Russia - WikiLeaks
Russia 091203
Basic Political Developments
• ISRIA: Turkmenistan - Dmitry Medvedev to attend inauguration of Turkmen-Russian school in Ashgabat
• Itar-Tass: Russia-Israel commission resumes work after three-year interval
• RIA: Russia's Medvedev arrives in Rome for bilateral talks
• Bloomberg: Fiat May Make Cars, Commercial Vehicles in Russia, Ansa Says
• Interfax: Medvedev starts visit to Italy
• : Russian Orthodox release book with words of Pope Benedict
• Interfax: Medvedev and Benedict XVI will discuss international problems, dialog between various cultures and religions and cooperation in the field of humanities
• Reuters: Orthodox, Catholic Faiths Inch Closer
• : New hints of movement toward Vatican-Moscow 'summit'
• Reuters: HIGHLIGHTS 2-Russia's Putin: annual Q&A session
• BBC: Putin urges train bomb response - Russian PM Vladimir Putin has called for tough measures against those behind the bombing of a Moscow-St Petersburg train in which 26 people died.
• Itar-Tass: Eight cities to speak directly with Putin
• RIA: Putin set for televised Q&A session
• Russia Today: PM on the line – live Q&A with Vladimir Putin
• Reuters: Russia recession likely to dominate Putin phone-in
• RIA: NATO meeting to address key issues on alliance's agenda
• Interfax: James Appathurai: NATO wants to discuss missile defense with Russia and plans to cooperate with Russia in tackling the problem of Afghanistan - NATO plans to discuss missile defense problems with Russia at a NATO-Russia Council meeting on December 4, NATO Spokesman James Appathurai said in an interview with Interfax.
• RIA: Russia, U.S. could sign new strategic arms deal by yearend — expert
• FOX News: NSC Adv Jones upbeat on new START deal
• NY Times: Arms Treaty Likely to Expire Before New Pact Is Set
• Xinhua: Russian climate expert praises China's emissions cut goal - Alexei Kokorin, head of Russia's climate change program of the World Wide Fund for Nature, spoke highly of China's announcement to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gross domestic product by 40 to 45 percent by 2020 from the 2005 level.
• News.az: Azerbaijan recorded the highest GDP of the CIS countries in January to October this year, 8.2%.
• Focus: Greek press: Greek-Russian and Greek-Turkish talks on Burgas-Alexandroupolis and shelf
• RIA: Bulgarian environmental concerns cast doubt over Russian pipeline
• : Russian oil pipeline hits snag in Bulgaria: minister
• The Moscow Times: Shmatko Faces Tough Talks in Sofia
• Russia Today: Nuclear power comes through with cash - The world’s largest nuclear power firm says it's had no trouble placing a billion dollar plus bond issue, despite investor caution, saying that Russian state ownership gives it stability that many rivals lack.
• The Jamestown Foundation: Russia Seeks to Sustain its Energy Security
• ISRIA: Beginning of Meeting of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Economic Issues (2 December 2009)
• Kudrin still not favoring state monopoly over alcohol production (Part2)
• Xinhua: Greece, Russia sign joint action plan on economic cooperation
• The Nation: Thaksin in Russia: Payap
• Spaceflight Now: Russia delays Angara rocket debut as testing progresses
• : Rosoboronexport to present aerospace, air defence and naval capabilities at LIMA 2009
• : Inter-Regional Muslim Forum Opens In Perm
• The Jamestown Foundation: Deadly Crash of Nevsky Express Revives Fears of Past Bombing Campaigns
• RIA: Massive oil leak in central Russia
• Itar-Tass: Oilspill of about 200 tonnes occurs in Lipetsk region-RME
• RFERL: Tajik Citizen Wins European Court Case Against Russia
• RIA: Tajik national, children found dead in Moscow apartment
• RFERL: Top Russian Judges Quit Posts After Critical Comments
• Telegraph.co.uk: Judges forced out after accusing Kremlin of hijacking judiciary
• Online.: Judge Set to Retire Amid Kremlin Row
• Guardian.co.uk: Rising oil price refuels Russian taste for fine art
• : Russian tycoon finds limelight a little bright - Viktor Vekselberg, the Russian tycoon who bought the Forbes family’s collection of Fabergé eggs, has avoided the financial pitfalls that have hurt many of his fellow oligarchs during the credit crunch.
• : Activists urge Kremlin to stop building resort
• The Moscow Times: Ministry Readies Tax Haven Curbs
• Blogs.: Time to kick Russia out of the BRICs?
• RIA: What the Russian papers say - Medvedev's proposal for new European security treaty a compromise between Russia, West / Row darkens upcoming NATO-Russia meeting / Menatep gets chance to sue Russia for billions of dollars / German concern asks Gazprom to review long-term gas prices /
National Economic Trends
• RIA: Russia's GDP decrease in 2009 to exceed predicted 8.5% -- Kudrin
• Bloomberg: Russian Service Industries Grew for Fourth Month (Update1)
• RenCap: Rouble weakens on the back of accelerated budget spending expectations in December
• RenCap: Reserve Fund in November
Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions
• Bloomberg: Polymetal, Rosneft, Sberbank, Sitronics: Russian Equity Preview
• Russia Today: RusHydro posts 1H 2009 Net Profit of 17.85 billion Roubles
• Citibank: Agriculture: Fertiliser Demand Rebounds in 4Q09
• Bloomberg: Hong Kong Exchange Committee Said to Review Rusal IPO on Dec. 7
• AFP: Rusal's IPO plan in Hong Kong faces new delay
• Guardian.co.uk: Deripaska and Rusal come back from the brink
• Reuters: Russian banks' loan portfolio remains flat-FinMin
• RBC: Vnesheconombank may become joint-stock company next year
• : Sistema Completes The Sale Of A Controlling Stake In Sistema-Hals To VTB Bank
• Online.: Sistema: VTB Owns 51% Of Sistema-Hals After Exercising Call
• RenCap: Rostelecom to be delisted from NYSE?
• RIA: Russia's top air carrier denies fuel shortage rumors
• Reuters: Russia still on radar of global retailers-PwC
• Reuters: FACTBOX-Key facts about Russia's retail sector
• Interfax: Globaltrans consolidated net profit falls 63.3% in Jan-Sept
Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)
• RIA: Oil spill in central Russia will not affect consumers - Transneft
• Rigzone: Tatneft Gets Go-Ahead to Develop South Kishma Oil Field
• RenCap: Russia: Nov 2009 gas production statistics
• RenCap: Russia: Nov 2009 crude production statistics
Gazprom
• Citibank: Gazprom (GAZP.RTS) - to swap gas for electricity in France
• UPI: Gazprom inks deal with Vologda Oblast
• Troika: Gazprom output shows signs of tangible improvement in November
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Full Text Articles
Basic Political Developments
ISRIA: Turkmenistan - Dmitry Medvedev to attend inauguration of Turkmen-Russian school in Ashgabat
President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev will visit Turkmenistan in late December, Russian president's aide Sergei Prikhodko said yesterday. According to him, "preparations for the visit are under way. The visit of the President of Russia to Turkmenistan is scheduled for the end of this year, in late December," ITAR-TASS said. Prikhodko added that "the purpose of the visit is to inaugurate the Russian school in Ashgabat."
It should be recalled that the foundation of the new building of the Turkmen-Russian secondary school named after Pushkin designed for 800 pupils was laid in 2007 by Presidents Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Vladimir Putin.
The modern multi-story school building is being erected near Independence Avenue to the south of the Olympic Stadium. It consists of a three-story study facilities and a nine-story administration building. The construction is carried out by Turkish firm "Erku" and funded by Russian joint-stock company "Gazprom".
Russia-Israel commission resumes work after three-year interval
03.12.2009, 05.58
MOSCOW, December 3 (Itar-Tass) - The Russian-Israeli mixed commission on trade and economic cooperation resumes its work after a three-year interval, reported a source at the Russian government.
It will hold its seventh meeting in Moscow on Thursday which will be co-chaired by Russian first vice-premier Viktor Zubkov and Israeli vice-premier and Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman. The commission had the previous meeting in 2006.
The Russian government noted that the commission resumes its work against the backdrop of the successful development of the Russian-Israeli political dialogue. The sides continue the practice of annual Russian-Israeli summits and established contacts between the security councils, the foreign ministries and related ministries.
The cancellation of the visa barriers helped to form a favourable interstate atmosphere. The intergovernmental agreement on dumping visa formalities during mutual trips of Russian and Israeli citizens entered into force in September 2008.
Besides, trade and economic relations between the two countries were given a jab in the arm. In 2008, the volume of trade hit its maximum over all years of bilateral cooperation – 2.8 billion US dollars.
The source noted that the sides “laid down a rock-firm foundation, but it needs a superstructure, above all thanks to projects in the trade and economic sphere. This should be promoted by the Russian-Israeli intergovernmental commission”.
According to the source, the sides plan to give special attention to qualitative improvement of economic relations. The scheme “raw materials and fuel in exchange for machinery and equipment” has exhausted its potential and cannot serve as a reliable basis for developing relations. The global economic crisis showed vulnerability of this model: trade halved in January-July 2009, he continued.
The source called production cooperation, partnership in innovation activities, information technologies and communications, development of small and medium businesses as well as joint entrepreneurial activities, including in science-intensive spheres, as promising areas for bilateral cooperation.
The government source is sure that an agreement on encouragement and mutual protection of investments will be a good impetus to the development of investment cooperation.
Deliveries to Israel of Russian natural gas can be another topic at the coming talks, he added.
It is planned that results of the commission’s work will be recorded in a protocol. Its meeting is a logical continuation of Zubkov’s working visit to Israel on September 30-October 1, 2009.
RIA: Russia's Medvedev arrives in Rome for bilateral talks
23:4402/12/2009
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has arrived in Rome to discuss bilateral economic cooperation with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and meet with Pope Benedict XVI in the Vatican.
Medvedev will visit the Italian capital for the sixth round of broad intergovernmental consultations at the highest level, presidential aide Sergei Prikhodko said earlier on Wednesday, adding the Russian delegation will include a team of ministers and other top officials.
Economic cooperation will become the main focus of the bilateral talks, Prikhodko said.
After the consultations in Rome, Medvedev will pay a short visit to the Vatican in order to meet with Pope Benedict XVI and the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone. The agenda of the talks is expected to focus on humanitarian cooperation. Medvedev will meet with the Pope for the first time.
ROME, December 2 (RIA Novosti)
Bloomberg: Fiat May Make Cars, Commercial Vehicles in Russia, Ansa Says
By Steve Scherer
Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Fiat SpA may team up with OAO Sollers to make cars and commercial vehicles in Russia, Italian and Russian industry ministers said late yesterday, Ansa news agency reported.
The two carmakers are talking about a partnership to “create a new, big automobile producer, a new, large regional player,” Russian Industry and Trade Minister Viktor Khristenko said in Rome, according to Ansa.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev meet today in Rome.
Last Updated: December 3, 2009 01:57 EST
Interfax: Medvedev starts visit to Italy
ROME. Dec 3 (Interfax) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev arrived
in Rome on Wednesday evening.
The primary purpose of Medvedev's visit to Italy is to attend the
sixth round of Italian-Russian expanded top-level intergovernmental
consultations.
Medvedev will have meetings with Italian Prime Minister Silvio
Berlusconi in a narrow and expanded format and will be present at a
ceremony of signing a number of intergovernmental and interagency
documents and investment contracts between Russian and Italian companies
on Thursday.
In the afternoon, Medvedev will visit Vatican City and meet with
Pope Benedict XVI.
: Russian Orthodox release book with words of Pope Benedict
December 2, 2:53 PM
The Russian Orthodox Church has today released a new book, one that has been published in both Russian and Italian. It contains some of the words of Pope Benedict XVI concerning European culture.
The media is already insistent on healing relations between Eastern Orthodoxy and Catholicism, especially with respect to the largest Orthodox Patriarchate--Russia. There are even rumors of plans for the Patriarch Kirill to meet with the Pope in a "neutral" location or even somewhere in Russia in the coming months. The new book pushes that all of Europe, East and West, is a "spiritual homeland" in many aspects of its culture.
Hieromonk Philip of the Russian Orthodox Church explained that this book is a "testimony of the absolute identity of views and positions between the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church in regard to modern social processes." No matter what, it is sure to cause some high spirits and ill feelings amongst the debators of ecumenism in the Orthodox Church.
02 December 2009, 17:26
Interfax: Medvedev and Benedict XVI will discuss international problems, dialog between various cultures and religions and cooperation in the field of humanities
Moscow, December 2, Interfax - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will pay a brief visit to the Vatican on Thursday, he will hold conversations with Pope Benedict XVI and the Vatican secretary of state Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.
Medvedev and Benedict "will possibly talk, in a broad context and without going into details, about the concurrence of the positions of Russia and the Vatican on the more acute international problems and will dwell on the issue of mutual understanding between various cultures and religions and on cooperation in the field of humanities," presidential aide Sergey Prikhodko told Interfax.
Earlier, Archpriest Igor Vyzhanov, secretary of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, told Interfax-Religion that Medvedev's planned visit to the Vatican should not be seen as "a mediatory mission for bilateral relations between the Moscow Patriarchate and the Roman Catholic Church."
The meeting between Medvedev and Benedict "will be a meeting between two statesmen," he said.
"We discuss issues of bilateral relations between our churches by ourselves, directly with the Pope or Papal representatives. So it can't be a case of mediation by two state leaders in inter-church relations," the priest added.
Reuters: Orthodox, Catholic Faiths Inch Closer
03 December 2009
Reuters
The Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church are making progress toward healing their 1,000-year-old rift, a senior Russian official said ahead of President Dmitry Medvedev’s first visit to the Vatican.
But Medvedev will not invite Pope Benedict to make a historic visit to Russia when the two meet on Thursday because he believes that church heads should take the initiative, said the official, who refused to be identified.
“It is not appropriate for a secular leader to raise the issue in the absence of a hierarch,” the official said. “They [church leaders] should decide the issue themselves.
“However, a movement toward normalization is clearly seen, and things are moving in the right direction,” he added.
Visits by Russian leaders to the Holy See in the past have failed to help heal the rift between the churches. But new hopes emerged when Patriarch Kirill took power after the death of his theologically more conservative predecessor, Alexy II, last December.
Patriarch Alexy, who spearheaded the revival of his church after decades of Communist persecution, treated rival religions and churches with suspicion.
The Russian Orthodox Church has accused the Vatican of poaching for converts in its territory, including in Ukraine. The Catholic Church says it is only ministering to an existing flock of about half a million Russian Catholics.
The medieval Christian church split into Eastern and Western branches in the Great Schism of 1054 amid disputes over papal authority and the insertion of a clause into the Nicene Creed. The divide has never been healed.
Patriarch Kirill, who headed the church’s foreign relations department for many years before taking his present job, has shown less hostility toward Catholics than did Alexy.
German-born Pope Benedict, a theological conservative, is viewed by Orthodox hierarchs as a more welcomed partner than his predecessor, John Paul II.
: New hints of movement toward Vatican-Moscow 'summit'
December 02, 2009
On the eve of a meeting between Pope Benedict XVI and Russia’s President Dmitri Medvedev, there are new signs of substantial progress in relations between the Holy See and the Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow, and hint that a “summit” meeting between the Pope and Russian Patriarch Kirill might be under discussion. The Russian Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow has published a collection of speeches by Pope Benedict XVI, and a government official in Belarus has suggested that his country might be an appropriate place for the much-anticipated ecumenical summit.
The new book produced by the Moscow patriarchate, Europe Spiritual Homeland, is a collection of talks by Pope Benedict over the past decade—both before and after his election as Roman Pontiff—addressing the spiritual crisis in Europe. The book, published in Italian and Russian, carries an introduction by Archbishop Hilarion, the chief ecumenical officer of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Since the January election of Kirill to succeed Alexei II as Patriarch of Moscow, ecumenical contacts with the Vatican have increased dramatically. The new Russian Patriarch has strong personal ties with Pope Benedict; he met with the Pontiff on three different occasions while serving as the chief ecumenical official for the Moscow patriarchate. Patriarch Kirill has expressed a keen interest in cooperating with the Catholic Church, especially in the struggle against secularism in Europe: the topic of the new collection of papal speeches. On the same day’s a the book’s introduction, the director of religious affairs for the government of Belarus told reporters that his country might be an ideal location for a meeting between Pope Benedict and Patriarch Kirill. At a press conference in Minsk, Leonid Gulyako said that relations between the Orthodox and Catholic churches have always been warm in Belarus. The country’s President Alexander Lukashenko had issued an invitation for Pope Benedict to visit Belarus during an April meeting at the Vatican.
Although there has been no public discussion of any plan for a meeting between the Pope and the Russian Patriarch, officials of both the Vatican and the Moscow patriarchate have suggested in the past that such a meeting would probably take place neither in Rome nor in Moscow but at some “neutral” location.
The visit to Rome by President Medvedev is significant in itself, since the Russian leader has advanced the possibility that Russia might open a full embassy to the Holy See. (The Russian Federation currently has a special diplomatic representative at the Vatican.) Medvedev—who was baptized into the Orthodox Church as an adult, and whose wife Svetlana Medvedev is a known for her devotion to the Orthodox Church—could also serve as an intermediary in futhering talks between the Holy See and the Moscow patriarchate.
Reuters: HIGHLIGHTS 2-Russia's Putin: annual Q&A session
MOSCOW, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Following are edited highlights of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's comments in an annual question-and-answer session with Russian citizens on Thursday:
ON TERRORISM
"We have done a lot to break the spine of terrorism, but the threat has not been fully liquidated."
"The threat of terrorism remains very high."
The comments came in response to a question about a train bombing last week in which dozens of people died. Putin said it was difficult to prevent acts of terrorism but law enforcement agencies must act to pre-empt them.
ON FINANCIAL CRISIS
"The peak of the crisis has been overcome ... Exit from the crisis requires time, strength and no little funds."
"Some experts had said the decline in GDP will be around 10 percent. It is still significant, but better than we had thought -- somewhere around 8.5-8.7 percent. Industrial production has also shrunk, probably by around 13 percent (in 2009)."
"The economy has grown by an average of 0.5 percent per month over the last five months. I'm counting on these positive trends in economic development becoming more significant in the middle of next year."
ON BIRTH RATES
"Birth rates are growing at a record pace -- it will be over 3 percent -- and death rates are also falling ... This has an economic impact too, because it supports demand. By the way, demand is also recovering."
