a shift in market dynamics, is significantly affecting businesses going through serious changes. Major reforms in state trade regulation are no exception. Among the key drivers in this process have been amendments introduced under Federal Law No. 381-FZ of Dec. 28, 2009, “On the Fundamentals of the State Regulation of Trade in Russia” (“the Law”), which took effect on Feb. 1, 2010, except for restrictions on the expansion of retail chains, which will come into force for municipalities and city districts on July 1, 2010. The Law is chiefly aimed at balancing economic interests between companies engaged in trade activity and their suppliers.

A significant number of the Law’s provisions deal exclusively with relations connected with the supply of food products. Food products are defined under the Law as natural or processed products that are traded and used for nutrition, including baby food and health foods, bottled drinking water, alcoholic products, beer and beer-based drinks, nonalcoholic drinks, chewing gum, food supplements and biologically active additives.

In our view, the most significant of the Law’s provisions are those governing relations between trading companies and the suppliers of food products.

The Law introduces a number of limitations with respect to the option for a trading company to require bonuses from a supplier of food products. In particular, the Law provides for the following limitations: A supply contract may prescribe a bonus payable to a trading company for the purchase from a supplier of a certain volume of food products. The amount of such a bonus should be included in the price of the supply contract but cannot affect the prices for food products. The amount of such a bonus cannot exceed 10 percent of the purchase price of the food products. Establishing a bonus in relation to socially essential food items, a list of which is established by the government, is not permitted. No other types of bonuses should be included in the price of the food supply contract.

Food supply contracts cannot contain provisions on the rendering by the trading company of advertising, marketing and similar services or on the undertaking of certain actions by the trading company aimed at promoting food products. The execution of a supply contract should not depend on the execution of a contract on the provision of the above services. Notably, advertising, marketing and other similar services aimed at the promotion of food products may be rendered by a trading company only under a separate fee-based service contract.

The provisions are designed to bring to an end the practice whereby the supply of food products depended on a number of additional conditions for suppliers, such as the requirement to pay entry bonuses, and so on. Such a practice will now be prohibited, though trading companies can continue providing suppliers with services to promote food products under separate fee-based service contracts.

Although the Law’s provisions are only just starting to have an effect, they are creating a number of practical questions for both trading companies and suppliers of food products. In particular, the question arises as to whether the 10 percent bonus limitation applies to relations governing the supply of food products to nonchain retailers and wholesalers. Other issues of note are whether the 10 percent bonus limitation applies to discounts (including so-called “retro-discounts”) or to the prices of individual or all food products supplied under a contract; can the bonus be fixed as an absolute amount (such as 1 ruble per each stock-keeping unit purchased); and how should the bonus be accurately calculated — should it be based on the price that includes or excludes VAT?

Questions have also been raised regarding the services used to promote food products, specifically: Does displaying goods constitute a service provided by a retail chain, and if so, how can its value be determined? Can a supplier provide services to a retail chain under a food supply contract, by leasing shop equipment for example?

We believe that the Law raises many questions that need to be looked at carefully, both by trading companies and suppliers. In our opinion, any decisions should be based on a close examination of all issues — including those related to commercial, legal and tax. This of course will involve time and resources but will also help businesses to avoid mistakes and minimize risks.

MARCH 15, 2010, 11:29 A.M. ET

Dow Jones: Wimm-Bill-Dann May Pay RUB30/Share Dividend For '07-'08 - Ifx http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100315-708032.html

MOSCOW (Dow Jones)--Russian dairy producer OAO Wimm-Bill-Dann's (WBD) board of directors has recommended that the company pay a dividend of RUB30 ($1.02) a share for 2007-2008, news agency Interfax reported Monday.

The company has 44 million common shares, meaning the dividend would amount to RUB1.32 billion in total, Interfax said. Each New York-traded American depositary receipt represents one ordinary share.

