Russia
Russia 100506
Basic Political Developments
• AP: Panel faults Obama on arms reduction treaty - The agreement does not require cuts in short-range or tactical nuclear weapons, which are significant to Russia's overall military posture, said Dimitri Simes, president of the Nixon Center.
• RIA: United States supports talks on new European security – Biden - "NATO is revising its "strategic concept," which contains the guiding principles for NATO's strategy to deal with security threats, to prepare the alliance for the challenges of the 21st century. Russia also has come forward with new ideas about European security," Biden said in an article published by The New York Times on Wednesday.
• Panarmenian: Moscow to host CIS, CSTO informal summit May 8
• RUVR: Security Council's "five" back nuclear-free zone in Mid East - Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has told the Voice of Russia he expects the Iranian delegation to make a constructive contribution to the conference. The full version of the interview will be posted on the VOR web site on Thursday.
• RUVR: Russia and the Arab League for talks on Iran - A statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry, placed on its Web site, says the same adding that all the participants of this meeting spoke for solving the Iranian issue by diplomatic means. An armed intervention, they all believe, would be a catastrophe for the entire Middle East region.
• Reuters: RPT-One pirate dead, 10 captured in Russia tanker rescue
• RIA: Russian tanker released from pirates, crew unharmed
• RIA: Russian tanker freed from Somali pirates, crew unscathed
• Itar-Tass: Russia ASW ship releases tanker crew seized by pirates
• Turkish Weekly: Turkish Energy & Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin will attend the signing ceremony of the 10th protocol of Turkey-Russia Joint Economic Committee in Ankara
• Regnum: Igor Sechin: Relations with Turkey under the ongoing supervision of the president and prime minister
• Bloomberg: Polish-Russian Gas Accord Delayed by EU, Rzeczpospolita Says
• Interfax: RUSSIA CONSIDERING PASSAGE OF INVESTIGATION FINDINGS ON TU-154 PLANE CRASH NEAR SMOLENSK TO POLAND – PROSECUTOR GENERAL CHAIKA
• WBJ: Smolensk investigation continues - Polish prosecutors are looking to interview as many potential witnesses to the tragedy as possible, to get clues as to what exactly went wrong on that tragic day.
• B92: Russian envoy welcomes street name changes - Russian Ambassador to Serbia Aleksandr Konuzin welcomed the Belgrade city authorities' decision to rename several streets after Russian generals. The streets in the Serbian capital will once again bear the names of Red Army's Marshall Tolbukhin and General Zhdanov.
Moscow Times: Yanukovych: If Gas Merger Is Considered, European Union Should Join Talks
• Russia Today: UK politics married with Russian blood - In just a few hours people in the UK will begin voting in one of the most tightly contested general election in decades. And as the election unfolds, it turns out there is Russian blood in British politics.
• .ru: Prime Minister Vladimir Putin meets with President Rustam Minnikhanov of Tatarstan
• Itar-Tass: Putin pleased by preparations for Universiade 2013 in Kazan
• Itar-Tass: Moscow mayor begins visit to Venezuela with helicopter flight over capital
• Gazeta.kz: Russia ratified agreement on Secretariat of Customs Union Commission
• Trend.az: Turkmen president to visit Russia - Turkmen President Gurbangulu Berdimuhammedov will pay a working visit to Russia's Astrakhan region May 7 upon Governor Alexander Zhilkin's invitation.
• Milaz: RUSSIA’S AMBASSADOR ABOUT FATE OF GABALA RADAR STATION - «The term of the contract on leading of the radar station expires in two years. We have time to take a decision which meets Russia’s and Azerbaijan’s interests, and the interests of common security in the region, » Dorokhin said.
• RIA: Space Shuttle may continue through next year - Roscosmos
• Interfax: Russia to launch 4 telecommunications satellites by 2015
• RIA: Russia deports 4 illegal Iranian immigrants -"The Iranians were arrested in the port of Vladivostok on May 3. They attempted to get illegally on board a Russian ship getting ready to leave the port on a trip to Japan," the official said.
• V-E DAY
o RUVR: Russia displeased with Lithuanian provocation - The Russian State Duma has expressed indignation at Lithuania’s ban on Soviet symbols during Victory Day celebrations.
o Trend.az: One of the Iskanders broke on Tverskaya
o RIA: UN set to hold special meeting to mark VE-Day anniversary
o RIA: U.S. warship to take part in Victory Day celebrations in Russia
o Vietnamnet: President to attend 65th anniversary of victory against Fascism
o B92: Tadić expected to attend Moscow parade - Leaders of more than 15 countries will attend the Moscow Victory Day parade on May 9, said reports. According to head of the Economic Department of the administration of the Russian President, Vladimir Kozin, the parade organization is in progress and leaders of Germany, France, Greece, Italy, Serbia, China, Slovenia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Vietnam, Latvia, Slovakia, Estonia, as well as the Council of Europe secretary general, are expected to attend the parade.
o Russia Today: Victory Day Parade: pilots to ‘sweat out’ precision flying
o Panorama.am: Moscow: Number of parade jets cut
o Milaz: ILHAM ALIYEV IS INVITED TO MOSCOW TO CELEBRATIONS OF 65TH ANNIVERSARY OF VICTORY
o Russia Today: Israel gives credit to Red Army after years of neglect
o Bloomberg: Russia Rallies 102,000 Soldiers to Mark World War II Victory
• Itar-Tass: Two gunmen killed in special operation in Ingushetia
• Komsomolskaya Pravda: In Ingushetia, destroyed one of the leaders bandpodpolya
• Interfax: Another priest killed in Chuvashia - Investigative Committee
• Itar-Tass: Cyclone hits Russia's Pacific coast, road wash-outs expected
• Interfax: Embassy of EU country may host Moscow gay pride parade this year, its organizer claims
• Moscow Times: The latest from Vedomosti
o Skolkovo Bringing Changes to Immigration Laws
o Cash-for-Clunkers to Be Extended Next Year
o Apple Could Face Antitrust Investigation
• Daily Mail: Lada to return to UK roads - no giggling: The new version is one of a number of cheap cars likely to be on sale for less than £5,000, undercutting some budget brands from Japan and Korea which have done well in the economic downturn. Many of the newcomers were originally produced for emerging nations.
• Guardian: Prosecutors seize £6.5m from Russian after money laundering inquiry
• Kremlin: Dmitry Medvedev signed the Federal Law On Amending the Federal Law On the Federal Budget for 2010 and the Planning Period of 2011-2012.
National Economic Trends
• Bloomberg: Russian Service Industries Grew ‘Sharply’ in April, VTB Says
• Prime-Tass: PMI: Russian service sector activity rises sharply in April
• Bloomberg: Ruble Heads for Biggest 3-Day Drop Versus Dollar in 5 Months
• Reuters: Russia c.bank injects 5.16 bln roubles via repos
• Moscow Times: Inflation Hits Lowest Level in 12 Years
• Bne: MOSCOW BLOG: The Greek tragedy, shades of 1998 - This time round, Russia is on the other side of the fence as one of the strong countries that will encounter little more than a bump on the path that leads back to strong growth.
Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions
• Bloomberg: Aeroflot, Lukoil, Mechel, Polyus, TNK-BP: Russia Equity Preview
• Dow Jones: VTB Enlarges Counterparty Pool, Sets Credit Limits –Vedomosti
• Dow Jones: Petropavlovsk 1Q Gold Output -37.3% On Year At 65,600 Oz
• Interfax: Petropavlovsk lowers gold output by 37% in Q1 (Part 2)
• RIA: Russia to provide bankrupt Sea Launch consortium with $30 million
• Bloomberg: RenCap Hires Credit Suisse’s Carter to Run Derivatives Team
• IT Web: Eugene Kaspersky wins prestigious CEO of the Year award
Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)
• Oil and Gas Eurasia: TNK-BP, IOCOI TO Set Up JV TO Develop Iraqi Fields
• Oil and Gas Eurasia: Verkhnechonskoye Oil Production Up 180 Percent In First Quarter
• Financial Times: TNK-BP to set up first Iraq venture
• Reuters: UPDATE 1-Russia's TNK-BP makes foray into Iraqi oil and gas
• Eurasianet: Russia Making New Push in Caspian Basin Energy Sector - by Sergei Blagov
• OilVoice: Belarus to Reduce Russian Oil Imports By 27%
Gazprom
• Itar-Tass: Gazprom confirms Naftogaz Ukrainy pays in full for gas supplied in April
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Full Text Articles
Basic Political Developments
AP: Panel faults Obama on arms reduction treaty
By BARRY SCHWEID (AP) – 10 hours ago
WASHINGTON — A panel of arms experts critical of the Obama administration claimed Wednesday that Russia bested the United States in a new treaty designed to reduce the two countries' arsenals of long-range nuclear weapons.
President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev last month signed the historic "New START" treaty, the first major nuclear weapons reduction accord in nearly two decades.
The agreement aims to reduce the number of strategic nuclear warheads in each arsenal to 1,500 over seven years, about a third less than the 2,200 currently permitted.
Obama and his advisers consider the treaty a major step toward the president's goal of a nuclear-free world. The pact, which Obama has not yet submitted to the Senate for ratification, would help reduce the role of nuclear weapons in U.S. security strategy.
Speaking at the Nixon Center, James R. Schlesinger, secretary of defense in the Nixon and Ford administrations, said the United States made substantial concessions to the Russians to seal the deal.
He said he would support ratification only if the Senate provides for new U.S. weapons not prohibited by the treaty.
Along those lines, Stephen Rademaker, assistant secretary of state for arms control in President George W. Bush's administration, said it was likely the treaty would be approved. But he said, he hoped senators would "ask questions" first about Russian development of new weapons.
"The treaty obligates the U.S. to reduce (its arsenal). The Russians don't have to do anything. They are there already," Rademaker said, referring to the treaty's lowered ceiling of 1,550 long-range nuclear warheads within seven years.
"Every hard issue in the treaty is favorable to the Russians," he said.
The agreement does not require cuts in short-range or tactical nuclear weapons, which are significant to Russia's overall military posture, said Dimitri Simes, president of the Nixon Center.
"While the treaty has addressed Russian concerns about U.S. missile defenses, there are no references in the treaty to major U.S. concerns about many thousands of Russian tactical weapons, particularly in Europe," Simes said.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has directed U.S. negotiators to begin talks on such cuts.
RIA: United States supports talks on new European security – Biden
03:3706/05/2010
The United States supports the discussion of a new European security architecture, the U.S. vice president said on the eve of his major European tour.
Joe Biden left Washington for Europe on Wednesday to discuss security and economic issues with NATO and European leaders and is expected to make a major address to the European parliament in Brussels.
"NATO is revising its "strategic concept," which contains the guiding principles for NATO's strategy to deal with security threats, to prepare the alliance for the challenges of the 21st century. Russia also has come forward with new ideas about European security," Biden said in an article published by The New York Times on Wednesday.
"These issues deserve thoughtful consideration and discussion," he said.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev proposed drawing up a new pan-European security pact in June 2008 and the issue became even more urgent after Russia and Georgia fought a five-day war over the Georgian breakaway republic of South Ossetia a month later.
Russia pushed ahead with a draft of the treaty on November 29, 2009, sending copies to heads of state and international organizations, including NATO.
World nations have been reluctant to support Russia's initiative, but gradually started to warm up to the proposal.
NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen has repeatedly said that Russia must be integrated more fully in Euro-Atlantic security.
Biden echoed Rasmussen's statements by saying: "We seek an open and increasingly united Europe in which all countries, including Russia, play their full roles."
BRUSSELS, May 6 (RIA Novosti)
Panarmenian: Moscow to host CIS, CSTO informal summit May 8
May 6, 2010 - 11:28 AMT [pic]06:28 GMT
- On invitation of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, CIS and CSTO member countries’ leaders will be in Moscow on May 8 for participation in an informal summit dedicated the 65th anniversary of the victory in Great Patriotic War, the Kremlin said.
Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents are also invited. No information on possible Sargsyan-Aliyev meeting is available.
RUVR: Security Council's "five" back nuclear-free zone in Mid East
May 6, 2010 10:11 Moscow Time
The five permanent members of the UN Security Council – Russia, the United States, China, Britain and France – have backed a proposal to establish a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East. The joint statement was released during the nonproliferation conference currently under way in New York. Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has told the Voice of Russia he expects the Iranian delegation to make a constructive contribution to the conference. The full version of the interview will be posted on the VOR web site on Thursday.
RUVR: Russia and the Arab League for talks on Iran
May 6, 2010 03:09 Moscow Time
At a meeting with the ambassadors of the Arab League member states and the head of the AL’s mission in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed that Russia stands for a dialogue with Iran on its nuclear problem and Iran’s broader cooperation with the IAEA. A statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry, placed on its Web site, says the same adding that all the participants of this meeting spoke for solving the Iranian issue by diplomatic means. An armed intervention, they all believe, would be a catastrophe for the entire Middle East region.
Reuters: RPT-One pirate dead, 10 captured in Russia tanker rescue
Thu May 6, 2010 11:55am IST
MOSCOW, May 6 (Reuters) - One Somali pirate was killed and 10 captured in an armed rescue mission by a Russian warship to free a Russian-owned oil tanker hijacked off the coast of Yemen, state-run RIA news agency said on Thursday.
Citing an unnamed Russian navy official, RIA said the Russian warship returned fire after the pirates started shooting, resulting in "the death of one of the pirates".
