Russia - WikiLeaks
Russia 100428
Basic Political Developments
• Prime-Tass:
o May 1: May Day
o May 3: May Day observed, all markets closed
o May 8: Unofficial CIS summit in Moscow
o May 9: Victory Day
o May 9: Leaders of CIS and other countries to take part in celebration of 65th anniversary of Victory Day in Moscow
o May 10: Victory Day observed, all markets closed
• News.am: Dmitry Medvedev to visit Turkey - On May 11, Russian President Dmitry Medevedev starts his official visit to Turkey, stated Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yildiz, Sabah daily reports.
• AFP: Russia publishes secret Katyn files: state archive
• Kyiv Post: Russia's state archives chief: Secret documents on Katyn published in Russia
• Itar-Tass: On Medvedev’s order original documents on Katyn first became available to the public
• Kremlin: Dmitry Medvedev arrived in Denmark on a state visit.
• Swedish Wire: First Russian state visit to Denmark in 45 years - The two-day visit marks a warming of relations which turned icy following Danish criticism of Moscow's handling of the Chechen issue in the 1990s.
• RUVR: Russia to send another humanitarian aid consignment to China
• RUVR: US businessmen urge revocation of Jackson-Vanik amendment
• Russia Today: US Congress could chicken out of repealing Jackson-Vanik amendment
• RUVR: Russia,speeds up WTO accession work
• RUVR: Russia submits documents on Customs Union to US
• RIA: Russia shows customs union documents to U.S. – Shuvalov
• Reuters: CORRECTED - U.S. agrees to intensify talks on Russia's WTO bid
• RIA: Russia awaits U.S. information in Daimler bribery probe
• Eathtimes: ANALYSIS: UN nuclear review puts hopes on US-Russia pact
• Russia Today: UN Security Council supports Russian anti-pirate plan
• WBJ: Autopsies complete on all Smolensk victims
• BarentsObserver: Outsourcing Finnish-Russian visa handling - It is the Indian company VFS Global which soon will take over all handling of visas applicants from Moscow, newspaper Helsingin Sanomat reports. The company will establish its own visa office in the Russian capital. The visa applications from St Petersburg, Petrozavodsk and Murmansk will still be handled by the existing consular offices.
Balitc Course: Lithuania and Russia discussed priorities of OSCE activities in Moscow
• Kyiv Post: Subcommittee on Russian Black Sea Fleet to meet in Moscow on April 28 - The eighth meeting of the subcommittee on the functioning of the Russian Black Sea Fleet of the Ukrainian-Russian interstate commission will take place in Moscow on April 28.
• RIA: Russian senators ratify Navy base deal with Ukraine
• Itar-Tass: FC ratifies RF-Ukrainian agreement on Black Sea Fleet
• RIA: Russia ready to forge ahead in strategic partnership with Ukraine – paper: "We are ready for everything at once," the Vedomosti daily quoted Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as saying about Russia's intentions.
• Interfax: Russia asks Moldova not to doubt WWII results (Part 2) -"The Russian side drew the ambassador's attention to tendentious remarks made by certain politicians and historians in Chisinau that address the period of the fight against the common fascist threat," the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
• B92: Tadić expected to attend Moscow parade - Serbian President Boris Tadić is expected to be among them, it has been announced in Moscow.
ACT Media: King Michael to participate in Moscow parade on 9 May
• Itar-Tass: Ukraine, Russia jointly to celebrate VE-Day 65th anniversary - The presidential press service announced that Yanukovich agreed Tuesday with the proposal made by the Defence Ministry to detail 75 servicemen from among the Armed Forces of Ukraine within a period from April 29 to May 11, for them to participate in the military parade in Moscow.
• RUVR: Moscow holds Victory parade rehearsal - The first rehearsal of the Victory parade has taken place on Red Square in Moscow, involving over 10,000 personnel and 150 pieces of military hardware.
• News.az: Ukrainian leader avoids recognizing Georgia's breakaway regions - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych will not say definitely whether Ukraine will recognize the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
• RIA: Belarus to be given partner status on SCO dialogue - A memorandum on granting Belarus the status of a dialogue partner in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will be signed on Wednesday in the capital Minsk, a Belarusian Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
• .ru: Prime Minister Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting to discuss measures to develop Customs Union border infrastructure
• .ru: Prime Minister Vladimir Putin meets with Minister of Agriculture Yelena Skrynnik
• RIA: PACE to discuss Russia-Georgia relations, Holodomor
• RUVR: Russia sends another freighter to ISS
• Interfax: Russian, Norwegian prosecution agencies sign agreement on cooperation
• RIA: Russia to open exposition at seafood exhibition in Brussels
• RIA: Moscow police set for massive pay rise -"An ordinary police officer's salary is 23,000-24,000 rubles (around $800) a month. As part of reforms...there are plans to increase this to 60,000 rubles," Vladimir Kolokoltsev told the Rossiiskaya Gazeta government daily.
• Bloomberg: Moscow to Fire 22,000 Cops, Double Salaries to $2,000 a Month - Moscow’s police department will fire about 12,000 of its 98,000 officers this year and another 10,000 next year, Kolokoltsev said in an interview published today in the government’s official Rossiyskaya Gazeta. The average salary over that period will rise to about 60,000 rubles ($2,000) a month from about 24,000 rubles, he said.
• Timesonline: Kremlin fills the void left by an indifferent America and inept EU
• RIA: Russian defense industry falls behind rivals – experts: Russian Academy of Science members Vladimir Fortov and Igor Kalyaev said that a reduction in research funds was making it hard for Russian weapons to stay competitive and for the defense industry to produce breakthroughs.
• Russia Today: New York Times blows Russian container-hidden missile threat out of proportion
• Russia Today: New York Times blows Russian container-hidden missile threat out of proportion
• Kyiv Post: Notorious Russian criminal boss released after deportation from Ukraine - Aslan Usoyan, a notorious Russian criminal leader also known as Ded Khasan (Grandfather Khasan), deported from Ukraine, returned to Moscow late on Tuesday, a source with law enforcement agencies told Interfax.
• RBC: Kabardino-Balkaria DPS Officer died in the shooting in Kabardino-Balkaria
• Prague Watchdog: A marriage made in heaven (weekly review) - For many long years, Russia's population has had an opportunity to observe the extraordinary relationship that ties a simple Chechen to his highly-placed Moscow patron. Such marriages are made in heaven: last week saw yet another demonstration of this secret agreement by which the protégé receives a lifelong right to kill anyone who, in his opinion, deserves to die.
• Moscow Times: Vedomosti Sues Gryzlov Over 'Terrorist' Comments
• Eurasia Review: New Appointment Extends Kremlin Tilt toward Russian Orthodox Church - Ivan Demidov, a prominent TV personality with close ties to the Moscow Patriarchate, the defense ministry, and the United Russia Party, has been named the Presidential Administration’s point man for supersizing relations with religious organizations, the latest indication of the continuing Kremlin tilt toward the Russian Orthodox Church.
• Moscow Times: Church Set to Regain Museum Treasures
• Epoch Times: Russians Can Read 'Nine Commentaries,' Says Court - Ruling counters Chinese regime pressure on Russian government
• Pravda: Russian Hackers Threaten the World - According to Symantec, the number of cyber crimes last year has increased twofold and continues to grow, while the number of hacker attacks has increased by 71%. Within the last year nearly 3 million viruses were registered. Russia shot significantly ahead and made it to seventh place among top ten countries producing the most cyber threats.
• Telegraph: Amateur model known as 'Katya' revealed to Russian honeytrap bait - Ekaterina Gerasimova has piercing blue eyes, an innocent girl-next-door face, and likes to do a little amateur modelling.
• News.az: 'Madness' to hold Olympics near Chechnya - News.Az interviews Eldar Zeynalov, director of the Azerbaijani Human Rights Centre.
• BusinessWire: Bloomberg Offers Interfax Russian Newswire Service
• Russia Today: 28 April, 2010 in Russian Newspapers
o Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Four tasks for the fleet
o Nezavisimaya: Belarus: Not a penny for the allies
o Vremya Novostei: A Victory Day defeat
• Moscow Times: Today in Vedomosti
o When Employer-Employee Relations Sour
o Another File-Sharing Service Shut Down
• RUVR: Press review
• Reuters: PRESS DIGEST - Russia - April 28
National Economic Trends
• Bloomberg: Russian Economic Growth Slowed in First Quarter (Update1) - Gross domestic product grew a seasonally adjusted 0.6 percent in the first quarter compared with the previous three months, the Moscow-based ministry said in a report today, citing preliminary estimates. On a seasonally adjusted basis, GDP gained a quarterly 1.7 percent in the fourth quarter and 2 percent in the third, the report said.