Agency Web site: www.interfax.ru

AgriMarket.Info: Russia: Novorossiysk sea port increased grain shipment by 26.4%http://www.agrimarket.info/showart.php?id=90499

 03/16/2010 09:50  

In January—February period of 2010, the cargo flow of the group Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port totaled 14054.5 thsd tonnes, an increase of 2.3% or 313.3 thsd tonnes compared to the shipment volumes, during the same period of 2009, declared the media department of the port. In January—February period, shipment of general cargoes grew by 15.1% (249.1 thsd tonnes) compared to the same period of the last year. Shipment volumes of bulk commodities increased by 3.9%, or 78 thsd tonnes compared to volumes of the same period of the last year. Grain shipment volumes formed the basis of the growth in the segment, which increased by 26.4% (by 304.8 thsd tonnes – to the level of 1.46 mln tonnes). Also, during the period, shipment volumes of mineral fertilizers increased by 44.7% (by 104.1 thsd tonnes) compared to the volumes of the same period of the previous year. Shipment volumes of fluid cargoes decreased by 1.2% (by 116.9 thsd tonnes) compared to January—February period of 2009. In the reporting period, the shipment of vegetable oils decreased by 11.1 thsd tonnes (by 24.1%) compared to January—February period of 2009, and totaled 35 thsd tonnes.

Evertiq: Sitronics to licence ST manufacturing technology for 90 nanometre in Russiahttp://www.evertiq.com/news/16445

Russia-based JSC Sitronics has signed a three-party agreement with Rusnano and STMicroelectronics for licensing ST manufacturing technology for 90 nanometre integrated circuits.

ComponentsTechnology transfer is a key phase in the Sitronics/Rusnano joint project to establish mass production of 90 nanometre integrated circuits, and a new step in Sitronics developing cooperation with strategic international partners.

The technology transfer includes licenses for production and sales, the design kit, the list of necessary equipment, training of personnel, as well as the manufacturing plan for integrated circuits and materials requirements.

Dionis Gordin, Rusnano Managing Director, notes: "The 90 nanometre factory is Rusnano’s largest and most advanced investment project in micro- and nano-electronics. We are counting on synergy - having our own production base for nano-electronics will become the backbone that will provide the impulse to develop many adjacent domestic electronics segments and other high-tech sectors."

JSC Sitronics has been cooperating with STMicroelectronics since 2006, when the companies agreed to transferring 180 nanometre eeprom technology.

Sitronics will expand its production line, and Russia design centers will have the opportunity to produce their own 90 nanometre designs within Russia. The final products will be chips for Digital TV, Glonass/GPS navigation systems, industrial automation systems, automative electronics and high security smart cards.

Posted: March 16, 2010

Nanowerk: UK opportunities to meet with Russian Nanotechnology Corporation http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=15322.php

(Nanowerk News) RUSNANO is currently undertaking a road mapping exercise to guide their investment programme of $8.55 billion. Collaboration with foreign countries is key to RUSNANO's strategy and they are very keen to engage with the UK hi–tech sector. In addition, RUSNANO does not have research facilities but will fund applied research with foreign partners, often as part of public private partnership funding – another key area of commercial opportunity for UK firms and institutions.

The Supervisory Council of RUSNANO has already approved seven investment projects from foreign applicants with total funding of $830m of which RUSNANO will invest $412m. This is more that 10% of all RUSNANO investment projects.

Two seminars have been arranged to facilitate UK engagement with Rusnano:

London, The Royal Society, Thursday 25th March

This seminar is aimed predominantly at the UKs leading manufacturers & other business organisations who have an interest in partnering opportunities within Russia. We are keen to engage senior staff at this event i.e. Industry Policy Makers, Chief Technology Officers and Research Directors. There will be presentation opportunities for companies attending, as well as networking time throughout the day.

Cambridge, Møller Centre, Friday 26th March

This seminar is aimed at research institutions, start-up and spin out companies. There is the opportunity for companies attending to bid for a presentation slot, as well as ample 1:1 partnering opportunities throughout the day.

Both days will aim to continue and deepen UK engagement with RUSNANO, showcase UK excellence in research and development and innovation, and explain RUSNANO's business models. The days are structured to allow unique Business-to-Business access to

RUSNANO's senior leadership, and, in particular, their influential CEO - Anatoly Chubais.

Interested?

If you are interested in attending the events, please click below to email Craig Jones at craig.a.jones@ukti.gsi.gov.uk detailing which day(s) you would like to attend. You will then be sent further details regarding the event and a full registration form.

Source: RUSNANO

Bloomberg: 6,200 Cars a Week Sold Under Scrappage Scheme http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/6200-cars-a-week-sold-under-scrappage-scheme/401728.html

16 March 2010Bloomberg

The “cash-for-clunkers” program prompted the sale of more than 6,200 new vehicles a week after the government rolled out the program that boosted the car industry across Europe and the United States.