A Russian defence ministry official said earlier on Thursday all 23 crew on board the China-bound MV Moscow University tanker, which was seized on Wednesday with $52 million worth of crude oil, were alive and well following the rescue. (Reporting by Amie Ferris-Rotman; Editing by Louise Ireland)
RIA: Russian tanker released from pirates, crew unharmed
09:4806/05/2010
Russian sailors from the anti-ship cruiser Marshal Shaposhnikov have released a Russian tanker hijacked by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden, a high-ranking official from the maritime coalition forces said on Thursday.
According to the official, Navy forces made the decision to release the Moscow University tanker as they were aware the sailors had taken cover in an area inaccessible to the pirates on board the ship.
"Around 3.00 a.m. Moscow time [23:00 GMT], the anti-ship cruiser sailed out toward the tanker's location to assess the situation using technical equipment. Then the decision on conducting a special operation was made. During the operation, none of the Russians was injured," the official said adding the pirates had been detained.
The official said the crew from the Marshal Shaposhnikov was currently on board the tanker.
The incident with Moscow University tanker has become the most notorious case after the Arctic Sea cargo vessel was hijacked on the way to Finland last summer. The Russian Black Fleet sailors then freed Arctic Sea.
The Moscow University tanker with 23 Russian crewmembers and 86,000 tons of oil was hijacked by Somali pirates on Wednesday around 8.00 a.m. Moscow time [04:00 GMT], when it was on its way from the Red Sea to China. The pirates attacked the Russian vessel 350 miles east of the Gulf of Aden.
The captain of the tanker was able to get in touch with the Russian warship by phone and called for help.
A Russian Pacific Fleet task force comprising the Marshal Shaposhnikov, the MB-37 salvage tug and the Pechenga tanker arrived in the Gulf of Aden on March 29 to join the anti-piracy mission in the pirate-infested region.
The Marshal Shaposhnikov has two helicopters and an infantry unit on board.
The Russian Prosecutor General's Office has opened a criminal case on charges of piracy over the seizure of the Russian vessel.
Somali pirates carried out a record number of attacks and hijackings in 2009. According to the Piracy Reporting Center of the International Maritime Bureau, a total of 217 vessels were attacked last year, resulting in 47 hijackings.
MOSCOW, May 6 (RIA Novosti)
RIA: Russian tanker freed from Somali pirates, crew unscathed
08:4806/05/2010
Russian sailors from the anti-ship cruiser Marshal Shaposhnikov on Thursday freed a Russian tanker hijacked by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden, a high-ranking official from the maritime coalition forces has reported.
The Moscow University with 23 Russian crewmembers and 86,000 tons of oil was hijacked by Somali pirates on Wednesday.
The official said the crew was unharmed and the pirates have been detained, adding that the Russian Navy crew from the Marshal Shaposhnikov was currently on board the tanker.
MOSCOW, May 6 (RIA Novosti)
Itar-Tass: Russia ASW ship releases tanker crew seized by pirates
06.05.2010, 08.54
MOSCOW, May 6 (Itar-Tass) - Russia’s large antisubmarine warfare ship Marshal Shaposhnikov has released the crew of the tanker Moskovsky Universitet (Moscow University) that was seized by pirates in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday, the Russia 24 television channel reported.
The warship of the Russian Pacific Fleet that approached overnight to Thursday the drifting tanker with 23 Russians on board and released the crew. The tanker, owned by the Russian company Novoship, is flying the Liberian flag. The particulars of the operation are being specified.
Turkish Weekly: DIARY - Political and General News Events (6 May 2010)
5- Turkish Energy & Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin will attend the signing ceremony of the 10th protocol of Turkey-Russia Joint Economic Committee in Ankara. (10:30 a.m.)
Regnum: Igor Sechin: Relations with Turkey under the ongoing supervision of the president and prime minister
GOOGLE TRANSLATION
Turkey is one of Russia's major trading partners, said on May 5 Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin at the opening meeting of the tenth of the Russian-Turkish intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation in Ankara. "For Russia it is very important relations with Turkey, and our country must do more to deepen those ties. Questions of Russian-Turkish cooperation under the direct current control as our Heads of State and Government," - he said.
As reported by CNN-Turk, Sechin said that the meeting of the Russian-Turkish intergovernmental commission at a very important relationship between the two states: "Relations with Turkey attached great importance to both the president and prime minister of Russia. A few days later visited Turkey on an official visit Head of State ".
Sechin said that energy is one of those areas of cooperation with Turkey, which Russia recently attaches particular importance. "This is nuclear power, the supply of Russian gas, oil and oil products in Turkey, the project Samsun-Ceyhan oil pipeline, cooperation in power," - he explained.
In the framework of the intergovernmental commission, the Russian delegation also hopes to achieve concrete results in several areas, not related to energy. In the particular case of transport, cooperation in production and supply of machinery and equipment, aviation, shipbuilding, metallurgy.
"As you know, now in Turkey sold a large project to build a steel complex with the participation of major Russian companies" - said Sechin. In addition to the agenda included a large number of corporate documents that are in development stage between companies, including Rosneft, Transneft and Gazprom. "From the Russian companies are very keen interest to cooperate with Turkish partners," - added Sechin.
In turn, co-chair of the intergovernmental commission on Turkey's Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said that "relations between the two countries reached the level of strategic partnership and now our goal to bring the relationship to an even higher level."
Note within two days of working groups to hold talks on cooperation in such spheres as energy, trade, transport, agriculture, industry, tourism, customs, would be reflected in the final minutes of the meeting of the intergovernmental commission. One of the main issues, which are expected to be discussed at the intergovernmental commission will be a project to build Turkey's first nuclear power plant. Co-Chair of the Turkish part of the commission, Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said earlier about the need to enter the final stretch of negotiations with Russia on the construction of nuclear power plants by May. Turkey ranks fifth among foreign trade partners of Russia, and Russia - the first in the foreign trade of Turkey. Russian-Turkish trade turnover in 2008 reached, according to Russian data, a record amount of $ 33.8 billion, and according to Turkish statistics - 38 billion. Despite the decline in turnover last year, figures from the world economic crisis, the parties consider it quite feasible task to maintain high rates of economic interaction and over the next five years to increase turnover to $ 100 billion
According to official figures, the Turkish investments in Russia amount to 6 billion, and Russian investments in Turkey reached $ 4 billion.
Bloomberg: Polish-Russian Gas Accord Delayed by EU, Rzeczpospolita Says
By Maciej Martewicz
May 6 (Bloomberg) -- The Polish government won’t sign an agreement with Russia securing gas supplies before answering questions asked by the European Commission in a letter last week, Rzeczpospolita reported today.
The commission has doubts on whether the agreement, already signed by Poland’s Polskie Gornictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo SA and Russia’s OAO Gazprom, is in line with EU internal market rules, the newspaper said, citing Maciej Kaliski, who heads the Polish Economy Ministry’s gas and oil department.
Kaliski plans to meet commission representatives to answer the questions and only then will the two governments be able to ratify the transaction, which secures gas deliveries until 2037, the newspaper said.
Poland and Russia were scheduled to sign the agreement next week, according to Rzeczpospolita.
To contact the reporter on this story: Maciej Martewicz in Warsaw at mmartewicz@
Last Updated: May 6, 2010 00:40 EDT
11:26
Interfax: RUSSIA CONSIDERING PASSAGE OF INVESTIGATION FINDINGS ON TU-154 PLANE CRASH NEAR SMOLENSK TO POLAND – PROSECUTOR GENERAL CHAIKA
WBJ: Smolensk investigation continues
6th May 2010
Poland's prosecutors want to interview Russian pilots
As the investigation continues into the April 10 crash that killed Poland's president and 95 others over Smolensk, Polish prosecutors now want to interview the pilots of a Russian military plane that attempted the same landing around an hour before the Polish Tu-154 crashed, killing everyone aboard.
In the end, the Russian plane abandoned the landing attempt and flew to Moscow instead, since there was already a dense fog over Smolensk, reports Rzeczpospolita.
Polish prosecutors are looking to interview as many potential witnesses to the tragedy as possible, to get clues as to what exactly went wrong on that tragic day.
Source: Rzeczpospolita
B92: Russian envoy welcomes street name changes
6 May 2010 | 09:35 | Source: Tanjug
BELGRADE -- Russian Ambassador to Serbia Aleksandr Konuzin welcomed the Belgrade city authorities' decision to rename several streets after Russian generals.
The streets in the Serbian capital will once again bear the names of Red Army's Marshall Tolbukhin and General Zhdanov.
Konuzin said that this meant “historical and human justice has been achieved”.
“The names of the Soviet and Yugoslav heroes and of the liberating army will remind the people of Belgrade of our common heroic past,” Konuzin said in a statement for RTS and Tanjug.
“I am glad the city authorities made this decision ahead of the 65th anniversary of the great victory over fascism. This makes for an even greater celebration,” the Russian ambassador said.
Moscow Times: Yanukovych: If Gas Merger Is Considered, European Union Should Join Talks
06 May 2010
Combined Reports
The European Union should be part of any talks between Kiev and Moscow to merge their national gas companies, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych said Wednesday.
The comment, Yanukovych's first public reaction to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's proposal last week, could upset Moscow, which wants to sideline the EU from the process.
"If we decide to begin talks [about the merger] we should include the EU at a certain stage as the main consumer of gas and the main partner," Yanukovych said.
"The most important thing for Ukrainian national interests is that its gas-transportation system is reliable," he said. Ukraine can upgrade its pipelines to pump as much as 200 billion cubic meters per year within five years, up from 120 billion cubic meters now, he added.
Putin proposed last week merging Gazprom and Naftogaz Ukrainy, to the surprise of industry experts and outcry of Ukrainian opposition.
The move could give Moscow control over Kiev's gas transit network, which ships a fifth of Europe's gas consumption and has been a headache for the Kremlin in past years when Kiev suspended supplies during pricing disputes.
Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said last week that the deal would most likely take the form of an equity swap between the two firms. Gazprom may use about 5 percent of its own shares to acquire Naftogaz, Kommersant reported Tuesday, citing Peskov.
Some industry experts have said Putin is taking advantage of the Greek crisis, which is dominating the EU's attention and efforts, to quietly take control of Ukrainian gas pipelines.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov told reporters in Kiev that any unification of Gazprom and Naftogaz Ukrainy must be mutually beneficial.
He also said Kiev would seek to decouple the price it pays for Russian gas supplies from international oil prices after gaining a discount on supplies and easing contract terms.
“We have achieved a lot. We got rid of fines and the take-or-pay principle,” Azarov said. “They understood we aren’t happy with this formula.”
Naftogaz said Wednesday that it paid more than $419 million for April gas imports from Russia, which included a discount of $100 per 1,000 cubic meters of fuel.
(Bloomberg, Reuters)
Russia Today: UK politics married with Russian blood
06 May, 2010, 07:27
In just a few hours people in the UK will begin voting in one of the most tightly contested general election in decades. And as the election unfolds, it turns out there is Russian blood in British politics.
It is only since this election campaign that Nick Clegg, the leader of the UK’s third main political party, has become a household name. He is also being hailed as a genuine Russian aristocrat.
Clegg’s grandmother was a Russian baroness, and her mother was the daughter of an Attorney General in the Russian Imperial Senate.
" The family is of Polish origin and became prominent in Russia from the first half of the 18th Century, largely due to the fact that one of Clegg’s direct ancestors married the sister of a Russian Count who was the husband of Empress Elizabeth of Russia," says Oleg Sherbachev of the Moscow Nobility Assembly told RT.
“Alexandra Ignatyevna’s brother, Platon Ignatyevich, was a gentleman of His Majesty’s court prior to the 1917 Revolution and served as a diplomat in different embassies, including in Berlin. This family tree is generally typical of a Russian noble family,” he added.
Like many dispossessed Russian aristocrats, Clegg can even lay claim to a tumbledown estate in modern-day Ukraine. This is Berezova Rudka, where there is still a two-storey mansion and, extraordinarily, a pyramid. It was built by Clegg’s great-great grandfather. Locals are understandably proud of the structure.
“There are only two like this in Europe,” said local resident Nikolay Pedish. “Tourists from all over Ukraine and the rest of the world come here to see our pyramid. That is why we take care of it and clear away wild bushes.”
“Some time ago, bulldozers came and tried to demolish the pyramid,” added residents Maria Maksimova and Zhanna Kostenko. “They tried and tried, but the structure did not even budge. This shows that is was built to last.”
However, Nick Clegg is far from the only person in a position of power in the UK with Russian connections. Others include Foreign Secretary David Miliband, London mayor Boris Johnson and Conservative leader David Cameron.
There are also skeletons in the Clegg family closet, and ones that do not necessarily tie in with his liberal views. His great-great aunt, Moura Budberg, was almost certainly a double agent, working for both the British and the Soviet Union after the Bolsheviks seized power in 1917. Her lovers supposedly included Herbert George Wells, Maxim Gorky and Robert Bruce Lockhart, the British spy chief who inspired the James Bond stories.
Nick Clegg has experienced a meteoric rise to prominence during this general election campaign and is now a serious contender in the May 6th vote. And with Conservative leader David Cameron’s Russian connection, too, there is a two in three chance that the next resident of 10 Downing Street will be descended from the Russian aristocracy.
5 May 21:49
.ru: Prime Minister Vladimir Putin meets with President Rustam Minnikhanov of Tatarstan
Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:
Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, Mr Minnikhanov,
Figures show that your republic performed well in the first quarter: GRP and industrial production both increased. By how much?