• Black Sea Grain: Russian grain harvest 'could top 100m tonnes'
Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions
• Reuters: Russian markets -- Factors to Watch on April 28
• Dow Jones: Russia's Alfa Puts Up Megafon Stake As Loan Collateral –Vedomosti
• Reuters: Russia's Rusagro IPO price band set at $13.5-$17-UPDATE 1
• EasyBourse: Russia's MTS, VimpelCom Rank Among Top World Brands –Vedomosti
• Reuters: UralChem former shareholder asks FSA to stop IPO-report
• Bloomberg: Lenengergo Raised to ‘Buy’ From ‘Neutral’ at Goldman
• Reuters: UPDATE 1-Russia's Chelyabinsk Zinc Q1 output rises 58.5 pct
• Reuters: Coke Deal to Buy into Russia's Nidan May be Postponed
• : Leading glass maker to set up JV with Turkish group in Russia
• Moscow Times: John Deere Opens Factory in $500M Russian Initiative
• Emerging Markets: Fleming hires Troika Dialog duo in expansion
• Pravda: Enterprise of Nanotechnologies Opens in Russia
• IANS: Flat in Moscow costlier than New York's largest apartment
• Moscow Times: For the Record
o The RTS exchange will move up the start of stock trading by 30 minutes on May 17, the bourse said Tuesday. (Bloomberg)
o AvtoVAZ may agree on five-year loans of about 24 billion rubles from state-controlled lenders Sberbank and VTB next month, said Oleg Lobanov, the automaker’s vice president for finance. (Bloomberg)
Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)
• Gazeta.kz: More than 10 billion cubic meters of Turkmen gas to be imported to Russia in 2010
• RBC: Transneft registers sharp decline in Q1 net profit
• Interfax: Transneft boosts net profit 3.3% to 574.847 mln rubles in Q1 (Part 2)
• Bloomberg: Vekselberg May Quit TNK-BP Management Post, Interfax Reports
• Financial Times: Surgut confident of better relations with Mol
• Oil and Gas Eurasia: Russian Refining Grows 4.3% In First Quarter
• BarentsObserver: Statoil: New agreement creates expectations
• Financial Times: Deal opens Barents Sea to exploration
• Transneft improves planning procedures in Kozmino
Gazprom
• Oil and Gas Eurasia: Gazprom Begins Building Pipeline in North Sakhalin
• Russia Profile: Southern Comfort - Gazprom’s Rapid Progress in Laying the Groundwork for South Stream Reflects Strong Political Will in Moscow, but There Is Still a Long Way to Go
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Full Text Articles
Basic Political Developments
Prime-Tass:
May 1: May Day
May 3: May Day observed, all markets closed
May 8: Unofficial CIS summit in Moscow
May 9: Victory Day
May 9: Leaders of CIS and other countries to take part in celebration of 65th anniversary of Victory Day in Moscow
May 10: Victory Day observed, all markets closed
News.am: Dmitry Medvedev to visit Turkey
12:40 / 04/28/2010
On May 11, Russian President Dmitry Medevedev starts his official visit to Turkey, stated Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yildiz, Sabah daily reports.
According to him, several days before Medvedev’s visit he will arrive in Moscow to discuss energy projects.
“Russia is our strategic long-time partner. We have grand plans for the implementation of energy projects. I will go to Moscow to discuss the issues with our Russian partners,” he said.
Earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had stated Turkish leaders intend to discuss Karabakh conflict settlement with RF President Dmitry Medvedev during his visit to Ankara scheduled for this May.
He pointed out that the Turkish views the problem as its own, and it will remain on the agenda. Turkey is against the status quo being preserved in the Caucasus, Davutoglu said, adding that Nagorno-Karabakh conflict being unsettled is not in the region’s interests.
L.A.
AFP: Russia publishes secret Katyn files: state archive
(AFP) – 30 minutes ago
MOSCOW — Russia's state archive on Wednesday published previously secret files on the 1940 massacre of Polish officers by the Soviets at Katyn Forest, following an order by President Dmitry Medvedev, it said.
"On the order of Russian President D.A. Medvedev, electronic copies of authentic archival documents on the 'Katyn Problem' from 'Packet No. 1', which were held for decades in the Communist Party archives, have been published on the website of the state archives," it said in a statement.
The documents in question had been declassified in the 1990s but until now had only been available to specialized researchers and had never before been shared online, a spokeswoman for the state archives told AFP.
Poland has long demanded that Russia open all its files on Katyn and the issue has strained relations between the two former Communist neighbours.
Some 22,000 Polish officers were executed by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin's secret police at Katyn, in western Russia, and a number of other places in present-day Russia, Ukraine and Belarus in April-May 1940.
Polish president Lech Kaczynski was heading to Katyn for a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the massacre earlier this month when his plane crashed, killing all 96 people aboard, including many top Polish officials.
Kyiv Post: Russia's state archives chief: Secret documents on Katyn published in Russia
Today at 10:40
Moscow - The state archives agency Rosarkhiv has published the original documents from Special File No.1 dealing with the Katyn tragedy.
"These documents have been posted on Rosarkhiv's website at President Dmitry Medvedev's order," Rosarkhiv chief Andrei Artizov told the media.
Nearly 22,000 Polish citizens, held in the Soviet secret police NKVD's concentration camps in Russia, were shot in April and May 1940. Katyn is one of several sites, where Polish officers were executed. Their remains were discovered for the fist time in Katyn in 1943.
The 70th anniversary of the Katyn tragedy is being observed in April.
Itar-Tass: On Medvedev’s order original documents on Katyn first became available to the public
GOOGLE TRANSLATION
28/04/2010 13:32
MOSCOW, April 28. Itar-Tass.
Authentic historical documents about Katyn for the first time posted on the official website of the Federal Archival Agency to address Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev. Electronic samples of genuine documents first became available to the public in authentic form, with all the marks.
"This famous document from the package, 1 package, which for decades was stored in closed archives of the Politburo on the rights of particular importance, and to open the package had the right only to the Secretary General and Head of the Office of the Central Committee and head of the General Department in the presence of Secretary General, no other access to this package was not "- said the head Rosarkhiv Andrei Artizov.
He recalled that in October 1990, at the request of President Boris Yeltsin, a copy of these documents were handed over to the then-Polish President Lech Walesa.
Digital samples officially nowhere on the official websites of our government did not and the forthcoming hosted on our official website - the first ", - stressed Artizov.
"Katyn tragedy - this crime of Stalin and some of his henchmen. The position of the Russian government on this issue long ago defined and remains unchanged," - said April 18 in Krakow, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
April 7, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk in Katyn took part in events commemorating the victims of totalitarian repression. Mr Putin said "Russia is given a clear assessment of the atrocities of the totalitarian regime, and it will not change."
In April-May 1940 in the Katyn forest, 18 kilometers west of Smolensk, was shot and dumped the remains of 4,421 Polish officer who is interned in the territory of the Soviet Union. The identity of each set. Next to the graves of Poles in the memorial complex ashes of repressed Soviet citizens. According to historians, "their deaths are about 10 thousand people."
April 27, 2010
23:50
Kremlin: Dmitry Medvedev arrived in Denmark on a state visit.
The President of Russia and his wife were met at the airport by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and Prince Consort Henrik.
A state dinner was held at the Queen’s summer residence – the Fredensborg Palace – in the name of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and Prince Consort Henrik in honour of Dmitry and Svetlana Medvedev.
This is the first visit by a Russian head of state to Denmark in fifty years.
Nordic - Published Wednesday, 28 April 2010 09:26 | Author: AFP / The Swedish Wire
Swedish Wire: First Russian state visit to Denmark in 45 years
| |
COPENHAGEN (AFP) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev arrived in Copenhagen Tuesday for the first state visit by a Russian or Soviet head of state to Denmark in more than 45 years.
• Russia and Norway end 40-year Arctic dispute
• Norway and Russia may establish visa-free travel zone
Medvedev, who flew in from Norway, was met at the Kastrup airport by Queen Margrethe, her husband Prince Consort Henrik and their son, Crown Prince Frederik, along with Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen.
The two-day visit marks a warming of relations which turned icy following Danish criticism of Moscow's handling of the Chechen issue in the 1990s.
In 2002 former Russian president Vladimir Putin called off an official visit to protest Copenhagen's decision not to extradite Chechen separatist Akhmed Zakayev, who had come to the Danish capital for the first Chechen World Conference.
Since then Denmark has tried to rekindle a friendly relationship with Moscow.
In 2006 the Scandinavian country allowed the remains of empress Maria Feodorovna, who was born a Danish princess and was the mother of Russia's last tsar Nicholas II, to be returned to Saint Petersburg.
And last October, Denmark was the first Nordic country to give the green light to the controversial gas pipeline Nordstream, which is to be laid under the Baltic Sea to enable the exportation of Russian gas to the European Union.
"Danish-Russian relations are developing in a positive direction at every level," Rasmussen told reporters a few hours before Medvedev's arrival.
The trip "comes at a time when both countries are facing economic challenges and difficult times," he said.
That is why "this visit will naturally be focused on economic cooperation," he said.
The Russian president and his wife Svetlana were scheduled Tuesday evening to attend a dinner party hosted by the Danish queen at the Fredensborg castle to the north of Copenhagen.
Ahead of the visit, Danish media denounced Russian "state terrorism" and called on Rasmussen to raise the issue of human rights abuses with Medvedev.
Before arriving in Denmark, Medvedev spent two days in Oslo where he and Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg agreed on a compromise on their Arctic borders, ending a 40-year dispute over a region believed to contain vast oil and gas reserves.
RUVR: Russia to send another humanitarian aid consignment to China
|Apr 28, 2010 09:49 Moscow Time |
In the next few days Russia is due to send out to China a second consignment of humanitarian aid for those affected by the recent destructive earthquake in the Qinghai province. On the 25th of this month a Russian Emergencies Ministry plane already supplied tents, blankets, power generators and prime necessities to the tune of more than 14 million roubles. Russia will now flow in medicines and medical equipment. The earthquake of 7.0 magnitude hit the northwest of China on April 14th, killing over 2,000 and injuring another 12,000.
RUVR: US businessmen urge revocation of Jackson-Vanik amendment
|Apr 28, 2010 09:32 Moscow Time |
The US business circles and Jewish organizations urge that the anti-Russian Jackson-Vanik amendment should be revoked as a Cold War vestige. The conclusion has been drawn by the participants in the hearings that have been held at the US Congress. The 1974-adopted amendment was triggered by the law banning Soviet Jews from leaving abroad. But Russia has since become a market economy, and anyone in this country is free to emigrate. The ITAR-TASS news agency quotes the leaders of major Jewish organizations as saying that a revocation of the Jackson-Vanik amendment would prove symbolical and politically important to Russia and the United States now that the two countries have proclaimed a policy of “resetting” their relations.
Russia Today: US Congress could chicken out of repealing Jackson-Vanik amendment
28 April, 2010, 10:48
US lawmakers are trying to finally put the Cold War to rest by lifting the last obstacle for unlimited trade between Moscow and Washington that prevents Russia from joining the World Trade Organization.
Many American lawmakers believe the time is now to put this relic of the past to rest, but some nagging doubts remain.