“The first results are much better than some dealers had anticipated because of the government’s aggressive public relations campaign,” said Oleg Datskiv, founder of Auto-Dealer.ru, an industry research group.

The government issued 6,227 vouchers of 50,000 rubles ($1,677) each out of 200,000 allocated for the program, the Industry and Trade Ministry said on its web site. The vouchers toward new Russian-built automobiles are available to people who turn in a car more than 10 years old. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin last week urged Russians to take advantage of the program.

Countries around the world have introduced incentive programs to increase slumping car sales during the worst global recession since World War II. Russian new car and light vehicle sales tumbled 32 percent to 91,922 units in February from the same month last year, the Association of European Businesses said March 9 in an e-mailed statement.

Moscow Times: Aluminum Magnate Turns to Property Development http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/aluminum-magnate-turns-to-property-development/401722.html

16 March 2010By Anton Filatov / Vedomosti

Lev Chernoi has turned to property development, with an investment in a 380 million euro ($522 million) apartment and hotel complex to be built on the site of the Mir hotel on Novy Arbat.

This week at the MIPIM property exhibition in Cannes, France, the firm Tantyema will present a design for the project. According to a statement from project consultant Kalinka-Realty, the total area of the complex will be 186,000 square meters, including a shopping center and parking spaces for 1,125 cars.

Besides the proposed project, Tantyema also owns the 12,000-square-meter Sfera mall, also on Novy Arbat.

The principal founder of Tantyema, with 99 percent of the company according to the Uniform State Register of Legal Entities, is Boris Khait, a co-owner of the Spasskiye Vorota insurance company. But at the end of last year, he told Vedomosti that he had sold the company. He could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Two property consultants said Chernoi was a key investor in the project, adding that there is “a Western company that finances Tantyema's projects.” Chernoi is one of the founders of the company, a representative of the businessman confirmed. Valery Yefanov, chief executive of Tantyema; Alexei Sidorov, development director of Kalinka-Realty; and a spokesperson for Jones Lang LaSalle, another consultant for the project, declined to comment on the shareholders of Tantyema.

Yefanov said the development and coordination of the project, as well as the laying of infrastructure, was under way. “Several tens of millions of dollars” of shareholders funds have already been invested, he said, and in the future they plan to attract partners or secure banking finance.

Construction is to begin at the end of 2010 or the beginning of 2011 and should be finished by 2012, Yefanov said.

Chernoi is not known to have been involved in property development before. He shot to prominence during the aluminum wars of the 1990s. Lev and Mikhail Chernoi, known outside Russia as Michael Cherney, together with Devid Rubin bought up large stakes in the Krasnoyarsky, Bratsky and Sayansky aluminum factories, the Krasnoyarskaya hydroelectric power station and the Achinsky alumina refinery.

But then the brothers fell out and separated their holdings, and in early 2000, Lev Chernoi and Rubin sold their stakes to Roman Abramovich and Boris Berezovsky for $550 million.

Since exiting the metals industry, Lev Chernoi has financed a range of innovative projects and was also involved in scientific and social activities, including the creation of Mobilization and Development, a social organization to promote democratic reforms,

according to the web site of the Institute for Advanced Scientific Study, where Chernoi serves as director.

Moscow Times: Developers Resume Building as Industry Recovers http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/developers-resume-building-as-industry-recovers/401731.html

16 March 2010By Bela Lyauv and Nadezhda Zaitseva / Vedomosti

One by one, public developers are announcing strategy changes and unfreezing projects that were suspended because of the economic crisis.

LSR Group on Thursday announced the start of its Growth Leader program, a strategy for rapid business expansion as the construction sector recovers. “We felt that the economic downturn had already bottomed out,” said Igor Levit, chief executive of LSR Group. From mid-2008, the company operated under an anti-crisis strategy that entailed a reduction in spending, including cuts in investment and the suspension of projects.

Under the new program, LSR aims to unfreeze five residential construction projects, with a marketable area of 440,000 square meters, on which construction had not yet begun, spokeswoman Yulia Sokolova said.

The developer also intends to acquire land in Moscow, Yekaterinburg and St. Petersburg and is open to considering proposals for the purchase of construction capacity.