Rustam Minnikhanov: Good afternoon, Mr Prime Minister,
Yes, we did well in the first quarter. Industrial production and GRP increased by 8% and 6.5% respectively. We resolved the situation in the petrochemical industry, and it's growing well now. Machinery manufacturing is lagging somewhat. This is because of the difficult situation in the automotive industry, where there are some shortfalls.
I believe if this trend continues the labour market will stabilise. We cannot say that the situation has improved greatly here, but the federal programmes, which were implemented in our republic and continued into this year, did prop up the labour market.
The first programme entailed a series of measures to support the labour market, and this really helped stabilise the situation.
The second programme was intended to support the automotive industry. And the third programme entailed recycling old cars. People really like this programme, and we believe it could even be expanded in the future to include old cars...
Vladimir Putin: Lorries you mean.
Rustam Minnikhanov: Yes, lorries.
As far as agriculture, there was a small decline, but we almost reached the level... Well, of course this is because last winter was...
Vladimir Putin: Were winter crops affected?
Rustam Minnikhanov: Yes, at least half of them were affected, to the best of my knowledge. It's the most serious disaster in the history of agriculture in Tatarstan.
Nevertheless, spring planting has started as planned; 54% of cultivated land has been planted so far. We plan to finish planting grain cultures by May 9, and we'll need to plant potatoes after that.
Vladimir Putin: But winter crops have been destroyed. Shouldn't these fields be sowed with new seeds?
Rustam Minnikhanov: Winter crops will be sowed again. We have a good stock of seeds, and we have the capabilities to sow them, but it'll be very costly. I will probably have to call on the agricultural producers that took out loans to use the so-called loan holidays. I think that would work. The situation is difficult in several other regions as well as in Tatarstan. So we'll have to appeal to them.
Vladimir Putin: All right.
Rustam Minnikhanov: As far as other industries, work is well underway there. You supported the oil refinery project, which we'll commission in autumn, although this work is complicated...
Vladimir Putin: You'll finish construction?
Rustam Minnikhanov: Yes, we will finish construction. Over 7,000 people are employed at the construction site. We have used 140 billion roubles, and I presume we'll have used 200 billion roubles by the end of this year. We'll finish this refinery, which is critical here, and will continue building up the petrochemical industry in general.
We'd like to double the previous output, seven million, to refine not seven, we already have seven, but another seven million tonnes, plus another seven later, reaching a total of 20 million tonnes of oil. We believe that Russia must refine as much oil as possible and produce more petrochemical products. We have everything to achieve this - we have the experience and the specialists.
Naturally, we received significant support through the Student Games project. Thank you very much for this. It's like another anti-recessionary programme for us. Have no doubt that we've learnt how to design projects. We produce all necessary commodities in Tatarstan, including polymers. We have improved the quality of our commodities thanks to this programme.
We have paid special attention to supporting small and medium-sized businesses. We have chosen a special site for this purpose, and it's proved suitable. Tatarstan is a petrochemical republic. We produce a lot of polymers, including polystyrene, polyethylene and polypropylene.
I'd like to mention one more project that was supported by the Investment Fund and the Ministry of Regional Development. We have two modern production facilities that allow us produce import substitutes. They are located in the single-industry town of Kamskiye Polyany. We currently produce thread and stretch film, and are planning to expand these projects.
We're launching a cutting-edge new facility at Kamaz.
It's true that the area of the production facilities decreased during the recession, but the number of residents remained the same. In addition to federal support, we enacted our own measures to protect jobs.
Another major project that we've been thoroughly preparing for is the joint Fiat-Sollers project. We've decided on the site already. It'll be the special economic zone; it fits all parameters perfectly. This zone is the best we can offer.
Our plans go beyond the construction of this plant. Vadim Shvetsov (Director General of Sollers) and I discussed the creation of a new facility to produce car parts. We've worked it out with leading international parts manufacturers, and they are eager to work here.
Vladimir Putin: Where?
Rustam Minnikhanov: In the special economic zone. They have already carried out some preliminary studies, but they have one requirement: they want ready-made facilities.
We're considering this option. It will be a big modern production facility at 350,000 to 400,000 square metres. We'll also draw up a programme. I'd like to make a report to you, if possible. It'll be a very important step.
Vladimir Putin: Good.
Itar-Tass: Putin pleased by preparations for Universiade 2013 in Kazan
06.05.2010, 05.41
KAZAN, May 6 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said he was pleased by the preparations for the World University Games, also known as Universiade, to be held in Kazan in 2013.
“All deadlines are met, and this is very important. Work is well organised,” he said at a meeting in Kazan on Wednesday.
The average cost of building new facilities is 30,000-32,000 roubles per square metre, which is acceptable. A total of 350,000 square metres of premises will be built for the games.
“This is a big volume. And this means an extra serious workload for the republic’s construction industry during the crisis,” Putin said.
Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov said athletes would compete during the Summer Universiade in 26 sports at 64 sport facilities, including 36 new and 28 renovated ones.
Kazan has been building sport facilities since 2009. Eighteen of 36 of new facilities have already been commissioned. Another nine facilities are to be completed by the end of this year.
“We will commission the rowing canal and a water sports palace in 2011, and a football stadium in 2012,” Minnikhanov said, adding that Kazan had brought design documentation for the football stadium in line with FIFA requirements because Russia will bid for hosting the world cup championship.
Kazan is also building the Universiade Village that includes housing, catering, health, and training facilities. The first stage of the Village will be commissioned this year.
“All sport facilities should be commissioned not later than July 2012 for test competitions in 26 sports. We are confident that we will comply with the schedule and complete all work on time,” Minnikhanov said.
Preparations to the World University Games also include measure to revamp the city's transport infrastructure, including overhaul of the city' s international airport to bring its passenger capacity up to five million passengers a year. A total of 5.96 billion roubles have already been allocated for these purposes.
It is also planned to improve railway and river transport infrastructure. It is planned to build a railway branch from the international airport.
A total of 10.97 billion roubles were allocated from the federal budget to finance the construction of the Universiade facilities in 2009, and 9.9 billion roubles more will be spent in 2010.
By April 2010, 11 sports facilities had been commissioned, and seven more are planned to be put into operation in May, and another eight, including a boxing, a gymnastics, and a volleyball centres, will be opened in the period from June to December.
After the University Games are over, control of11 out of the Universiade sports facilities will be transferred to Kazan-based higher educational establishments, and the Village will accommodate the Institute of Fundamental Research in the Area of Sports and a training centre for Russian sports teams.
Kazan, which was for the first time ever chosen to host World University Games in 2013, will host them in a worthy manner, the city’s Mayor Ilsur Metshin said earlier.
“The Games budget exceeds 300 billion roubles,” Metshin said, adding, that 39 billion roubles will be spend for finishing the construction of the first line of Kazan's subway with six underground stations.
Besides, 62 billion roubles will be spent on the construction of 130 kilometres of the city roads with 17 junctions, and 11 billion roubles on the construction of the Games-2013 village for 10,000 sportsmen, Metshin said.
“All the facilities for the 27th World University Games will be built in due time and in compliance with international sports standards,” the mayor said.
Kazan, which is more than 1,000 years old, remains a young city, the mayor stressed. A total of 180,000 students from 15 countries of the world study at its 30 higher educational establishments. The city is developing dynamically, and the amount of investments has grown almost fivefold over the recent years.
Major forums of the federal and international scope, world, Russian and European championships are held in the city. Kazan boasts unique sports facilities and more are under construction.
Metshin believes that Kazan may become the centre of summer sports in the country after Universiade 2013.
The mayor expressed confidence that the Universiade will raise the thousand-old city “to a totally new orbit in the world of sports”.
“The infrastructure built for the Universiade can be used for 20 years as a minimum,” he added.
All sport facilities meet the requirements applicable to competitions of the highest level. “After the Unversiade, Kazan will be able to host Olympic Games too,” Metshin said.
Itar-Tass: Moscow mayor begins visit to Venezuela with helicopter flight over capital
06.05.2010, 06.01
CARACAS, May 6 (Itar-Tass) -- Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov began his visit to Venezuela with a helicopter flight over its capital of Caracas on Wednesday.
During the hour-long tour, Luzhkov was accompanied by Public Works and Housing Minister Diosdado Cabello, Caracas Mayor Jorge Rodriguez, Head of Government of the Capital District Jacqueline Faria, and members of the Moscow delegation.
Luzhkov and Cabello spent the whole flight by the wide open door. “We had learnt quite a lot before coming to Caracas. Our forward group was here and it was received by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez,” Luzhkov told Itar-Tass and the TV-Tsentr television company.
The mayor said he had “fundamentally studied the materials” submitted by the forward group in Moscow. “But when we took a look at all this [from aboard the helicopter], we got a better idea of the problems and the scale of the tasks,” he said.
According to different estimates, 5-7 million people live in Caracas, including about two million in makeshift housing.
The purpose of the visit to Venezuela is to develop bilateral cooperation in the field of housing construction, primarily for low-income people.
This is a new area of economic cooperation pursued under bilateral agreements made during Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s visit to Venezuela on April 2 and his talks with Chavez.
“We have come here at the invitation of President Hugo Chavez, and I was instructed by Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin to study the situation and look for measures related to the possibilities of Moscow and Russian construction firms in order to help build housing for those who have all reasons to leave their shack and move into decent flats,” Luzhkov said.
The delegation accompanying the Moscow mayor includes “specialists working in the field of city planning”, those who “deal with construction” and “ensure water supply because this is a big problem for heavily-populated poor districts of Caracas”, he said.
The delegation will meet with Public Works and Housing Minister Diosdado Cabello and senior officials in his ministry, and have meetings at the mayor’s office and the municipal administration.
“A meeting with President Hugo Chavez will draw a line under our first visit,” Luzhkov said. “We will try not to waste time because we have to return to Moscow by the [VE Day] holiday. We will try to work hard and substantively here during the next two or two and a half days.”
Gazeta.kz: Russia ratified agreement on Secretariat of Customs Union Commission
11:44 06.05.2010
text: "Kazakhstan Today"
Almaty. May 6. Kazakhstan Today - The President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev, signed the Federal Law on ratification of the agreement on Secretariat of the Customs Union Commission, the agency reports citing the press service of the president of the Russian Federation.
The Federal Law ratifies the agreement on Secretariat of the Customs Union Commission signed in Moscow on December 12, 2008. The agreement positions agree on the functions of the secretariat as a working body of the Customs Union Commission.
The secretariat organizes the work of the Interstate Council of the Eurasian Economic Community - the supreme body of the Customs Union, the Customs Union Commission and their information-technical maintenance. The articles of the agreement define organizational structure of the secretariat, regulate the order of personnel recruitment, a specific character of its employees.
Trend.az: Turkmen president to visit Russia
06.05.2010 11:37
Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, May 6 / Trend H.Hasanov /
Turkmen President Gurbangulu Berdimuhammedov will pay a working visit to Russia's Astrakhan region May 7 upon Governor Alexander Zhilkin's invitation.
"The forthcoming visit will provide a new impetus to improving the relations of Turkmenistan and the Astrakhan region," the Astrakhan Region International and Foreign Economic Relations Ministry reported.
During the visit, the sides will hold talks on mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation.
Berdimuhammedov also expected to visit the Krasnie Barrikadi Shipyard.
A wreath-laying ceremony will also be held at the Eternal Fire in the Brotherly Garden and at a monument to Turkmen hero Magtymguly Fragi.
The sides established contractual relations in 2008 with the signing of an agreement between the Astrakhan region and Turkmenistan on trade and economic, scientific and cultural cooperation.
Trade turnover between the region and Turkmenistan amounted to $14.86 million in 2009, which doubled the 2008 figure.
Milaz: RUSSIA’S AMBASSADOR ABOUT FATE OF GABALA RADAR STATION
09:27 06-05-2010
Determination of the Gabala radar station’s fate will take into account Azerbaijan’s and Russia’s interests, security in the region, Russia’s ambassador to Azerbaijan Vladimir Dorokhin told journalists.
Lately some mass media wrote about Moscow’s intention to prolong the term of radar station’s leasing for 20 other years, but Dorokhin refused to comment on the information.
«The term of the contract on leading of the radar station expires in two years. We have time to take a decision which meets Russia’s and Azerbaijan’s interests, and the interests of common security in the region, » Dorokhin said.
Concerning the agreement on delimitation of the two states’ borders Dorokhin said that it requires several months of technical work, for making geographic maps which will be applied to the contract.
Concerning the question the water division on the border Samur river Dorokhin said that they adopted decision on joint use of water resources. Concerning the request to comment on the appeal of Dagestan’s parliament to Russia’s government about providing of pedestrian’s subways in the two states’ border Dorokhin said that the situation in the passport control on the border across Samur river is not satisfactory. Creation of subways would save time for cars, he said.
RIA: Space Shuttle may continue through next year - Roscosmos
10:4606/05/2010
The U.S. Space Shuttle program may not come to an end this year, Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos said in a statement, citing International Space Station (ISS) manager.
According to Michael Suffredini, the space shuttle Atlantis may be launched to the ISS in summer 2011.
"In this case, additional scientific equipment and components for system of water regeneration from condensate could be delivered to the U.S. segment of the station," the statement said. "However, funding for this flight has not been provided so far."