ON PIKALYOVO AND OTHER ONE-INDUSTRY TOWNS
"The situation in one-industry towns, including Pikalyovo, is under control."
"In Pikalyovo, it's necessary to secure a long-term contract for the entire year of 2010. Such an agreement between all the parties concerned will be concluded in the very near future." ((Moscow Newsroom, + 7 495 775 1242, moscow.newsroom@))
BBC: Putin urges train bomb response
Russian PM Vladimir Putin has called for tough measures against those behind the bombing of a Moscow-St Petersburg train in which 26 people died.
He said the attack showed the threat to Russia from terrorism remained high.
He was speaking during a TV phone-in, in which he will answer some of half-a-million questions submitted by viewers.
A North Caucasus Islamist group has claimed responsibility for Friday's attack on the Nevsky Express, some 400km (250 miles) north-west of Moscow.
"It is necessary to act in a very tough way against criminals who carry out these kinds of terrorist attacks," Mr Putin said.
Itar-Tass: Eight cities to speak directly with Putin
03.12.2009, 04.09
MOSCOW, December 3 (Itar-Tass) - Eight cities will be directly linked with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during his conversation with Russian citizens. Although, according to the tradition, the conversation between Putin and people is being prepared in secret, some particulars of the coming special programme “Conversation with Vladimir Putin. Continued” have become known.
“The direct line” conversation with Putin will be made for the eighth time. The premier is expected to speak with residents of Pikalyovo City which became known all over the country six months ago. At the time, workers of three factories sealed off a federal highway three times, and Putin had to come there to thrash out things.
Following this event, the word “Pikalyovo” rooted down in folklore: video clips were shot about the city, songs and verses were written, while phrases, addressed by angered Putin to owners of factories, were repeated by people all over the country. For instance: “Why did you start scurrying to and fro like cockroaches just before my arrival?”
According to Itar-Tass information, Putin plans to speak with workers of the alumina factory so as to check up how his instructions have been fulfilled, and what the situation is now in the city from the viewpoint of ordinary people.
Togliatti is another city with whose citizens the premier intends to speak. The fate of the AVTOVAZ factory, hence their own destiny, is evidently a headache for residents. In general, the topic of engineering will be evidently one of the main during the coming conversation between Putin and people. According to a source, this is why the on-line TV conversation will link Moscow and Komsomolsk-on-Amur in the Russian Far East.
Its citizens are now lively discussing a possibility of opening a new car factory to assemble Japanese Nissan cars with participation of the Renault Company (one of stockholders of AVTOVAZ). Citizens want to ask the cabinet head how trustworthy these rumours are.
Naberezhnye Chelny in the Tatarstan Republic is also interested in the topic of engineering. Workers of the KAMAZ factory, located in the city, are sure to put questions directly to Putin. The premier promised to send them a special TV camera when he visited recently the enterprise.
According to Itar-Tass, mobile TV studios will be also set up in Sayanogorsk, situated close to the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydropower station. The premier and residents will speak about restoring the station and payments to specialists and their families who suffered during the disaster at the power plant.
RIA: Putin set for televised Q&A session
10:2303/12/2009
MOSCOW, December 3 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will tackle on Thursday questions from the nation during his annual question-and-answer session, the premier's spokesman said.
As of 09:00 a.m. on Thursday [06:00 GMT], "a huge volume" of some 1.5 million questions and messages had been addressed to the premier, most of them centering on the fight against terrorism in the wake of the recent train attack, social and economic issues, the need for police reform, and other issues, Dmitry Peskov said.
Some of the questions have been posted at moskva-putinu.ru, and more can still be submitted.
Peskov said the phone-in, called A Conversation with Vladimir Putin. The Sequel, could last an hour and a half, but warned that everything "will depend on its intensity." It will be aired live at noon Moscow time [09:00 GMT].
Last year saw a record for Putin, who answered 80 questions in three hours and eight minutes, three minutes over the longest of the six televised question-and-answer sessions he had held as head of state.
Today's session is also expected to include a video linkup to Togliatti, where Russia's largest ailing carmaker, AvtoVAZ is based, and the northwestern town of Pikalyovo, where cement production was resumed in the summer upon Putin's instructions, Peskov said.
Some view today's event as Putin's chance to improve his popularity ratings, which have been falling in the past few weeks.
Russia Today: PM on the line – live Q&A with Vladimir Putin
03 December, 2009, 09:41
Vladimir Putin will hold his annual televised live call-in show with Russian citizens Thursday – the second as prime minister. During the Q&A session he will answer questions relating to the government’s domestic policy.
The show starts at noon Moscow time (0900 GMT) and is scheduled to last for an hour-and-a-half, but will most likely significantly exceed this time limit.
Watch the live transmission on RT
Last year, the session’s duration was 3 hours and 8 minutes, during which Prime Minister Putin answered 72 questions.
Some of them (more than 37,000 letters) have already been processed through a special website, moskva-putinu.ru. All in all, by 1pm on Wednesday, the prime minister had received around 700,000 questions.
Putin will also respond to questions from guests in the studio, from citizens in several Russian cities and towns via televised live transmissions, and on the phone. It will be possible to send text messages to the call-center as well.
The call-in session will be broadcast by several major Russian TV channels and radio stations.
The main topics Russians are concerned about are corruption, and increasing prices on anti-flu medicine and petrol.
The terrorist attack on the “Nevsky Express” train last week is also high on the agenda. If those who suffered in the incident ask about social guarantees and compensation, others are interested in the overall state of security in the country.
Reuters: Russia recession likely to dominate Putin phone-in
Wed Dec 2, 2009 6:35pm EST
By Gleb Bryanski
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Vladimir Putin, Russia's prime minister and most powerful politician, will field dozens of questions on Thursday from the Russian people at an annual phone-in likely to be dominated by the country's sickly economy.
The televised phone-in, which involves video links to hotspots such as the crisis-hit city which makes Lada cars, will be Putin's eighth and has become something of a national institution.
Starting at 0900 GMT, it offers the premier -- who most Russians believe takes all key decisions -- blanket exposure on state-controlled media and a chance to bolster his still-high popularity ratings, which have drooped slightly in recent weeks.
"A Conversation with Vladimir Putin. The Sequel" will be broadcast on state television and radio from a conference center next to the Kremlin. Last year's carefully choreographed phone-in lasted a marathon three hours and eight minutes.
This year Putin will be linked up to Togliatti, home to the struggling Lada car maker AvtoVAZ, and Pikalyovo, a town where he intervened in the summer to save a threatened cement factory and publicly humiliate its oligarch owner.
The government said Putin has already received over 700,000 questions by phone, text messages and through the Internet.
The premier, who served as president from 2000-8 before handing over his Kremlin post to hand-picked ally Dmitry Medvedev, spent all day Wednesday in his residence in a forested Moscow suburb preparing for the show.
"He is working with the background material, going through the questions," said Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov. He said Putin was not making any public appearances before the phone-in but would have some working meetings.
Peskov said all Putin's staff as well as some ministries were involved in preparations.
This year, the government posted some questions of its choice on the website moskva-putinu.ru but did not disclose the full list. The published questions focused on corruption, bureaucracy and government-provided social benefits.
One question went to the heart of the Russian political system, often unable to function without pressure from the top. "Why in our country can't bureaucrats deal with issues without help from the chairman of the government," it read.
Another question came from the town of Pikalyovo, home to the cement factory which Putin helped to restart.
"What is the probability of our factory working without stoppages in the future?" asked the questioner, who complained that her daughter had to drop education when the factory stopped paying her salary.
Last year Putin joked when a caller asked if he had called for Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to be "hung by his balls" for his role in Russia's war with Georgia.
He also invited a girl from a remote Siberian region who asked for a dress to celebrate New Year in Moscow.
Speaking as Russia's worst economic crisis in a decade unfolded, Putin promised to avoid mass layoffs, raise pensions, support factories and cut quotas for the use of foreign workers.
An increase in oil prices has helped to pull the Russian economy from the brink of collapse earlier this year.
But despite billions of dollars spent on stimulus policies, industrial growth has failed to materialize and Russia is lagging far behind its emerging market peers such as Brazil, India and China.
(Writing by Gleb Bryanski and Michael Stott; Editing by Charles Dick)
RIA: NATO meeting to address key issues on alliance's agenda
04:3203/12/2009
Foreign ministers from 28 NATO member countries will gather in Brussels on Thursday for a two-day meeting to discuss a wide range of issues on the alliance's agenda.
According to a NATO statement posted on Wednesday, the key topics of the discussions "will include the situation in Afghanistan, NATO's Open Door policy, relations with Russia, Ukraine and Georgia, missile defense, and NATO's new Strategic Concept."
The meeting will start with sessions of the NATO-Ukraine and the NATO-Georgia commissions to review both nations' progress in implementing their Annual National Programs and questions of regional security.
Ukraine and Georgia have long been pursuing NATO membership but their bids were turned down due to pressure from Germany and France at a 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest.
However, NATO has stated that the two countries will join at an unspecified date in the future.
Both countries have been included in the alliance's Partnership for Peace program, aimed at allowing "partner countries to build up an individual relationship with NATO, choosing their own priorities for cooperation."
At the working dinner on Thursday, the ministers will address NATO's Open Door policy in relation to Bosnia-Herzegovina's and Montenegro's desire to join NATO's Membership Action Plan (MAP).
The agenda on Friday includes a meeting in the framework of the NATO-Russia Council, which will be attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
The upcoming session, the first official talks to be held since the August 2008 armed conflict between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia, is aimed at drafting a "roadmap" for improving relations between Russia and the Western military alliance.
During an informal ministerial meeting in Greece in June, Russia and NATO agreed to renew cooperation on security issues, which was frozen after Russia and Georgia fought a five-day war in August over the former Georgian republic of South Ossetia, after which Russia recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another former Georgian republic.
Relations have also been strained by Russia's resistance to Georgia and Ukraine's bids to join NATO.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in October that "Russia is ready to harmonize relations with the United States and other Western partners, including constructive cooperation with NATO in solving common tasks."
Russia could play an important role in supporting NATO operations in Afghanistan, not only by providing transit of military cargo and personnel into the war-torn Central Asian country, but also by training personnel for the country's police forces and even delivering small arms and light weapons for Afghan police.
BRUSSELS, December 3 (RIA Novosti)
James Appathurai: NATO wants to discuss missile defense with Russia and plans to cooperate with Russia in tackling the problem of Afghanistan
NATO plans to discuss missile defense problems with Russia at a NATO-Russia Council meeting on December 4, NATO Spokesman James Appathurai said in an interview with Interfax.
NATO plans to discuss missile defense problems with Russia at a NATO-Russia Council meeting on December 4, NATO Spokesman James Appathurai said in an interview with Interfax.
The participants in the meeting are likely to discuss how new U.S. plans on missile defense could be harmonized with NATO plans, he said.
While Appathurai refrained from predicting a possible result of the discussion, he said he was sure that Washington's intention to employ NATO in its missile defense system would be supported in general, although no details, like its cost and other things, will be discussed.
Speaking about NATO's relations with Russia, Appathurai noted that the 2008 crisis in Georgia showed vividly that, despite disagreements on interpreting the conflict, NATO and Russia understand that they should work together. When they have common analysis of threats and a working program, they would have a good basis for cooperation, he said.
NATO and Russia obviously face common security problems, and they should do more than they are doing now to solve them, he said.
Combating not only terrorism but also extremism in Afghanistan is NATO's job, but Russia has generously offered its support, which the alliance accepted gratefully, Appathurai said.
With this support, NATO could do more in combating terrorism and drug trafficking in Afghanistan and be more successful in fighting terrorism in broader terms, he said.
Spokesman told also, that NATO planed to cooperate with Russia in tackling the problem of Afghanistan at several levels.
Negotiations with a number of countries on the transit of non-lethal supplies intended for NATO forces deployed in Afghanistan are in their final stages today, Appathurai said.
NATO will start using this transit route when all agreements are achieved, the alliance's spokesman said, adding that Russia has already allowed certain NATO member-countries to deliver their cargo to Afghanistan across its territory.
Further negotiations will be held on methods of this transit, the possibility of expanding the range of NATO supplies intended for Afghanistan and other details, Appathurai said.
NATO is also interested in working together with Russia to train personnel in charge of combating drug trafficking, the spokesman said.
Specialists trained as part of the NATO-Russia Council's programs have confiscated a majority of drug hauls in Central Asian countries and Afghanistan, Appathurai said.
Russia could also help upgrade Soviet-era military hardware used by NATO member-states and Afghanistan, the spokesman said, adding that such an initiative is being discussed today.
Addressing NATO's strategy in Afghanistan, Appathurai said that the alliance's armed forces will focus on protecting the civilian population and will devote more energy and money to training and equipping Afghanistan's security forces.
Tens of thousands of servicemen, primarily from the U.S., will join the NATO-led contingent in Afghanistan within the next few weeks, the alliance's spokesman said.
RIA: Russia, U.S. could sign new strategic arms deal by yearend — expert
00:3903/12/2009
Russia and the United States will most likely sign a new strategic arms reduction treaty by the end of this year, a Russian political analyst has said.
Moscow and Washington are still negotiating a replacement for the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I), the basis for Russian-U.S. strategic nuclear disarmament, which expires on December 5.
"The [new] agreement will not be signed on Saturday, but there is a possibility that it could be signed as early as mid-December," Alexei Arbatov, director of the Center for International Security Studies at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, said during a video conference between Moscow and Washington on Wednesday.
START I commits the parties to reducing their nuclear warheads to 6,000 and their delivery vehicles to 1,600 each. In 2002, a follow-up strategic arms reduction agreement was concluded in Moscow. The document, known as the Moscow Treaty, envisioned cuts to 1,700-2,200 warheads by December 2012.
An outline of the new pact was agreed during the Russian and U.S. presidents' bilateral summit in Moscow in July and includes cutting their countries' nuclear arsenals to 1,500-1,675 operational warheads and delivery vehicles to 500-1,000.
Russian and U.S. experts have held several rounds of talks on the new document since July, and have repeatedly expressed hope that the replacement for START I could be ready by December 5 deadline.
However, the U.S. Department of State said on Tuesday that the draft of the new treaty would most likely be ready by the end of December.
"It is not a tragedy that the new treaty is not signed by December 5. The tragedy, or a hard blow, to put it mildly, would be if the new treaty is not signed by May next year," Arbatov said.
He said an international conference will be held in May to discuss a new non-proliferation treaty and "all nuclear states are expecting the Russia-U.S. deal, which they have been promised."
"If the [new START] treaty is not signed by then, the conference will be a failure... and we might as well forget about a new non-proliferation regime, with all foreseeable consequences," Arbatov concluded.
MOSCOW, December 3 (RIA Novosti)
December 2, 2009
FOX News: NSC Adv Jones upbeat on new START deal
Major Garrett
Contributing Editor
Expressing far more optimism than the White House conveyed in mid-November, President Obama's National Security Adviser told Fox Wednesday a new nuclear arms control deal with Russia is within reach as both sides are "down to the last few paragraphs and sentences."
"All of the dialogue is encouraging, they're positive," Jones said of talks in Geneva with Russian negotiators on an arms control deal to replace the existing START agreement that expires Saturday. "I think the Russians want to do this. It's a very complex issue. We're down to the last few paragraphs and sentences. And if we can get it done by (December) 5th, fine, maybe it'll be one or two days later."
The START treaty, initiated in talks with Russia in 1991 and finalized in1994, limited the number of nuclear warheads in both countries and regulated the number and sophistication of air, sea and land-based launchers. Among the nettlesome issues for both sides, how to count operational versus obsolete warheads and how to verify compliance with warhead limits and delivery system capabilities.
Jones called the talks "a bit of race against the clock" to meet Saturday's deadline. He said the topic came up in Obama's call to Russian President Dmitri Medvedev on Monday and the two leaders "will speak again" to prod talks toward a deal.
"I think the attitude of both countries and all negotiators and both presidents who are driving the process is that we're headed towards having some success here. I just don't know if we'll hit (the expiration date) exactly right," Jones said.
Jones, the top US negotiator with Russia, added there appears to be less need for a so-called bridging agreement, a formal and separately negotiated deal to maintain current nuclear arms arrangements until a new treaty can be hammered out.
"We want to come to an agreement. At some point if there's something that prevents us from doing that then we'll have to talk about a bridging agreement," Jones told Fox in his first interview with the network during the Obama presidency. "We're in negotiations, it'll go on all day tomorrow, the next day, if we can get there, we'll be happy to announce it."
The goal is to reduce nuclear operational warheads on both sides to 1,500-1,675 and delivery vehicles - planes, missiles, land-based launchers - to 500-1,000. The START deal set warhead limits at 6,000 and delivery vehicles at 1,600 each.
Following the last face-to-face meeting between Obama and Medvedev Nov. 15 in Singapore, top White House officials said a new arms treaty might not be worked out until year's end.
"We talked about some sticky issues that still have to be resolved," Mike McFaul, the National Security Council's Russia expert. "And both Presidents committed to trying to get a new treaty in place by the end of the year. We're not at the endgame yet, we're not at the end of the year. We still have some fairly major things to finish."
The U.S. Senate and the Russian Duma must approve a new arms control treaty. That process will play out in 2010, meaning both sides will have to reach some kind of understanding -- formal or otherwise -- to maintain the arms control regime until a new deal is ratified.
"What I do know for sure is that we won't have a ratified treaty in place by December 5th," McFaul said on Nov. 15. "That has to go through our Senate, through their Duma. So that is for sure we do need a bridging agreement no matter what."
NY Times: Arms Treaty Likely to Expire Before New Pact Is Set
By PETER BAKER and CLIFFORD J. LEVY
Published: December 2, 2009
WASHINGTON — American and Russian negotiators are racing to solve the remaining obstacles to a new arms control treaty that would cut the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals by up to a third and replace a cold-war-era pact that expires Saturday.
The delegations are working marathon hours in Geneva to resolve differences over verification and to settle other details of an agreement that would reduce the number of deployed strategic warheads, missiles, bombers and submarines to their lowest levels in a half century. A mostly complete text has been written and translated, and there have been discussions about where to hold a signing ceremony.
But it appears unlikely that they will complete their work by the time the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty of 1991, known as Start, expires, or that it can be ready for President Obama to sign when he visits Europe next week.
The idea of a ceremony next week had particular appeal because of the resonance of signing an arms control treaty on the same trip that Mr. Obama receives his Nobel Peace Prize, allowing him to position himself as a peacemaker even as he is escalating the war in Afghanistan.