Two other public companies — PIK Group and AFI Development — recently announced similar plans. The Russian real estate market has visibly brightened up, said Alexander Khaldei, chief executive of AFI Development. His firm decided to restart construction work on three projects: office buildings on Ozerkovskaya Naberezhnaya (financing is being arranged), on Paveletskaya Naberezhnaya (using its own funding) and the M.I. Kalinin health center in Zheleznovodsk (credit has been provided by Sberbank).

PIK plans to increase its output of residential housing in 2010 to 1 million square meters, compared with 884,000 square meters last year.

“There were delays with the building delivery schedules in 2009, but now they have returned to a working pace, and we are continuing construction,” said Sergei Kanayev, first deputy president of PIK Group. He said the economy-class segment of the Moscow region housing market has already hit bottom and demand is now growing again.

Market participants who were polled said they see a revival and are also changing their plans. Glavstroi will launch three to five new projects in the second half of the year, said spokesman Vitaly Korolyov. “In the near future we will finish restructuring our debt and,

possibly, in the second half of the year we will restart some frozen projects,” said Mikhail Dvorkovich, an adviser to the president of Mirax Group. Another developer, MR Group, intends to begin eight new projects, its press service said.

“Our apartment sales are growing, the rental process of Mall of Russia is pressing forward,” said Khaldei, of AFI. Kanayev, of PIK Group, called January — usually an almost dead month as far as sales are concerned — an indicator: PIK sold three-quarters of its December sales volume.

In February, he said, the company sold 30 percent more apartments than in January.

None of the polled market participants would name exact figures, however. “Before, PIK sold 1,000 apartments a month, but during the crisis, no more than 40 apartments. Now average sales have quadrupled, but the prices are stable,” a source close to the company said. The market is stirring and consumers are more active, but it is still too early to talk about growth, said Grigory Poltorak, president of Best-Nedvizhimost.

Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)16.03.2010

Oil & Gas Eurasia: Russian Oil Export Duty to Rise 6%http://www.oilandgaseurasia.com/news/p/0/news/6732

Oil and gas markets experts believe Russia will raise its export duty on crude by 6 percent to $268.90 per ton, while the export duty on will be $193.50 per ton light oil products and $104.20 per ton for heavy products. Industry observers reached this conclusion based on monitoring prices for crude and the law on customs tariffs.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister representative Aleksandr Sakovich told RBK that according to data from monitoring, from 15 February to 14 March the price of crude was $75.52 per barrel. Since 1 March 2010, Russia’s export duty on crude has been $253.60 per ton.

The export duty on crude in February was $270.70 per ton.

VTB Capital: Zero export duty for East Siberia might be prolonged until the end of 2010 - decision could be taken this week - if so, would be positive for sentimenthttp://www.businessneweurope.eu/dispatch_text11302

VTB Capital, RussiaMarch 16, 2010

News: Minister of Energy Sergei Shmatko told reporters that he favoured longterm export duty exemptions for East Siberian oil. He said that the regulations concerning

export duties for these fields, which are currently reviewed on a monthly basis, should be maintained for longer periods in order to allow oil companies to make more stable investment decisions regarding the fields.

Shmatko added that the Energy Ministry was currently discussing the issue with the Ministry of Finance.

On a separate note, according to Kommersant, the zero export duty for East Siberia will be active for the next several months, possibly until the end of 2010. The paper speculates that the decision will be announced this week.

Deputy Minister of Finance Sergei Shatalov said on the sidelines of an economic forum that a decision to keep the zero export duties on East Siberian oil could be made by this week.

Our View: The zero export duty for East Siberia is currently set on a monthly basis, which means that there is little visibility and confidence on the market and for oil companies over possible medium term tax payments/savings (which influence field development economics). Should the government prolong the zero export duty until the end of 2010, that would add more clarity over oil companies' tax savings during the year, which would be positive for sentiment. However, the market currently implies three-year tax holidays for East Siberia. Thus, the question about tax savings in 2011 and 2012 might remain unclear.

We remind investors that the main beneficiary of the zero export duty for East Siberia is Rosneft. Based on our estimates, it might lose around 10-12% at the EBITDA level in 2010, around 22% in 2011 and 23% in 2012 were the zero export duty to be cancelled in the near term.

Gazprom

Upstreamonline: Gazprom bags Bulgaria blockhttp://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article208749.ece

A Gazprom-led consortium has landed the Provadia Block in eastern Bulgaria.