US Congress has intensified talks on whether or not to lift sanctions signed 35 years ago which limit trade between Russia and the US – the notorious Jackson-Vanik amendment – remains is, unlike such relics of the Cold War like arms race or space race, is safe and sound.
“The Jackson-Vanik amendment was enacted into law for the intention of protecting the rights of Jews attempting to emigrate from the former Soviet Union in the 1970s,” announced Elton Gallegly, US Congressman, (R-California).
The problem is that the Soviet Union no longer exists and neither do Jewish immigration problems.
“It makes sense to waive the Jackson-Vanik Amendment. It is time for the United States Congress to act,” US Congressman Bill Delahunt (D-MA, Chairman of Committee on Foreign Affairs) demanded.
The US congressional Committee on Foreign Affairs, along with other analysts, is still debating whether or not it should just be repealed.
“The question is to be or not to be. To do or not to do. Do we pass it or we don’t? That’s the question,” told RT US Congressman David Scott (D-Georgia), adding that “My answer to that is, to be!”
“When it comes to Jackson-Vanik, let’s tear down this wall. It is about time that this ancient relic of the Cold War be discarded,” shared his opinion US Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-California).
“My advice to you all is do not repeal it. Keep it in the tool bag,” pleaded President of Project Judaica Foundation Mark Talisman.
“The Jackson-Vanik amendment has a proud and honorable past, but it has sunk into a state of purposelessness and confusion,” pinpointed Stephen Sestanovich, Fellow at Council on Foreign Relations.
“We believe the Administration and Congress should move forward on graduation for Russia,” demanded Mark B. Levin from National Conference on Soviet Jewry.
To put the controversial piece of legislation to rest has been the question posed throughout the entire hearing. Observers, however, say that the real debate could stem from, of all things, chicken.
If it were not for poultry, there would be almost no problem getting rid of Jackson-Vanik, because apparently the white meat is somehow tied to emigration and human rights.
The founder and President of the World Russia Forum Edward D. Lozansky, Ph.D., revealed that “There were some members of Congress, especially from the states who produce poultry, they raise objections that Russia does not buy enough of American poultry,” he said, adding that it is not just chicken that counts.
“There are many interest groups that don’t like Russia for many reasons.”
RUVR: Russia,speeds up WTO accession work
Apr 28, 2010 01:52 Moscow Time
Russia and the US have agreed to speed up preparations for Russia to join the WTO. First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said as much after leading a high powered delegation of finance and economic ministers and other officials at WTO-accession talks in Washington on Tuesday. Shuvalov said the sides had agreed the timetable of their further work including a series of video conferences. He added that Russia was working hard to have the preparatory job done by the time of President Dmitry Medvedev's planned visit to Washington.
RUVR: Russia submits documents on Customs Union to US
|Apr 28, 2010 12:01 Moscow Time |
The Customs Union of Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan will be established on the principles of the World Trade Organization (WTO). A statement to that effect came from first Vice-Premier of Russia Igor Shuvalov, who is currently negotiating the terms of Russia’s joining the organization in Washington. He submitted a package of documents on the Customs Union translated into English to the US. Shuvalov stated that the new economic formation won’t alter Russia’s trade policy. The official also affirmed the intention of all three Customs Union countries to seek WTO membership simultaneously and on equal terms.
RIA: Russia shows customs union documents to U.S. – Shuvalov
07:5228/04/2010
Russia has shown the United States the entire package of documents regarding the Customs Union being established with Belarus and Kazakhstan, a first deputy Russian prime minister said.
Igor Shuvalov said Russia also informed the U.S. administration that the union will be built on the principles of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
"We confirmed and are ready to further defend the position that the Customs Union is based on the norms and principles of the World Trade Organization," he said.
"The establishment of the Customs Union does not change the trade policy of the Russian Federation," Shuvalov told Russian journalists in Washington.
In January 2009, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan agreed to create a single economic space by January 1, 2012.
In June 2009, the countries notified the WTO of their intention to join the organization as a single customs union.
The three ex-Soviet republics suspended their bilateral negotiations on WTO entry to hold consultations on a common position on the customs union.
On Monday and Tuesday, the Russian government delegation was in the U.S. capital on a visit to hold a number of meetings with U.S. administration representatives. The meetings discussed bilateral trade and economic cooperation, investment and Russia's entry into the WTO.
WASHINGTON, April 28 (RIA Novosti)
Reuters: CORRECTED - U.S. agrees to intensify talks on Russia's WTO bid
Wed Apr 28, 2010 4:27am IST
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and Russia have agreed to intensify talks on Moscow's nearly 17-year-old bid to join the World Trade Organization, a U.S. trade official said on Tuesday.
"The United States stressed the importance it places on Russia's accession," Carol Guthrie, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Trade Representative's office, said after a day of high-level U.S.-Russia talks.
"The discussion centered on the steps that would be taken to work together to make that happen," Guthrie said.
White House economic adviser Lawrence Summers and Russia First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov "agreed that the dialogue at all levels would continue and be intensified. The United States looks forward to Russia becoming a member of the WTO," Guthrie said.
The renewed push is another sign of improved relations between the two former Cold War enemies.
It also comes nearly a year after Russia threw its bid to join the WTO into confusion by announcing it planned to join as a "customs union" with Kazakhstan and Belarus.
The U.S.-Russia talks on Tuesday also included U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin and Russian Economic Development Minister Elvira Nabiullina.
(Reporting by Doug Palmer; Editing by Will Dunham)
RIA: Russia awaits U.S. information in Daimler bribery probe
12:2028/04/2010
MOSCOW, April 28 (RIA Novosti) - Russian prosecutors have asked the United States to pass on information about corrupt practices at German auto giant Daimler AG to help investigate allegations of bribery in Russia, the prosecutor general said on Wednesday.
Daimler was fined $185 million by a U.S. court earlier this month after admitting to paying tens of millions of dollars in bribes to foreign governments. Prosecutor General Yury Chaika said Moscow was waiting for information that could be relevant to a similar case in Russia.
Media reports earlier alleged corruption played a part in the purchase of Mercedes vehicles by Russian law-enforcement agencies, including the Prosecutor General's Office.
"When the Justice Ministry announced that the purchase of Mercedes cars for law-enforcement agencies was linked to corruption, we initiated an internal check and requested official documents from the U.S. Justice Department on this investigation." Chaika said.
Chaika said the request was sent to the United States three weeks ago but as yet no information had been received.
The Russian business daily Kommersant said that in 2000-2005 Russian officials received some 5.02 million euros ($6.7 million) and around 80,000 German marks ($54,000) as payoffs from the German auto giant, which accounts for 7.8% of the total value of the government contracts signed during that period.
The paper quoted a source close to the Russian security service charged with protecting top officials as saying a total of 100 Mercedes were purchased under compromised contracts.
Eathtimes: ANALYSIS: UN nuclear review puts hopes on US-Russia pact
Posted : Wed, 28 Apr 2010 05:01:28 GMT By : JT Nguyen and Pat Reber
New York - As world governments gather in May to review the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), hopes are that the new Washington-Moscow commitment to reduce nuclear warheads will produce long-overdue progress on the treaty.
Normally, the every-five-year review takes place in conference rooms in New York and Geneva with little notice. In 2000 and 2005, the gathering produced no consensus agreement even as nuclear capability has spread.
But this year, there is unusual momentum. US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on April 8 sealed the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, New START.
In addition, nearly 50 heads of state or their representatives recently recognized nuclear terrorism as a major threat to world security during an April summit hosted by Obama. And the White House released a new nuclear defence policy that reduces reliance on nuclear warheads.
The 1970 NPT is the cornerstone of nuclear disarmament and non- proliferation, but has been unable to stop nuclear weapons from spreading beyond the five lead signatories - the US, Russia, China, France and Britain.
The May 3-28 review will likely focus on four maverick countries: Iran and North Korea, NPT signers in violation of the rules; and nuclear-armed India and Pakistan, which have not signed the NPT even while locked in a regional arms race.
Also on the agenda will be Israel's unacknowledged possession of nuclear warheads, which the Arab governments view as violating the notion of keeping the Middle East free of nuclear weapons. Israel is also not a member of the NPT.
Obama, perhaps the strongest supporter for a successful NPT review, was upbeat about the New York talks as he announced the New START treaty in March.
"... The United States and Russia ... send a clear signal that we intend to lead (in stopping) the spread of these weapons," Obama said.
Michael Gorbachev, the Russian leader who presided over dismantling the Soviet Union, agreed, writing in The New York Times that New START showed the world that the US and Russia were "serious" about their NPT obligations "to move toward eliminating nuclear weapons."
According to the UN-funded International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, the world now has 23,000 nuclear warheads. The number represents considerable progress from the 50,000 nuclear warheads at the height of the Cold War, according to Hans Blix, the former head of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission.
Nevertheless, "there is also frustration at the lack of progress on many important items relevant to the treaty," Blix wrote recently in The New York Times.
Particularly frustrating was the 2005 review, when it took two weeks to agree on the agenda. That year, former US ambassador John Bolton, an arch-conservative Republican, insisted that the conference target Iran's gathering speed in uranium enrichment.
This year, former US president George W Bush, famously hostile to all international multilateral agreements, is gone. Obama, more attuned to the art of negotiation, laid a firm groundwork for the multilateral NPT talks by meeting one-on-one with leaders of smaller, non-European countries during his nuclear terrorism summit in Washington.
It has been 19 years since Russia and the US agreed to destroy some warheads. With the New START and reduction by another third, the impetus toward global disarmament is even stronger, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon noted.
The UN's commission on non-proliferation believes the 2010 review could recapture lost ground and has proposed high goals for the meetings.
Topping the list: Resolution of the Iran and North Korea nuclear disputes and harsher punishments for NPT signers who leave the treaty, such as North Korea did. The conference comes as Obama is trying to ratchet up the pressure on Iran to comply with international demands on its nuclear activities and is pushing for another round of Security Council sanctions.