Mr. Obama’s goal of eventually ridding the world of nuclear arms is more popular in Europe and elsewhere than is the eight-year-old war in Afghanistan.
As recently as this week, officials in Geneva were talking about holding a signing ceremony in Reykjavik, Iceland, the scene of the 1986 summit meeting where Ronald Reagan and Mikhail S. Gorbachev came close to an agreement to eliminate nuclear weapons altogether. Other sites under consideration were Geneva and Helsinki, Finland.
But a White House official, who was not authorized to speak for attribution about the talks, said that “it’s not going to happen” next week and that negotiators were now aiming for the end of the year. “We are working this hard, but it will only get done if it is a good agreement that advances our national interests,” the official said.
The two sides appear close on the question of limits. Mr. Obama and President Dmitri A. Medvedev had already narrowed the range for a cap on warheads to between 1,500 and 1,675 during a meeting in July, down from about 2,200 each side has now. They are likely to agree to lower the ceiling on delivery vehicles — intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-based missiles and strategic bombers — to below 800, from 1,600, according to an American official, although that would not result in significant reductions because the United States has about 800 and Russia about 620.
The most significant differences center on verification and monitoring. “There’s been a huge amount of progress just in the last week,” said the American official, who also was not authorized to discuss the negotiations with reporters. But “there’s going to have to be political heavy lifting in the next few days,” the official said.
Konstantin I. Kosachev, chairman of the international affairs committee in Russia’s Parliament, said final differences “require serious effort and compromise in the remaining time,” according to his office. Speaking from Geneva, he said the delegations were continuing “tense, intense and substantive work practically around the clock.”
Even if an agreement is reached in the coming days, the new treaty would need to be ratified by the Senate and the Russian Parliament, which could take months, so the two sides are working on a bridge agreement to continue inspections, verification and monitoring after Start expires.
One monitoring program, however, will not continue. The American observation station at Votkinsk, about 600 miles east of Moscow, will close by Saturday. Under Start, the station is staffed by Americans who monitor manufacturing of Topol-M ballistic missiles and other arms. The Kremlin has long chafed at the presence of an American outpost deep in its territory, since it closed its own monitoring station in the United States years ago.
Russia has taken a harder line on monitoring in part because its military and diplomatic establishment believes that a weakened Moscow in the waning days of the cold war made concessions that infringed upon its sovereignty.
“Russia is not interested in having the same scope of verification procedures that were in the earlier treaty,” said Anton V. Khlopkov, director of the Center for Energy and Security Studies in Moscow. “There is this conclusion that these measures were too much, and too extensive.”
But any concessions on verification could draw criticism in Washington, where Mr. Obama needs at least seven Republican votes in the Senate to ensure ratification. In a floor speech last month, Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, the Republican whip, said that verification had not “gotten the attention it deserved all along.”
Baker Spring, an analyst at the Heritage Foundation, said the administration should limit only warheads, not delivery vehicles, because such a limit could also restrict missiles that could be used as conventional weapons. “The administration is risking getting itself into trouble,” he said.
But Daryl G. Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, a research and advocacy group, said the treaty was an important step. “We’re 20 years after the cold war,” he said. “The only reason most of these weapons exist is to deter the use of them by the other.”
Peter Baker reported from Washington, and Clifford J. Levy from Moscow.
Xinhua: Russian climate expert praises China's emissions cut goal
Xinhua, December 3, 2009
The Chinese government's decision to curb greenhouse gas emissions was correct and significant, a Russian climate expert told Xinhua.
Alexei Kokorin, head of Russia's climate change program of the World Wide Fund for Nature, spoke highly of China's announcement to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gross domestic product by 40 to 45 percent by 2020 from the 2005 level.
Kokorin said the announcement highlighted China's responsible attitude towards climate change.
It was hard to predict the outcome on the upcoming Copenhagen climate change conference, said Kokorin, a Russian negotiator during the talks on the Kyoto Protocol.
The best result would be the participants reach consensus on controlling carbon emissions and achieve a legally binding agreement, he said.
Kokorin added that there were many impediments to such an international agreement, given the current situation.
The new deal should stipulate clearly developed countries' obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the period up to 2020, said the expert.
Developing countries might not be able to cut carbon emissions all by themselves and needed external financial assistance, Kokorin said, therefore more funds should be established to support them.
Azerbaijan leads CIS on GDP and industrial output
Thu 03 December 2009 | 08:35 GMT
News.az: Azerbaijan recorded the highest GDP of the CIS countries in January to October this year, 8.2%.
The figures were announced by the CIS Interstate Statistics Committee.
Uzbekistan had the next highest GDP in the reporting period, 8%, followed by Kyrgyzstan, 3.2% and Tajikistan, 2.9%.
In the first 10 months of the year, GDP in the CIS countries fell 9% overall in comparison with the same period last year. Armenia had the highest fall, around 17.5 percent, while GDP fell 15.9% in Ukraine and 9.6% in Russia.
Azerbaijan is the only CIS country to have achieved growth in industrial production. In January to October industrial output increased 7.4% compared with the same period in 2008.
During the reporting period, industrial output in Moldova fell 24.1%, Kyrgyzstan – 13.9%, Russia – for 13.3%, Armenia – 11.4%, Tajikistan – 8.6%, Belarus – 4.5% and Kazakhstan 0.2%.
Focus: Greek press: Greek-Russian and Greek-Turkish talks on Burgas-Alexandroupolis and shelf
3 December 2009 | 11:28 | FOCUS News Agency
Athens. Headlines in the Greek print editions today pay attention to meeting of the Prime Minister of Greece and Foreign Minister George Papandreou with the foreign ministers of Turkey Ahmet Davutoglu and Russia's Sergey Lavrov in the framework of the Ministerial Meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Athens. Davutoglu and Papandreou discussed anything else but disputable issues at the meeting in Athens, Greek newspaper Vima comments. Davutoglu and Papandreou agreed to intensify cooperation on bilateral, European, regional and international level, as the Turkish government has put the issue of Muslim minority in Thrace. Papandreou said after the meeting that Greece does not discuss issues with third parties relating to Greek citizens.
Newspaper Ethnos reads that the Greek side has given a written reply to the letter of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of October 30, which offers a dialogue on all outstanding issues between Athens and Ankara. At a meeting yesterday Athens shown it is ready for dialogue at the level of exploratory contacts, but concerning only the shelf in the Aegean Sea because it holds its early position that the only bilateral dispute with Turkey is precisely for this shelf. Written response is expected through diplomatic channels in the coming days.
Kathimerini writes about Greek counter-proposal of Ankara, which includes the activation of procedures for exploratory contacts about the shelf in the Aegean Sea.
RIA: Bulgarian environmental concerns cast doubt over Russian pipeline
Ria Novosti
December 3, 2009
Bulgaria's concerns over the environmental impact of Russia-backed plans for an oil pipeline through its territory may pose problems for the project, Russia's energy minister said.
The Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline project to pump oil from the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea is controlled by a consortium of Russian state-run companies.
"The Burgas-Alexandroupolis project faces problems as Bulgaria is insisting on improving the environmental efficiency of the project," Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko said during a session of the lower house of parliament on Wednesday.
He also said Bulgaria is also unhappy with the project's economic scheme, as Sofia wants to receive more than just dividends from the project.
The pipeline project was proposed by Russia, Greece and Bulgaria to pump Russian and Caspian oil from the Bulgarian port of Burgas to the Greek port of Alexandroupolis. The three countries signed an agreement to build the 280-km Trans-Balkan pipeline in 2007 following several years of talks.
A controlling stake of 51% in the project is held by the Burgas-Alexandroupolis Pipeline Consortium, owned by Russian pipeline operator Transneft and state-controlled oil producers Rosneft and Gazprom Neft.
Shmatko, however, said he is confident that there will be no problems in implementing another Black Sea oil gas pipeline project, in which Bulgaria is also involved.
The South Stream project is designed to annually pump 31 billion cubic meters of Central Asian and Russian gas to the Balkans and onto other European countries via the Black Sea, with the pipeline's capacity expected to be eventually increased to 63 billion cubic meters.
: Russian oil pipeline hits snag in Bulgaria: minister
MOSCOW
, Dec 03, 2009
A planned Russian-backed oil pipeline linking a Bulgarian Black Sea port with the Aegean faces "problems" with the government in Sofia, Russia's energy minister said on Wednesday.
"I think we will have problems because the Bulgarian side is insisting on us raising the ecological effectiveness of the project," Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko told Russian MPs, quoted by news agencies.
Shmatko added that the Bulgarian leadership viewed the planned system for distributing dividends from the Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline as "not very advantageous for Bulgaria."
His comment came as Russian and Bulgarian energy officials prepare to meet in Sofia on December 11.
Bulgaria's pro-Western Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said following his election this summer that Sofia would review several major Russian-backed energy projects.
The oil pipeline, which would stretch 280 kilometres (174 miles) from the Bulgarian port of Burgas to the Greek port of Alexandroupolis, would carry Caspian oil to Western Europe bypassing busy shipping routes.
Russia, Greece and Bulgaria signed an agreement in 2007 on the pipeline project, which is 51-percent controlled by a Russian consortium made up of state-owned oil companies Transneft, Rosneft and Gazprom Neft.
Currently most of the Caspian oil destined for Europe and the United States is transported via the North Sea in tankers that pass through Turkey's Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits.
Story from AFP
AFP 12/02/2009 13:44
The Moscow Times: Shmatko Faces Tough Talks in Sofia
03 December 2009
By Anatoly Medetsky
Russia expects tough talks with Bulgaria next week over the proposed Burgas–Alexandroupolis oil pipeline, as Sofia is reviewing its energy deals with Moscow, Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko said Wednesday.
“I think we will have problems,” Shmatko said about the pipeline’s prospects, answering a question from a lawmaker in the State Duma.
Bulgaria is not only pressing for more environmental precautions, but also is critical of its potential profits from the project, he said. The government of recently elected Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov believes that the current plan to simply gain dividends from the pipeline operation is not attractive enough, Shmatko said.
Shmatko, responding to a question from The Moscow Times, said he did not know the details of Bulgaria’s proposals to change the commercial terms of the deal but that he would discuss them at an upcoming meeting with Bulgarian officials.
Shmatko is heading to Sofia next week for talks on the $1 billion pipeline and Russia’s two other energy projects in the country: the construction of a nuclear power station and a stretch of the South Stream natural gas pipeline. Talks on the South Stream continue on the corporate level while details about the nuclear power plant require clarification, but these deals carry little risk of falling through, he said. Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry didn’t respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
Boyko, after his election in summer, said he would revise the energy deals with Russia, casting doubt on their future. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin asked Boyko to make final decisions as soon as possible when the two met in September.
Martin Dimitrov, chairman of the Bulgarian parliamentary committee on the economy and energy, said an expected annual profit of $30 million from the oil pipeline would be ridiculously small compared with the risks for the environment and tourism, Business Week reported last week.
The Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline is a joint Russian, Greek and Bulgarian project to pump Russian and Caspian oil from the Bulgarian Black Sea port of Burgas to the Greek Aegean port of Alexandroupolis, which would create an alternative to tanker shipments through Turkey’s crowded Bosporus Straits.
Once completed, the pipeline will carry 35 million metric tons of oil a year, a volume that could eventually be increased to 50 million metric tons. Under an intergovernmental agreement signed in 2007 after seven years of talks, Russia holds 51 percent in the project company, while Greece and Bulgaria hold 24.5 percent each.
Shmatko was in the Duma to report on oil refining, saying Russia raised its production of refined oil products by 20 percent since 2004 but that their quality was very low. The poor quality brought down their price on foreign markets to that of Russian crude, he said.
Considering the difference in export duties, the federal budget could annually collect $15 billion more if oil companies exported crude instead of poorly refined products, he said.
The quality will start improving soon because oil companies are planning massive investment of at least 1.2 trillion rubles ($41 billion) to upgrade their refineries by 2015 in order to comply with new federal standards enacted last year, Shmatko said. The standards will begin applying in 2011, gradually raising the level of quality through 2015.
Russia Today: Nuclear power comes through with cash
02 December, 2009, 21:31
The world’s largest nuclear power firm says it's had no trouble placing a billion dollar plus bond issue, despite investor caution, saying that Russian state ownership gives it stability that many rivals lack.
When Russia privatized its crumbling power plants through 2008, new owners pledged to invest an eye-watering $820 billion. But that was before the credit crunch closed money markets, which has forced most energy firms to go back on their ambitious claims. Hugues de la Presle from Standard & Poors says their case for attracting investment is weaker.
“We see Russian utilities as still having weaker business profiles, and also much weaker financial profiles, especially in terms of liquidity.”
The only generator left out of the Big Sell-off was nuclear monopoly Atomenergoprom. It wants to raise its share of Russian electricity production from 17% now, to 25% in 2030. Anton Kovalevsky, Head of Investment at Atomenergoprom says state ownership guarantees its investment promises.
“We have unprecedented backing from the state. It currently provides 60% of our funds, but within 5 years we plan to be raising all money ourselves. Last week we issued a $1.7 billion bond, and will invest $68 billion in Russian electricity production by 2015.”
But the nuclear giant could find those plans derailed by the same state owners. Industry players are counting on being able to charge market rates for electricity from 2011, as the Russian government promised. But experts fear it will now keep price caps in place so citizens can recover from the crisis.
The Jamestown Foundation: Russia Seeks to Sustain its Energy Security
[tt_news]=35788&tx_ttnews[backPid]=7&cHash=3a3799094a
Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 6 Issue: 221
December 2, 2009 04:31 PM Age: 9 hrs
Category: Eurasia Daily Monitor, Energy, Russia, Home Page
By: Sergei Blagov
Moscow has reiterated pledges to improve Russian energy security by promising sizable investments to develop its hydrocarbon sector and power supply networks. However, the economic viability of such solutions appears to remain a matter of debate as Moscow’s ambitious plans require huge investments. Russian authorities have long pledged to replace obsolete and wasteful Soviet-era energy technologies and solutions by what officials describe as “energy-efficient” facilities. Moscow plans to spend 1.8 trillion rubles ($62.5 billion) from the federal and local budgets to finance energy-saving projects by 2020, Sergei Mikhailov, the head of the energy policy department in the energy ministry, told a conference in Moscow on November 10. However, these projects would allow saving up to 10 trillion rubles ($347 billion) in 2010-2020 by making the economy more energy-efficient, he said (Interfax, RIA-Novosti, November 10).
The governmental plans were backed by new legislative initiatives. Russian lawmakers are currently moving towards adopting new legislation on energy saving and energy efficiency, apparently designed to replace wasteful and outdated technologies. The new laws would introduce tax incentives to encourage energy saving projects, and set out measures of energy efficiency audits by the authorities. The bill also requires the phasing-out of incandescent bulbs in Russia between 2011 and 2014. The new legislation is expected to be introduced in early 2010.
Russian energy executives also appeared to be seeking international know-how to modernize and upgrade the country’s energy sector. In mid-October, Russia and Germany set up a joint energy agency (RUDEA). This agency, co-sponsored by the Russian energy ministry, was aimed at improving energy efficiency in the Russian economy relying on advanced Western technology (Nezavisimaya Gazeta, November 10).
In an apparent effort to prop-up the country’s energy security, Russian authorities have adopted a long-term blueprint entitled Russia’s energy strategy through 2030. Despite the adverse economic conditions, the blueprint included pledges of huge investments to develop the country’s energy sector. Although Russia’s energy strategy was drafted against the background of the global financial crisis, it stipulates 60 trillion rubles ($2.1 trillion) in investments in its energy sector through 2030, according to Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko. He said that the investments would mainly come from Russian energy companies (Interfax, ITAR-TASS, RIA-Novosti, October 26). Shmatko made these comments during the fourth International Energy Week in Moscow on October 26-30.
Russia’s energy strategy through 2030, adopted by the government in August 2009, envisages the continued increase of the country’s oil and gas production. According to the blueprint, by 2030 Russia is to pump 530-535 million tons of crude oil annually, or up by 8.6-9.7 percent from 2008, including exporting 329 million tons.
The country is also expected to extract 885-940 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas per year by 2030, or up by 33-42 percent, including exports of 349-368 bcm or up by 45-53 percent. The blueprint appeared to be based on an assumption of an increasing output and a largely stable domestic demand, hence the bulk of the planned surplus was destined for exports.
The blueprint also envisages cutting power distribution grid losses from 12 percent this year down to 8 percent by 2030. The goal was intended to be achieved based on the use of advanced technologies and know-how. The government’s ambitious plans were evidently linked to expectations that the energy sector would become increasingly attractive to private investors. According to the blueprint, up to 90 percent of the planned 60 trillion rubles in investments in the Russian energy sector through 2030 will come from private sources. In 2022-2030, the government expects $321 billion to be invested in the oil sector, $299 billion in the gas sector and $529 billion in the electricity sector.
However, the blueprint apparently lacks a detailed explanation on how Russia’s aging energy infrastructure might attract huge inflows of fresh private investment. It also contained no specific stimuli for investors to underwrite the exorbitant expenses to develop the Russian energy sector dominated by the state-controlled giants, Gazprom, Rosneft and Transneft.
The latest energy strategy blueprint is yet another product of governmental planning based on expectations of increasing production and growing international demand. In May 2003, the Russian government moved to adopt an energy strategy through 2020, designed to position itself as a leader in the global energy market. The draft claims that by 2020 Russia will pump 450-520 million tons per year of crude oil and 700 bcm per year of gas.
Furthermore, expectations of the perpetual growth of the international oil and gas demand may also be detached from reality. In early November, Russian newswires cited estimates by the International Energy Agency (IEA) that global natural gas consumption could decline by 5 percent in 2015 and by 17 percent in 2030 (Interfax, November 5). If international energy-saving measures and other developments happen to entail lower hydrocarbon demand in the coming two decades, then Russian authorities may be forced to review the energy strategy through 2030.
ISRIA: Beginning of Meeting of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Economic Issues (2 December 2009)
PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA DMITRY MEDVEDEV: Colleagues,
We are coming to the end of a very difficult year. I hope that next year the situation will be at least a little bit easier, including as a result of our joint efforts.
Let’s discuss the current economic situation and the immediate outlook.
Although the statistics can be given various interpretations, of course, they show that the main indicators have stopped their fall, including in the manufacturing and financial sectors. The anti-crisis measures we took have ensured support for particular sectors and, most importantly, have had a beneficial impact on the social and economic situation in the country as a whole. I think our work has been well organised in this respect. Our gross domestic product has registered positive growth since June this year.