News wires  16 March 2010 08:15 GMT

The consortium consisting of Overgas, a Gazprom joint venture, JKX and Balkan Explorers will operate the 1787 square kilometre onshore block, which is partially carved out from the 2007 B-Golitza and B1-Golitza licences.

Gazprom is expected to carry its partners for no less than €4 million of the minimum work programme.

Overgas will operate the onshore block with a 64% stake. Balkan Explorers, a wholly owned subsidiary of Aurelian Oil & Gas, and JKX each will own 18%.

Offshore: Songa Mercur signed up for Sakhalinhttp://www.offshore-mag.com/index/article-display/3102401408/articles/offshore/vessels/russia/2010/03/songa-mercur_signed.html

Published: Mar 15, 2010

Offshore staff

LIMASSOL, CYPRUS -- Songa Offshore has signed a contract with Gazprom subsidiary Gazflot LLC for use of the drilling rig Songa Mercur for a campaign offshore Sakhalin Island this summer.

The rig is expected to depart Singapore on or around May 1 after completing SPS activities and a Rig Acceptance period.

The contract has a firm period of 180 days including mobilization from and back to Singapore. This should incur total revenue of around $55-60 million, according to Songa.

3/15/2010

Hurriyet: Gazprom makes a leap in Turkish markethttp://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=gazprom-makes-a-leap-in-turkish-market-2010-03-15

Monday, March 15, 2010BEGÜM GÜRSOY ISTANBUL - Referans

Russian energy giant Gazprom is making serious efforts to expand in the Turkish energy market, a strategy director for the company has said.

The group has designated four goals – electricity, natural-gas import, natural-gas storage and distribution – but will initially focus on the first three, said Dietmar Schulz-Oral, strategy director at Gazprom Germania, which owns a 71 percent share in Turkey’s Bosphorus Gas.

Speaking at a meeting Thursday, Schulz-Oral said talks are underway with the Çalık Group on the Salt Lake Underground Natural Gas Storage Facility. Working groups have

also been formed with Aksa, Enerjisa and Akenerji to deal with several projects, he added.

Within the context of a Russian natural-gas purchase deal for 6 billion cubic meters, the term of which will end in 2011, the firm aims to bring in an additional 1.5 to 2 billion cubic meters gas for Bosphorus Gas. It also plans to build new electricity-generating power plants.

The firm will also launch activities to establish an underground natural-gas storage facility by the end of the year.

RIA: Nord Stream secures funding for Russia-backed Baltic pipelinehttp://en.rian.ru/business/20100316/158212692.html

12:1216/03/2010

Nord Stream has secured 3.9 billion euros ($5.3 billion) in financing allowing it to start building a pipeline to pump Russian natural gas to Europe under the Baltic Sea, The Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

The funds will come from 26 banks with loan guarantees secured for 80% of the financing from the Italian and German credit agencies Sace and Hermes, the paper said.

Paul Corcoran, Nord Stream's chief financial officer, told the paper the pipeline now had everything in place to begin construction next month.

"Three years ago we had banks very prepared to loan 1bn or 1.5bn euros and to take the underwriting risk," he said, adding that today banks had to be much more careful with the little liquidity left to them.

The 1,220 km-long (758-mile) Nord Stream pipeline will eventually pump 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year to Western Europe, bypassing traditional transit nations.

Nord Stream will have two pipelines, each with a capacity of 27.5 billion cubic meters a year, on the Baltic Sea floor stretching from Russia's Vyborg near the Finnish border to Greifswald on Germany's coast.

The amount of 3.9 billion euros represents 70% of the cost of the project's first phase, which should see the first gas being transported along the line by the end of next year, helping Russia avoid Ukraine, the transit country with which it has had fierce pricing disputes over the past several winters, the paper said.

The remaining 30% of the costs, some 800 million euros ($1.1 billion), will be financed by the partners in Nord Stream's shareholders, which are Russian energy giant Gazprom with a 51% stake, German chemical group BASF/Winterhshall and utility E.ON Ruhrgas each controlling 20% and the Dutch energy group Gasunie with 9%, the paper said.

The project's total cost is estimated at 7.4 billion euros ($10.1 billion). Nord Stream intends later this year to seek financing for the second phase, which will double the pipeline's capacity to 55 bln cu m, the paper said.