The commission is also calling for a strong statement urging Geneva's UN Commission on Disarmament to begin negotiations to limit the amount of any country's fissile material - nuclear substances that are needed for weapons.
Other goals could include counter-nuclear-terrorism measures and stronger powers for the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
In his Times piece, Blix wryly noted that the long-term goal of full disarmament was not necessarily "naive and utopian." Citing the growing interdependence of the world for its security, Blix concluded that this spring's nuclear efforts were "only a hopeful start on a long journey."
The NPT talks will offer a final test of just how successful Obama has been in pushing nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation to the top of the global agenda. His anti-nuclear efforts won him the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo. The question now is, will they make a difference in New York? dpa tn pr
280501 GMT Apr 10
Russia Today: UN Security Council supports Russian anti-pirate plan
28 April, 2010, 07:03
The UN Security Council has backed a Russian proposal to create special international tribunals to try Somali pirates arrested at sea.
The plan makes it easier to bring bandits to justice, after some captured raiders have been freed by neighboring African countries because they couldn't be tried under existing laws.
The text of this draft resolution was put on the table by Russia because Moscow concerns were that coastal zone countries near Somalia, such as Kenya, have decided to stop prosecuting pirates that they catch for the simple reason that local courts and local prisons basically are packed, and they have no place and time to take care of the pirates being caught in the region.
So the goal of this particular resolution is trying to come up with a specific judicial system that will allow these pirates to be prosecuted and punished once they are caught.
WBJ: Autopsies complete on all Smolensk victims
28th April 2010
Rzeczpospolita reports Russian authorities completed autopsies on all 96 victims of the Smolensk air disaster at Moscow's Bureau of Forensics. A Polish doctor, Dr Paweł Krajewski, chief of Warsaw's Department of Forensic Medicine, witnessed the autopsies.
President Lech Kaczyński's body was the first to be examined, directly at the site of the crash.
All the forensic findings are contained in materials still kept confidential by Russian investigators.
Poland hopes to see the results shortly and has ordered toxicology testing from tissue samples obtained from every body on the plane.
Source: Rzeczpospolita
BarentsObserver: Outsourcing Finnish-Russian visa handling
2010-04-28
The Finnish Foreign Ministry has decided to outsource the handling of visa applications from Russia. Russian authorities consider similar measures for Finnish applicants.
It is the Indian company VFS Global which soon will take over all handling of visas applicants from Moscow, newspaper Helsingin Sanomat reports. The company will establish its own visa office in the Russian capital. The visa applications from St Petersburg, Petrozavodsk and Murmansk will still be handled by the existing consular offices.
However, the embassy staff will not let go of the control of the applications. The main part of the actual application processing will remain in the hands of embassy officials.
Meanwhile, also Russian authorities are considering to outsource the same visa services for applicants from Helsinki, the newspaper informs.
"The aim would be to speed up visa work and to bring more efficiency", representatives of the Russian embassy in Helsinki say. The embassy has already received bids from many companies, one of them VFS Global, whose services Russia is already using in London.
Balitc Course: Lithuania and Russia discussed priorities of OSCE activities in Moscow
Petras Vaida, BC, Vilnius, 28.04.2010
On 27 April, during the consultations of the delegations of the Lithuanian and Russian Foreign Ministries that were organized in Moscow, Lithuania's preparation for the chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in 2011 and organization's provisional agenda for the next year were discussed, informed BC press service of Lithuanian Foreign Ministry.
During the meeting, which was attended by Political Director of Lithuania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Eitvydas Bajarunas and Vladimir Voronkov, the Director of the Department of Pan-European Co-Operation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, possible priorities of the OSCE activities in the areas of security, economy, environment protection, and human rights were discussed. The priority issue of Lithuania's chairmanship – the issue of energy security – was presented, along with the issues of a possible transport initiative.
Russian representatives presented the OSCE priorities of their own country, including the initiative of the freedom of movement within the OSCE.
Officials from the Lithuanian and Russian Foreign Ministries also discussed possibilities for regional and subregional cooperation within the OSCE, increasing the efficiency of the OSCE activities and protracted conflicts. Officials exchanged opinions on the agenda of the OSCE Summit due in 2010 and steps to take the dialogue on European security forward.
The Lithuanian delegation also met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Borodavkin.
Lithuania's will chair the OSCE in 2011. Lithuania's OSCE Chairmanship in 2011 will help to strengthen the country's international and regional role, to prepare for the Presidency of the European Union in 2013 and for the possible membership in the UN Security Council in 2014-2015. During the Chairmanship, Lithuania intends to focus on comprehensive security dialogue in Europe (the so-called Corfu Process), on strengthening security within the OSCE area, human rights protection and press freedom, the press service of the Foreign Ministry reports.
Kyiv Post: Subcommittee on Russian Black Sea Fleet to meet in Moscow on April 28
Yesterday at 22:06 | Interfax-Ukraine
The eighth meeting of the subcommittee on the functioning of the Russian Black Sea Fleet of the Ukrainian-Russian interstate commission will take place in Moscow on April 28.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's press service told Interfax-Ukraine that the Ukrainian delegation would be headed at the meeting by First Deputy Foreign Minister Volodymyr Khandohiy, while the Russian delegation would be led by Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin.
"Against the backdrop of the agreements reached at the highest level in Kharkiv on April 21, 2010, the Ukrainian side of the subcommittee will focus on bringing the activities of the Black Sea Fleet in line with the basic fleet agreements and Ukrainian law, as well as on strengthening positive trends in the development of bilateral Ukrainian-Russian relations," the ministry said.
RIA: Russian senators ratify Navy base deal with Ukraine
10:3928/04/2010
The upper chamber of the Russian parliament, the Federation Council, ratified on Wednesday a deal with Ukraine to extend the lease on a Russian naval base.
The deal, signed by the presidents of Russia and Ukraine last week, will come into force as soon as the signatories formally notify each other that they have completed all ratification procedures.
On Tuesday, the lower chamber of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, and the Ukrainian parliament simultaneously ratified the deal extending the lease on the Russian naval base in the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol for 25 years after the current lease expires in 2017. In return, Ukraine will receive a 30% discount on Russian natural gas.
The debate in the Ukrainian parliament saw chaotic scenes, with brawls and eggs thrown at the speaker by opposition lawmakers.
MOSCOW, April 28 (RIA Novosti)
Itar-Tass: FC ratifies RF-Ukrainian agreement on Black Sea Fleet
28.04.2010, 10.43
MOSCOW, April 28 (Itar-Tass) - The Federation Council has ratified the Russian-Ukrainian agreement on the extension of the Black Sea Fleet’s presence in the Crimea.
Under an agreement Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich inked on April 20 the term of the Russian base’ s presence in Ukraine is to be prolonged for another 25 years after the current agreement, signed in 1997, expires in 2017. The agreement also implies that Russia’s Black Sea Fleet will be based in Sevastopol at least till 2042, and the agreement on its presence there may be prolonged further on.
The Federation Council unanimously ratified the agreement: all 132 legislators voted for the agreement.
On April 27, the agreement was ratified by the State Duma and Ukraine’ s Verkhovnaya Rada. At present, it should be signed by the presidents of Russia and Ukraine.
RIA: Russia ready to forge ahead in strategic partnership with Ukraine – paper
10:5928/04/2010
Russia will seek to use the momentum created by a deal with Ukraine extending the stay of its naval base in Crimea for a discount on gas prices to forge new long-term partnerships in the air industry, energy and nuclear sectors with Kiev, a Russian business daily said on Wednesday.
A deal extending the lease on a Russian base in the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol for 25 years after the current lease expires in 2017 was ratified on Tuesday by the Russian and Ukrainian parliaments. In return for the lease, which may be further extended by five years, Ukraine will receive a 30% discount on Russian natural gas that is equal to $40 billion.
On Friday Russia and Ukraine will hold intergovernmental talks to discuss possible joint projects.
"We are ready for everything at once," the Vedomosti daily quoted Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as saying about Russia's intentions.
Putin has proposed creating a holding company "incorporating production, nuclear engineering, the fuel cycle, and operations in the nuclear fuel sector".
Russia and Ukraine provide each other with nuclear fuel, so it will be easier to modernize the joint nuclear sector and expand it to the foreign market.
Russia is also ready to launch into a partnership with Ukraine in the air and shipbuilding spheres.
"If Ukrainian experts regard the proposal as too revolutionary, we are ready to work step-by-step," Vedomosti quoted Putin as saying.
The Russian premier also said the gas discount for Ukraine will seriously affect Russia's GDP, causing the budget deficit to grow.
Vedomosti said the joint Russian-Ukrainian projects will only be successful if Ukraine guarantees the inviolability of Russian companies' shares and does not illegally withdraw Russian gas from pipelines. Ukraine will not be allowed to export Russian gas to other countries.
The Ukrainian authorities were more than succinct over Russia's proposals.
"The proposals are interesting," Vedomosti quoted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych as saying.
The opposition was, however, furious.
"They are preparing surrender the whole [Ukrainian] nuclear industry," the paper quoted the leader of the Ukrainian opposition, Yulia Timoshenko, as saying.
MOSCOW, April 28 (RIA Novosti)
April 28, 2010 12:23
Interfax: Russia asks Moldova not to doubt WWII results (Part 2)
MOSCOW. April 28 (Interfax) - Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin urged the Moldovan authorities not to call into question the results of World War II at a meeting with Moldova's Ambassador to Moscow Andrei Neguta on Tuesday.
"The Russian side drew the ambassador's attention to tendentious remarks made by certain politicians and historians in Chisinau that address the period of the fight against the common fascist threat," the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
"We also voiced hope that the official Moldovan authorities would give clear assessments of attempts to call into question this symbol of fraternity between the Russian and Moldovan people," the ministry said.
Karasin and Neguta also discussed Moldovan officials' plans to attend events in Moscow on May 8-9 that will mark the 65th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, it said.