We know that other countries are seeing similar trends. The crisis is not Russian but global after all, and so the situation is starting to improve everywhere. But at the same time (as we discussed at the international forums, including the G20 and other meetings) it is still too early to talk about the start of sustainable growth. All the analysts share this view.
I signed a number of important laws this week, including on the federal budget for 2010 and the planned period of 2011 and 2012. This law makes provisions for financing all of the necessary anti-crisis measures. Keeping in mind the complicated and responsible decisions we have taken, and for a number of obvious reasons, this law lays particular stress on pension provisions and other important social mandates.
Our task in the budget policy area is to facilitate post-crisis development, but this is not the only work we have before us. As I said in the Address [to the Federal Assembly], despite the fact that next year will be difficult too, we must start modernising all different sectors of our economy. The budget allocates considerable sums for infrastructure development and road construction – more than was allocated this year. The regional budgets will also contribute to spending in these areas of course, and we will make the necessary decisions on revenue source distribution. I recently signed a law in just this area – a law amending procedures for paying the tax on property that is part of the Unified Gas Supply System [the amendments work in favour of the regions in which such property is located].
There are several things that I want to discuss separately with you today. At the recent State Council Presidium meeting in Ulyanovsk I spoke about the idea of restoring the Road Fund in order to ensure stable financing for road construction. This idea has drawn some very mixed reactions: from full support to categorical opposition. I want us to come back to this idea and give it a serious examination, including the possibility of tying it to specific financing sources such as petrol excise duties and the transport tax.
Of course, we also need to look at what we can do to make administration and management more transparent in this sector, because the main issues are related precisely to these problems. I hope to hear proposals from the Government on this subject within the next two weeks.
Coming now to the budget indicators based on growth forecasts for key macroeconomic indicators, including GDP, the exchange rate, oil prices, and inflation of course, I would like to hear a brief report on just how realistic the forecast targets are, and also on the risks inevitably present, on the proposals for managing and mitigating these risks.
Ensuring macroeconomic stability remains an undisputed priority for budget and monetary policy. I think we have sufficient reserves for a flexible economic policy, but we need to tread very carefully in using the resources we have built up, given that we already had to draw on these reserves this year and it looks like we will have to do so next year too.
Another subject directly related to this meeting is that the formation of the customs union between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan calls for new approaches in economic activity. We have already signed the agreement on a common customs code for the three countries, and have taken decisions on common customs duties regulations and also on establishing a common non-tariff regulation system. This is an extremely important step for our country’s economy, as it is for our allies and partners – Belarus and Kazakhstan.
It is already clear that this will have a big impact on the means at our disposal for influencing the pace and extent of economic growth. It will reduce our possibilities for managing and regulating these processes by hand. This will be the case for customs duties, at any rate, from now on. We need to think therefore on how to make optimum use of this mechanism next year.
On the subject of customs duties, I think that their increase has not achieved the desired results in most areas. We had a number of reasons for making this decision, but it has not had any substantial effect and has raised numerous objections on issues that you all know. I therefore want to hear from you on the preliminary conclusions and the proposals for further work in this area, including adjustment of duties on some specific goods in the upcoming months. I have just signed an instruction for the Government on this subject.
This then is today’s agenda. The Chairman of the Russian Central Bank will now say a few words.
CHAIRMAN OF THE RUSSIAN CENTRAL BANK SERGEI IGNATYEV: Overall, I think the macroeconomic situation is stable and inflation is steadily coming down. Inflation was running at 0.3 percent for the first 23 days of November. Last year it was 0.6 percent for the same period. Accumulated inflation over the year as a whole comes to 8.4 percent, as compared to 12.3 percent last year. Overall, we expect inflation of around 9 percent, perhaps 9.2 percent this year – considerably less than last year, and substantially less than what we were expecting six months ago.
DMITRY MEDVEDEV: At the start of the year.
SERGEI IGNATYEV: The drop in inflation has made it possible to lower the Central Bank interest rates. At the end of November we lowered (for the ninth time) the refinancing rate by half a percent, bringing it down to 9 percent. In April it was 13 percent.
DMITRY MEDVEDEV: This refinancing rate is the lowest ever over recent years, isn't it?
SERGEI IGNATYEV: Yes, it is the lowest ever. Before the crisis began it was 10 percent, I think. Now we have lowered it to 9 percent.
Commercial banks are also lowering their interest rates on loans to the real sector, but unfortunately, this is not happening as fast as we are bringing our rates down. There are reasons for this. I imagine we will discuss these reasons later.
The main factors helping to bring down inflation are, first, moderate growth in the money supply, which has been growing by around 1.5-2 percent a month over recent months, and this is a very comfortable growth rate. Second, the situation on the currency market has stabilised. The ruble strengthened a little against the dollar-euro basket after February, but at the same time the exchange rate remains quite flexible. We are intervening less often than in past years, and on a smaller scale, and we are trying to smooth out only the sharpest fluctuations in the rouble’s exchange rate against other currencies.
As far as the balance of payments goes, it remains in a strong and stable situation. The current account has a positive balance of around -6 billion a month.
The capital flow situation is more complicated. We saw an outflow of capital in the third quarter, but in November, or in October to be precise, we registered an inflow of around billion. Our preliminary results show that this inflow continued in November and came to around billion.
Our currency reserves now come to around 5 billion. This is more than at the start of the year.
DMITRY MEDVEDEV: What is the total now?
SERGEI IGNATYEV: 5 billion. At the start of the year we had 7 billion. The figure dropped in February-March to around 4 billion after we completed our devaluation. Now the reserves are quite high.
I will end my opening remarks there.
DMITRY MEDVEDEV: Your opening remarks have turned out rather positive for everyone present I would say. Mr Kudrin, you have the floor.
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AND FINANCE MINISTER ALEXEI KUDRIN: Thank you, Mr President, for signing the law on the 2010 budget and the financial plan for 2011-2012.
I want to speak first of all about the end of year results. We have achieved revenue higher than what was forecast in February-March, when we made changes to the budget and adopted the anti-crisis programme. Our revenue came to 450 billion [rubles] more than the forecast target, 280 billion of which came from earnings on investment of money from the Reserve Fund and the National Welfare Fund from the previous year. The rest is the result of higher oil prices. Oil prices were the main factor enabling us to achieve higher revenue. We had planned for lower earnings from oil. This makes it possible to close the year on a stable note, carry out all planned spending commitments and begin carrying out next year’s spending commitments as planned and in stable fashion. This will require some more bylaws, some more government regulations to be precise, documents of a normative nature.
DMITRY MEDVEDEV: Bylaws, yes, don’t be shy about calling them that.
ALEXEI KUDRIN: Yes. We have 107 government resolutions that need to be issued by the end of January. Most of them – almost 97 of them – need to be issued in December. This is a big task for all of the ministries and agencies. The Finance Ministry is coordinating this work. We need to get these documents issued earlier than usual so that all ministries get their limits opened in January. I can say that the main limits, 90-92 percent, will be open now in December. In other words, all of the ministries will be able to start work as from January 1 with a large share of their limits already available so as to begin financing. In other words, there will be no obstacles for holding tenders and bids.
DMITRY MEDVEDEV: Excuse me please.
Mr Sobyanin, is it possible (I worked in the Government after all, and know how everything there is organized) to issue these regulations in a short period of time left in December?
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AND GOVERNMENT CHIEF OF STAFF SERGEI SOBYANIN: Yes, we will do everything possible to make sure that these regulations are issued swiftly as soon we receive them from the Finance Ministry and other relevant agencies and are not held up in the Government.
If the ministries have this work done on time, we will also manage, I am sure.
DMITRY MEDVEDEV: Good.
ALEXEI KUDRIN: We therefore hope that there will be no delays in the issue of regulations that could end up holding up meeting our spending commitments, and that in January we will have everything needed for financing ministries’ and agencies’ spending limits for the entire year. Rather than receiving funds on a monthly or quarterly basis, they will get full access to the year’s financing and will have it at their full disposal from January 1.
DMITRY MEDVEDEV: Good, thank you.
I could give the floor to Ms Nabiullina too, but I see that you have a presentation ready. Should we hear you behind closed doors, or will you say a few words now with the media present?
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MINISTER ELVIRA NABIULLINA: Can I say a few opening words on the economic situation?
DMITRY MEDVEDEV: Yes, go ahead.
ELVIRA NABIULLINA: Our analysis shows that we have had monthly GDP growth over five straight months now. Industrial production still falls considerably short of last year’s figures, but it is still possible to say that the acute recession period is behind us now.
There are of course monthly fluctuations, and it is important to look not only at the figures but also at the factors driving growth. What is important in this respect is to what extent our growth is based on factors that signal modernization. So far, our growth is mainly export-driven, fuelled by export prices and demand for our goods.
DMITRY MEDVEDEV: This is the usual situation here.
ELVIRA NABIULLINA: But over recent months we have seen good results from the agriculture sector, especially in September and October. The construction sector is also doing better. It was the sector hardest hit by the crisis, but showed signs of livening up in October. Of course, talking about whether or not our growth is based on modernisation factors, modernisation requires investment, and so far we are not seeing sufficient signals of a renewal in investment demand. This is also connected to the policy measures that we need to adopt to encourage this investment demand. The Government has already drafted some of these measures, including on financial rehabilitation of a number of companies and sectors, and on possible increase of access to ‘long-term’ money. We certainly need to revive investment demand.
I want to note in this respect that the demand factor is changing with every passing month, as industrial output figures show. October was not a very good month in terms of industrial output. Taking the seasonal factor into account we saw a drop of 1 percent, mostly in the processing industry, automotive and machinery sectors. This shows that our economic policy, our growth policy, should focus on modernisation, investment, and making our industrial and processing sectors more competitive.
DMITRY MEDVEDEV: Thank you.
Kudrin still not favoring state monopoly over alcohol production (Part2)
MOSCOW. Dec 3 (Interfax) - Russian Deputy Prime Minister and
Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin has reiterated his opposition to Russia
having a state monopoly over the production of alcohol.
Kudrin expressed in a recent letter his negative reaction to a
piece of proposed legislation that would restrict the production and
distribution of ethyl alcohol to organizations in which the state owns
over 50% of fixed capital starting January 1, 2011.
Five years ago, he said, Russia "had a government quota for
alcohol." "This was in essence a state monopoly," he said. Now "there
are different levels of control, but in the end this is not a state
monopoly in the direct sense, even in the propositions we are discussing
now," he said.
The Finance Ministry does not back the bill as it now stands,
Kudrin said, and he has "quite a lot of reservations" regarding the text
of the bill. "If these are dealt with, there will not be monopoly, and
the bill can then be supported," he said.
Experts on the country's alcohol market basically dismiss the idea
of a state alcohol monopoly, as proposed in the bill by Federation
Council Speaker Sergei Mironov, as not well founded.
Completely shelving the idea of introducing a state monopoly is
unnecessary, State Duma deputy Viktor Zvagelsky told Interfax. "But at
the present time, it is worthwhile making use of opportunities to
regulate the alcohol sector with the aid of current legislation," he
said.
Head of the Center for Federal and Regional Alcohol Market Research
Vadim Drobiz takes the view that the government is in no position to
organize and administer a state monopoly over such a huge segment of the
economy as the production and distribution of alcohol and associated
products. Such a monopoly would not resolve a single problem or issue,
he said, whether it be the 'alcoholization' of the Russian population,
the black market, or the insufficiency of tax receipts by the budget. "
"A state monopoly bears no relevance to any single one of these
problems," Drobiz said.
"The Russian Finance Ministry generally supports a state monopoly
over the production and distribution of ethyl alcohol as measures aimed
at a fundamental reduction of illegal turnover of both ethyl alcohol and
any other alcohol or alcohol-containing product and, correspondingly, at
increasing the excises the budget collects on such products," Deputy
Finance Minister Sergei Shatalov said in comments on the bill obtained
by Interfax.
But there could actually be negative effects on the sector and
budget, in addition, he cautioned. State monopoly would threaten to
exclude such alcohol producers as public organizations, necessitating
either their reorganization or liquidation.
Xinhua: Greece, Russia sign joint action plan on economic cooperation
2009-12-03 08:28:33
ATHENS, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov signed on Wednesday a joint action plan on cooperation between the two countries, mainly in the economic field.
On the sidelines of the 17th OSCE ministerial meeting held in Athens, the two sides agreed to boost bilateral economic cooperation with the action plan covering the next two years.
They expressed a common will to continue the project of Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline, which will transport Russian and Caspian oil from the Bulgarian Black Sea port of Burgas to the Greek Aegean port of Alexandroupolis. It would be an alternative route for Russian oil to bypass the Bosporus and the Dardanelles.
In statements to the press, Papandreou and Lavrov confirmed the excellent level of Greek-Russian relations and the determination to advance the strategic cooperation between the two countries, ranging from economy, energy, trade to technology and culture, as well as in the EU and NATO frameworks.
Papandreou accepted a formal invitation to visit Moscow in early 2010.
In a separate meeting earlier on Wednesday with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg, the Greek leader discussed bilateral and international topics, as well as the prospect of paying an official visit to Washington also in 2010.
The Nation: Thaksin in Russia: Payap
Fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra has today arrived in Russia after visitng Eastern Europe, his brother Payap Shinawatra said on Thursday.
Thaksin is expected to rest as well as holding business talks in order to explore investment opportunities, Payap said.
He said he had no idea how and where Thaksin would cerebrate the New Year.
Spaceflight Now: Russia delays Angara rocket debut as testing progresses
BY STEPHEN CLARK
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: December 3, 2009
The long-delayed Angara rocket family, a modular system designed to replace a range of Russian boosters, has finished a series of ground tests and could be put in commercial service to replace the Proton rocket by the middle of the next decade. The Angara system was approved by the Russian government in 1995, but insufficient funding has repeatedly slowed the rocket's development and pushed the maiden launch to at least 2012.
Russian space officials hope the Angara will replace several vehicles, including the Rockot, Kosmos 3M, Zenit and Proton rockets serving the light, medium and heavy satellite markets.
Officials foresee the Angara will launch Russian military, civilian and international commercial payloads.
Frank McKenna, president of International Launch Services, said communications satellite launches will shift from the Proton to Angara around 2015.
"Some time in the middle of the next decade, there will a transitioning to the Angara system. As that evolves, we will announce further plans associated with that," McKenna said.
The Angara rocket first stage wrapped of a series of qualification tests in Russia last week, according to Khrunichev, the launcher's prime contractor. The rocket completed three test firings between late July and Nov. 26 at the Rocket and Space Industry Research and Testing Center new Moscow.
Called the Universal Rocket Module, the booster will be clustered to in groups of three or five to loft medium-class and heavy satellites. Single first stages will be used for smaller payloads such as Earth observation spacecraft.
The Angara 5 configuration would be used to replace the venerable Proton rocket. All launches of the Angara are planned from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia.
The Angara's core booster is powered by a single-nozzle RD-191 engine fueled by kerosene and liquid oxygen. The rocket will likely also use variants of the Breeze upper stage currently flying on Proton and Rockot vehicles.
The RD-191 engine is a scaled-down version of the RD-171 and RD-180 powerplants successfully flying on Zenit and Atlas 5 rockets.
Engineers will next begin test firings of the Angara's second stage.
McKenna said ILS still plans to employ the Angara system, but the U.S.-based firm wants to ensure the new rocket is ready to fill the role of the Proton before committing it to commercial missions.
"The testing is being done well, but commercial introduction of that won't be until we're certain that everything can be done with no gaps in continuity of service for support of the commercial launch industry," McKenna said.
A version of the Angara first stage first flew in August on a joint rocket project between Russia and South Korea. The mission fell short of orbit because the Naro 1 launcher's payload fairing failed to jettison, but the rocket's Angara first stage performed as expected, according to Khrunichev.
The latest delay in Angara's maiden flight is due to a shortage of funds to build the vehicle's launch pad at Plesetsk, according to Russian news reports.
When the Proton is phased out for Angara, it will mark the end of more than 50 years of service for the rocket, which has become a mainstay of the Russian launch industry.
The Proton has launched countless military, science and space station missions since its debut in 1965. Commercial missions through ILS began in 1996.
"Between 1996 and 2009, the early part of this year, there were 50 ILS commercial launches," McKenna said.
ILS now has 24 satellites in its commercial backlog.
"We'll be up to 75 launches commercially probably in the next two or three years. I expect there will be another 25 launches after that. That's probably 100 commercial launches cumulatively for ILS," McKenna said.
Khrunichev and Proton subcontractors have implemented upgrades to increase the rocket's payload capacity to geosynchronous transfer orbit by 1,200 pounds to approximately 13,558 pounds, more than six metric tons.
"I think there will be continued growth beyond that, but it's kind of a marginal rate," McKenna said. I think the Ariane system and our system are very well optimized for launching five-and-a-half to six metric-ton satellites. That's why we did it and it's why it's been successful."
Khrunichev has also instituted a series of quality improvements after a series of Proton launch failures blamed on shoddy workmanship and foreign debris inside engines.
The improvements first focused on the Breeze M upper stage after a ruptured exhaust gas conduit led to a rocket failure that stranded the AMC 14 communications satellite in early 2008.
Subsequent quality improvements included system-wide initiatives at production facilities and sustainability investments for new equipment and better testing procedures, according to McKenna.
Khrunichev also streamlined the Proton's manufacturing process. The contractor now controls the building of about 75 percent of the rocket's components, when measured by value, McKenna said.
"You have to build in a lot of testing and a lot of processes to get the systems to work properly every time," McKenna said. "Of course, we've done that as best as humanly possible, and we're investing in some things in the future that might even improve it more."
: Rosoboronexport to present aerospace, air defence and naval capabilities at LIMA 2009
21:27 GMT, December 2, 2009 The 10th Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA) will take place in the island of Langkawi, Malaysia, in the period of 1-5 December 2009. It is one of the largest defence exhibitions in the Asian Pacific Rim for defence industries to showcase the latest achievements in defence technologies. LIMA is held biennially in the Mahsuri International Exhibition Center (MIEC).
Russia’s exposition traditionally occupies one of the largest pavilions at the exhibition with the federal unitary enterprise (FSUE) “Rosoboronexport” stand at the centre stage.
Aerospace and air defence systems
The Rosoboronexport’s exposition at LIMA 2009 includes a wide variety of air systems. It presents, among others, combat aircraft such as the Su-35 multirole super-manoeuvrable fighter, single-seat MiG-35 and twin-seat MiG-35D multifunctional front-line fighters.