The U.S. flights program was planned to be closed this year. The final flight to the ISS was due to be made by shuttle Endeavour on November 26 when Discovery is supposed to make its last trip in September.
After the Space Shuttle program is closed, Russian Soyuz spaceships will take NASA astronauts to the ISS.
MOSCOW, May 6 (RIA Novosti)
Interfax: Russia to launch 4 telecommunications satellites by 2015
Today at 10:10 | Interfax-Ukraine
Moscow, May 6 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia plans to launch four domestic telecommunications satellites into orbit by 2015, said Alexander Zharov, Deputy Minister of Communications and Mass Media.
"The federal target program for television broadcasting development during the period up tol 2015 involves the construction and launch of four satellites," Zharov said at a briefing in Moscow on Wednesday, which focused on the results of a meeting of senior ministry officials and the Sviaz-Expocomm-2010 communications fair.
The business plans of state company Kosmicheskaya Svyaz (Space Connection), which will participate in the fair, include several of its own space projects which the company is going to implement fully at its own expense, Zharov said.
RIA: Russia deports 4 illegal Iranian immigrants
05:4906/05/2010
Russia is deporting four Iranian citizens who have attempted to sneak on board a Russian ship bound to Japan, a spokesman for the borderguards service in Russia's Far East said on Thursday.
"The Iranians were arrested in the port of Vladivostok on May 3. They attempted to get illegally on board a Russian ship getting ready to leave the port on a trip to Japan," the official said.
According to the preliminary investigation, the Iranians have legally arrived in Russia via Moscow and have traveled by train to Vladivostok.
They failed to register with the local immigration authorities and planned to sneak on board a Russian ship to get to Japan.
On May 4, a local court fined the foreigners 2,000 rubles ($67) each and ordered to deport them to Iran.
The official said it was the first arrest of illegal Iranian immigrants in Russia's Far East in 2010.
In 2009, Russian borderguards detained a total of 25 Iranians who tried to travel illegally to Japan from two ports in Russia's Far East.
"Eleven Iranians have been deported and the remaining immigrants agreed to voluntarily return to Iran on their own," the spokesman said.
VLADIVOSTOK, May 6 (RIA Novosti)
V-E DAY
RUVR: Russia displeased with Lithuanian provocation
|May 6, 2010 12:14 Moscow Time |
The Russian State Duma has expressed indignation at Lithuania’s ban on Soviet symbols during Victory Day celebrations. Commenting upon this obvious provocation, Deputy Speaker Alexander Babakov, a member of A Just Russia Party, said that veterans of the Anti-Hitler Coalition worldwide always used Soviet symbols, when paying tribute to their killed brothers-in-arms. Vilnius apparently doesn’t identify itself as part of Europe, which has sent its military delegations to participate in the May 9th Victory Parade on Red Square, the diplomat said. In Lithuania, the end of World War II is sometimes associated with the Soviet occupation of the country, which continued until the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Trend.az: One of the Iskanders broke on Tverskaya
GOOGLE TRANSLATION
06/05/2010 13:00
One of the cars involved in the dress rehearsal of the Victory Parade in Red Square, went down and was unable to continue on Tverskaya Street in the direction of Red Square. This operational-tactical range Iskander missile.
The incident occurred when about 10:50 a column of military equipment passing the mayor of Moscow. One of the cars of "Iskander" included alarms went down and stood on the roadside. The rest of the column continued to move for passage of the Red Square, Interfax reported.
After about 10 minutes to stop a car with TCI Iskander turned on Tverskaya Street, and again got into line with military equipment, which was returning after a rehearsal parade on Red Square Khodynskoye field, told it to.
Tactical Iskander systems change by the Russian Army missile systems "Point-Y. In the battle kit rocket complex Iskander can be as ballistic and cruise missiles. They are designed to engage groups of troops, command posts, air control centers, launch and indirect fire rockets and artillery. Missile range - up to 500 kilometers.
RIA: UN set to hold special meeting to mark VE-Day anniversary
02:2506/05/2010
The UN General Assembly will hold on Thursday a special meeting dedicated to the 65th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War.
The proposal to hold a meeting to commemorate the VE-Day was put forward by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev last September and supported by the majority of UN member countries.
The event will open with statements by President of the 64th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Ali Abdussalam Treki, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, followed by addresses delivered by speakers from about 20 countries.
The Russian permanent mission at the UN will hold a formal reception later on Thursday and a classical music concert on Friday.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Russia's St. George ribbons have been distributed among UN diplomats and World War II veterans in the United States.
The campaign, started by RIA Novosti and the Student Community youth organization, commemorates the heroes of the eastern front and involves hundreds of partners in Russia and abroad.
More than 55 million orange-and-black ribbons have been distributed across the globe since the campaign was first held in 2005. Ahead of the Victory Day, people in many countries decorate their cars, clothes and everything else with the ribbons as an expression of their respect to those who fell during the war.
Orange and black are the traditional colors of Soviet and Russian awards for achievements in combat. The black and orange stripes symbolize smoke and fire.
UNITED NATIONS, May 6 (RIA Novosti)
RIA: U.S. warship to take part in Victory Day celebrations in Russia
06:4706/05/2010
The U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet command ship USS Blue Ridge will arrive in Vladivostok on Friday to take part in festivities dedicated to the 65th anniversary of the Allied victory in the World War II.
"Seventh Fleet Commander, Vice Adm. John M. Bird, will also arrive in Vladivostok. He will attend the celebrations and hold a number of official meetings," a spokesman for the U.S. Consulate-General in Russia's Far East told RIA Novosti on Thursday.
The official said the Blue Ridge crew would take part in a military parade in downtown Vladivostok to symbolize the allied relations between the United States and Russia during the Second World War.
The cultural agenda of the visit includes a "culinary duel" between the U.S. and Russian sailors, a number of sport events, and visits to local schools and children's hospitals.
The world famous Seventh Fleet Band will perform several concerts at various events and on the streets of Vladivostok.
As the flagship of the U.S. Seventh Fleet, Blue Ridge provides the capability for seagoing command and control of theater level forces by naval and joint commanders during peacetime or conflict, and provides naval support for U.S. diplomatic initiatives and objectives.
In July 2006, the warship paid an official visit to Vladivostok along with Vice Admiral Jonathan W. Greenert, then Commander of U.S. 7th Fleet.
VLADIVOSTOK, May 6 (RIA Novosti)
Vietnamnet: President to attend 65th anniversary of victory against Fascism
Last update 09:15, Thursday, 06/05/2010 (GMT+7)
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VietNamNet Bridge - President Nguyen Minh Triet will attend the 65th anniversary of celebrations the victory over fascism in Moscow on May 9 at the invitation of Russian President D. Medvedev.
He will also visit the Republic of Kalmykia of the Russian Federation from May 8-12, Belarus from May 13-16, Switzerland from May 16-19 and Finland from May 19-22, according to the Foreign Ministry.
The visits will be made at the invitations of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Kalmykian President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Swiss President Doris Leuthard and Finnish President Tarja Halonen.
B92: Tadić expected to attend Moscow parade
28 April 2010 | 09:57 | Source: Tanjug
MOSCOW -- Leaders of more than 15 countries will attend the Moscow Victory Day parade on May 9, said reports.
Serbian President Boris Tadić is expected to be among them, it has been announced in Moscow.
According to head of the Economic Department of the administration of the Russian President, Vladimir Kozin, the parade organization is in progress and leaders of Germany, France, Greece, Italy, Serbia, China, Slovenia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Vietnam, Latvia, Slovakia, Estonia, as well as the Council of Europe secretary general, are expected to attend the parade.
Kozin also said that the presidents of the United States of America, Ukraine, Belorus and British prime minister will not come to Moscow, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.
After the parade, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is scheduled to hold a reception at Kremlin for the World War II veterans, the agency said.
Russia Today: Victory Day Parade: pilots to ‘sweat out’ precision flying
06 May, 2010, 06:00
With Victory Day approaching, Moscow is preparing for a grand military parade with the final rehearsal on Thursday and Russia’s air fleet is doing its best to surprise and impress.
The fleet: 127 planes and helicopters.
The target: Red Square.
The mission: Victory Day Parade.
This year's show will be held both on the ground and in the skies. Pilots know how to hit the spot when it comes to impressing the crowd.
“We are working hard to contain the configuration of the aircraft and the distance between them,” said second squadron commander lieutenant colonel Aleksey Rakhmatulaev. “And when everything is right, it is definitely something you will not forget!”
Aleksey has been piloting MI-8 choppers since 1991. However, even for experienced pilots, the parade is always a sweat breaker.
The aircraft making up the fleet are extremely different – from transport helicopters to jet fighters and strategic bombers. However, during the parade all have to fly at the same speed of around 500 kilometers per hour just three hundred metres over Red Square.
“Strong winds can really be a problem for us, especially those coming from the side. The guys did worry a bit at one point, but did fine in the end,” said Training Center head Major General Aleksandr Chernyaev.
Back on the ground, the aircrafts are accompanied by a mixture of battlefield equipment – from the legendary T-34s, also known as Victory tanks, which played a key role in Hitler's defeat, to some of the most advanced equipment such as the Topol-M nuclear warhead launching system.
In total, over 10,000 troops, including those from members of the Anti-Hitler coalition, Britain, France and the US, will take part in the march.
With the parade taking place both in the skies above and on Red Square itself, this year's V-day promises to be an impressive show.
Meanwhile, decorations have been displayed all around, dipping the whole city in the atmosphere of 1945.
Panorama.am: Moscow: Number of parade jets cut
RF armed space forces decided to cut the number of jets and airliners to perform a parade during Great Parade devoted to the victory of Great Patriotic War, hence 96 jets except of 127 will fly in the sky, “Ria Novosti” reported referring to the press service of the Defense Ministry.
The reason to make such changes on the eve of Parade has been the bad weather conditions. “Our focus is helicopters, and we’ll have to cut the number of jets,” Defense Minister said.
Source: Panorama.am
Milaz: ILHAM ALIYEV IS INVITED TO MOSCOW TO CELEBRATIONS OF 65TH ANNIVERSARY OF VICTORY
09:28 06-05-2010
President Ilham Aliyev has been invited to Moscow to celebrations of 65th anniversary of the victory over fascism in Moscow on May 9, according to Russia’s ambassador to Azerbaijan Vladimir Dorokhin at the ceremony of awarding 27 veterans of the Great Patriotic War the jubilee medals. He expressed assurance that Aliyev will accept an invitation. Russia’s embassy has organized trip of four Azerbaijan’s veterans to military parade in Moscow ; two other veterans who suffered blockade of Lenindrag will go to St. Petersburg at the expense of Russia’s embassy.
Russian diplomat noted Azerbaijan’s contribution in the victory of the Great Patriotic War . More than 600,000 Azerbaijanis participated in the war, and 200,000 have not come back; 121 natives of Azerbaijan were awarded the title of “Hero of Soviet Union”. Currently more than 4,000 veterans of the war live in Azerbaijan, 27 of them are citizens of Russia, and they have been awarded at the ceremony held in the embassy.
Veterans – citizens of Azerbaijan will be awarded by relevant structures of the country. Dorokhin and other participants of the ceremony noted contribution of Baku oil in the victory. The ambassador noted with proud that 65th anniversary of the victory is marked in Azerbaijan on state level.
Russia Today: Israel gives credit to Red Army after years of neglect
06 May, 2010, 09:27
The crucial role of Soviet soldiers in liberating Jews during the WWII has been recognized by Israel, after having played it down for decades.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews in Ukraine and Belarus, where the Soviet army was fighting the enemy. But for decades schools in Israel taught children that the triumph over fascism was basically an American one. Now things seem to have changed.
That is mostly down to the campaigning of former Red Army officer Avraham Grinzaid.
“Life in Israel isn’t easy. Our grandsons are serving in the Israeli army as officers and soldiers and they are serving as honestly as we did then. Victory has to be preserved – everybody needs peace, the old and the young”, says Avraham Grinzaid.
Sveta Roberman, an author, thinks disregard for the role of the Soviet Army, which liberated almost all the large concentration camps, was mostly the impact of the Cold War.
“What happened with the influence of the Cold War is that actually Israeli historiography concerning WWII changed. It was influenced by the American narrative, and Israeli children for many generations were reading more about Normandy and American roles”, says Roberman.
Ariella Shaked, a schoolteacher, helped rewrite the curriculum, and says it is impossible to accurately portray the Second World War without the Red Army.
“Since the end of the Cold War things have been changed – the archives have been opened, we know much more than we did. It’s not only the existence of Russian people here in Israel, it has to do with looking at the Second World War with more knowledge,” says Shaked.
Victory Day was officially recognized in Israel 10 years ago. Since then, veterans have received medical and financial benefits. In the last three years, annual parades have taken place in Jerusalem. However, for a country with some 15,000 WWII veterans, that very recognition also turned out to be another battle to be won.
Parliament member Marina Solodkin pushed hard for Victory Day to be recognized as an official holiday. She says that, for too long, far too many Israelis focused on only destruction and devastation.
“It was very difficult in Israel to see the importance of not only the people who died in the concentration camps and in the battle. The meaning of victory is also important. We Jewish people, who were fighting in the armies of the anti-Hitler coalition, our parents, our grandparents – they were the victors too,” says Solodkin.