The Russian and Moldovan diplomats also addressed practical aspects of relations between the two countries, including Moldova's concern over wine exports to the Russian market.
Moldova's acting President and Parliament Speaker Mihai Ghimpu earlier refused to attend the Victory Day military parade in Moscow on May 9 because, according to Ghimpu, Moldova does not see itself among the states that won World War II.
Several Moldovan politicians and historians, for their part, called on the country's authorities to demand that Russia pay compensation for the damage caused to Moldova when it was a Soviet republic.
tm dp
B92: Tadić expected to attend Moscow parade
28 April 2010 | 09:57 | Source: Tanjug
MOSCOW -- Leaders of more than 15 countries will attend the Moscow Victory Day parade on May 9, said reports.
Serbian President Boris Tadić is expected to be among them, it has been announced in Moscow.
According to head of the Economic Department of the administration of the Russian President, Vladimir Kozin, the parade organization is in progress and leaders of Germany, France, Greece, Italy, Serbia, China, Slovenia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Vietnam, Latvia, Slovakia, Estonia, as well as the Council of Europe secretary general, are expected to attend the parade.
Kozin also said that the presidents of the United States of America, Ukraine, Belorus and British prime minister will not come to Moscow, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.
After the parade, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is scheduled to hold a reception at Kremlin for the World War II veterans, the agency said.
ACT Media: King Michael to participate in Moscow parade on 9 May
Date: 28-04-2010
King Michael will participate in the Moscow parade on 9 May, the director of the Royal House, Ion Tuca said. The announcement was made initially by the Moldovan leader of AMN, Serafim Urechean who, quoted by Stirea Zilei said the president of Moldova should also be present at the parade attended by many European heads of state and historic personalities.
“The parade will be attended by King Michael and by other European heads of state. For us it would be a pleasure to participate in these events,” said the leader of AMN,Serafim Urechean, who will insist that Ghimpu should leave for Moscow as he represents Moldova and the people.”Mihai Ghimnpu, the interim president of Moldova, announced on Saturday that he would not go to Moscow on the occasion of the Anniversary of Victory Day, Unimedia informs. “How can I participate in the parade next to the army which brought us communism, organized hunger and deported us to Siberia? Today it is in Stephan the Great’s city. That army also helped the creation of Transnistria,” Ghimpu declared on the Voice of Basarabia Radio.
May 9, also known as Victory Day marks the moment when the German army capitulated in front of the Allied troops putting an end to WWII. It is celebrated in Russia and some of the states that belonged to the Soviet bloc with parades like the one from Moscow.
Itar-Tass: Ukraine, Russia jointly to celebrate VE-Day 65th anniversary
28.04.2010, 02.06
KIEV, April 28 (Itar-Tass) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich has signed a decree on ceremonies to mark, together with Russia, the 65th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.
The presidential press service announced that Yanukovich agreed Tuesday with the proposal made by the Defence Ministry to detail 75 servicemen from among the Armed Forces of Ukraine within a period from April 29 to May 11, for them to participate in the military parade in Moscow.
The presidential decision has it that the government must make arrangements and ensure the servicemen's participation in those ceremonies.
The President of Ukraine also signed a similar decree concerning the participation of Ukrainian soldiers in a military parade in Minsk.
RUVR: Moscow holds Victory parade rehearsal
|Apr 28, 2010 12:33 Moscow Time |
The first rehearsal of the Victory parade has taken place on Red Square in Moscow, involving over 10,000 personnel and 150 pieces of military hardware. The first to enter Red Square was a drummers company of Moscow’s Military Musical College, followed by standard-bearing groups, infantry, air force, and navy companies dressed in the uniforms of the Great Patriotic War. Taking part in the rehearsal were also World War Two T-34 tanks, SU-100 self-propelled mounts, as well as modern armored vehicles, air defense systems and new Topol-M missiles, which will shown be for first time at the Victory Day parade this year. People with cameras gathered along the route to watch the rehearsal. Victory parades will be held on May 9th in 72 Russian cities.
[pic]
News.az: Ukrainian leader avoids recognizing Georgia's breakaway regions
Wed 28 April 2010 | 05:49 GMT
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych will not say definitely whether Ukraine will recognize the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
After meeting the secretary general of the Council of Europe, Thorbjorn Jagland, Yanukovych was asked whether Ukraine would recognize the independence of these two republics, Rosbalt reports with reference to Ukrainian newspaper Pravda.
'Ukraine is ready to support the process of the equality of democratic values and people's rights in the territories of the frozen conflicts,' Yanukovych said. He added that he was 'strongly opposed to the application of a policy of double standards'. 'It is time to consider the criteria for providing independence to the territories of the frozen conflicts, as well as the approach to the localization of these conflicts in the current situation,' the Ukrainian president said.
While answering, Yanukovych managed to avoid mentioning the names of the states.
It should also be noted that before Yanukovych came to power, the regional party stated that it was the then president, Viktor Yushchenko, who prevented Ukraine's recognition of the Caucasian republics' independence.
Not so long ago, the current Ukrainian leader refused to recognize the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
He said this was because he did not accept a policy of double standards.
Yanukovych then underlined the need to develop joint UN criteria on the status of both South Ossetia and Abkhazia and Kosovo.
As for the possibility of Ukraine's recognition of the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, he underlined that 'the issue is not on the agenda'.
Georgia Times
RIA: Belarus to be given partner status on SCO dialogue
02:5328/04/2010
A memorandum on granting Belarus the status of a dialogue partner in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will be signed on Wednesday in the capital Minsk, a Belarusian Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
"The memorandum fixes the directions of interaction between Belarus and the SCO," the spokesman said, adding that the document will be signed as part of the SCO Secretary General Muratbek Imanaliyev's visit.
Imanaliyev will meet with Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergei Martynov.
The Belarusian ministry said the decision on the dialogue partner status was made in June 2009. The status envisions that interested states can join the SCO activity on some directions as well as participate in working groups.
The SCO regional security group comprises Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan, which took over the rotating chair of the organization last year. Iran, India, Mongolia and Pakistan have observer status.
MINSK, April 28 (RIA Novosti)
27 April 18:07
.ru: Prime Minister Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting to discuss measures to develop Customs Union border infrastructure
“Right off the bat, I’d like to say that the establishment a common customs space across Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus is proceeding in strict compliance with the agreements we signed. In two months, starting on July 1, our common foreign trade regulations will come into force. We’ll need to validate the Union’s Customs Code, finish the transfer of border control facilities along Belarus’ external border and simplify customs procedures along the border with Kazakhstan.”
Vladimir Putin
At a meeting to discuss measures to develop Customs Union border infrastructure
[pic] Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's introductory remarks:
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen,
I'd like to start off with today's events in the State Duma and the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and thank the Russian parliament for ratifying the agreements signed by the Russian and Ukrainian presidents in Kharkov regarding our natural gas issues and the stationing of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the Crimea.
I think you will all agree that what has happened in Kiev today demonstrates at least one important point for us, or perhaps two. First, it shows that the new Ukrainian government is truly willing to build new relations with Russia.
Second, that the Ukrainian government is capable of consolidating society and the major political forces in the country. Even despite the vulgar acts of the opposition, Ukraine is on its way to political stability. This is an important sign. We hope that we'll be able to build long-term stable relations with our Ukrainian partners in other areas, including in the economy.
Incidentally, yesterday the Ukrainian prime minister asked me to resolve the issue of reciprocal trade restrictions as soon as possible. Ukraine has already adopted a resolution on chemical products, and today we'll adopt the long overdue resolution that Ukrainian pipe producers have been waiting for. And so, as requested by the Ukrainian government, this decision will allow 260,000 metric tons Ukrainian pipes to be sold on the Russian market.
This decision will benefit Gazprom and Transneft primarily.
And now let's discuss the issue that is the reason for our meeting: the development of the Customs Union's border infrastructure and our further efforts to improve Russian border infrastructure.
Right off the bat, I'd like to say that the establishment a common customs space across Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus is proceeding in strict compliance with the agreements we signed. In two months, starting on July 1, our common foreign trade regulations will come into force. We'll need to validate the Union's Customs Code, finish the transfer of border control facilities along Belarus' external border and simplify customs procedures along the border with Kazakhstan.
A year later, starting on July 1, 2011, border control functions will be transferred from the Russian-Kazakh border to the outer perimeter of the Customs Union. The upcoming changes should benefit ordinary people, creating favourable conditions and additional opportunities for law-abiding businesses.
Meanwhile, we need to guarantee the economic interests and safety of all members of the Customs Union and ensure that customs procedures work well and effectively along the external borders of our association. We need to work with our partners to speed up the process of drafting common customs regulations and standards to be enforced along the borders of the common economic space. We also need to build strong working relations between our three countries' customs and law enforcement agencies, including a mechanism for sharing last minute information and other data.
Let me remind you that we are now implementing National Borders Federal Targeted Programme. The programme began in 2003 and must be completed next year - it is in force until 2011. Work along the North Caucasian section of the border has been fully completed: seventy-two modern border checkpoints have been built there. In effect, infrastructure along this section of the border has essentially been rebuilt. Needless to say, this has helped us enhance security in the region and eliminate many channels for supporting terrorists.
Coast Guard systems have been reinforced, mostly in the Pacific, where the need to protect our economic and biological resources is most pressing. The Coast Guard received 46 ships and other vessels in 2009 alone.
In general, we are improving the system for protecting the national borders, while focusing on addressing real threats instead of creating obstacles for regular economic activity.
Therefore, we are actively introducing modern border control technology. In the last two years, we have deployed 42 mobile and 14 stationary well-equipped inspection systems that make it possible to cut inspection times considerably. In the future, these systems should be installed along all sections of the national border.
Moreover, we are working with our Belarusian partners to implement programmes to strengthen the external borders of the Union State. We are also working closely with our colleagues from Kazakhstan. Obviously, our further plans to improve border infrastructure must be based on future integration processes. Our plans must be based on accurate assessments of potential threats to our countries, such as illegal migration, cross-border crime and drugs and weapons smuggling.