Visitors to the stand will be able to obtain promotional materials also on the Yak-130 advanced combat trainer. By the end of this year this aircraft is planned to conclude its test programme, and will enter service with the Russian Air Force. Thanks to its perfect flight characteristics, fly-by-wire control system and modern-type glass cabin, the Yak-130 aircraft is a cost-effective and safe facility for training air cadets, maintaining and mastering flight proficiency of active service pilots. The Yak-130 can also be employed for carrying out strike missions in low-intensity conflicts.
The aerospace exposition presents Mil helicopter types such as the Mi-35M combat transport, Mi-171Sh military transport and Mi-26T heavy-lift helicopters. Each of these rotorcraft is unique in its own way. The Mi-35M has acquired substantially enhanced combat capabilities and flight performance due to installation of the day/night surveillance and targeting system, advanced avionics suite, new rotor system, and VK-2500 engines. Besides combat missions, this helicopter is capable of carrying out troops landing and transportation tasks.
The Mi-171Sh is one of the latest modifications of the Mi-17 helicopter enjoying the worldwide reputation for its high effectiveness. The helicopter can defeat enemy ground targets and manpower, carry up to 20 troopers or up to 4,000-kg cargoes, land troops and provide fire support for them, evacuate casualties (up to 12 persons in stretchers escorted by a medical specialist), participate in search-and-rescue operations over land and sea.
The Mi-26T is the most capable heavy-lift helicopter in the world. It can carry up to 20-ton cargoes inside its cargo cabin or on its external sling, up to 82 fully equipped troopers - in assault version, up to 60 casualties in stretchers - in medevac version.
Kamov family helicopters are represented by the Ka-31 radar picket helicopter designed to acquire air targets, including low-altitude ones, and surface ships, as well as track and automatically transmit data on them to command posts.
Experts from South East Asian countries will be able to familiarise themselves with Russian surface-to-air weapons, including the “Tor-M2E” short-range air defence missile system. The “Buk-M2E” medium-range air defence missile system has good export prospects in South East Asian markets. It is the world’s only air defence missile system of this class capable of engaging strategic and tactical aircraft, helicopters and cruise missiles, tactical ballistic and air-launched missiles, including anti-radiation missiles and strike elements of high precision weapons, as well as surface and ground targets in conditions of electronic countermeasures and enemy counter-fire. The “Pantsir-S1” air defence gun/missile system provides effective protection of pin-point military, industrial and administrative installations against air strikes. One combat vehicle can engage simultaneously four air targets at ranges of up to 20 km.
Naval systems and weapons
Russian naval systems are in growing demand in the world market. The maridisplacement surface ships, taking into consideration the geographical features and security requirements for littoral sea zones in the Asian Pacific Rim. Project 12418 “Molniya” missile boat as well as Project 12150 “Mangust”, Project 12200 “Sobol” and Project 14310 “Mirazh” patrol boats, displacing from 10 to 550 tonnes, are justly considered among the world’s best. These boats are very effective means for fighting sea piracy, drug trafficking and terrorism, being therefore of a special interest for South East Asian countries.
The Russian maritime exposition also presents combatants capable of strengthening navies in the region, such as the “Gepard-3.9” frigate.
Great export prospects are expected for Project 12061E “Murena-E” air cushion landing craft capable of transporting to long distances at a speed of up to 45 knots, and landing on unequipped shores assault troops and combat vehicles, including tanks, armoured personnel carriers and infantry combat vehicles.
Submersibles are represented by Project 636 submarine with the integrated guided missile weapon system “Club-S” and “Amur-1650” next-generation submarine. The Russian exposition also assigns a special area for small-size littoral submarines.
Besides military ships of various types, foreign customers are offered numerous weapons, combat and support systems that can be installed on ships constructed at local shipyards. Both guests and participants in the maritime exposition will be undoubtedly interested in data about the “Club-S” integrated missile system, antiship cruise missiles, air defence missile systems, artillery mounts, and antisubmarine weapons, highly appreciated in the world market. Foreign customers are currently taking great interest in coastal missile systems armed with antiship cruise missiles. Russian specialists working at the exhibition are prepared to provide data about their capabilities and basic performance.
“Here, at LIMA 2009, we continue active negotiations both with our long-established partners in the sphere of military-technical cooperation and potential buyers of Russian arms and military equipment, - said Victor Komardin, head of the Rosoboronexport’s delegation. - We are convinced that this show of aerospace and maritime technologies will be another step forward on the road of mutually advantageous cooperation between Russia and the states of the region.”
Welcome to the Rosoboronexport’s exposition at the 10th LIMA 2009 International maritime and aerospace exhibition!
See us at stands B87 – B94 in Pavilion No. 2. There you will be able to get all relevant information about aerospace and maritime technologies that Russia offers for export.
Information for journalists: Press-conference of the Rosoboronexport’s delegation is scheduled to take place on 2 December 2009 at 11 a.m. in the LIMA 2009 Press Centre.
December 03, 2009 17:41 PM
: Inter-Regional Muslim Forum Opens In Perm
PERM (Russia), Dec 3 (Bernama) -- The inter-regional forum "Muslim world 2009" opens in Perm on Thursday, Russia's Itar-Tass news agency learnt from deputy head of the Spiritual Board of Muslims of the Perm Territory Ilyas-khazrat.
Its programme includes roundtables on developing inter-confessional relations in the basin of the Kama River (where Perm is situated) and neighbouring regions, discussion of issues of youth education as well as relations between Islam and Christianity.
According to Ilyas-khazrat, the main idea of the forum is to show multiplicity of spiritual and cultural potential of primordial Muslim peoples - Tatars and Bashkirs, living in the Kama River basin from the days of yore. The forum will also help to describe the history, culture,customs and traditions of Muslim diasporas in the Perm Territory where Uzbeks, Kazakhs as well as Azerbaijan and Kyrgyz citizens live in large communities.
Itar-Tass said a book fair on the history and development of Islam, customs, history and culture of peoples in the world, preaching Islam, will be mounted on the sidelines of the forum, attended by guests from the Sverdlovsk Region, the Bashkiria, Tatarstan republics of the Russian Federation as well as from Uzbekistan.
More than 30 participants of the fair will put on display goods of their enterprises, clothing, footwear, religious articles and khalyal (clean) foodstuffs, consumed by orthodox Muslims.
Two Muslim sacred things - miniature octagonal edition of the Koran and a hair from the beard of Prophet Muhammad were brought from the Tyumen regional museum specially for the opening of the forum. The two relics will be put on show for forum participants.
-- BERNAMA
The Jamestown Foundation: Deadly Crash of Nevsky Express Revives Fears of Past Bombing Campaigns
[tt_news]=35789&tx_ttnews[backPid]=7&cHash=05f96ce0e6
Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 6 Issue: 221
December 2, 2009 04:32 PM Age: 7 hrs
By: Valery Dzutsev
On November 27, the Nevsky Express, a train that shuttles between Moscow and St. Petersburg, derailed, killing 25 people. Over 90 people received injuries of varying degree of gravity, and one of them later died, raising the death toll in the crash to 26. Two Russian high-ranking officials, Sergei Tarasov, the head of the state company responsible for Russia’s highways, and Boris Evstratikov, the head of the state agency Rosrezerv, which maintains the country’s strategic reserves of many commodities, died in the train crash (RIA Novosti, December 1).
On November 28, investigators officially announced terrorism as the cause of the train crash, even though the identity of the main suspect remained unclear. The Director of the Federal Security Service (FSB) Alexander Bortnikov told President Dmitry Medvedev that, according to the preliminary estimates, seven kilograms of explosives were used to blow up the railway. According to the head of the Russian railway system, Vladimir Yakunin, a second explosion took place at the site of the crash in his presence on November 28, but no one was hurt in that blast (RIA Novosti, November 28).
As of December 1, only Russian nationalist groups had claimed responsibility for the suspected train bombing, but insurgents from North Caucasus are also widely assumed to be among the main potential perpetrators for such an attack. According to some analysts –like the editor-in-chief of the Internet-based investigative journal Agentura.ru, Andrei Soldatov – in the wake of the Nevsky Express bombing, theories pinning the blame for a terrorist attack in Russia on Russian nationalists have predominated over those blaming the North Caucasus insurgency. Soldatov emphasized the difficulty of derailing a high-speed train like the Nevsky Express and suggested only highly trained professionals could have carried out such an attack (Yezhednevny Zhurnal, November 30).
Early on December 2, the North Caucasus insurgent website Kavkaz-Center announced it had received a letter from the Caucasian mujahideen claiming responsibility for the Nevsky Express train crash. The statement claimed over thirty people died in the attack, but it provided no other information that would differ from or complement the Russian media sources. The statement by the mujahideen said they had fulfilled the orders of Dokka Umarov and would continue attacks on Russia’s infrastructure, as it had proven to be an effective tactic. The statement said that while the attackers regarded Russia’s population as accomplices of the Russian state, which oppressed the Muslims of the North Caucasus, the mujahideen would still try to avoid civilian casualties (, December 2).
While neither Russian nationalists nor insurgents from the North Caucasus can be excluded, both are also equally prone to boasting about attacks they had nothing to do with. The North Caucasus insurgency, for instance, claimed responsibility for the destruction of the Sayano-Shushenskaya power plant destruction in August of this year –a claim that most experts dismissed in favor of the failure of Russia’s aging infrastructure. Grigory Shvedov, head of the Kavkazsky Uzel (Caucasian Knot) news agency, which closely monitors the North Caucasus, told Reuters he was undecided whether Islamic insurgents may have been responsible for the attack. Pavel Felgenhauer, military observer for Novaya Gazeta, said the attack was likely aimed at undermining Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s authority, given that he had habitually been credited for crushing the Chechen rebels (Reuters, November 28).
On November 30, following a minor explosion on the railway in Dagestan, Putin stated the explosion was similar to the one that derailed the Nevsky Express three days earlier. It was uncharacteristic for Putin to make such a statement without providing much evidence for it (kavkaz-uzel.ru, November 30). The explosive used in the Dagestan blast was estimated at only 0.3 kilograms and it did not cause much disruption. Besides, explosions in Dagestan are very common, much more so than in the central parts of European Russia.
The Nevsky Express is an elite, luxury train that travels at speeds of up to 120 miles per hour, and tickets for it equal or exceed in price those for the airlines that fly between Moscow and St. Petersburg. Russian experts are asking whether this bombing is the start of another chain of incidents similar to those that plagued Russia in the past. In fact, the casualties from this train crash are second only to the wave of North Caucasus rebel attacks that occurred in 2004. So a North Caucasus link, if proven, might potentially undermine or, on the contrary, revive the authority of Prime Minister Putin, endowing him with plenipotentiary powers to ensure security in Russia.
An alternative, less advertised version of the events that led to the train crash is spread through the Russian-language blogosphere. Reytar, a user of LiveJournal, the most popular blogging platform among the Russian-speakers, provided an extensive analysis of the accessible news coverage of the Nevsky Express crash and came to the conclusion that infrastructure failure was the most likely cause for the train crash. The author, a railway professional, dismissed Vladimir Yakunin’s story about a second explosion, calling it a cover up (reytar., November 29). Official Russian experts subsequently refuted this explanation, saying it was highly unlikely that an infrastructural breakdown caused the crash (RIA Novosti, December 1).
It should be noted that an infrastructural failure, especially right in the heart of Russia, is no less an embarrassment for the government than a terrorist attack. The Nevsky Express is the fastest of Russia’s trains and it was reportedly travelling at 118 mph, nearly its top speed, at the time of the crash. Also, following the crash, Yakunin hastily confirmed that the launch date for Russia’s new high-speed train, the Sapsan (Russian for peregrine falcon), would remain as originally planned. The Sapsan was built by Siemens to service the same route as the Nevsky Express and is scheduled to start on December 18, with tickets already on sale (ITAR-TASS, November 30).
Despite the seeming plausibility of the theory that ailing Russian infrastructure caused the derailment of the Nevsky Express, another event just before the crash raised the possibility of a North Caucasus terrorist link. On November 26, Maksharip Khidriev of Ingushetia told journalists following a court hearing that he was involved in the blowing up of the Nevsky Express in August 2007. The train was also derailed in that incident, but no one was hurt. That crash of the Nevsky Express was initially blamed on Russian nationalists, but then several people of North Caucasus origins were arrested, including Khidriev, and an ethnic Russian who had converted to Islam, Pavel Kosolapov, was accused of masterminding the attack (gazeta.ru, November 26). Chechen rights activist Ruslan Badalov, who conducted his own investigation of the 2007 train crash, expressed doubt that Khidriev was involved. He noted that Khidriev was simply the operator of an excavator at the site of the explosion who had once received a suspended sentence for an unspecified crime, which helped police to press him into confessing to a crime he may not have committed (kavkaz-uzel.ru, November 30).
RIA: Massive oil leak in central Russia
09:3803/12/2009
Some 200 tons (1,460 barrels) of oil have spilled from a pipeline in central Russia's Lipetsk Region, the Emergencies Ministry said on Thursday.
A section of the Druzhba pipeline network burst at around 03:20 p.m. (12:20 GMT) on Wednesday, some 90 kilometers southwest of the city of Lipetsk, the ministry said in a statement. Repair work is underway.
The oil did not spill into the nearby river Vorgol, the ministry said.
Druzhba, the world's longest pipeline network, was built in the 1960s to pump oil from central Russia to Europe.
The pipeline starts in central Russia's Samara Region, and divides into two branches. The southern branch pumps crude via Ukraine, while the northern branch passes through Belarus, and then on to Germany via Poland.
MOSCOW, December 3 (RIA Novosti)
Itar-Tass: Oilspill of about 200 tonnes occurs in Lipetsk region-RME
03.12.2009, 09.41
MOSCOW, December 3 (Itar-Tass) - An oilspill of about 200 tonnes followed a burst of one of the two pipes of the oil trunkline Druzhba (friendship) in Lipetsk Region, an official at the Russian Ministry for Emergencies (RME) told Itar-Tass on Thursday.
The RME official pointedout, "One of two pipes of the oil trunkline Druzhba occurred in the Stanovlyansky District of Lipetsk Region (90 km southwest of Lipetsk) on Wednesday afternoon. An oilspill of about 200 tonnes ensued. No one was hurt. The stiricken section of the pipeline has been cut off. The supply of oil through the second pipe has been increased".
"Oil products did not get into the Ruver Vorgol. Five rows of boom defence have been posted in the river," the RME official emphasized. He said damage control operations are currently under way at the scene of the incident. A pit has been dug in order to pump oil products into it. In all, the damage control operations are involving 118 people and 32 units of machinery.
RFERL: Tajik Citizen Wins European Court Case Against Russia
December 02, 2009
The European Court of Human Rights has ordered Russia to pay more than 18,000 euros ($27,000) in compensation to a Tajik citizen who was imprisoned in Russia for three years, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports.
Rahmatullo Nazarov complained that he suffered inhumane treatment while in prison and was kept in extremely poor conditions. The Strasbourg court agreed with Nazarov's claims and ruled that his right to freedom and personal security were violated.
Nazarov was arrested in April 2004 and charged with the purchase and possession of large amounts of drugs.
Tracey Turner-Tretz, a court spokeswoman, told RFE/RL that the court ordered the Russian government to pay 15,000 euros in damages and 3,500 euros for legal costs.
Nazarov's lawyer, Mikhail Ovchinnikov, told RFE/RL that he and his client are satisfied with the court's decision and he hopes that Nazarov, who is currently in Tajikistan, will receive the compensation awarded by the court.
RIA: Tajik national, children found dead in Moscow apartment
10:2003/12/2009
A Tajik national and his two children were found stabbed to death in a rented apartment in eastern Moscow early on Thursday, a police official said.
The man, whose name has not been released, was killed alongside his five-year-old daughter and eight-year-old son.
"Forensic experts said the Tajik national and his children died of multiple throat stab wounds," the police source said.
While no motive for the attack has yet been put forward, racist attacks are common in Russia. At least 21 people were killed in race hate attacks across the country from June to November of this year, according to information collected by the Russian non-governmental organization SOVA.
While numbers have declined due to the economic slump, Moscow is home to millions of migrant workers from former Central Asian Soviet republics. Migration services estimate that some 4 million migrant workers were employed by individual Russians as drivers, housekeepers and au pairs in 2008.
MOSCOW, December 3 (RIA Novosti)
RFERL: Top Russian Judges Quit Posts After Critical Comments
December 02, 2009
ST PETERSBURG (Reuters) -- Two Russian Constitutional Court judges have resigned from senior posts after speaking out against corruption in the judiciary, raising fresh doubts about a Kremlin bid to clean up the legal system.
A court spokeswoman said today that Vladimir Yaroslavtsev had resigned from the presidium of the Council of Judges, which represents judges on the national level, three months after he told a Spanish newspaper that Russian justice was "in ruins."
"The security services can do whatever they like and the courts are limited to ratifying their decisions," Yaroslavtsev said in the interview with "El Pais" on August 31.
Anatoly Kononov resigned his position as Constitutional Court judge as of January 1. He had publicly described Yaroslavtsev's comments as "a brave evaluation, much of which I support."
The court spokeswoman declined to say why the two resigned.
President Dmitry Medvedev, a former lawyer, has made fighting court corruption and nurturing a more liberal political climate top priorities, but critics say little has changed since he came to power last May.
Critics have accused senior government officials with links to the security services of pressuring judges to make politically motivated decisions in high-profile cases.
Sources in the Constitutional Court quoted by the Kommersant daily said the judges were pressured to resign after colleagues in the court had accused Yaroslavtsev of undermining the judiciary's authority.
Telegraph.co.uk: Judges forced out after accusing Kremlin of hijacking judiciary
Two of Russia's most senior judges have been forced out of top jobs after they accused the Kremlin of hijacking the country's legal system for political purposes.
By Andrew Osborn in Moscow
Published: 5:40PM GMT 02 Dec 2009
Both men agreed to resign from senior posts after fellow judges at Russia's constitutional court "recommended" that they do so.
The head of the powerful court admitted yesterday that he and his colleagues had been irked by press interviews the two judges had given in which they were highly critical of Russia's legal system.
"(The interviews) did not escape the judges' attention," Vladimir Zorkin, the court's chairman, said. "Of course the other judges discussed the matter and reacted in a certain way. We did not resort to repression. We simply gave them our recommendation. Both judges decided to follow it."