Bloomberg: Russia Rallies 102,000 Soldiers to Mark World War II Victory
Thursday, May 6, 2010
©2010 Bloomberg News
May 6 (Bloomberg) -- More than 102,000 Russian soldiers will take part in parades across the country on May 9 as the country celebrates the 65th anniversary of the Allies' victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
In Moscow, more than 10,500 military personnel will file across Red Square along with 161 fighting vehicles, as 127 aircraft pass overhead, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said in an interview published today in Rossiiskaya Gazeta, the government's newspaper of record.
Russia will display new weapons at this year's parade, including the Pantsir-S1 and S-400 air-defense systems and the Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missile, Serdyukov said.
Before then President Vladimir Putin's decision to revive parades of military hardware on Victory Day in 2008, the last such display took place on Red Square on Nov. 7, 1990, when the Soviet Union celebrated the Bolshevik Revolution. The Soviet Union collapsed just over a year later.
--Editor: Patrick G. Henry
Itar-Tass: Two gunmen killed in special operation in Ingushetia
06.05.2010, 08.53
NAZRAN, May 6 (Itar-Tass) - A special operation to wipe out gunmen is in progress in the village of Kantyshevo, Ingushetia, Itar-Tass learnt on Thursday from republican law enforcement bodies.
According to preliminary data, a group of three or four gunmen, blockaded in a private house, offered armed resistance and opened fire to a proposal to surrender. Two gunmen were killed, and the operation is going on.
Komsomolskaya Pravda: In Ingushetia, destroyed one of the leaders bandpodpolya
GOOGLE TRANSLATION
Mode Who filmed in Nazran, but remains in other areas
Eugene Rybalkin - 05/06/2010 8:29
The special operation, which resulted in a destroyed one of the leaders bandpodpolya - Magomed Gardanov, ended yesterday in Nazran. According to experts of FSB in the republic of Ingushetia, a long time he was wanted, was the organizer of the terrorist act in front of Karabulak police department was involved in a terrorist attack at the police station in Nazran and an attack on collectors in April 2010.
During the raid injured two women residents. They were hospitalized, their condition, according to doctors, is assessed as satisfactory. Now the scene is working the investigation team. Head of the Operations Staff in RI has decided to cease at 00.00 pm May 5, 2010 in Nazran, the counterterrorist operation, which began March 2, 2010. After CTO law enforcement agencies transferred to the normal duty.
Within the limits of the Nazran district CTO regime persists. In addition, the regime who acts on the territory of mountain woodlands Sunzhensky region bounded by the towns of Upper and Lower Alkun, rustics, Halashko, Arshty, Dattykh. Also, the regime who had kept in the Malgobek district on the territory bounded by the settlements of Art. Voznesenovskaya, Malgobek (old town), Middle Achaluki, Sagopshi, Zyazikov-Yurt, Aki-Yurt and Psedakh.
06 May 2010, 10:06
Interfax: Another priest killed in Chuvashia - Investigative Committee
Moscow, May 6, Interfax - The body of a priest has been found with stab wounds in Cheboksary, Chuvashia, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Prosecutor General's Office said.
The preliminary reports suggest that the victim was an hieromonk at the orthodox church of St. Michael the Archangel in the village of Artemenkino.
A criminal investigation has been launched under Article 105 of the Russian Penal Code (murder).
Another priest, Father Anatoly, was killed in a Chuvash village in late April.
Itar-Tass: Cyclone hits Russia's Pacific coast, road wash-outs expected
06.05.2010, 07.53
VLADIVOSTOK, May 6 (Itar-Tass) - A new cyclone has hit Russia's Pacific coast on Thursday. Before May 8, it is expected to sweep Sakhalin and Amur regions, the Jewish Autonomous Region, Primorsky (maritime) and Khabarovsk Territories. Rivers are likely to overflow their banks, flooding lowland areas, and washing out motor roads and railways.
The Far Eastern regional center of the Russian Ministry for Emergencies has issued an urgent warning about possible emergencies.
Heavy raining, thunderstorms and gushes of wind with a velocity from 15 to 25 metres per second are expected everywhere. A Force Seven storm (very high sea) with waves of up to 4-5 metres high and poor visibility are forecast for the Sea of Japan (East Sea) and the Tatar Strait. Breakdowns aboard ships can occur in the event of a breach of navigation rules.
There have been no disruptions in the housing and utilities systems in the cyclone-affected zone. All facilities are functioning as usual.
06 May 2010, 12:05
Interfax: Embassy of EU country may host Moscow gay pride parade this year, its organizer claims
Moscow, May 6, Interfax – Gay pride organizers will soon apply to the Moscow mayor office for the approval on holding a parade in the capital, the action may take place in the territory of an embassy of the EU countries, the pride organizer Nikolay Alexeyev told Interfax.
According to him, organizers are thinking over different options and routes for the action. “Anyway, we’ll make several applications for different variants in downtown Moscow,” he said.
Alexeyev did not exclude a possibility of holding the parade in a territory of an embassy of EU countries as the Moscow city authorities ban the action every year. “We turned to ambassadors of the EU states and ambassadors of Canada, the USA and Australia in Moscow with a request to hold a public action in the territory of the embassy,” he said.
According to him, deputies of national EU parliaments and activists from other European countries are expected to participate in Moscow gay pride.
Representatives of sex minorities make attempts to hold a gay pride parade in downtown Moscow every year, but Moscow authorities regularly refuse to coordinate the approval. Earlier, when unsanctioned actions took place, both participants in them and their opponents were detained.
Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov stated he would not allow a gay pride parade in the Russian capital as he considered it a “Satan action.” “It’s not a theorem, everyone should accept it as axiom,” Luzhkov said in January.
According to him, in struggle with social vices, “it’s high time to give up discussing human rights and direct the whole power and justice of the law against them (vices – IF.)” “We don’t need a liberal carrot but rather a social stick or something like stick,” the Moscow Mayor believes.
Moscow Times: The latest from Vedomosti
Issue 4386. Last Updated: 05/06/2010
Skolkovo Bringing Changes to Immigration Laws
By Vera Kholmogorova
Foreign experts coming to work at Skolkovo will be able to count on reduced immigration and tax regimes if they earn more than 2 million rubles ($67,700) per year.
Cash-for-Clunkers to Be Extended Next Year
By Alexei Nepomnyashchy
The state-sponsored recycling experiment of old cars is already halfway to its conclusion. By 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the Industry and Trade Ministry will have issued 101,310 certificates since the program began on March 8.
Apple Could Face Antitrust Investigation
By Igor Tsukanov
Officials suspect that Apple intentionally limits the development of programs for the iPhone, iPod and iPad in the choice of how to write software.
Daily Mail: Lada to return to UK roads - no giggling
Daily Mail
6 May 2010
Those who drove them always pointed out how cheap they were to buy. Everyone else made jokes about tin cans on wheels. Now, after a 13-year absence, the Lada is coming back to Britain.
The byword for budget motoring from the 1980s is being relaunched within the next two years as a credit-crunch cruiser.
This time, Soviet Russia's infamous car for the masses will be backed by Renault's money and expertise.
Lada (UK) closed in 1997, and until now the cars have only been available as imports.
The new version is one of a number of cheap cars likely to be on sale for less than £5,000, undercutting some budget brands from Japan and Korea which have done well in the economic downturn. Many of the newcomers were originally produced for emerging nations.
Renault is also backing Romanian firm Dacia which will have two budget models - the Sandero hatch and Logan saloon - for around £5,000 here within two years, the company told motoring magazine Auto Express.
But the race to get the budget models into Britain is likely to be won by the Indian company Tata, which produces the world's cheapest car, India's £1,500 Nano.
The British version, which requires higher safety standards, will be around £4,500 when it comes out next year.
The Great Wall company of China is also hoping to launch its Hover5 model through the British network of Daihatsu dealerships.
Steve Norman, vice president of Renault, said: 'The UK was one of the few markets where Lada was a success. I'm confident the time is right to bring it back. The Chinese won't get in before us. But they will become a threat between 2012-2015.'
Like Ladas, the Czech-built Skodas were ridiculed for years until VW took over the firm - and they became one of the most sought after cars on the road.
Guardian: Prosecutors seize £6.5m from Russian after money laundering inquiry
Businessman Anatoly Kazachkov investigated after £7m suspicious transfer from Hungary to Royal Bank of Scotland
Severin Carrell, Scotland correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 5 May 2010 20.11 BST
Prosecutors have seized £6.5m from a Russian businessman who allegedly tried to use a Scottish bank to launder money, it emerged today.
The cash confiscated from Anatoly Kazachkov, 64, a Moscow-based businessman linked to several British financiers, is the largest single seizure of money so far by Scottish prosecutors using proceeds of crime legislation and comes after a three-year inquiry that uncovered a trail of false documents and stolen identities.
Kazachkov has been under investigation by the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency and money-laundering unit after a tip-off about a suspicious transfer of $10m (£7m) from a bank in Hungary to the Royal Bank of Scotland in 2004.
The Crown Office, Scotland's prosecution authority, said its investigators "carried out extensive international inquiries" to trace the source of the funds. The trail led to Russia where, with the assistance of the Russian authorities, further evidence of false documents and stolen identities was uncovered.
"Anatoly Kazachkov and others provided an audit trail for the source of the funds, but this was discredited after Scottish and Russian investigators connected the funds to a Russian bank, which was bankrupted in 2004 in relation to money-laundering offences."
Press reports in 2005 said Kazachkov was under investigation for his links to a Scottish financier and his associates, and their attempts to transfer funds through accounts in Latvia, Hungary, Russia, the US and the UK.
The businessmen claimed the funds were needed for an oil refinery project in Iran, but instead their account in the UK was frozen.
The seized money, which was released to the Crown Office today, is expected to be spent on community projects.
Confiscations of criminal assets have so far totalled £14m in Scotland – mostly through much smaller seizures – which has been invested in community programmes for young people.
Gordon Meldrum, the director general of the SCDEA, said: "This three-year investigation led our officers to make inquiries in a number of countries across Europe and beyond, and collaborative working practices with a range of law enforcement partners at home and abroad have undoubtedly contributed to this successful outcome.
"We are committed to making best use of the Proceeds of Crime Act legislation, and as an agency we will continue to use whatever means we have at our disposal to make it harder for criminals to hide their illegal earnings."
Elish Angiolini, the lord advocate, said: "Financial crime undermines legitimate hardworking businesses and threatens the future stability of our economic growth. The dedicated specialists in our civil recovery unit will continue to use the Proceeds of Crime Act legislation to ensure that unlawfully obtained assets are recovered and the proceeds used directly to benefit our communities across Scotland.
"Just as important as the recovery of the funds is the disruption that the POCA legislation allows us to cause to those who would seek to profit from organised crime."
|May 4, 2010 | |
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Kremlin: Dmitry Medvedev signed the Federal Law On Amending the Federal Law On the Federal Budget for 2010 and the Planning Period of 2011-2012.
The amendments specify the upper limit of Russia’s state internal debt for 2010 and the planning period of 2011-2012, as well as its state internal debt’s upper limit under the state guarantees of the Russian Federation denominated in its national currency, for the same period. It also specifies the upper limits for the State Programme of the Russian Federation on External Borrowings for 2010 and the planning period of 2011-2012, and for the programmes on state guarantees of the Russia Federation denominated in its national currency and in foreign currency, for the same period.
The Federal Law also contains a proposal to grant the [Russian] Government in 2010 the right to appropriate the federal budget funds toward purchasing shares in the Russian-Indian joint venture, Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd. (Republic of India).
The law also sets forth individual powers held by Vnesheconombank with regard to provision and performance of state guarantees, which powers it exercises on the instructions from the Government of the Russian Federation.
National Economic Trends
Bloomberg: Russian Service Industries Grew ‘Sharply’ in April, VTB Says
May 06, 2010, 12:35 AM EDT
By Maria Levitov
May 6 (Bloomberg) -- Russian service industries from banks to supermarkets grew in April at the fastest pace since July, 2008, signaling a “strengthening recovery,” a survey showed.
The Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 56.9 last month from 53.6 in March, VTB Capital said in an e-mailed statement today. The index, which is based on a survey of about 300 purchasing managers, shows expansion with a reading above 50.
“A further sharp increase in new business pushed the business activity index to a 20-month high” and employment in expanded for the first time since September, 2008, Svetlana Aslanova, an analyst at VTB Capital in Moscow, said in the statement. This backs up “our bullish view on the economic recovery” for economic growth of 4.9 percent this year.
Retail sales rose an annual 2.9 percent in March, the third consecutive month of growth, fueled by higher wages and slowing inflation, while unemployment was unchanged at 8.6 percent. Higher incomes and a stabilizing labor market are boosting consumer confidence as the country recovers from last year’s record contraction of 7.9 percent.
Retailers are counting on greater household spending. Food retailer OAO Dixy Group increased revenue 13 percent to 15 billion rubles ($499 million) in the first quarter from the year-earlier period. Group OAO Magnit, Russia’s second-largest food retailer, may boost sales by more than 20 percent this year as it adds stores and cuts prices, Chief Executive Officer Sergei Galitsky said on Feb. 4.
‘Impressive Growth’
“Russia’s food-retail market promises impressive growth, fuelled by the recovery in consumers’ real disposable income growth, a quite high share of consumer spending on food and still-low market concentration and the penetration of modern retail formats,” Natasha Kolupaeva, an analyst at KIT Finance in Moscow, wrote in a research report on May 5.
New orders increased for a second month in April, rising at the quickest pace since July 2008, according to VTB Capital. Employment increased, boosted by rising workloads, according to the bank.