We must make the most of our manpower and financial resources and concentrate them in those areas where they are most needed. In this context, I'd like to ask you to draft amendments to the National Borders Federal Targeted Programme as soon as possible, and also to adjust the framework for the new programme for 2012 through 2017.
Let's get down to business.
27 April 18:52
.ru: Prime Minister Vladimir Putin meets with Minister of Agriculture Yelena Skrynnik
The Minister of Agriculture reported to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that “Based on the results of the past three months, we have seen an increase of 3.6% in agriculture production… particularly in poultry, which grew by 14%, and pig breeding, which grew by 10%.” The Minister also said that fuel prices had decreased by 10% as compared to December last year.
Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:
Vladimir Putin: How's everything going? I'm listening.
Yelena Skrynnik: Out of the entire 48 million hectares of cultivated land, including 30 million hectares of land planted in spring, we have already cultivated five million hectares, mainly in the Southern, North Caucasian and Central Federal Districts.
This means that spring planting is proceeding at a regular pace, depending on the weather conditions. It corresponds to last year's rate.
We have changed the composition of our crops, designating 22% of the crops for fodder. It has been done to adjust to this year's grain market.
In addition, agricultural organisations have received credit on time and interest rates have been reduced, in accordance with your instructions. Agricultural companies have been provided with mineral fertilizers and fuel.
Vladimir Putin: Are prices for fertilizer and raw materials stable?
Yelena Skrynnik: Yes. In accordance with your well-timed decisions, we have reduced fuel prices by 10% as compared to December last year.
Fertilizer prices are also stable. The interest rate on loans is 12%. We monitor the situation every week. Agricultural companies have received a total of 78 billion roubles in loans for spring planting. We, in turn, have provided them with an additional 48 billion roubles, so everything looks fine. Agricultural companies have started spring planting, and they have many forms of Government support available to them.
Based on the results of the past three months, we have seen an increase of 3.6% in agriculture production, according to the Federal Service for State Statistics. The largest increases were in livestock, particularly in poultry, which grew by 14%, and pig breeding, which grew by 10%. These are higher than the percentages last year. Therefore, I would like to specifically mention those regions that have been most effective in using government funds to increase their livestock production. These are the Lipetsk Region, Mordovia, and the Belgorod region.
But unfortunately, there are also those regions where meat production has decreased, despite government support. These include the Smolensk and Kostroma regions. We are working with these regions, and we will assess their effectiveness based on the government programme and the indicators for the year, after which we will take appropriate action.
RIA: PACE to discuss Russia-Georgia relations, Holodomor
06:0728/04/2010
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will discuss Russian-Georgian relations and Holodomor at its spring session.
PACE will discuss a report on the consequences of the August 2008 Russian-Georgian war for the fifth time since October 2008, when PACE asked Russia to reverse its recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia but did not support radical proposals to deprive Russia of the right to vote.
Russia recognized the independence of South Ossetia and another former Georgian republic, Abkhazia, following the five-day war in August 2008, which started when Georgia attacked South Ossetia in an attempt to bring it back under central control.
In October 2009, when PACE also discussed the events in South Ossetia, it again did not support the proposal to deprive Russia of the voting right, but the Georgian delegation said it would continue raising the issue.
The PACE spring session that started Monday and is to end Friday will also discuss a report commemorating the victims of the Soviet 1932-1933 famine, known as Holodomor, that includes an amendment recognizing it as a genocide of the Ukrainian people.
President Viktor Yanukovych said Tuesday it is "unjust" to call the Stalin-era famine that killed millions across the Soviet Union a genocide of the Ukrainian people.
More than 3 million people perished in Ukraine due to the famine, and Ukrainian nationalists say Russia, as the legal successor of the Soviet Union, should bear responsibility. Former president Viktor Yushchenko, who was known for his anti-Russian policies, led Ukraine's efforts to secure international recognition of the famine as an act of genocide.
STRASBOURG, April 28 (RIA Novosti)
RUVR: Russia sends another freighter to ISS
|Apr 28, 2010 07:54 Moscow Time |
Russia is launching today a cargo ship to the International Space Station. Mission control said on Tuesday that the Progress M-05M freighter, already the second this year, would lift off atop a Soyuz rocket at 21:15 Moscow time from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan to deliver over 2.5 tons of supplies, including equipment, parcels from home, fruits and vegetables, chocolate, candy, new video films and books. Four more Progress space tugs and the European Space Agency's second Automated Transfer Vehicle will be heading to the ISS before the end of this year, Roskosmos officials said, Itar-Tass reported.
April 27, 2010 22:25
Interfax: Russian, Norwegian prosecution agencies sign agreement on cooperation
MOSCOW. April 27 (Interfax) - The Russian Prosecutor General's Office and the Norwegian Prosecution Service will cooperate in combating crime, terrorism, and corruption, in line with an agreement that was signed in Oslo on Tuesday by Russian Prosecutor General Yury Chaika and Norwegian Director General of Public Prosecutions Tor-Aksel Busch, Marina Gridneva, a spokesperson for the Russian Prosecutor General's Office, told Interfax on Tuesday.
"The agreement envisions exchange of information and experience in protecting human rights and freedoms, combating crime, including its organized forms, terrorism, corruption, trafficking in arms, illegal drugs and psychotropic substances, economic, and other crimes posing special threat to society," Gridneva said.
Chaika also signed an agreement with Norwegian Justice and Police Ministry State Secretary Terje Moland Pedersen, she said.
"The prosecution services will exchange information on the two countries' legal systems and laws, lawmaking, and law enforcement measures, interact in extraditions and legal assistance on criminal cases, train personnel for prosecution bodies and institutions and upgrade their qualification, and also organize research activities on issues of mutual interest," Gridneva said.
The agreement envisions meetings and consultations for exchange of experience, conferences, roundtable meetings, and workshops on problems of mutual interest, she said.
va
RIA: Russia to open exposition at seafood exhibition in Brussels
03:5028/04/2010
Andrei Krainy, the head of Russia's Federal Fishery Agency, will on Wednesday open Russia's section at the international annual show European Seafood Exposition 2010 in Brussels.
Krainy told RIA Novosti that the Russian section this year is twice as large as last year's event. In 2009 some 20 Russian companies formed a national section with a total area of 250 square meters.
"This year the exposition will occupy some 500 square meters and the number of participants will be higher - some 60 companies," he said.
Krainy is expected to hold talks with EU maritime officials to discuss regulation of production in the Baltic and Black seas, as well as cooperation in shipbuilding.
The European Seafood Exposition focuses on fresh fish, seafood and canned fish as well as technology to process, pack and store the products.
MOSCOW, April 28 (RIA Novosti)
RIA: Moscow police set for massive pay rise
08:5228/04/2010
The average police officer in Moscow will see his or her wages more than double as part of wide-reaching reforms of the force, the capital's police chief said in an interview published on Wednesday.
"An ordinary police officer's salary is 23,000-24,000 rubles (around $800) a month. As part of reforms...there are plans to increase this to 60,000 rubles," Vladimir Kolokoltsev told the Rossiiskaya Gazeta government daily.
"We plan to carry out these reforms by the end of next year," he said.
He also said that 12,000 police would be made redundant by the end of next year.
The reputation of the force has declined dramatically in recent years with Russian police officers convicted or charged with burning a suspect to death, shooting sprees, a beheading, and rape in the less than 24 months.
Russian Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev used his annual Police Day address last November to remind police chiefs that officers should point their weapons at criminals, and not aim them at law-abiding citizens. Shortly after this, he advised ordinary citizens to "give as good as they get" if they are attacked for no reason by officers.
In response to growing criticism of the force, President Dmitry Medvedev ordered a large-scale reform of the Interior Ministry in December 2009 that would trim police numbers and raise salaries in an effort to reduce corruption and attract a better quality of applicant.
MOSCOW, April 28 (RIA Novosti)
Bloomberg: Moscow to Fire 22,000 Cops, Double Salaries to $2,000 a Month
April 28, 2010, 1:37 AM EDT
By Maria Levitov
April 28 (Bloomberg) -- Moscow police chief Vladimir Kolokoltsev plans to fire 22,000 employees over the next two years and more than double salaries after President Dmitry Medvedev called for a crackdown on corruption.
Moscow’s police department will fire about 12,000 of its 98,000 officers this year and another 10,000 next year, Kolokoltsev said in an interview published today in the government’s official Rossiyskaya Gazeta. The average salary over that period will rise to about 60,000 rubles ($2,000) a month from about 24,000 rubles, he said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Maria Levitov in Moscow at mlevitov@
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Brad Cook at bcook7@
April 28, 2010
Timesonline: Kremlin fills the void left by an indifferent America and inept EU
Tony Halpin
It is as if the Orange Revolution never happened. In a breathless few weeks since he came to power, President Yanukovych has undone almost all of the pro-Western policies of his predecessor, Viktor Yushchenko.
The pro-Russian leader has been love-bombed by President Medvedev and Vladimir Putin, the Prime Minister, as the Kremlin has taken advantage of American indifference and European Union ineptitude to restore its dominance in Kiev.
Mr Yanukovych had ditched aspirations to join Nato before handing Russia’s Black Sea Fleet a 30-year extension on its lease that leaves it secure in Sevastopol until 2047.
As opposition wrath filled Ukraine’s parliament with smoke and smashed eggs, he was at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg renouncing another key Yushchenko policy.
He declared that the famine that killed millions of Ukrainians in the 1930s was not genocide perpetrated by the Soviet Union but a “shared tragedy” with Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan at the hands of Joseph Stalin.
Ukraine depends entirely on Russia for its gas, which it will now get at a discount, and Mr Putin has proposed a merger of their nuclear industries into a shared company as well as joint ventures in shipbuilding and aircraft construction.