The judges' ousting is an embarrassment for Russian President Dmitry Medvedev who has repeatedly promised to restore the rule of law and rid the judiciary of corruption and influence peddling. It also raises serious questions about the state of freedom of speech at a time when Mr Medvedev says Russia is ready for more democracy.
One of the judges, Anatoly Kononov, will leave the powerful constitutional court altogether, while the other, Vladimir Yaroslavtsev, will step down from a high-level external legal body on which he represented the constitutional court.
Legal experts said the forced resignations set an ominous precedent.
"They were singled out because they criticise the legal system," Elena Lukyanova, a prominent lawyer, told Radio Free Europe's Russian service.
"Judges who proclaim themselves independent are often singled out in Russia.
There will now be very few people left at the constitutional court who have their own view point and are willing to express it."
Problems began when Judge Yaroslavtsev gave an interview to Spanish newspaper El Pais. In it, he said that Russia's legislative bodies were "paralysed," alleged that major court decisions were taken by the Kremlin's presidential administration, and called the government "authoritarian".
"On Vladimir Putin's presidential watch and that of his successor Dmitry Medvedev the power of the judiciary has become a tool in the hands of the executive," he complained. Russian justice lay "in ruins," he added.
His colleague, Judge Kononov, then rushed to his defence in a separate interview in which he complained about how the court had upbraided Judge Yaroslavtsev for speaking out.
Legal experts say Judge Kononov was one of the few judges to regularly exercise his right to issue a so-called "special opinion" in order to signal his disagreement with the court's rulings.
The court rules whether new laws and presidential decrees run contrary to Russia's constitution and often finds itself embroiled in politically-sensitive disputes as a result.
The scandal comes after a corporate lawyer died in prison last month amid allegations he was denied medical treatment for a serious condition.
DECEMBER 3, 2009
Online.: Judge Set to Retire Amid Kremlin Row
By GREGORY L. WHITE
MOSCOW -- One of Russia's Constitutional Court justices agreed to retire and another gave up an official post after they made harshly critical public comments about the Kremlin, complaining that it was undermining democratic institutions and judicial independence, news agencies quoted the court's top judge as saying Wednesday.
The rare open conflict in Russia's highest court appears to contrast with President Dmitry Medvedev's pledges to fight widespread cynicism about the judicial system and the law and shore up judicial independence.
The tensions appear to have started with an interview published in August in Spain's El País newspaper with Vladimir Yaroslavtsev, a 15-year veteran of the court appointed by then-President Boris Yeltsin. In it, Mr. Yaroslavtsev is quoted as saying "the strengthening of authoritarianism is leading to greater judicial dependence," referring to the presidencies of Vladimir Putin and his handpicked successor, Mr. Medvedev.
"The security services can do what they want and all judges can do is ratify their decisions," he was quoted as saying.
In late October, Anatoly Kononov, who has been a justice since the court was formed in 1991 and was also appointed by Mr. Yeltsin, said in an interview with a Russian weekly Sobesednik that he supported "the greater part" of what Mr. Yaroslavtsev had said to El País.
"Our rights have been very much narrowed -- electoral rights, freedom of speech," he was quoted as saying, noting he no longer bothered to vote. He also said other justices had "lashed" Mr. Yaroslavtsev for his El País interview at a closed plenary meeting.
Neither of the two judges could be reached to comment Wednesday. A Kremlin spokesman declined to comment.
Constitutional Court Chairman Valery Zorkin held a news conference Wednesday at which he said that the two justices had been encouraged to resign by the other justices so as not to face disciplinary action, and that they had agreed not to comment publicly yet. Under Russia's judicial code, judges aren't allowed to publicly cast doubt on the court's authority or its decisions.
"We didn't turn to any repressive measures," Interfax quoted Mr. Zorkin as saying. "We just expressed our recommendation to them and both justices took it."
Mr. Zorkin said Mr. Kononov, 62 years old, had resigned from his seat on the court effective Jan. 1 "for health reasons." Mr. Yaroslavtsev, 57, gave up his post as the court's representative at Russia's Council of Judges, an organization with wide powers in judiciary appointments, but will remain a justice, Mr. Zorkin said, according to Interfax.
"It was recommended to Justice Yaroslavtsev that with his views on the judicial system, he couldn't represent the Constitutional Court in the Council of Judges. He, taking this into account, tendered his resignation," Mr. Zorkin said.
Both justices had reputations for frequently dissenting from the majority on the 19-member court. Mr. Kononov was a prodemocracy legislator before his appointment. In their interviews, both criticized Mr. Medvedev's move in July to have the chairman of the Constitutional Court appointed by the president, not elected by the other justices.
"Without Kononov, the Constitutional Court becomes just another appendage of the authorities, like the rest of the judicial system," said Yuri Schmidt, a human-rights lawyer and counsel to jailed oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
—Olga Padorina contributed to this article.
Write to Gregory L. White at greg.white@
Guardian.co.uk: Rising oil price refuels Russian taste for fine art
Oligarchs start spending again at London art sales
Kathryn Hopkins
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 2 December 2009 21.02 GMT
Four Russian art sales in London this week are expected to raise £55m as Russian oligarchs return with petrodollars burning a hole in their pockets.
Upmarket auction house Sotheby's made a total of £19.3m at its Russian art sale series this week. A selection of treasures such as a Fabergé cigarette case and a pair of Fabergé cufflinks, which belonged to Russia's royal family before they were killed in 1918, raised a staggering £7.1m – a huge increase on the expected £900,000.
The so-called "Romanov heirlooms" had been lost for more than 90 years before they were discovered in Sweden this year. The top-selling painting at the auction was Venice by Alexandra Ekster, which sold for £1,049,250.
The sale was a far cry from last year, when demand for art dampened in the midst of the credit crunch, and auctioneer Christie's failed to sell a Francis Bacon self-portrait in New York.
Auction houses now hope wealthy Russians will help boost business after a year of decline. A large majority of the buyers at the Sotheby's sale were Russian and an increasing number of the country's billionaires appear to be returning to the high end of the art market as their economy, which is dependent on oil, starts to recover.
Oil prices now stand at around $77 a barrel after falling to a five-year low of about $35 in December 2008.
William MacDougall, co-director of MacDougall Auctions, which specialises in Russian art and whose client base is 90% Russian, said that he expected sales to pick up at his auction this week. "[The Russians] were a bit cautious from the crisis. Last November they didn't know where they were ... Now we know that we are not in a Great Depression. The worst cases haven't happened. They may have lost a lot of money but they still have a lot. For example, someone who used to be worth £1bn may now be worth £600m, but that is still a lot of money."
MacDougall believes that after the experience of the global financial crisis, the Russians now see art as a safer way of investing their money.
Neil Shearing, an expert on emerging Europe at Capital Economics, said that he expected the Russian economy to grow by 4.5% in 2010 after falling about 9% this year.
"The economy was freefall in the first quarter of the this year. [The government] put lots of stimulus into the economy so growth next year will look quite impressive," he said.
However, he said that he did not think it would last because Russia's economy is based on oil and oil prices were expected to fall back again. "All these oligarchs are based in the commodities sector."
Russia's billionaires were hit hard in the crisis. This year Forbes revealed that the number of billionaires in Moscow had fallen to just 27, which meant that it lost its title of world billionaire capital to New York, which had 55. London was second with 28.
: Russian tycoon finds limelight a little bright
By Haig Simonian in Zurich
Published: December 2 2009 22:25 | Last updated: December 2 2009 22:25
Viktor Vekselberg, the Russian tycoon who bought the Forbes family’s collection of Fabergé eggs, has avoided the financial pitfalls that have hurt many of his fellow oligarchs during the credit crunch.
But his involvement in Oerlikon, once a byword for Swiss high technology manufacturing, and in Sulzer, another top engineering group, has prompted a higher public profile than the normally reticent Russian likes.
Oerlikon’s problems stem from over-expansion – notably the acquisition of the Saurer textile machinery group in 2007 – troubled markets and continual management change.
Initially the target of two Austrian corporate raiders, Oerlikon then attracted the attention of Mr Vekselberg, who also owns stakes in the Rusal aluminium group and the TNK-BP energy joint venture.
The tycoon’s Renova group invested via the Austrians and the open market and now holds 44.6 per cent, or more than 50 per cent including the one remaining Austrian’s share.
But Renova’s involvement coincided roughly with Oerlikon’s decline. Last year, the group lost SFr422m ($422m); in the first nine months of 2009, sales slumped by 39 per cent to SFr2.2bn, while new orders dropped by 35 per cent to SFr2.3bn.
Losses and less business have squeezed the balance sheet, compensated only partly by cost cuts and limited asset sales under Hans Ziegler, the board member appointed interim chief executive in August. Net debt climbed to SFr1.70bn last December, up from SFr1.30bn the previous year and reached SFr1.83bn at the end of June.
Matters have come to a head because SFr600m is due for repayment by the end of March. Discussions with a 23-member bank consortium have focused on rescheduling and debt-for-equity swaps. But analysts say all involved, including Renova, recognise a solution will require significant asset sales and fresh cash to put Oerlikon on a permanently firmer footing.
“There will have to be a package deal. It can’t just be done piecemeal,” says Michael Foeth, analyst at Vontobel, the private bank. “Bankers and shareholders need to see some perspective for the future. Otherwise why would you put money in?” he adds.
Renova declines to comment publicly but analysts say the group has shown readiness to commit more cash, but only as part of a broader bank deal.
The banks will demand asset sales – most likely the Balzers coatings subsidiary, Oerlikon’s crown jewel. “There are no longer any holy cows, and Balzers is the most attractive subsidiary”, says one Swiss analyst.
Conveniently, Balzers, which is worth about SFr600m, is prized by Sulzer, which Mr Vekselberg also controls with a 31.2 per cent stake. “It’s an open secret they are interested”, says the analyst. Sulzer declined to comment on specific deals but an official noted executives’ commitment to acquisition-led growth.
The problems are transparency and price. Sulzer specialises in pumps for the oil and gas industry and is in much better shape than Oerlikon. The company has a strong management team and a presence in big and expanding markets.
But, as with many engineering counterparts, Sulzer has been affected by the global downturn, in spite of net liquidity of almost SFr360m at the end of June. Any sale of Balzers to Sulzer would have to be done at a price viewed as fair to smaller shareholders on both sides to avoid attracting any corporate governance criticism.
Mr Vekselberg’s image, which suffered in Switzerland from his association with the Austrian raiders, has also been damaged by the announcement this year of an investigation by the Swiss finance ministry into the accretion of his Sulzer stake. “A clumsily handled Balzers sale would hardly enhance his standing,” says the analyst.
Renova has criticised the probe, announced just before a crucial Sulzer shareholders’ meeting, as politically motivated. The group says it abided by Swiss law. Renova has presented the appointment in August as Sulzer chairman, of Jürgen Dormann, best known for his time at Aventis and ABB, as a demonstration of its good intentions.
“I think there will be a combination of asset sales, debt restructuring and new capital [at Oerlikon],” says the analyst.
That would buy Oerlikon time to put its house in order under a new permanent chief executive and to implement a restructuring. “But time is running out, and there is a lot of speculation,” warns Mr Foeth.
: Activists urge Kremlin to stop building resort
Posted on December 2, 2009 at 11:04 AM
MOSCOW (AP) — Environmental activists called on Russian President Dmitry Medvedev Wednesday to stop plans for building a government resort at a southern nature reserve.
Greenpeace, the World Wildlife Fund and other environmental groups strongly criticized the presidential office's plan to build a recreational facility at the Utrish national park near the Black Sea city of Anapa.
They said in a joint statement that the project would jeopardize many endangered plants, as well as dozens of rare species of migratory birds.
"This is not only a grave violation of existing law, but also an example of legal nihilism of top officials, something Russia's president has called to fight with," the statement said.
The groups said that authorities have blocked their activists from reaching the area.
Medvedev's press service did not provide immediate comment on the issue.
Anapa Mayor Tatiana Yevsikova said that public hearings Tuesday discussed plans for the development of the Utrish nature reserve. She said that materials of the discussion will be handed over to the Natural Resources Ministry that will make sure that the plans conform with the law.
The Moscow Times: Ministry Readies Tax Haven Curbs
02 December 2009
Vedomosti
On orders from the president, the Finance Ministry has proposed changes that would increase oversight of Russian companies' foreign beneficiaries and significantly limit the use of offshore companies to minimize tax payments.
President Dmitry Medvedev has requested legislation that would prevent Russian businesses from reducing their taxes through companies registered in countries with which Russia has double-taxation agreements. Specifically, he wanted to prevent the ultimate beneficiaries from being nonresidents in the country with the double-tax agreement.
Vedomosti has obtained a copy of the Finance Ministry's proposed changes to Article 7 of the Tax Code, which have been sent to the Justice Ministry for approval.
If it is determined that an individual or organization is the actual beneficiary of a Russian company and is not a tax resident of the country with which Russia has a double taxation agreement, the individual or organization and the earnings received would be subject to the Tax Code rather than the bilateral agreement.
The Economic Development Ministry did not respond to the changes within a month, meaning that it is considered agreed, the Finance Ministry said.
Sergei Belyakov, an Economic Development Ministry official, said the ministry supported the bill's concept, which addresses a request made by the president. "Strengthening the law regarding one's own citizens who are reducing taxes through foreign companies is an international trend," he said, adding that the Russian initiative did not look particularly aggressive.
The bill's main targets are dividends, royalties and interest payments from loans, said Alexander Zakharov, a partner at the Tsentr USB collection agency. He said those types of payments were typically the ones that businesses are able to decrease offshore.
Rustam Vakhitov, a senior manager at Pepeliaev, Goltsblat & Partners, said using the double-taxation agreement with Cyprus, a business can pay 5 percent on dividends, instead of Russia's 15 percent, and nothing for royalties and interest, compared with 20 percent in Russia.
Typically, a shell company with a nominal owner, such as a lawyer or accountant, is set up in a country where Russia has a double-tax agreement, while the actual beneficiary lives in Russia, Zakharov said. In some cases, the owner does not hide and registers in a true offshore, such as the British Virgin Islands, with which Russia does not have a double-tax agreement, he said.
Cyprus is by far the favorite jurisdiction for Russian business. According to State Statistics Service data, Russia received $56.9 billion in foreign investment from companies registered there last year, or 22 percent of the total. For the first nine months of this year, the figure is $5.2 billion, or 10 percent of the total.
Russia has agreements to avoid double taxation with 75 countries, Vakhitov said, but only Cyprus and a few others — the Netherlands, Switzerland and Belgium — are frequently used to reduce tax payments.
If tax officials start aggressively using the proposed changes, businesses will have it tough, Zakharov said.
Given how the proposal is framed, there is a risk that the authorities will start "nightmaring" Russian companies that pay dividends or interest to companies abroad, an executive at a major holding company said. Big business is already transparent in terms of which foreign companies belong to whom, he said, while the higher taxes would come in the middle of a crisis year.
Additionally, the executive said, it is often difficult to determine who will be the ultimate beneficiary in a deal. Dividends paid in Cyprus could be spent on the island, paid to another company or returned to Russia as new investments.
A tax official told Vedomosti that determining the ultimate beneficiary would be difficult, except in cases where the company has disclosed the information to the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service or the state's commission on foreign investments. It will be easier, however, after changes to the double-tax agreement with Cyprus are approved by the Russian government, he said. Russian tax officials will be able to request information from their Cypriot colleagues without any additional approval.
Severstal's Alexei Mordashov, MMK's Viktor Rashnikov and NLMK's Vladimir Lisin control their companies through firms registered in Cyprus, and Mikhail Prokhorov's main Onexim holding is registered there.
The main holding companies for Viktor Vekselberg and Oleg Deripaska are registered in the Bahamas and Jersey, respectively. Neither of the islands has a double-tax agreement with Russia.
Spokespeople for Severstal, NLMK, En+ and Onexim Group declined comment.
05:20 December 3rd, 2009
Blogs.: Time to kick Russia out of the BRICs?
Posted by: Jeremy Gaunt
Tags: Uncategorized, Brazil, BRICS, china, emerging markets, India, investment, macroeconomics, Russia, stocks
It may end up sounding like a famous ball-point pen maker, but an argument is being made that Goldman Sach’s famous marketing device, the BRICs, should really be the BICs. Does Russia really deserve to be a BRIC, asks Anders Åslund, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, in an article for Foreign Policy.
Åslund, who is also co-author with Andrew Kuchins of “The Russian Balance Sheet”, reckons the Russia of Putin and Medvedev is just not worthy of inclusion alongside Brazil, India and China in the list of blue-chip economic powerhouses. He writes:
The country’s economic performance has plummeted to such a dismal level that one must ask whether it is entitled to have any say at all on the global economy, compared with the other, more functional members of its cohort.
I have just returned from Moscow, which is always dreary around this season. But this year, the mood among the capital’s eloquent liberal economists has hit a new low. For the last seven years, Russia has undertaken no significant economic reforms. Instead, the state has been living off oil and gas, like a lucky but undeserving rentier.”
Economically, Åslund has the numbers on his side. The International Monetary Fund estimates that the Russian economic will contract by 6.7 percent this year, while China will grow 8.5 percent and India 5.4 percent. There is less of a case for Brazil, with a contraction of 0.7 percent projected, but it is still doing far better than Russia.
But the BRICs concept is not just about economics. As mentioned, it is a marketing device to urge investors to focus on the big emerging players. From an investment standpoint, it could be argued that Russia is leading the BRICs. Its stock market it up 128 percent this year versus around 80 percent for the other three.
At very least, however, Russia’s economic underperformance and stock market outperformance does suggest it is tthe outlier of the group.
RIA: What the Russian papers say
10:2302/12/2009
MOSCOW, December 2 (RIA Novosti)
Medvedev's proposal for new European security treaty a compromise between Russia, West / Row darkens upcoming NATO-Russia meeting / Menatep gets chance to sue Russia for billions of dollars / German concern asks Gazprom to review long-term gas prices /
Kommersant
Medvedev's proposal for new European security treaty a compromise between Russia, West
Russia has sent a draft treaty on European security to the leaders of European countries and international organizations.
The document focuses on the "indivisibility of security," an underlying principle of Russia's foreign policy in the past two decades, a Russian political analyst writes.
Fyodor Lukyanov, editor-in-chief of the Moscow-based magazine Russia in Global Affairs, recalls that Mikhail Gorbachev once signed a new European charter which officially cancelled the confrontation between the Western and Eastern European military alliances. Boris Yeltsin did much to promote the OSCE in the 1990s, in a hope to control NATO's growing influence. Vladimir Putin also tried to establish institutional cooperation with the alliance.