Input prices and prices charged to consumers rose at a “weaker” rate “as firms aimed to remain competitive and benefit from recovering market demand,” the statement said. “Business confidence in the service sector improved in April.”
The seasonally adjusted services PMI, first compiled in October 2001, is a composite of five differently weighted indexes including business, employment and new, outstanding and future business, according to VTB Capital.
--Editor: Chris Kirkham
To contact the reporters on this story: Maria Levitov in Moscow at mlevitov@
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chris Kirkham at ckirkham@
Prime-Tass: PMI: Russian service sector activity rises sharply in April
MOSCOW, May 6 (PRIME-TASS) -- The latest services PMI data from VTB Capital has shown that service sector activity rose sharply in April, the London-based bank said in its latest survey released Thursday.
Total business activity rose in April at the strongest rate since July 2008, supported by a similarly marked increase in new business, VTB Capital said.
The service sector workforce expanded on the month, following 18 months of net job shedding, and inflationary pressure on service providers’ input prices eased, the bank said.
The headline seasonally adjusted Russian Services Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), a single-figure composite indicator designed to give an overall measure of the service sector’s performance, rose to 56.9 in April from 53.6 in March, the bank said.
Readings above 50.0 signal an increase on the previous month, while readings below 50.0 signal a contraction.
“A further sharp increase in new business (at the highest rate since July 2008) pushed the business activity index to a 20-month high,” Svetlana Aslanova, an analyst at VTB Capital, said commenting on the survey.
“Another positive development was the employment index rising above the 50 no-change mark, which implies that employment in the sector expanded for the first time since September 2008. The survey data also points to price inflation easing as companies try to compete on the recovering market. These positive trends back up our bullish view on the economic recovery in Russia in 2010, with expected GDP growth of 4.9%,” Aslanova said.
Business confidence in the service sector improved in April, VTB Capital said. Around 59% of firms expect activity growth over the coming 12 months.
The Russian Services PMI is derived from a monthly survey of 300 purchasing executives in Russian services companies and has been conducted since October 2001.
VTB Capital plc is a London-based subsidiary of Russia's second largest bank, government-controlled VTB Bank. VTB Capital was previously known as VTB Bank Europe.
End
06.05.2010 08:00
Bloomberg: Ruble Heads for Biggest 3-Day Drop Versus Dollar in 5 Months
Thursday, May 6, 2010
©2010 Bloomberg News
May 6 (Bloomberg) -- The ruble headed for its biggest three-day decline versus the dollar in five months, as oil fell to a six-week low and concern that Europe's debt crisis will spread curbed appetite for emerging-market assets.
The currency depreciated 1.3 percent to 30.3750 per dollar, a three-month low, by 10:58 a.m. in Moscow. That brought its three-day decline to 3.2 percent, the most since Dec. 8. It weakened 0.3 percent to 38.7175 per euro.
Crude, Russia's key export earner, traded at $80.08 a barrel in New York, after tumbling 7.2 percent in the past two days. The dollar gained to its strongest level against the euro since March 2009 on concern Greece's bailout may have to be extended to other indebted nations, reducing the appeal of commodities as an alternative investment to the greenback.
Investors increased bets that the ruble will weaken further, with non-deliverable forwards showing the currency at 30.64384 per dollar in three months compared with an NDF of 30.4111 on May 6. The contracts are a guide to expectations of currency movements as they allow foreign investors and companies to fix the exchange rate at a particular level in the future.
The movements against the dollar and the euro left the ruble at 34.1226 against the central bank's target currency basket, which is used to manage swings that hurt Russian exporters.
The basket is calculated by multiplying the dollar's rate to the ruble by 0.55, the euro to ruble rate by 0.45, then adding them together. The ruble remains within the 26 to 41 band the central bank pledged January 2009 to defend.
--Editor: Alex Nicholson, John Kohut.
2010-05-06 09:20
Reuters: Russia c.bank injects 5.16 bln roubles via repos
MOSCOW, May 6 (Reuters) - The Russian central bank injected 5.16 billion roubles ($173.9 million) of one-day funds into the banking system at a rate of 5.47 percent in its first repo auction of the day on Thursday.
The minimum interest rate is set at 5.25 percent. A maximum of 10 billion roubles is on offer at the day's two auctions.
Following are results of the latest auction, provided by the central bank on its Web site (cbr.ru):
Date May 6 May 5 May 5
Session 1st 2nd 1st
Amount (bln rbls) 5.16 0.10 5.89
Bids (bln rbls) 5.16 0.10 5.89
Average rate 5.47 5.26 5.49
NOTE - For details of central bank repo tenders click here .
($1=29.68 Rouble) Keywords: RUSSIA REPO/FIRST
(Moscow Newsroom; +7495 775 1242; moscow.newsroom@)
Moscow Times: Inflation Hits Lowest Level in 12 Years
06 May 2010
Bloomberg
The inflation rate dropped to the lowest level in 12 years in April, the State Statistics Service said Wednesday, as the ruble’s longest rally since 2006 kept a lid on prices and a weak economic recovery curbed consumer demand.
The rate fell to an annual 6 percent last month, the slowest since July 1998, from 6.5 percent in March, the service said. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of 14 economists was for 6.2 percent. Prices advanced 0.3 percent on the month.
“The weaker euro is at least a net positive for Russia’s inflation rate as most imported food and consumer goods are priced in euros,” Chris Weafer, chief strategist at UralSib, said before the release.
The Central Bank, which has cut the main interest rates 13 times in a year to a record low 8 percent, said last week the pace of inflation remained “favorable” last month. The ruble gained against the dollar in April for a fourth month, the longest stretch since a rally ended in August 2006, and rose against the euro for a seventh month out of eight as the common currency weakened on concern that Europe’s debt crisis is spreading.
The Economic Development Ministry estimates that consumer-price growth may be between 6 percent and 7 percent in 2010 and 2011 and average 6.3 percent this year, the slowest since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
Price growth in March fell to 6.5 percent from 14 percent in the same month last year, the fifth biggest inflation-rate differential among 78 economies tracked by Bloomberg.
Even so, the “economic recovery remains unstable,” the Central Bank said in a statement last week, adding that inflation may accelerate in the second half and a “more detailed analysis” would be required before further changes in policy rates.
Banks are unable to take advantage of slowing inflation as loan demand remains weak. Corporate lending was unchanged in March after falling 0.7 percent in February, while retail loans rose 0.3 percent, compared with a decline of 0.6 the previous month, according to Central Bank data published on April 29.
The economy’s quarterly expansion slowed in the first three months of the year to a seasonally adjusted 0.6 percent, according to the Economy Ministry. On a seasonally adjusted basis, gross domestic product gained a quarterly 1.7 percent in the fourth quarter and 2 percent in the third.
Bne: MOSCOW BLOG: The Greek tragedy, shades of 1998
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bne
May 6, 2010
Equity markets around the world, including Russia's, are tanking as the possibility of a Greek default looms. But unlike the global economic crisis that burnt the world's economy 18 months ago, this new crisis looks more like the run-up to Russia's 1998 financial crisis. That one was bad for Russia, but had a very short-lived impact on the rest of the world. This time round, Russia is on the other side of the fence as one of the strong countries that will encounter little more than a bump on the path that leads back to strong growth.
I remember the start of 1998 well. Things were actually looking a lot better than at any time in the past. The economy had put in its first-ever positive (albeit anaemic) growth that year and the big news story was the upcoming merger between oil companies Yukos and Sibneft (owned by Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Boris Berezovsky, respectively) to form "Yuksi", which would have become the biggest oil company in the world.
On the political front, Boris Yeltsin was more or less compos mentis for once and had just installed a raft of "young reformers" into senior positions in the government, including Sergei Kiriyenko and Boris Nemtsov, who were saying all the right things about finally cracking on with the job of real reform. And, most importantly, yields on government treasury bills, the GKO, had fallen into the low-teens, making the refinancing of the 8%-off budget deficit progressively easier. Indeed, things were looking so good that Swedish-based eastern European fund manager East Capital decided to launch its inaugural Russia fund in April of that year.
Then it all blew up.
The Asian currency crisis that happened a year before and wrecked the economies of the so-called Asian Tigers finally fed through into commodity prices, and oil prices in particular collapsed from about $25 a barrel to $10. I was on holiday that Easter as the first shock waves arrived and began to desperately rewrite the upbeat reports I had filed a few weeks before as things quickly spun out of control. Yields on GKOs soared to over 200% over the next month and Russia turned to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for loans (which were promptly stolen by well-connected bankers as the so-called "stabilisation loans" were immediately whisked offshore).
It all came to a head on August 17, 1998 when the government called it quits. The ruble was cut to a quarter of its value and the government put a five-year moratorium on all international debt repayment as international reserves fell to a staggeringly small $9.1bn - about 2% of what they are today and hardly enough to cover the Kremlin's stationery bill.
The reaction of the stock market was surprisingly out of sync with the bond market. Portfolio investors had already got the willies nine months earlier. The stock market hit its all-time high on October 6, 1997 when the RTS reached 571 (a bit more than the low of 492 hit in the depths of this crisis on January 23, 2009). By August 17, 1998, the index had fallen to 109, but oddly it took another month and a half to reach the bottom of 38.5 on October 5. The recovery was long, painful and volatile: the RTS didn't recover all the ground lost until almost exactly four years later when the RTS closed at 573 on October 1, 2003.
Now history is repeating itself with Greece. A €110bn bailout deal has been struck between Germany and the other Eurozone members (despite the ban on bailouts in the euro treaty), which is due to be approved on May 7. But the bond markets in particular don't believe it will work and spreads on Greek bonds – like those on GKOs in 1998 – are widening rapidly. Worse, the collywobbles are spreading to other countries (especially the so-called Pigs of Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain) as rumours fly; it was reported that Spain has approached the IMF for a €280bn loan, among other things.
Predictably, stock markets around the world have sold off heavily. In Russia, the RTS has dropped from its April high of around 1690 to about 1500 today, on May 5. Yields on bonds are also up as investors drop the riskier paper they were holding.
If this "second wave" plays out like that in 1998, the spreads will kill any chance that Greece's bailout package has of working, as the cost of borrowing soars and Athens will be forced to withdraw from the Eurozone, immediately devaluing the drachma in order to put its financial house in order. Driving this fear is the experience of Argentina, which tried to impose too severe an austerity programme in 2001 and subsequently collapsed, as news media are gleefully remind everyone. In Russia's case, the fear is that the collapse of Greece will suppress the nascent recovery and depress oil prices and so, at best, take the wind out of Russia's sails; at worst, cause a real second wave of financial instability.
But what would really happen if Greece does go phut?
Bric'd up
The first thing to note is that unlike the global collapse in September 2008, this time the problems are more regional rather than global. In this sense, the current problems are very like 1998 when the Asian collapse led to the Russian collapse, while in the rest of the world it remained business as usual. Remember that at the same time as these regions were melting down the US and Western Europe were enjoying the heady excesses of the dotcom bubble that didn't deflate until 2000 (ironically, the year Russia put in its strongest growth on record). The health of the rest of the world allowed Russia's economy to bounce back a lot more quickly than otherwise, as it had global markets to cater to.
The same is true now. Although European and US growth is sluggish, they are both growing, but this time round there are the new growth markets of Brazil, India and China (which with Russia make up the Bric countries) to take up the slack and provide Russia with the markets it needs to hold up commodity exports, among other things.
There is also clearly a disconnect between what is happening on Russia's stock market and what is happening in the economy. Crises do a lot of damage to emerging markets, but thanks to the very underdevelopment of those markets, these crises are a lot less "sticky." We have made this point before - for example, the average debt of the average Russian is on the order of $900, whereas the same for the average American is over $40,000; a Russian who loses his job in a crisis can scrape together enough money to pay off his debts from friends and family, whereas if an American loses his job, he is in real trouble.
Russia's economic recovery is gaining momentum fast. Just looking at data from today, we have: Avtovaz domestic sales of its Lada-brand vehicles jumped 54% in April versus the same month last year; in April there were a record high number of transactions on the Moscow residential market, growing 66% on year; from January to April, Russian gas exports nearly doubled from the same period in 2009; overall oil production was more or less flat, but production from greenfield sites in the new eastern Siberian territories is soaring and already accounts for 6% of Russia's total oil production, says VTB Capital; and a slew of companies have been reporting double-digit gains in earnings over the last few weeks as businesses recover.
More generally, the Ministry of Economics reports the average price for oil this year so far is about $76 per barrel, well ahead of the $58 assumed in the budget, and so it has upgraded its growth forecast to 4% for the whole year, while the investment banks are predicting up to 8% growth in the second half of the year. And the VTB Manufacturing PMI index, which measures business activity, is up too, indicating solid growth in the real sector.
And this is also true in Russia's developed peers: the Eurozone PMI is at a 46-month high of 57.5 (compared with 56.6 in March, while 50 represents no change) and the US ISM Manufacturing Index is back over 60 again (at 60.4) for the first time since June 2004, says VTB Capital. Likewise car sales in the US, China and Japan are all up by 65-75% over the first quarter; housing starts in the US are up 20%; and both of these have been feeding a surge in production in commodities like steel, which is now at a record high.