This is music to the ears of supporters of Mr Yanukovych’s Party of Regions in his Russian-speaking strongholds in the east and south of Ukraine. But it confirms the worst fears of nationalists in western Ukraine, who voted overwhelmingly against him in February’s presidential election.
Opposition moves against Mr Yanukovych’s policies threaten to deepen a geographical divide that could mean that western Ukraine rejects him as its president.
The EU’s vaunted new foreign policy “reach” is proving illusory in the rush by individual member states to cut energy deals with Mr Putin.
He told a press conference with the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Monday that Italian companies had received $2 billion in contracts to build the Nord Stream gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, while France’s EDF would have a 20 per cent stake in the South Stream project that will carry energy to Europe under the Black Sea.
Both bypass Ukraine’s pipelines, crushing earnings from transit fees and making the country even more dependent on Moscow.
RIA: Russian defense industry falls behind rivals – experts
12:0728/04/2010
MOSCOW, April 28 (RIA Novosti) - Russian weapons are falling behind rival products, experts told the Rossiiskaya Gazeta government daily on Wednesday.
Russian Academy of Science members Vladimir Fortov and Igor Kalyaev said that a reduction in research funds was making it hard for Russian weapons to stay competitive and for the defense industry to produce breakthroughs.
However, last month Russian President Dmitry Medvedev approved a long-term policy for the development of the national defense industry. He stressed that development and production of modern electronic systems would be a priority for the industry in the next three to four years.
But while the Russian government has prioritized the modernization of the military-industrial complex, Fortov and Kalyaev believe this is impossible without a sound scientific foundation.
They also said that the military prefers short-term projects, with very concrete developments based on well-known principles. This approach makes Russian military equipment lag behind its rivals even at the planning stage, they said.
Without the ability to innovate, the Russian defense sector will sooner or later run into a brick wall, the experts claim.
Russia Today: New York Times blows Russian container-hidden missile threat out of proportion
27 April, 2010, 18:26
An article in the New York Times has stirred up a scare reminiscent of “Reds under the bed” with a story on Club-K missile systems, which can allegedly be hidden inside standard shipping containers.
Referring to a promotional CG-video recently presented by the manufacturer of Club-K missiles at an arms expo, the newspaper described it as a deadly Russian ultimate weapon for a small-scale conflict. Four cruise missiles hidden in a standard shipping container can be covertly delivered anywhere by land or sea and be ready to fire in a matter of minutes.
The system, which gives “any merchant vessel the capability to wipe out an aircraft carrier,” is certain to be bought by Iran and Venezuela and end up in the hands of terrorists, goes on the apocalyptic scenario in the US newspaper. The article, however, does not explain how the terrorists would hijack a satellite needed to guide the missiles.
There is nothing revolutionary or unique about Club-K, says Viktor Mizin, a military analyst from the Moscow State University of International Relations.
“Many countries can export systems like that, including Iran, China, the United States, France and Germany. Russia has its chunk of the market, and that is it. But it was successful in its PR campaign, I guess,” he told RT.
Meanwhile the Morinformsistema-Agat company, which produces the Club-K system and other missile systems, said the allegations of their involvement in terrorism “look very much like hysteria.”
“The Club-K System is designated first of all for installation on the ships called up for military service in the case of threat. The professionals understand perfectly well that it is impossible to use such a system from any container ship or truck,” the statement by the company says.
The company added that strict arms exports regulations in Russia guarantee that such a sophisticated weapon can only be sold to a responsible buyer.
Kyiv Post: Notorious Russian criminal boss released after deportation from Ukraine
Today at 10:29 | Interfax-Ukraine
Moscow - Aslan Usoyan, a notorious Russian criminal leader also known as Ded Khasan (Grandfather Khasan), deported from Ukraine, returned to Moscow late on Tuesday, a source with law enforcement agencies told Interfax.
"The criminal boss flew from Kyiv's Boryspil Airport to Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport, officers of the criminal investigation department of the Russian Interior Ministry released him after a brief conversation," the source said.
The source recalled that Usoyan was detained at the Boryspil Airport at 11 p.m. local time on Monday. He used forged documents to come to Ukraine. A decision to deport him to Russia was made. "Grandfather Khasan flew to Kyiv to resolve a dispute with Armenian criminal gangs," the source said.
Interfax is awaiting official comments on the report.
RBC: Kabardino-Balkaria DPS Officer died in the shooting in Kabardino-Balkaria
GOOGLE TRANSLATION
The shelling caused the car to the DPS filling in Kabardino-Balkaria, was killed a law enforcement officer, another policeman was wounded.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kabardino-Balkaria, unidentified persons fired machine guns official car "Lada", in which there were three policemen.
The incident occurred in the village of Kuba-Taba in the gas station about 0:35 Moscow time. At the moment, criminals are being sought.
In fact shooting a criminal case on st.222 ("Illegal trafficking in weapons) and st.317 (" Attempt on the life of a law enforcement officer ") of the Criminal Code.
28 April 2010.
April 28th 2010 · Prague Watchdog / Vadim Borshchev
Prague Watchdog: A marriage made in heaven (weekly review)
By Vadim Borshchev, special to Prague Watchdog
For many long years, Russia's population has had an opportunity to observe the extraordinary relationship that ties a simple Chechen to his highly-placed Moscow patron. Such marriages are made in heaven: last week saw yet another demonstration of this secret agreement by which the protégé receives a lifelong right to kill anyone who, in his opinion, deserves to die.
The story of the attempted contract killing of Isa Yamadayev, who last week published an open letter to President Medvedev in the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper, is unique in that Ramzan Kadyrov is for the first time becoming personally implicated in a serious criminal case. After the testimony he gave within its framework, the Chechen leader is bound to become a suspect in the organization of three murders – or, at any rate, of one.
Let me briefly recount the principal episodes of this gripping detective thriller. In July last year an attempt was made on the life of Yamadayev, a Chechen businessman and Hero of Russia The law enforcement agencies received information about the forthcoming murder in good time, and replaced the live ammunition in the killer’s gun with blanks. When the criminal attack took place, the assailant was neutralized.
Three weeks ago the Investigative Committee of the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office let it be known that the principal suspect in the case was Shaa Turlayev, a close adviser to the Chechen President. However, the story has had an unexpected sequel. In his testimony, which were published along with Yamadayev’s letter, Khovazh Yusupov (the unsuccessful contract killer) claims that the murder was organized on the direct orders of President Kadyrov, who in the course of a face-to-face meeting forced him to carry out the killing under the threat of reprisals against his immediate family. Moreover, Kadyrov allegedly said he had earlier killed Yamadayev’s two older brothers, Ruslan and Sulim.
Those who wish to acquaint themselves with the details can click the above link (in Russian). I shall, however, focus solely on the political circumstances of the case. The first question many commentators asked was whether there had been any reaction from Medvedev. To most of them the answer was clear from the start. Kadyrov is subject to no restraint but that exerted by Vladimir Putin, who will tolerate no encroachment on his diocese, whether by Medvedev or the hand of the Almighty. From Yamadayev ‘s statement we know that Yusupov pointed the finger at Kadyrov almost immediately after his arrest. In other words, the investigators were in possession of this knowledge seven or eight months ago. A criminal case should therefore have been opened at that time. But it seems that this did not happen, and on April 8, when the matter finally went to court, Turlayev was named as the principal suspect, though according to Yusupov Turlayev was only an intermediary who arranged the face-to-face meeting with the head of the republic at which the planned murder was discussed. For purely technical reasons, the Investigation Committee was obliged to open a criminal case, because the existence of evidence against Kadyrov, and was only able to avoid doing so as a result of in interference in the investigation from outside, and probably from the top. Given the body of evidence that has now accumulated, one must suppose that the Prosecutor General would not have instructed the investigators to act in flagrant violation of the law. The pressure must have been exerted by someone so powerful that in certain cases he had the right to suspend the operation of the law.
This should surprise no one. It is only a couple of weeks since State Duma deputy Adam Delimkhanov – a relative and close associate of Kadyrov – emerged unscathed from the Dubai court’s accusation of having masterminded the killing of Sulim Yamadayev, Isa’s brother.
One might recall other high-profile cases, in Russia itself and abroad, but there is little point. Why discuss individual cases, when the right to kill an unrecorded number of citizens has long been granted to the present Chechen leader, and has seldom been reviewed. The only changes in the license to kill have concerned its extension from the theater of war, first throughout Russia and then across the entire globe.
Moscow Times: Vedomosti Sues Gryzlov Over 'Terrorist' Comments
28 April 2010
By Alexander Bratersky and Nikolaus von Twickel
Vedomosti on Tuesday sued State Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov for accusing it of siding with Chechen rebels, marking the first time in at least a decade that a Russian newspaper has filed a defamation suit against such a high-ranking official.
Business News Media, Vedomosti's publisher, filed the defamation suit at the Moscow's Presnensky District Court, editor Tatyana Lysova and publisher Mikhail Doubik said in a joint statement published on the newspaper's web site.
Business News Media is a unit of Independent Media Sanoma Magazines, the parent company of The Moscow Times.
The newspaper is seeking an apology fr om Gryzlov — who also heads the ruling United Russia party's faction in the Duma — but no monetary compensation, said Vladimir Rumyantsev, a lawyer for Vedomosti.
The move comes almost four weeks after Gryzlov suggested that Vedomosti and the popular Moskovsky Komsomolets daily were in cahoots with Islamists responsible for the March 29 bombings in the Moscow metro that killed 40 people and wounded another 80.
The lawsuit could prove to be a high-stakes battleground for media freedom, as the government on Saturday submitted to the United Russia-dominated Duma a bill that would give the Federal Security Service the power to arrest or fine people and organizations that do not comply with officers' "legitimate demands."
Vedomosti wrote in an editorial Tuesday that the rules could be used to arrest journalists and editors who refuse to remove articles from their publications' web sites or otherwise fail to retract materials that the FSB feels threaten or undermine national security.