Now Dmitry Medvedev is closing the circle, reminding the international community of the need to stretch security "from Vancouver to Vladivostok," and "finally do away with the legacy of the Cold War." Keeping in mind that Gorbachev's charter remained a list of good ideas on paper, Medvedev is now insisting on a legally binding treaty for European security, Lukyanov writes.
It follows from the document's text that Moscow is concerned with security in the conventional military political sense, involving blocks, alliances, and a balance of forces and interests. But modern Europe is not comfortable with this approach, as its agenda is dominated by "softer" security factors such as climate change, immigration, sustained development, and drugs, to name but a few.
Most Europeans - with some overemotional exceptions, like a few of Russia's immediate neighbors - do not see a military threat. Even the anti-terrorist effort is more of a habitual chant than a defining security policy for them. Therefore, the West has found itself at a loss in reacting to Moscow's proposals which include the radical collective defense commitment (article 7).
However, Lukyanov admits, Western policy is not as unyielding today as it used to be, even 18 to 24 months ago. Moscow's initiatives were then seen as nothing but another attempt to undermine the hated NATO. At present, Europe has become vaguely aware of growing security issues. Statements that it can make do with the existing international institutions are no longer convincing, given the obvious predicaments NATO and the OSCE are faced with.
Both parties need to determine their security concerns and find ways to reconcile differing interests. Although this kind of compromise might not be possible yet, Russia's proposal could be used as a framework to build upon, Lukyanov concludes.
Gazeta.ru, Izvestia, Nezavisimaya Gazeta
Row darkens upcoming NATO-Russia meeting
The upcoming NATO-Russia meeting, the first since the August 2008 armed conflict between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia, has been darkened by a row.
Russia claims that a group of countries led by Canada is sabotaging its proposals for the ministerial meeting of the NATO-Russia Council, to be held in Brussels on Friday.
Canada has refused to support the Russian program of cooperation with the Western military alliance in 2010, amendments to the documents on the Council's structure, and draft ministerial instructions for ambassadors to begin assessing threats in the Euro-Atlantic space.
Moscow's current priority is "to improve the system of European security."
"This is why President Dmitry Medvedev has offered Russia's European partners a draft European security treaty," said Dmitry Rogozin, the Russian envoy to NATO.
At the same time, a group of NATO countries has proposed discussing European security as part of the OSCE format. The idea was put forth by Canada and supported by Britain and the three Baltic countries - Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.
Since NATO operates by consensus, any issue will be removed from the agenda if even one member state votes against it.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said Canada's stance is a vestige of the Cold War, but confirmed Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's intention to attend the meeting in Brussels.
Rogozin said Russia would not consider proposals on closer cooperation with NATO in Afghanistan unless Brussels takes positive action.
"NATO seems unwilling to change its world. It has not moved halfway toward Russia, and so we will not fulfill its requests in advance any more," the diplomat said.
Brussels does not seem to view the situation as a problem. A NATO diplomat said that Moscow and the alliance had overcome the crisis created in their relations by the 2008 war in South Ossetia.
"We have developed a normal working relationship. When there are no debates, it means you have nothing to talk about," he said.
Vedomosti, RBC Daily
Menatep gets chance to sue Russia for billions of dollars
Group Menatep Limited, representing the interests of former Yukos shareholders, now has a chance to sue Russia for $100 billion. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague has recognized the company's right to pursue their case under the Energy Charter. The judge was not deterred by the fact that Russia had not ratified the Charter. Lawyers call it a precedent but doubt GML will win.
GML, taking advantage of Energy Charter provisions, has accused the Russian government of seizing Yukos assets, most of which went to the state-owned Rosneft company, and is now demanding compensation. Article 26 of the Charter protects energy investment and forbids discrimination and unfair and biased litigation. Russia has broken these rules and ruined Yukos by the selective use of its laws, which led to an unlawful seizure of the company's property, according to GML's claim. The Charter is relevant, although Russia has failed to ratify it, the court decided, because Moscow signed the document in 1994.
Pavel Karpenko, senior legal analyst at Nikolaev and Partners legal consultancy, believes former Yukos shareholders have practically no chance of winning the dispute.
"We realize that the hearing may take years," said GML co-owner Mikhail Brudno. "But for us it is a matter of principle that our lawyers see the trial through. We will get our money back."
The law firm Cleary Gottlieb, representing the Russian government, declined to comment.
The hearing will take no less than a year, believes Valery Tutykhin, a partner at John Tiner & Partners. If GML wins the case, it will press for a freeze of Russian government and state company accounts in the West. But if the government refuses to acknowledge the rights of the court, GML will be hard put to have the accounts attached.
But Vladimir Khvalei, a partner at Baker & McKenzie, disagrees: even if the government pulls out of the litigation process, it will have no effect on the enforcement of the court ruling. But even winning the case, GML will find it hard to recover the money, he warned. "It will be a repeat of the Noga saga," he said. It will be difficult to find Russian property in the West free of immunity, he added.
The Swiss trading company Noga has spent 10 years trying to recover $110 million from Russia, awarded to it by the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce. In 2008, it was partly successful in impounding for a time the accounts of RIA Novosti, Roscosmos and the Bank of Russia in France.
Gazeta.ru
German concern asks Gazprom to review long-term gas prices
E.ON, following in the footsteps of Ukraine's Naftogaz, has asked the Russian gas export monopoly to review its long-term natural gas pricing policy. The German energy giant wants to buy less gas from Gazprom without paying the penalties for failure to import the contracted volume.
Russia's prices for natural gas are the highest in Europe, analysts say, so it has become unprofitable for the European Union to buy it at contractual prices.
Germany's E.ON, Italian Eni and Turkish Botas may have to pay a total of $2.8 billion in fines for failure to import the minimum contracted volume of natural gas in 2009. This figure has not been confirmed, but the three companies, citing the concessions to Ukraine, have asked Russia not to fine them for failure to import the contracted volume of natural gas.
Mikhail Korchemkin from the U.S.-based consultancy East European Gas Analysis said it had become unprofitable for Germany to buy Russian gas.
"E.ON annually buys 16-18 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Gazprom," he said. "Russian natural gas is now the most expensive."
Qatar delivered natural gas to Europe under spot contracts at up to $80 per 1,000 cu m last summer, while Gazprom sells its gas on the border with Germany at $290-$295. In other words, E.ON overpays by at least $200 per cubic meter when it buys Russian gas.
"Gazprom should offer temporary benefits in exchange for similar steps by its European partners" such as participation in European shale gas projects, Korchemkin said.
Ukraine created a dangerous precedent when it convinced Russia to lower the volume of contracted gas from 52 billion cubic meters to 33.75 billion in 2010, and not to fine it for failure to import the contracted volume of gas in 2009. Potential penalties were estimated at between $5.8 billion and $8.5 billion.
The official decision was made on November 25, and analysts warned immediately afterward that this would encourage Gazprom's other partners to request similar conditions.
"If Russia has granted the request of an unreliable partner [Ukraine], it should do the same for a reliable partner," said Dmitry Aleksandrov, an analyst with asset management company Univer Capital.
RIA Novosti is not responsible for the content of outside sources.
National Economic Trends
RIA: Russia's GDP decrease in 2009 to exceed predicted 8.5% -- Kudrin
21:0802/12/2009
Russia's GDP decrease in 2009 will exceed the forecasted earlier figure of 8.5%, the Russian finance minister said on Wednesday.
The Russian Economics Ministry earlier predicted the national economy to shrink 8.5% in 2009, but to grow 3% in 2011 and 4.3% in 2012.
"It will definitely exceed 8.5%," Alexei Kudrin said, but did not say whether the decrease will be less than 9%.
President Dmitry Medvedev approved earlier on Wednesday the federal budget for 2010 and basic budget parameters through 2012.
The 2010 budget will run a deficit of 6.8% of GDP, or 2.9 trillion rubles ($100 billion). It should fall to 4% of GDP in 2011 and 3% in 2012.
MOSCOW, December 2 (RIA Novosti)
Bloomberg: Russian Service Industries Grew for Fourth Month (Update1)
By Paul Abelsky
Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Russian service industries from banks to mobile-phone retailers grew for a fourth month in November, while sluggish bank lending and rising unemployment restrained demand and curtailed an acceleration in the expansion.
The Purchasing Managers’ Index retreated to 53.3 from 54.3 in October, VTB Capital said in an e-mailed statement today. A reading above 50 indicates expansion. The historic average is 56.9, VTB said.
“The rate at which business activity is expanding moderated but remained solid as companies reported an increase of clientele and improving financial conditions,” said Svetlana Aslanova, an analyst at VTB in Moscow, in the statement. “There was a decline in the tempo at which new business was expanding, pointing to a possible further moderation” of growth.
Consumer demand stabilized after the government deployed stimulus spending to cope with the worst crisis in more than a decade, while rising commodities prices supported the ruble, making imports less expensive. A record 10.9 percent contraction in the second quarter eased to an 8.9 percent decline in the third. Service industries, which account for about 40 percent of the economy, expanded for the fourth month in a row in November.
A stronger ruble, which reached this year’s high of 28.6613 against the dollar on Nov. 11, helped sales at OAO VimpelCom, Russia’s second-largest mobile-phone company, and retailers X5 Retail Group NV and OAO Wimm-Bill-Dann.
Ruble
The Russian currency gained 0.2 percent to 29.2513 per dollar at 10:23 a.m. in Moscow. It lost 0.1 percent to 44.2211 against the euro. The ruble is the second-best performer in the past three months among the 26-developing-nation currencies tracked by Bloomberg, after the Chilean peso.
An increase in demand for services is encouraging businesses to look for funds to expand their operations. The largest food retailers may raise capital spending by 20 percent to $1.79 billion next year as store openings accelerate, according to investment bank Troika Dialog.
While the domestic economy has gained from currency appreciation and higher oil revenue, manufacturers and exporters have struggled to stay profitable, also as banks continued to rein in credit, hampering investment and forcing employers to cut jobs.
The unemploymentrate rose in October to 7.7 percent from 7.6 percent the month before as a slump in industry accelerated. Wage arrears increased in October by 6.4 percent, to 5.4 billion rubles ($184 million) after declining 8.6 percent in September.
“Restricted credit remained a theme of the latest findings,” the bank said in the report.
‘Weak Level’
The work backlog among service industries dropped last month at the steepest clip since July and the rate at which new orders increased slid to a “weak level,” according to VTB.
Banks have curtailed lending because of increasing credit risks even as the central bank last week cut the refinancing rate to a record-low 9 percent.
The pace of delinquent debt growth could fall by the end of January and lending may start to grow this year, central bank Chairman Sergey Ignatiev said on Nov. 18.
Prices charged in the services industry in November dropped for the fourth time in the past eight months as companies offered discounts because of waning consumer demand, VTB said.
The rate of job-cutting last month was the slowest since unemployment started to grow in the sector 14 months ago, according to VTB.
VTB first compiled the survey, which is based on responses from about 300 purchasing managers, in October 2001.
To contact the reporter on this story: Paul Abelsky in Moscow at pabelsky@.
Last Updated: December 3, 2009 03:02 EST
RenCap: Rouble weakens on the back of accelerated budget spending expectations in December
Renaissance Capital, Russia
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Yesterday (2 Dec) the rouble/basket rate moved down for the first time this week. Having opened at 35.71, it ended the day at 35.99. Wednesday's currency buying might be explained by both a decline (by over 2%) in the oil price in New York and expectation of the abundant rouble liquidity on the back of increasing budget expenditures in December. With the end of the tax payment period, money market rates moved down to 3.5-4.5% on Wednesday. In our view, in the current external environment there is little ground for a major capital outflow and, therefore, the current notable rouble weakening.
At the same time, we do not expect major rouble appreciation, as the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) recently promised to buy more hard currency within the floating band. Consequently, until the end of the year, notable changes in the rouble rate are unlikely, we think.
RenCap: Reserve Fund in November
Renaissance Capital, Russia
Thursday, December 3, 2009
On Monday (1 Dec), the Ministry of Finance published its monthly statistics on the usage of federal budget oil-and-gas revenues. Our key takeaways are:
• The volume of the Reserve Fund denominated in roubles, was RUB2,238.58bn ($75.1bn) and was almost unchanged since 1 Nov. The unchanged volume is largely explained by one-off sharp move in the rouble exchange rate in the end of November.
• The Ministry of Finance also reported that RUB240bn from the Reserve Fund was transferred to the federal budget in order to balance it, more than the average amount for the past five months - RUB150bn. Nevertheless, in our view this does not signal an acceleration of budget spending, as it is only the result of the order in which the federal budget code prescribes oil and gas budget revenue to be distributed.
• Every year the ministry of Finance sets a target for the annual oil and gas transfer (as a percentage of estimated nominal GDP), which is aimed at covering non-oil and gas budget deficit. If YtD revenues exceed the target number, the excess fund is placed with the Reserve Fund. If the budget deficit is more than the oil and gas transfer, the Reserve Fund finances the residual gap. The 2009 target oil and gas transfer was reached by the end of November and excess funds (RUB180bn) were transferred to the Reserve Fund. Then, at the end of November, the Ministry of Finance transferred RUB240bn from the Reserve Fund to the federal budget account.
Thus, the net transfer of funds from the Reserve Fund is estimated to be RUB60bn.
• At the same time, the Ministry of Finance exchanged a substantial part of the Reserve Fund held in foreign currency for roubles, without any evident need in our view. The Ministry of Finance exchanged $3bn, EUR2bn and GBP0.4bn for RUB200bn, with only RUB60bn earmarked to cover the federal budget deficit. In our view, this may be considered as either a scheduled withdrawal in advance of future large expenditures or as an attempt to diversify the holdings in the light of a strengthening rouble. Nevertheless, it makes more sense for us that there was a time gap between the time actual expenditures need to be financed and when oil and gas revenues were received.
• We roughly estimate the November budget deficit to be RUB190bn. We estimate sources for its financing as: Net return of Ministry of Finance funds from commercial banks' deposits at RUB70bn, net Reserve Fund transfer at RUB60bn and net domestic borrowing at RUB60bn. As November revenues should not have increased significantly, there was no notable acceleration in budget spending in November and our budget deficit estimate was in-line with previous monthly figures.
• Hence, we estimate that the Ministry of Finance printed around RUB100bn - the lowest level seen in the past three months.
• As for the National Welfare Fund, it is virtually unchanged: Around RUB10bn was deposited with VEB, which, in our view, is immaterial for final money emission. The National Welfare Fund is denominated in roubles and its volume is RUB2,769.8bn ($92.9bn).
• Currently, the Ministry of Finance has RUB170bn in commercial banks'. Moreover, oil and gas revenues in December may increase significantly (up to RUB50bn) on the back of an increased export duty and stable oil price. In December, the export duty is $271/t compared with $231.2/t in November. According to our estimates, after the government revises its borrowing limits, domestic borrowing may be up to RUB50-70bn. As such, the Ministry of Finance may easily finance a budget deficit up to RUB300bn without transfers from the Reserve Fund. If budget spending is increased up to RUB1.2trn in December, then, the maximum transfer could be RUB200bn and the Reserve Fund may stay at RUB2trn as of the end of the year significantly above official estimates, in our view.
Anton Nikitin
Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions
Bloomberg: Polymetal, Rosneft, Sberbank, Sitronics: Russian Equity Preview
By Ilya Khrennikov
Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) -- The following companies may have unusual price changes in Russian trading. Stock symbols are in parentheses and share prices are from the previous close.
The 30-stock Micex Index rose 0.5 percent to 1,325.76. The dollar-denominated RTS Index closed little changed at 1,415.98.
OAO Polymetal (PMTL RX): Gold surged to a record for a second day as investors stepped up purchases to protect their wealth against fiat currencies. Polymetal fell 0.1 percent to 284.25 rubles.
OAO Rosneft (ROSN RX): Crude oil and gasoline tumbled after a government report showed that inventories climbed last week as consumption declined. Russia’s largest oil producer added 1.1 percent to 248.55 rubles.
OAO Sberbank (SBER03 RX): Russia’s biggest lender may participate in United Co. Rusal’s initial public offering as an investor, Interfax reported late yesterday, citing Chief Executive Officer German Gref. Sberbank rose 0.4 percent to 71.42 rubles.
OAO Sitronics (SITR LI), the electronics maker controlled by Russian billionaire Vladimir Yevtushenkov, is scheduled to report its third-quarter earnings today. Sitronics stood at $1.65 a share yesterday with no trades executed.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ilya Khrennikov in Moscow ikhrennikov@
Last Updated: December 2, 2009 22:00 EST
Russia Today: RusHydro posts 1H 2009 Net Profit of 17.85 billion Roubles
03 December, 2009, 11:01
Russian hydroelectricity generator, RusHydro, has posted a 1H 2009 Net profit of 17.85 billion Roubles under IFRS.
The bottom line is up 134% on the 7.63 billion Rouble Net Profit recorded for 1H 2008, with EBITDA rising 85% year on year to 28.11 billion Roubles, as consolidated Revenues rose 14% year on year to 56.88 billion Roubles.
The company attributed the results to increased sales on the open electricity market , and a larger special investment component in the tariff, combined with a 12% cut in operating expenses, stemming from a reduction in supplies under fixed contracts and reduced electricity market purchases.
Citibank: Agriculture: Fertiliser Demand Rebounds in 4Q09
Citibank, Russia
December 3, 2009
Agriculture Focus - Day two of Citi's Basic Materials Conference hosted Mosaic, Israel Chemicals, Monsanto, Potash Corp, Yara, Agrium, Uralkali and Makhteshim Agan. Consultants Agribusiness and USDA representatives also presented.
Rising grain prices help re-stimulate fertiliser demand - With corn prices heading above $4/bu and soy over $10/bu companies noted demand reviving for fertilisers ahead of the spring application period. This is especially the case for nitrogen and phosphate fertilisers where the distribution chain is starting to restock. Potash demand is rising to a lesser extent with buying still 'hand to mouth'.
Yara positive on 2010 nitrogen outlook - Global nitrogen markets have tightened significantly in recent weeks helped by India issuing urea tenders for January delivery. International urea prices are up +10% to over $300/T and Yara announcing an increase of the CAN prices in Europe from €130/T to €145/T. Yara suggested signs of a stricter export tax policy in China in 2010, which would further support international nitrogen pricing.