All this will prop up Russia if Greece defaults. But analysts mostly agree that a bust is unlikely, as between the Germans and the IMF some sort of solution will be found. Nobody wants to see the Eurozone break apart. "We recognise that the Greek situation is evolving along the lines of Russia's 1998 economic crisis; indeed, the fiscal parameters of Greece's situation are worse than that, but they also have a greater political imperative of financial aid from the Eurozone playing to their benefit, at least for now. And the endgame might be very similar, ie. an eventual default on Greece's sovereign debt triggered by the country's inability to meet the conditionality attached to the package. That said, the experience of the 1998 Russian crisis suggests that the contagion from such a credit event, while significant, would be short-lived," Wiktor Bielski, an analyst with VTB Capital said in a note today.
VTBC is keeping its forecast for the RTS to top 2000 by the end of this year, but admits that it could take a little longer to get there than they thought when they set the target in early May.
Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions
Bloomberg: Aeroflot, Lukoil, Mechel, Polyus, TNK-BP: Russia Equity Preview
May 06, 2010, 12:37 AM EDT
By Lucian Kim
May 6 (Bloomberg) -- The following companies may be active in Russian trading. Stock symbols are in parentheses and share prices are from the previous close of trading in Moscow.
The 30-stock Micex Index fell for a third day, losing 1.1 percent to 1,378.43 at the close in Moscow. The dollar- denominated RTS Index slid 2.3 percent to 1,482.67.
OAO Aeroflot (AFLT RX): The board of Russia’s largest airline recommended paying 35 kopeks a share in dividends for 2009, according to a regulatory filing. Aeroflot plunged 3.7 percent to 57.74 rubles.
OAO Lukoil (LKOH RX): Crude oil fell below $80 a barrel in New York as the euro dropped against the dollar. Shares in Russia’s biggest non-state oil company advanced 1.4 percent to 1,671.85 rubles.
OAO Mechel (MTLR RX): Shareholders in the Russian coal producer may cut the sale price of preferred shares they plan to offer in New York to $18.50 each, from a previous price range of $21 to $27.60, Interfax reported. Mechel fell 2 percent to 694.63 rubles.
OAO Polyus Gold (PLZL RX): Gold futures rebounded from the biggest decline in two weeks as investors bought the precious metal as a haven against financial turmoil in Europe. Shares in Russia’s biggest gold producer rose 0.7 percent to 1,365.42 rubles.
OAO TNK-BP Holding (TNBP RU): The Moscow-based oil producer said it plans to form a joint venture with Iraq Oil Company for Oil Investments, a private company known as IOCOI. TNK-BP slid 1.4 percent to $2.11 on the RTS Index.
--Editor: Glenn J. Kalinoski
To contact the reporter on this story: Lucian Kim in Moscow at lkim3@
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Willy Morris at wmorris@
Dow Jones: VTB Enlarges Counterparty Pool, Sets Credit Limits –Vedomosti
Publié le 06 Mai 2010
- DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Russia's state-controlled OAO Bank VTB (VTBR.RS) has increased the number of counterparties eligible to participate in loans to its clients and set limits for most of them, business daily Vedomosti reports Thursday.
VTB shareholders on June 4 will vote whether to approve 292 counterparties, up from 274 last year, the newspaper says. The largest are state-controlled consumer lender OAO Sberbank (SBER.RS), with a $31 billion credit limit for all VTB-generated loans in which it might take part; state-owned lender Vnesheconombank, $25 billion limit; Russian Railways, $22.7 billion; steel-pipe maker OAO TMK Group (TRMK.RS), 328.7 billion rubles, or $10.94 billion; and Atomenergoprom, a state holding company for civilian nuclear assets, $10.2 billion.
Nearly all of the counterparty credit limits--intended to control VTB's risk exposure--are higher than in 2009. For example, Atomenergoprom's limit is 25 times what it was, Sberbank's 5.5 times.
A VTB representative declined to comment to Vedomosti.
VTB doesn't dictate which counterparty or counterparties must be used for a given transaction, leaving that decision to its borrower client. However, the bank's shareholders do vote to approve or reject each deal.
Newspaper website: vedomosti.ru
-Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2900
Dow Jones: Petropavlovsk 1Q Gold Output -37.3% On Year At 65,600 Oz
Publié le 06 Mai 2010
- MOSCOW -(Dow Jones)- London-listed Russian gold and iron ore miner Petropavlovsk PLC (POG.LN) Thursday said its first quarter gold output fell by 37.3% year-on-year, reflecting a transitional period at its mines, but said the company is on track to meet its production target for the year.
The company, whose operations are based in Russia's Far East, said its first-quarter gold production stood at 65,600 troy ounces, from 104,600 ounces in the same period a year earlier and 133,500 ounces in the fourth quarter of 2009.
"The first quarter gold production figures are in line with our mining plan for 2010, as notified to shareholders, and reflect a transitional period in the mines," company Chairman Peter Hambro said.
Petropavlovsk said January it expects 2010 production of between 670,000 ounces and 760,000 ounces.
Petropavlovsk production at the Pokrovskiy deposit was 29,800 ounces, down 27% from 40,800 ounces in the first quarter of 2009, while production at the Pioneer deposit was down 43.9% to 35,800 ounces from 63,800 ounces in the same period of 2009.
-By Alexander Kolyandr, Dow Jones Newswires; +7 495 232 9192; Alexander.Kolyandr@
May 06, 2010 10:56
Interfax: Petropavlovsk lowers gold output by 37% in Q1 (Part 2)
MOSCOW. May 6 (Interfax) - The management alliance Petropavlovsk, which develops gold and iron ore fields in Russia, lowered gold output by 37% year-on-year to 65,600 ounces in the first quarter of 2010, the company said in a statement.
For instance, the company's Pokrovsky mine reduced production by 27% year-on-year to 29,800 ounces while output at the Pioneer field decreased by 44% to 35,800 ounces of precious metals. The company said that the drop in ore production would be compensated in 2010 by an increase in output at its factory at the Pioneer field.
Petropavlovsk is holding on to its earlier announced production forecast for 2010: 670,000-760,000 ounces of gold largely through an increase in production at factory at the Pioneer field (in April, 200,000 tonnes per month to 455,000 tonnes) and the start of production at Malomyr in the second half of 2010. Production at Malomyr is forecast at 700,000 tonnes per year (gold output for 2010 is estimated at 68,000-100,000 ounces).
In 2009, Petropavlovsk increased production by 21% to 486,800 ounces (15,139 tonnes). The company's expenses came to $309 per ounce. The average gold price increased last year by 15% o $975 per ounce.
Petropavlovsk plc was set up through a merger between gold producer Peter Hambro Mining plc and minerals company Aricom plc in 2009. The merger created one of the leading mining companies in Russia's Far East.
Ih
RIA: Russia to provide bankrupt Sea Launch consortium with $30 million
10:5406/05/2010
Russia's Energia Overseas Limited company will provide the international Sea Launch consortium with $30 million to help the spacecraft launch service finalize its bankruptcy proceedings, a respected Russian business daily said on Thursday.
Russia's Rocket and Space Corporation Energia announced on Wednesday that a U.S. court had preliminarily approved the deal between the EOL, Energia's subsidiary, and Sea Launch on April 27, Vedomosti said.
The company refused to specify on where the money for Sea Launch would come from, the paper said. The company produces the upper stages for Russia's Zenit-3SL carrier rocket.
Energia holds a 25% stake in the Sea Launch consortium created in 1995. Boeing holds 40% in the project, with a 20% stake belonging to Norwegian company Aker ASA and 15% to Ukraine's SDO Yuzhnoye/PO Yuzhmash.
The launch platform and the command ship are based in California, with rocket launches being carried out from an equatorial area in the Pacific Ocean. A total of 33 rockets have been launched from the platform since 1999, with 30 of them being successful.
Sea Launch announced its bankruptcy in June 2009. The company's debt is estimated at $1 billion, and its assets at $100-500 million. A single rocket launch from the platform costs around $80 million.
Other companies carrying out commercial rocket launches are Europe's consortium Arianspace and International Launch Services (ILS), the Russian-American venture, which launches Proton and Atlas vehicles.
MOSCOW, May 6 (RIA Novosti)
Bloomberg: RenCap Hires Credit Suisse’s Carter to Run Derivatives Team
May 06, 2010, 3:21 AM EDT
By Jason Corcoran
May 6 (Bloomberg) -- Renaissance Capital, the brokerage half-owned by billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, hired former Credit Suisse Group AG manager Christopher Carter to run its equity derivatives team as competition for bankers in Russia intensifies.
Carter, who ran Credit Suisse’s global equity derivatives division before leaving in 2007 to work at a hedge fund, will focus on expanding Moscow-based RenCap’s derivatives, convertibles and equity financing business, particularly in Sub- Saharan Africa, according to a company statement obtained before its official release.
RenCap, founded by New Zealander Stephen Jennings in 1995, is rebuilding its business, hiring bankers and expanding abroad after the record rout in Russian stocks in the fourth quarter of 2008 forced it to slash 40 percent of staff and sell 50 percent of the company to Prokhorov for $500 million.
“Renaissance Capital is investing substantial resources behind its ambitions to become the premier investment bank focused on the emerging markets of Russia, Central Asia and sub- Saharan Africa,” the company said in the statement.
Jennings, head of RenCap’s parent company, Renaissance Group, returned as chief executive officer of the brokerage in February to guide its expansion into Asia, Africa, India, Mongolia and Belarus. The bank last week agreed to pay 207 million rand ($27 million) to buy Barnard Jacobs Mellet Holdings Ltd.’s securities unit in South Africa.
Goldman, JPMorgan
Renaissance in February hired Nick Andrews from JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Hong Kong division as global head of equities and Nikolai Yukovich from Credit Suisse to run its emerging markets currency team.
The investment bank plans to hire 200 to 250 people this year and has already hired 109, said Quinn Martin, a Moscow- based spokesman for the company.
“We will be making significant hires in derivatives in London, New York, and in the business in Johannesburg that we just announced the acquisition of,” Martin said in e-mailed comments today.
International banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley are expanding in Russia to compete with local rivals RenCap, Troika and VTB Capital as the economy recovers from its worst contraction on record. Russian companies may sell a record 1 trillion rubles ($34 billion) of domestic bonds this year, according to Trust Investment Bank and ING Groep NV. They may also sell another $20 billion of stock, according to UBS AG and RenCap.
Goldman Sachs last week hired Deutsche Bank AG’s co-head of sales in Moscow, Atanas Djumaliev, for its Russian debt business, two people familiar with the move said. Morgan Stanley hired Gergely Voros and Dmitry Avdeev as co-heads of investment banking for Russia, replacing Yan Tavrovsky, who was hired by JPMorgan Chase & Co.
--Editors: Brad Cook, Alex Nicholson
To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Corcoran at Jcorcoran13@
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Gavin Serkin at gserkin@
IT Web: Eugene Kaspersky wins prestigious CEO of the Year award
Co-founder and CEO of Kaspersky Lab achieves highest accolade at SC Awards Europe 2010.
Kaspersky Lab
Press release issued by Kaspersky Lab
Johannesburg, 6 May 2010
Kaspersky Lab, a leading developer of secure content management solutions, is proud to announce that its co-founder and CEO, Eugene Kaspersky, has been recognised as CEO of the Year. The accolade was presented at the prestigious SC Awards Europe 2010, in London.
Eugene Kaspersky was honoured to accept the award and received applause from hundreds of IT security professionals gathered at the ceremony, which was hosted by the UK publication, SC Magazine, at the Wyndham Grand London, in Chelsea Harbour.
The SC Awards Europe 2010 is a highlight of the IT security calendar and rewards commitment and excellence demonstrated in the industry throughout the year.
Commenting on the award, Eugene Kaspersky states: "I am truly honoured to have the hard work and significant progress made by our team around the world recognised here in London. Kaspersky Lab's continued success is built on hard work and determination to make the world a more secure place. It is my privilege to lead them."
The CEO of the Year award is the latest accolade that Eugene Kaspersky has received in the past 12 months, acknowledging the growth of Kaspersky Lab since its launch 13 years ago. Today, Kaspersky Lab is one of the world's top four IT security software vendors for endpoint users. A team of 1 700 work tirelessly in 100 countries to protect more than 300 million IT users around the world.
On 28 April 2010, in London, Eugene Kaspersky was inducted into the Infosecurity Europe 2010 Hall of Fame, in recognition of his contribution to the advancement of the IT security industry during more than 20 years. He was joined by Merlin, Lord Erroll, Stephen Bonner, Managing Director Information Risk Management, Barclays and Edward Gibson, Director - Forensics Technology Services, PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Eugene Kaspersky graduated from the Institute of Cryptography, Telecommunications and Computer Science. He began his research of computer viruses in 1989 after the Cascade virus was detected on his computer.
From 1991 to 1997, Eugene worked at KAMI Information Technologies Centre where he developed the AVP anti-virus project together with a group of associates (AVP was renamed Kaspersky Anti-Virus in November 2000). Eugene Kaspersky co-founded Kaspersky Lab in 1997, and was appointed CEO of the company in 2007. Today, Eugene Kaspersky is one of the world's leading anti-virus experts with 20 years of experience in the field of information security.
He regularly speaks at seminars and conferences all over the world, and is the author of a number of articles and reviews covering topics related to computer virology. In 2009 he received the State Prize of the Russian Federation for Science and Technology and National Friendship Award of China.
Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)
06.05.2010
Oil and Gas Eurasia: TNK-BP, IOCOI TO Set Up JV TO Develop Iraqi Fields
TNK-BP Holding and the Iraq Oil Company for Oil Investments (IOCOI) have inked an agreement to set up a joint venture to study potential projects to acquire, manage and develop oil and gas fields in Iraq, TNK-BP reported in a news release.