MOSCOW, March 16 (RIA Novosti)

Financial Times: Nord Stream wins funding for Baltic pipeline http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/74ea7aec-3055-11df-bc4a-00144feabdc0.html

By By Carola Hoyos in Vienna

Published: March 15 2010 23:06 | Last updated: March 15 2010 23:06

Nord Stream has secured €3.9bn of funding from 26 banks and loan guarantees from credit agencies in Germany and Italy, allowing it to begin construction next month of the pipeline that will ship natural gas from Russia to the European Union via the Baltic Sea.

Paul Corcoran, Nord Stream’s chief financial officer, said the pipeline now had everything in place to begin construction. He said the financial crises had significantly influenced the way the pipeline had been financed, though the cost of financing had not substantially increased because interest rates had fallen as margins increased.

“The situation is radically different in the financial markets. Three years ago we had banks very prepared to loan €1bn or €1.5bn and to take the underwriting risk. We could have done the deal with a handful of banks.” he said in an interview, adding that today banks had to be much more careful with the little liquidity left to them. “The key factor we have had to improve is the sweet/sour ratio of the deal,” he said.

To do that, Nord Stream secured loan guarantees for 80 per cent of the money, from Sace and Hermes, the export credit agencies, and an untied loan guarantee from the German government.

Nord Steam has not been affected by the drop in gas demand caused by the recession and the growth in the availability of gas transported by tankers to Europe, Mr Corcoran argued, noting that falling European production was forecast to leave a gap of 200bn cubic metres (bcm) of gas by 2030.

Nord Stream said the financing was oversubscribed by 60 per cent.

The €3.9bn represents 70 per cent of the cost of the first phase of the project, which should see first gas being transported along the line by the end of next year, helping Russia avoid Ukraine, the transit country with which it has had fierce pricing disputes over the past several winters.

The remaining 30 per cent of the costs, some €800m, will be financed by the partners in Nord Stream’s shareholders, which are Gazprom, Russia’s gas export monopoly (which has a 51 per cent share), BASF/Wintershall, the German chemicals group (20 per cent), E.ON Ruhrgas, the Germany utility, (20 per cent) and N.V.Nederlandse Gasunie, the Dutch energy group (9 per cent).

The total cost of the project is estimated at €7.4bn. Nord Stream plans later this year to seek financing for the second phase, which doubles the pipeline’s capacity to 55bcm a year.

Moscow Times: Zenit St. Pete Budget Tops $99M http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/zenit-st-pete-budget-tops-99m/401725.html

16 March 2010Bloomberg

Zenit St. Petersburg, sponsored by Gazprom, topped Russian football’s rich list with a 2010 budget of $99 million, 52 percent more than its nearest rival, Finans magazine said Monday.

Zenit, UEFA Cup winner in 2008, will match its 2009 budget as some clubs in Russia struggle to stay afloat, the magazine said, citing its own calculations. Zenit is owned by Gazprombank, Finans said.

Manchester United, the world’s most valuable club, had annual revenue of $512 million, Forbes magazine reported in April 2009, while Real Madrid, the second most valuable, had revenue of $576 million.

Of Russia’s eight richest clubs, only one, CSKA Moscow, increased its budget this year to $64.3 million from $49 million a year earlier as sponsors reined in spending or withdrew support, Finans said.

Zenit, which finished third in Russia’s Premier League last season, is trailed by LUKoil’s Moscow club Spartak with a budget of $65 million and Dynamo Moscow at $64.7 million, financed by VTB Group and billionaire Alisher Usmanov’s Metalloinvest.

Rubin Kazan, the Russian champion in 2008 and 2009 and backed by companies in the oil-rich Tatarstan region, was in sixth place with $55 million, according to Finans. The magazine based its budget estimates on publicly available data or information provided by club management.  

Samara’s Krylia Sovetov club, backed by state-owned holding Russian Technologies and carmaker AvtoVAZ, shrank its budget by almost two-thirds to $12 million in 2010 and has strained to make debt and salary payments. Players have threatened to sit out the first

game of the season and fans have gone on hunger strike to protest the club’s perilous finances, according to the club’s web site.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Feb. 17 ordered Sergei Chemezov, head of Russian Technologies, and Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin to take all “necessary steps” to support the club. Krylia Sovetov needs between $20 million and $30 million to continue operating this year in addition to the funds required for making debt payments, Sechin said.

Twenty-two companies agreed to provide “long-term” financing to the team, including Rosneft, Transneft and Novatek, Samara region Governor Vladimir Artyakov said Feb. 18, according to the local government web site.