Phosphate demand also increasing - Mosaic, Potash Corp, Agrium and Israel Chemicals all noted rising phosphate demand in 4Q09. With prices seen to have reached a floor in nitrogen and phosphate we expect the distribution chain to rebuild inventories as the northern hemisphere planting season approaches.
Chinese potash contract still awaited, Indian 2010 contract around the corner - Potash demand is also rising, but to a lesser extent. BPC is in advanced negotiations on the Chinese 2010 contract with a settlement expected by February (we forecast c.$350/T). This may not provide the price clarity hoped for since focus will then shift to the Indian 2010 contract. We expect potash demand to remain below trend in 2010 before a fuller recovery in 2011.
Farmers positive on Syngenta's seed offering - Monsanto gave an upbeat presentation regarding its upcoming launches of Smartstax, VT Double and Triple PRO and Roundup Ready 2 yield for soy. That said, consultants Agribusiness stated US farmers were encouraged by Syngenta's triple trait offering in 2009, which augers well for further acreage in 2010.
ey Conclusions - The day supported our generally bullish outlook for crop chemical and fertiliser suppliers in 2010. In fertilizers we are most optimistic for nitrogen and phosphate producers as prices and demand are now on an upward trend. We also believe the outlook for crop protection is strong for 2010. In Europe, we have Buy ratings on Syngenta and Yara, a Hold on ICL and a Sell on K+S.
Sophie Jourdier
Bloomberg: Hong Kong Exchange Committee Said to Review Rusal IPO on Dec. 7
By Bei Hu
Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong’s stock exchange will hold a special meeting on Dec. 7 to consider United Co. Rusal’s initial public offering of as much as $3 billion, said three people familiar with the matter.
Rusal and its bankers had sought to have the application reviewed today at a weekly meeting of the exchange’s listing committee, said the people who declined to be identified as the information is private. The Rusal application was delayed to Dec. 7 after some committee members indicated they couldn’t attend the hearing, said two of the people.
The world’s largest aluminum producer, controlled by billionaire Oleg Deripaska, this week signed a $17 billion accord with creditors in Russia’s largest corporate restructuring, paving the way for the Hong Kong share sale. The review delay cuts the time for Rusal to sell a 10 percent stake in Hong Kong by the end of the year to help repay debt.
Moscow-based Rusal plans to test demand for the share sale as early as Dec. 8, assuming the committee grants approval, the people said. That may allow the Russian company to begin trading in Hong Kong before the Christmas break, they said.
Lorraine Chan, a spokeswoman for Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd., declined to comment, citing the confidential nature of the listing committee meetings and their schedule. Vera Kurochkina, a spokeswoman for Rusal, declined to comment.
More Information
The Hong Kong exchange listing committee withheld approval for Rusal’s share sale application at a meeting on Nov. 26. It had asked the company to provide more information and clarifications, including about its debt restructuring.
The same committee members who attended the Nov. 26 meeting will hear the case on Dec. 7, two of the people said today. Senior members of the Hong Kong stock exchange listing committee may also need more time to study the financial information and documents because of the complexity of the deal, one of the people also said.
The share sale would make Rusal the first Russian company listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, which is wooing international companies amid growing regional competition.
Josephine Lee, a Hong Kong-based spokeswoman for Credit Suisse Group AG, and Christine Chan, a spokeswoman for BNP Paribas SA in the city, declined to comment. The two banks are sponsoring the IPO.
To contact the reporter on this story: Bei Hu in Hong Kong at bhu5@
Last Updated: December 3, 2009 00:36 EST
AFP: Rusal's IPO plan in Hong Kong faces new delay
(AFP) – 37 minutes ago
HONG KONG — The Hong Kong Stock Exchange has postponed for the second time a decision on Russian metal giant UC Rusal's plan to list in the city, a source close to the situation said Thursday.
The listing committee of the bourse operator, expected to meet Thursday to consider Rusal's application for a 2.5-billion-dollar initial public offering, has postponed the meeting to December 7, the source told AFP.
"The meeting will now be held next Monday," she said, stressing that the bourse was keen to "attract overseas companies to list here" despite the delay.
The listing committee first postponed a decision on the plan in November 26, saying they needed more time to study the application documents.
The latest delay was revealed after reports said that Rusal, the world's largest aluminium producer, completed a landmark deal with its last remaining lender, London-based fund Blue Crest, on the restructuring of its 7.4 billion debt to more than 70 international banks.
The deal is aimed at allowing Rusal breathing space to repay 16 billion dollars in debt built up when metal prices were at record highs before the financial crisis hit last year.
Rusal is in a rush to list in Hong Kong before Christmas while market conditions remained good, the reports said.
If successful, Rusal will be the first Russian firm to list in the city. The listing would also be an achievement for the Hong Kong bourse operator, which has worked for years to attract companies from outside China to list.
But the planned listing is complicated by allegations that its powerful owner Oleg Deripaska, who has not been charged with any criminal offence, was linked to organised crime.
Russia's state Vneshekonom Bank, or VEB, which bailed out Rusal in late 2008, said last month it might buy shares at the company's IPO, which would be the first time the Russian government has taken a stake in the group.
Guardian.co.uk: Deripaska and Rusal come back from the brink
Oligarch's aluminium firm close to renegotiating debt and announcing Hong Kong flotation
Nick Mathiason
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 2 December 2009 21.05 GMT
Rusal, the world's largest aluminium company, is poised to secure a $17bn (£10.2bn) debt restructuring that it hopes will pave the way for a $3bn flotation in Hong Kong to be announced possibly next week.
The development will be a huge relief to the man who controls Rusal – Oleg Deripaska, the Russian oligarch described as being closest to his country's prime minister Vladimir Putin.
In what has been a hugely protracted and complicated refinancing of $16.8bn of debt involving 72 international banks, lenders have agreed to extend the length of repayments on money owed by the company.
A successful debt rescheduling for Rusal is regarded as crucial in the rehabilitation of the wider Russian economy, which has suffered in the aftermath of the collapse in global commodity prices. It also makes a flotation of Rusal more likely.
The listing of 10% of Rusal's equity, valuing the firm at $30bn, hinges on permission given by the Hong Kong listing committee, which meets on Monday. If permission is granted, it will be a major boost for the influential Deripaska, who is married to one of Boris Yeltsin's daughters and was once feted as Russia's richest businessman.
Marketing of Rusal shares to potential Chinese investors has been intense in recent weeks. The company hopes that because VEB, the Russian state-owned bank that has Putin as chairman of its supervisory board, will take a "cornerstone" stake, this will reassure potential investors that Rusal has the unequivocal backing of the Kremlin.
Deripaska has endured a difficult year: his fortune shrivelled from a reputed $28bn in 2008 to $3.5bn, according to some analysts, as result of the financial crisis. He has always claimed stories of his wealth were exaggerated.
Deripaska still has problems. He must face a legal challenge in the UK high court from Michael Cherney, a fellow oligarch and former business associate, who claims he was the beneficial owner of 20% of Rusal's stock that, he alleges, Deripaska held in trust for him. Deripaska is strongly contesting the claim. Rusal insiders suggest that the facts pertaining to any potential litigation will be spelled out in any offer documents to investors.
Rusal was formed in 2006 from the three-way merger of two Russian rival producers, Sual and Rusal, and the aluminium operations of Swiss commodities firm Glencore. One condition of the deal was that the combined company would list by the end of this year.
The Rusal float was originally meant to have taken place in London, where it would have joined a number of Russian mining firms. But Rusal insiders said the adverse market conditions in late 2007 precluded a UK float. Rusal will now seek a dual listing in Paris when it floats in Hong Kong – because, some advisers have suggested, a major bank underwriting the float, BNP Paribas, is French.
The 41-year-old Deripaska graduated in physics and economics, became general manager of a smelter business and is one of the undisputed winners of the notorious "aluminium wars" that raged in post-communist Russia.
A close friend of British financier Nat Rothschild, he was dragged into an embarrassing political row last year after it was alleged that the shadow chancellor, George Osborne, had solicited him for funds for his party even though any donation would have been problematic because Deripaska is not a British national.
Osborne denied ever asking for, or being offered, money, but apologised at the time for how his actions might have appeared. The affair is said to have taken place while Rothschild, Deripaska and Osborne were socialising in Corfu.
Of the $16.8bn of Rusal debt refinanced, $7.4bn is held by international banks. Banks with cash loaned to Rusal are said to be keen to see the company float this year so they do not have to write down debts in their end-of-year accounts.
Reuters: Russian banks' loan portfolio remains flat-FinMin
Wed Dec 2, 2009 12:26pm EST
MOSCOW, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Russian banks' total loan portfolio was unchanged on Dec. 1 compared to the start of the year, while the bulk of bad loans still has to be written off, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin told reporters on Tuesday.
Russia's central bank has cut its key refinancing rate by 400 basis points since April to 9.0 percent to help restart the economy by making borrowing cheaper.
But the move has largely failed to encourage private and even state-run banks to increase their loan portfolios as they still fear a new spike in bad loans.
"The banking system has neither increased the total volume of loans nor decreased it as of Dec. 1," Kudrin said.
The global crisis is not over yet, and the global financial system remains a high risk sector of economy.
"The bulk of bad loans still has to be written off in the future and we should be prepared for that," Kudrin said.
(Reporting by Dasha Korsunskaya; Writing by Dmitry Sergeyev; Editing by Toby Chopra) ((dmitry.sergeev@; +7 495 775 1242;
Reuters Messaging: dmitry.sergeev.@))
RBC: Vnesheconombank may become joint-stock company next year
RBC, 03.12.2009, Moscow 11:06:19.Vnesheconombank may be transformed into a joint-stock company in 2010, aide to the Russian president Arkady Dvorkovich told journalists today. The transformation may require a special regime to be applied to Vnesheconombank, however, as it is questionable whether the bank should be subject to general banking laws, Dvorkovich noted. He sees another option for the bank's reorganization, whereby it will be able to retain its specific features in terms of banking legislation while changing its form of incorporation. According to Dvorkovich, the decision has practically already been made by the president.
: Sistema Completes The Sale Of A Controlling Stake In Sistema-Hals To VTB Bank
Moscow, Russia – 3 December, 2009 – Sistema (the “Group”) (LSE:SSA), the largest diversified public financial corporation in Russia and the CIS, which invests in and is a major shareholder of companies operating in different industries, today announced that VTB Bank has exercised its call option to acquire a further 31.5% stake in Sistema-Hals for RUB 30. Sistema has completed the final stage of the sales agreement signed with VTB Bank in April 2009. In the first stage, concluded in April 2009, VTB Bank acquired a 19.5% stake in Sistema-Hals for RUB 30. Following the exercise of the call option VTB Bank owns 51% of Sistema-Hals.
Both parties have signed a shareholder agreement, which defines the terms of their cooperation on a number of investment projects of Sistema-Hals Group and terminates Sistema Group’s obligations and guarantees with regards to Sistema-Hals Group’s debt to VTB Bank.
Leonid Melamed, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sistema, commented: “Our strategic partnership with VTB Bank provides a platform for a productive development of Sistema-Hals and the increase of its asset value. We continue to see great potential in the Russian real estate sector and will participate in the management of Sistema-Hals as we remain one of the key shareholders.”
DECEMBER 3, 2009, 3:16 A.M. ET
Online.: Sistema: VTB Owns 51% Of Sistema-Hals After Exercising Call
MOSCOW (Dow Jones)--Russian conglomerate OAO AFK Sistema (AFKS.RS) Thursday said that state-controlled lender OAO Bank VTB (VTBR.RS) has exercised a call option to take control of Sistema's real estate arm OAO Sistema-Hals (HALS.LN).
Sistema-Hals had been heavily indebted to VTB, and its parent conglomerate in the spring agreed to give VTB a 19.5% stake and a call option for a further 31.5%.
In return, Sistema no longer holds any liability for the loans that Sistema-Hals took from VTB.
Company Web site:
-By Will Bland, Dow Jones Newswires; +7 495 232 9198; william.bland@
RenCap: Rostelecom to be delisted from NYSE?
Renaissance Capital, Russia
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Event: According to RBC Daily today (3 Dec), the board of Svyazinvest will consider delisting Rostelecom from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) as of 11 Dec. The stock will be listed abroad after reorganisation, likely in London.
Action: We think the delisting of Rostelecom should facilitate the reorganization of Svyazinvest.
Rationale: The NYSE listing requires Rostelecom to provide detailed disclosure of undertaken actions which constrains the company in the reorganisation process and could delay it. ADR owners could dispute decisions taken, which would, in our view, be an unnecessary obstacle for the state to complete the restructuring. Rostelecom has the ADR programme for 5.2% of shares outstanding worth currently around $210mn. The delisiting does not imply the buy-out of minorities, but the switch to a Level-1 ADR programme and trading OTC.
Ivan Kim
RIA: Russia's top air carrier denies fuel shortage rumors
07:2503/12/2009
Russia's flagship air carrier Aeroflot has denied media rumors that the company could soon face severe fuel shortages and flight cancellations.
Some media reports have cited sources in aircraft and energy industries claiming that Aeroflot had only one-day reserves of jet fuel due to interrupted supplies from the Moscow oil refinery.
"We continue to receive jet fuel on a regular basis in line with the schedule coordinated with our suppliers," said Oleg Mikhailov, a senior adviser to the company's general director.
He added that Aeroflot had always kept fuel reserves up to the norms established by Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia).
"There is no threat of flight cancellations," Mikhailov said.
Aeroflot, which flies to 96 destinations in 49 countries, accounts for over 42% of Russia's international air traffic and 12% of domestic flights.
The Russian government holds a 51.17% stake in the company.
MOSCOW, December 3 (RIA Novosti)
Reuters: Russia still on radar of global retailers-PwC
Wed Dec 2, 2009 12:13pm EST
* International players eyeing E.Europe's biggest market
* Retail sales seen flat in 2009, rising 3 pct in 2010
* Draft retail law creates uncertainty
By Maria Plis and Maria Kiselyova
MOSCOW, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Russian retailing is still attractive for global players who remain confident in the crisis-hit sector despite the high-profile exit of France's Carrefour (CARR.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), PriceWaterhouseCoopers said on Wednesday.
Dale Clark, PwC Retail & Consumer Practice Leader for Russia, told reporters that every multinational company he is working with has eyes on the biggest market in Eastern Europe.
"With a 140 million population, it's the largest market and still has low saturation of modern retail. As a result, it is still a very attractive market for international consumer products producers."
French retailer Carrefour said in October it was pulling out of Russia only four months after gaining a foothold in the market, pressured by the "persistently challenging" environment in Europe. [ID:nLF662106]
But U.S. rival Wal-Mart (WMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said last month it was continuing to explore investment opportunities in Russia, after the head of its Moscow office quit. [ID:nLH650380]
Clark said he believed that "the re-allocation of resources" was the main reason behind Carrefour's exit and did not mean the Russian retail has lost its appeal for strategic investors.
"We are working with a number of international companies who are looking at investments into emerging markets including Russia... and that's part of the reason why we know that Russia is still one of the headline countries for new investments."
Analysts had predicted a wave of acquisitions by global majors looking to target Russia, although so far most have chosen the organic route.
For a detailed look at foreign forays and failures in Russian retail, see factbox [ID:nGEE5B11NL]
3 PERCENT GROWTH NEXT YEAR
Russian retailers have had a tough year as disposable incomes shrank and unemployment spiked, but virtually all major players escaped sales declines although the rates of growth have dramatically slowed.
Clark said the Russian retail market would "remain stable" in rouble terms this year and contract by about 20 percent in dollars due to the rouble weakening against the greenback.
"For 2010, we are expecting a year of consolidation when we will see retail sales growing by approximately 3 percent in total in roubles terms," he said, adding that retail sales would be focused on sectors rather than grow across the board.
Russia's top food retailer by revenue, X5 Retail Group (PJPq.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), last month trimmed full-year sales guidance, anticipating a tough final quarter as signs of consumer recovery were still distant. [ID:nL9135005]
But to prepare for a recovery, the grocer announced plans to boost spending on new stores, mainly discounters, while its recent acquisition of supermarket chain Paterson should help when consumption recovers in full. [ID:nGEE5AT0AT] (Reporting by Maria Plis and Maria Kiselyova; Editing by David Cowell) ((maria.kiselyova@, +7 495 775 12 42, Reuters Messaging: maria.kiselyova.@))
Reuters: FACTBOX-Key facts about Russia's retail sector
Wed Dec 2, 2009 12:41pm EST
Dec 2 (Reuters) - Global retailers, faced with sluggish
growth at home, are keen to expand in emerging markets such as
Russia, which still offers high growth potential despite the
economic downturn. [ID:nGEE5B111V] [ID:nL2543362] [ID:nLG749028]
Here are some facts about Russia's retail sector:
MARKET OVERVIEW
TURNOVER: 14 trillion roubles ($480 billion) in 2008, a 27.5
percent rise year-on-year on the back of high oil prices and
strong economic growth in an under-served market. Food accounts
for 45.3 percent of sales
OUTLOOK: In October, sales fell by 8.5 percent year-on-year
and VTB Capital sees growth slowing to 4.5 percent this year due
to worsenening macroeconomic conditions.
Food sales are forecast to rise 12.9 percent after a 28.4
percent increase in 2008, while non-food turnover may fall 2.4
percent against 26.8 percent growth last year
KEY RUSSIAN PLAYERS
X5 RETAIL GROUP (PJPq.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)
Russia's biggest grocer by revenue and part of billionaire
Mikhail Fridman's empire Alfa Group. Sales $9 billion in 2008
MAGNIT (MGNTq.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (MGNT.MM: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)
Fast expanding network of hypermarkets and hole-in-the-wall
discount groceries. 2008 sales $5 billion
DIXY GROUP DIXY.MM ................
................
In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.
To fulfill the demand for quickly locating and searching documents.
It is intelligent file search solution for home and business.
Related download
- project information document pid
- world geography
- russian submission indc eng
- russia wikileaks
- 1960 countries population and per capita gdp
- ethiopian chamber of commerce and sectorial associations
- russia in the world context major features and
- countries population and per capita gdp alphabetically
- rapid growth of internet users in russia the country s
Related searches
- 10 facts about russia s history
- facts about russia for kids
- videos about russia for kids
- learn about russia for kids
- map of russia for kids
- russia kids learning tube
- russia for kids printables
- information about russia for kids
- russia and central asia map
- german soldiers in russia ww2
- china and russia warn us
- iran china russia news