TNK-BP has qualified in the Iraq Oil Ministry for access to oil and gas projects.
"Iraq is one of the leading oil producing companies in the world. We welcome the establishment of a joint venture with IOCOI and part of the companies in the HMBS group which has wide-ranging abilities on the Iraqi market and which has a 100-year history", acting TNK-BP Chair Mikhail Fridman said.
"We welcome a partnership with TNK-BP, a leading Russian oil company, to study and carry out joint oil and gas projects in Iraq. IOCOI has a range of abilities in logistics and transport and is interested in joining the Iraqi oil production sector and also providing needed consultation as part of the joint enterprise in Iraq", IOCOI General Director Mustafa al-Bunnia said.
Copyright 2010, TNK-BP. All rights reserved.
06.05.2010
Oil and Gas Eurasia: Verkhnechonskoye Oil Production Up 180 Percent In First Quarter
Oil production at the Verkhnechonskoye field in Irkutsk Region grew 180 percent to 500,000 tons in the first quarter of the year on last year's figures, TNK-BP reported in a news release. The company said this growth was achieved mostly due to increasing the number of its production wells.
Under its program to increase drilling volumes at Verkhnechonskoye, TNK-BP plans to employ a fifth drilling rig in the autumn of 2010. According to the company, the new unit will produce over 500,000 tons of crude by 2013.
"The geological structure of the Verkhnechonskoye field is quite complex, and because of this, TNK-BPM plans to use the most modern seismic technologies available including 3D surveys. An analysis of the results of this work allowed us to identify the best areas to place wells for effective drilling. Verkhnechonskneftegaz intends to invest $400 million into development in 2010, concentrating on effective drilling", TNK-BP Executive Vice-President for E&P Sergey Brezitskiy said.
Copyright 2010, TNK-BP. All rights reserved.
Financial Times: TNK-BP to set up first Iraq venture
By Catherine Belton in Moscow
Published: May 6 2010 03:00 | Last updated: May 6 2010 03:00
TNK-BP, the Russian oil venture half-owned by BP, yesterday announced its first foray into Iraq, saying it had agreed to set up a joint venture with the Iraq Oil Company for Oil Investments to identify potential projects there.
Although the move is only an initial step, it represents a second front in potential international expansion for the oil venture following a move into Venezuela last year. In that deal TNK-BP signed up as a member of a Russian consortium to develop the vast Junin 6 field in the Orinoco oil belt.
The company had long been eyeing a move into Iraq, but until early last year had been stymied by a bitter shareholder battle for control in which its Russian billionaire shareholders claimed BP was blocking the company's international expansion.
After the two sides agreed last year to sign a truce and set up new mechanisms for joint control, international expansion began to be more actively discussed.
However, Maxim Barsky, TNK-BP's chief executive-in-waiting, has said the company will focus chiefly on development in Russia. Mr Barsky is to take over the reins of the company in early 2011 after undergoing six months of training in BP's London offices this year.
A spokesman for the venture said it was too early to say which projects might be identified in Iraq. One person close to the company said: "There are a number of ideas but nothing specific."
TNK-BP's move sees it join Russia's privately owned Lukoil and statecontrolled Gazprom Neft, which already have footholds in Iraq, as the holder of the world's third-largest crude oil reserves begins to parcel out projects to international companies.
Jonathan Muir, TNK-BP's chief financial officer, has said the company intends to spend $200m to $300m (£130m-£200m) during the next two to three years as part of its participation in the Venezuelan consortium.
Reuters: UPDATE 1-Russia's TNK-BP makes foray into Iraqi oil and gas
Wed May 5, 2010 9:34pm IST
* JV to consider potential acquisitions
* TNK-BP has long been considering Iraqi fields
* Follows in steps of Russian oil majors
(Add details)
MOSCOW, May 5 (Reuters) - Russia's TNK-BP (TNBPI.RTS), half owned by BP (BP.L), has established a joint venture to develop oil and gas fields in Iraq, joining Russian majors, which are tapping the world's third-largest crude reserves.
"The two companies will consider joint acquisition of fields with commercial reserves within Iraqi provinces," the Russian company said in a statement.
It didn't specify the possible amount of investment or the particular fields it wants to develop.
TNK-BP has long been vying for the hydrocarbon resources of the oil-rich country. The oversees expansion became possible after Russian and BP shareholders had ironed out their differences in 2008 after a long corporate dispute.
Iraq awarded billions of dollars of contracts to oil majors to refurbish its dilapidated oil fields after years of neglect and war. Baghdad's goal is to expand production capacity to 12 million barrels per day (bpd) in about six years from about 2.5 million bpd now.
Companies involved in the deals include U.S. major Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) as well as Russia's LUKOIL (LKOH.MM) and Gazprom Neft (GAZP.MM) (SIBN.MM).
(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Dmitry Sergeyev and Elaine Hardcastle)
Eurasianet: Russia Making New Push in Caspian Basin Energy Sector
May 5, 2010 - 4:27pm, by Sergei Blagov
Russian leaders are hoping that the launch of the country’s first major Caspian Sea off-shore energy development project will re-invigorate the Kremlin’s overall oil-and-gas strategy for the region.
Russia’s paramount leader, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, traveled to the southern Astrakhan region in late April to inaugurate Lukoil's offshore oil rig at the Korchagin deposit. Located about 180 kilometers from the city of Astrakhan, the deposit is estimated to contain nearly 30 million tons of oil and 63 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas. Over the past decade, Lukoil has discovered six deposits in the northern Caspian with total oil reserves estimated at 4.7 billion barrels. Lukoil plans to pump up to 30 million tons per year of oil and 20 bcm per year of gas by 2020.
To date, a major impediment to the development of Caspian Sea energy deposits has been the lack of a territorial agreement. Talks among the five littoral states – Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan – to divide the seabed are currently stalemated, with Tehran’s insistence on an equal 20 percent share being one of the key obstacles to agreement. [For background see EurasiaNet’s archive].
The April 28 ceremony afforded Putin an opportunity to press Russian energy executives to implement development plans, as well as offer the state’s strong backing for additional off-shore and infrastructure projects. Needed improvements could cost upwards of $27 billion, Deputy Energy Minister Sergei Kudryashov said in Astrakhan. The comments of Putin and other top Russian officials were apparently aimed at sending a signal to other Caspian Basin states that Russia was prepared to push ahead the development of off-shore deposits on its own.
Many of Russia’s joint development projects with its Central Asian and Caspian Basin neighbors appear to be stuck in neutral. Five years ago, for example, Russian and Kazakhstani officials finalized plans covering the joint development of the Khvalynskoye oil and gas field in the northern Caspian. Around the same time, the Russian and Kazakhstani state oil firms, Rosneft and KazMunaiGas, signed a 55-year production-sharing agreement covering the Kurmangazy oil field. Both projects, however, are not functioning as originally envisioned.
Russian officials are also interested in accelerating cooperation with Uzbekistan. On April 27, Alexey Miller, the CEO of the state-controlled gas behemoth Gazprom, held talks in Moscow with Uzbekneftegaz head Ulugbek Nazarov to discuss export and development projects. Gazprom has pledged to buy not less than 15.5 bcm of gas from Uzbekistan in 2010. But that figure is largely unchanged from 2009, when Uzbek leader Islam Karimov pledged to supply 16 bcm of gas annually to Russia, and indicated that the export level could rise to 31 bcm by 2019.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Karimov held what they described as a successful summit April 19-20 in Moscow. However, it is noteworthy that they refrained from commenting on energy cooperation.
Meanwhile, Russia’s energy cooperation with Turkmenistan is heading south. Gazprom deputy CEO Valery Golubev reaffirmed in Astrakhan that the firm would buy no more than 10 bcm of gas from Turkmenistan in 2010. Under earlier agreements, Gazprom had committed to purchasing at least 30 bcm per year from Ashgabat.
In the aftermath of the global economic collapse of 2008, Gazrpom’s purchase agreement for Turkmen gas became too pricey, and company officials sought to back out of their previous commitments. [For background see EurasiaNet’s archive].
Energy relations between Russia and Turkmenistan have been tense since a pipeline blast in April 2009 caused a prolonged interruption in gas deliveries. [For background see EurasiaNet’s archive].
OilVoice: Belarus to Reduce Russian Oil Imports By 27%
05 May 2010
Belarus is set to cut its level of crude imports from Russia by more than a quarter. The national government has implemented a measure to reduce imports from neighbouring Russia by 27% to 15.8 million tonnes, equivalent to 317,422 barrels per day (bpd), this year.
Belarus has moved to cut imports due to a hike in the payments upon duty in its oil supply contract, which was renewed earlier this year.
However, by making such a move Belarus risks positioning itself with a weakened role at the negotiating table in future contract renegotiations - which are inevitable. Russia, meanwhile, is likely to see its position on the opposite side of the table strengthen.
The problem stems back to April 2007 when, as part of a broader phasing out of energy subsidies to former Soviet satellite states, Russia decided to impose a limited export duty on crude oil exports to Belarus. This in turn forced Belarus and insisted that Belarus increase excise tax on oil products.
Under the oil supply pact between the two nations that was inked at the same time, Belarus still prospered from preferential terms of trading for oil with Russia, with its refineries paying only 35.6% of the standard Russian crude export tariff. This left them with a healthy profit when exporting their refined products to European customers at market prices.
However, diplomatic relations flared up between the two nations at the rear end of last year when the contract was close to its end date.
Russia said that it was committed to continuing to provide tax free oil to its neighbour but that the country should pay export duties on the oil it in turn exported to other parts of Europe.
Standing its ground, Belarus argued that such an amendment want against a customs union signed between the two countries during 2009.
Furthermore, Belarus responded by demanding higher transit fees for Russian oil flowing across its territory.
Having failed to resolve the dispute over the new contract terms by the expiry of the old contract, Russia cut off crude supplies to Belarus in January 2010. With a costly shutdown of its two refineries looming, Belarus made concessions and a deal was signed on January 27.
Under the final deal signed January deal, Belarus's duty-free oil allowance was significantly lowered cutting out the possibility of continuing to profit from re-exports, but it also meant that Belarus is now paying full Russian export duties on around 27% of its domestic consumption.
It is this spike in costs that is the main factor behind Belarus's decision to reduce oil imports this year to 15.8 million tonnes (or, just over 317,000 bpd). Under the terms of the new deal, Belarus will import 6.3 million tonnes of oil duty free, and 9.5 million tonnes that incur the full duty, hitting the nation hard in the pocket.
Gazprom
Itar-Tass: Gazprom confirms Naftogaz Ukrainy pays in full for gas supplied in April
06.05.2010, 04.30
MOSCOW, May 6 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia’s Gazprom confirmed on Wednesday that Naftogaz Ukrainy had paid in full for the gas supplied in April.
According to unofficial information, Ukraine bought 1.8 billion cubic metres of gas with approximately a 425 million U.S. dollar discount.
Ukraine will save up to 250 million U.S. dollars in April thanks to Russia’s gas export discount, Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov told a government meeting.
“The Russian government signed a decree to abolish the gas export duty. Thus, beginning from April it will cost Ukraine 100 U.S. dollars less per each 1,000 cubic metres,” he said.
“Already in April we will pay approximately by 2 billion hryvnia less than Ukraine would otherwise have paid under the previous enslaving contracts,” he said.
He stressed that the funds remaining in Ukraine’s economy should be injected into the introduction of energy saving technologies.
Under the agreements, the price of gas for Ukraine will lowered by 30 percent, but no more than by 100 U.S. dollars per 1,000 cubic metres. The discount would apply to the 30 billion cubic metres to be piped in 2010, and to the annual 40 billion cubic metres to be supplied over years to come.
The addendum also cancelled contract provisions on mutual penalties, which, as a matter of fact, had never been applied.
Ukraine plans to import 36.5 billion cubic metres of gas from Russia in 2010.
Vice Premier Sergei Tigipko said the optimal price of Russia's natural gas for Ukraine would be 230-240 U.S. dollars per 1,000 cubic metres, and added that a draft budget for 2010 included the previous gas price of 334 U.S. dollars per 1,000 cubic meters.
In the first quarter of the year Ukraine bought natural gas at the price of 305 U.S. dollars per 1,000 cubic meters, while in the second quarter this price increased to 330 U.S. dollars.
The price of natural gas for Ukraine in the second quarter of 2010 will be 236 U.S. dollars per 1,000 cubic metres after the discount, Gazprom Bard deputy Chairman Valery Golubev said.
Without the discount, the price would have been 336 U.S. dollar per 1,000 cubic metres.
Pursuant to the latest bilateral agreements, Russia has amended the effective contract for gas supplies to Ukraine. The discount is 30 percent but no more than 100 U.S. dollars.
According to Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov, the lowering of prices on imported natural gas for Ukraine will allow the country to save about 4 billion U.S. dollars annually. “The issue of the gas price is vitally important for us,” he said.
In his opinion, if the current gas prices remain, the country will not be able to reach the targeted GDP growth volume of 3.7 percent in 2010, and the economy will again be in recession.
According to Azarov, the gas price is growing quarterly and has already increased from 330 U.S. dollars per 1,000 cubic metres to 348-350 U.S. dollars. Taking into account the VAT and the cost of transportation to enterprises the gas costs 450 U.S. dollars. “Our chemical industry will stop and metallurgists will also most likely stop working,” said the prime minister.
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