Your Oil and Gas News: Gazprom commences drilling of first prospecting well in Africahttp://www.youroilandgasnews.com/gazprom+commences+drilling+of+first+prospecting+well+in+africa_46645.html

Tuesday, Mar 16, 2010

In compliance with its obligations under the contract with the Algerian National Agency for the Valorization of Hydrocarbon Resources (ALNAFT), the Gazprom Group has commenced drilling of the first prospecting well (Rhourde Sayah-2) in Africa within the El Assel license area of Algeria’s Berkine basin.

The well drilling is provided for in the minimum scope of geological exploration activities according to the terms and conditions of the tender won by Gazprom EP International B.V. for hydrocarbons exploration and drilling of four wells in the onshore El Assel area.

In the meanwhile, Gazprom EP International carries our large-scale 3D seismic surveying in other parts of the license area.

According to preliminary estimates, drilling of the first well is to be completed in June 2010 and another three wells are to be drilled within 2 years.

Background

Algeria's proven natural gas reserves account for 4.5 trillion cubic meters (second-largest in Africa after Nigeria – 5.15 trillion cubic meters). The bulk of natural gas reserves are concentrated in the central and eastern parts of the country.

The country’s proven oil reserves stand at 1.68 billion tons (third-largest in Africa after Libya and Nigeria). In the energy balance of Algeria natural gas makes up 62.5 per cent, oil – 34.5 per cent, coal – 2.5 per cent, hydro energy – 0.5 per cent.

The Algerian State Oil and Gas Corporation (ASOGC) Sonatrach is involved in oil and natural gas exploration, transportation and marketing, and controls most of gas production and wholesale trade.

On August 4, 2006 Gazprom and Sonatrach signed the Memorandum of Understanding. The document identified the following key areas for cooperation deepening: geological exploration, production, transmission, gas transport and distribution system development, asset swaps, processing and marketing of oil and natural gas in Algeria, Russia and in third countries.

Gazprom EP International B.V. is Gazprom’s wholly owned subsidiary managing the Company’s international assets in the hydrocarbon exploration and production area.

Gazprom was announced the winner of the hydrocarbon exploration and development tender for the onshore El Assel block on December 13, 2008. Following the tender results, Gazprom signed a contract with Algeria’s National Agency for the Valorization of Hydrocarbons Resources (ALNAFT), which came into effect on May 3, 2009.

Gazprom EP International is operator of the said project in partnership with the Algerian State Oil and Gas Corporation Sonatrach. Gazprom and Sonatrach hold a 49 and a 51 per cent stakes in the project.

The El Assel license block is located in the Berkine Basin, 500 kilometers south of Algeria’s capital city Algiers and 150 kilometers from the town of Hassi Messaoud – a gas production center.

By now, 3D seismic survey has been performed over the area of 1,100 square kilometers out of the projected 2,700.

The project operator is Gazprom EP International. The first well will be drilled at an estimated depth of 4,400 meters. The target horizons are the Triassic and Cambrian-Ordovician sandstones.

 Source: Gazprom

Alfa: Gazprom considers swapping its power assets with Fortum and IEShttp://www.businessneweurope.eu/dispatch_text11302

Alfa, RussiaTuesday, March 16, 2010

Gazprom is discussing the possibility of swapping its power assets with other companies besides Inter RAO, Interfax has reported, citing Denis Fedorov, CEO of Gazpromenergo Holding, which manages Gazprom's power assets.

The list of possible contenders could widen to include Finland's Fortum, which has a blocking stake in TGK-1 and controls the Russian Fortum (formerly known as TGK-10), and Integrated Energy Systems (IES), which controls TGK-5, TGK-6, TGK-7 and TGK-9. Since we do not have details on any possible deals, and since any deal is unlikely to take place on the open market (it is doubtful that Gazprom will increase its stakes by purchasing shares on the market), we believe the news has no immediate implications for the respective companies and is therefore NEUTRAL.

Gazprom had already considered increasing its stake in TGK-7 via asset swaps with Inter RAO, the terms of which are still being negotiated. Inter RAO is on track to obtain the stakes held by RusHydro, Federal Grid Company and the government in various GenCos, including ~33% of TGK-7 inter alia. At the same time, Inter RAO is in talks with Gazprom about possible asset swaps, but the specific assets it hopes to receive as part of this deal have not been disclosed.

Alexander Kornilov