In a note accompanying the bill, the government wrote that the measures were needed to fight extremism and terrorism, noting that "some media outlets … propagate individualism, violence and mistrust of the state's capacity to protect its citizens."
Gryzlov said April 2 during a meeting between President Dmitry Medvedev and Duma faction leaders that two articles published March 30 — a day after the bombings — showed that the papers were siding with the terrorists.
"If we analyze these three sources, then we will see that in fact, they are stewing in the same juices. The connection between the publications and the terrorists' actions evokes suspicions," Gryzlov said.
He was referring to Vedomosti's analysis "Revenge for the Caucasus" and an article by Moskovsky Komsomolets columnist Alexander Minkin. Both stories said the attacks were part of rebels' announced strategy to bring the war in the North Caucasus to the Russian heartland.
In a video released a day after the articles, Chechen rebel commander Doku Umarov claimed responsibility for the twin bombings and said they were meant to target Russian civilians in revenge for federal security forces' killings of Ingush and Chechen natives.
Vedomosti editor Lysova sent a letter to Gryzlov on April 6 asking him to explain his remarks or provide facts showing a connection between the paper's reporters and terrorist activity.
"If your remarks had an emotional nature and were not based on solid facts but resulted from a mistake or a confusion, then the editorial office of Vedomosti would want to receive apologies from you," the letter said, according to an excerpt published on the paper's web site.
Instead of an answer from Gryzlov, the paper received an offer to hear an official explanation from Yury Shuvalov, who is Gryzlov's top deputy in United Russia. Vedomosti was not satisfied with the response and decided to turn to the courts, the statement said.
Rumyantsev, the lawyer for Vedomosti, said Tuesday evening that the suit was filed at the Presnensky court in central Moscow because that is the district wh ere Gryzlov lives.
Moskovsky Komsomolets editor Pavel Gusev told The Moscow Times that Minkin had already sued Gryzlov as an individual and that the newspaper would support his suit.
Timur Prokopenko, a spokesman for Gryzlov, said he was aware of the case but declined further comment, saying has not received a copy of the complaint.
Media experts contacted for this article said they could not remember any such cases since Prime Minister Vladimir Putin ascended to the presidency in 2000.
As head of the lower house of the parliament, Gryzlov is the state's fourth-highest representative, following only President Dmitry Medvedev, Putin and Federation Council Speaker Sergei Mironov.
Andrei Richter, head of the Moscow Media Law and Policy Center, a media freedom watchdog, called the lawsuit "unprecedented." But for a paper like Vedomosti, the decision to go to court is natural, he said.
"Vedomosti is really concerned about its reputation, and any outcome will help to strengthen its credibility," he told The Moscow Times.
Although Gryzlov won a measure of support for his comments from Mironov, who heads the rival A Just Russia party and has clashed with Gryzlov in recent months, Medvedev played down the issue. Criticism from the media was "normal" after such an event, but journalists should not side with terrorists, Medvedev said at the time.
Eurasia Review: New Appointment Extends Kremlin Tilt toward Russian Orthodox Church
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
By Paul Goble
Ivan Demidov, a prominent TV personality with close ties to the Moscow Patriarchate, the defense ministry, and the United Russia Party, has been named the Presidential Administration’s point man for supersizing relations with religious organizations, the latest indication of the continuing Kremlin tilt toward the Russian Orthodox Church.
According to yesterday’s “Gazeta,” the decision to elevate Demidov from his position as head of the Administration’s Department for humanitarian policy and social affairs to be deputy head of the domestic policy administration, where he will be responsible for relations with religious groups, was made on Friday (gazeta.ru/politics/2010/04/26_a_3358001.shtml).
He thus fills a post that had been vacant for more than a year following the departure of Mikhail Ostrovsky. And he won this elevation, Aleksey Chesnakov, a former official of the Presidential Administration, told the Moscow newspaper because of his success in “developing relations with public organizations and confessions.”
Aleksey Mukhin, the general director of the Moscow Center of Political Information, told “Gazeta” that he believes this appointment will “strengthen the role of the Russian Orthodox Church,” although commentator suggested that no one should expect any immediate shifts in the way in which the Kremlin deals with religion as a result.
But even if Mukhin’s prediction proves to be true, many leaders of Russia’s religious communities, both Orthodox Christian and others, are certain to either hope or fear that Demidov, given his past career and personal ties, will promote the interests of the Moscow Patriarchate one way or another.
Born in Syzran in 1963, Demidov worked his way up through Moscow television stations in the 1990s and was not prominently associated with the Orthodox Church until the last 15 years. (He was baptized only in 1996.) But in the last five years, he has become not only a prominent Orthodox television personality but also a religious advisor to United Russia.
In 2005, he became the chief editor of the Orthodox “Spas” television channel, and from 2006 to 2008, he also worked as coordinator for ideology and political work of United Russia’s Young Guard youth organization and as an advisor on Orthodoxy for that party as a whole (lenta.ru/lib/14159342/).
In April 2009, he was named head of the Presidential Administration’s department of humanitarian policy and social ties, and a month later, he was included in the government commission involved with “countering falsifications of history to the harm of the interests of Russia,” a post that brought him into close contact with the defense ministry.
There are three reasons to think that Demidov will play a growing role in defining church-state relations with Russia. First, his elevation coincides with the retirement last week of two longtime Kremlin officials who have pushed for a more balanced approach among Russia’s various religious communities.
Second, Demidov has been outspoken in support of many of the same Orthodox causes that First Lady Svetlana Medvedeva has shown an interest in, a possible indication that the two of them may be working together and even that she may have played a role in his elevation to his current post.
And third, Demidov has a long and very public record of backing the Moscow Patriarchate and the defense ministry, a record that suggests he will be an ardent in-house advocate of Kirill’s view that the Russian Orthodox Church should be more than primus inter pares, a position that is certain to generate conflicts with other religious communities.
Moscow Times: Church Set to Regain Museum Treasures
28 April 2010
By Alexandra Odynova
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is atoning for the sins of the Bolsheviks — or delivering a heavy blow to Russian culture, depending on whom you ask.
His government is pushing to transfer thousands of “religious items” fr om museums to the Russian Orthodox Church, a move that art experts and museum workers fear will lead to the ruin of important artifacts now preserved in museums and put many items off limits to the public.
Gennady Vdovin, director of the Ostankino Estate Museum in Moscow, said the clergy has frequently neglected church property in the past.
"There are a lot of examples when museum experts have found icons thrown out by priests in backyards," Vdovin told The Moscow Times.
The environment within churches poses another problem, as the smoke from candles used during services has a very negative effect on icons, he said.
The government is preparing legislation on the transfer of religious property that is scheduled to be considered by the State Duma this year, said Sergei Obukhov, a deputy with the Communist Party and a member of the State Duma's Social and Religious Organizations Committee.
The bill, however, has not been submitted to the Duma yet, he said.
But the restitution is already under way. Moscow's ancient Novodevichy Convent was transferred from the State Historical Museum to the Russian Orthodox Church last month in what Patriarch Kirill called “an act of historic justice.”
The Culture Ministry promised to model future transfers of museum property to religious organizations based on this move, which Putin ordered in January.
The Russian government remains the formal owner of the Novodevichy Convent, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but the complex will be managed exclusively by the church. Were it not for the UNESCO label, the convent could have passed into church ownership.
The icons and other artifacts that belonged to the State Historical Museum will stay within the walls of the convent. But about 80 art experts, restorers and researchers will be evicted, said Vadim Yegorov, deputy director of the museum.
He noted that over the last 15 years, the only church personnel at the convent were 12 nuns.
The Novodevichy Convent was closed by the Bolsheviks in 1922, and in 1926 it became a branch of the State Historical Museum. From 1994, the convent regained its original function, with nuns and museum personnel sharing the premises.
The convent constitutes a part of the vast property that was expropriated from the church by the Soviet government, and the Russian Orthodox Church insists that it has a legal right to reclaim the property.
"A temple must be a temple, not a museum. An icon has its place — not in a museum, but in a functioning temple," said Archbishop Hilarion, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s department of external relations.
Church representatives, including Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, head of the department for church and society affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate, have been allowed to work on the bill to transfer property from museums to the church.
But museum workers have complained that they are barred from participating in drafting the legislation.
In February, about 150 museum directors and experts appealed to President Dmitry Medvedev in an open letter, asking him to "speak against the ill-conceived and dubious initiative." Medvedev has made no public response to the appeal.
Then in March, about 40 renowned artists and art experts published an open letter to Patriarch Kirill, arguing that works of art needed to be stored by museums, not churches.
Chaplin stressed that the bill was lim ited to real estate and would not include items such as icons registered with museums.
"The bill covers buildings that are already being used by the church," Chaplin said in an interview.
But the publicly available draft of the legislation does not specify what kinds of property will be retained by museums, speaking only of "religious items."
Speaking on April 19, Patriarch Kirill called the public discussion “very low-grade” and said the church was perfectly capable of preserving treasures it owned for centuries.
Although only real estate is under discussion at the moment, the patriarch hinted that the church might stake a claim to museums' collections.
"We realize that the icons included in museum exhibits are intended for the spiritual enlightenment of our people, unlike those stored in collections," Kirill said, adding that there were also problems with museums' storage facilities.
The measures appears to have some support from Culture Minister Alexander Avdeyev, who has also said "icons are sometimes better preserved in churches than museums."
The state wants to transfer as many icons as possible, but only if their safety is guaranteed, Avdeyev told Ekho Moskvy radio. He said he did not expect the bill to empty museums of religious artifacts.
The government will cover all costs of preserving items transferred from museums, said Alexander Kibovsky, chief of the Federal Service for the Protection of Cultural Heritage. Religious institutions have already received 1.2 billion rubles ($41 million), he told Interfax last month.
But Engelsina Ugryumova, a senior expert with the State Historical Museum, insisted that artifacts were safer if they remained with museums.
"Giving away a religious object to the church means losing it in the nearest future because property like buildings may decay and fall into ruin due to negligence, while certain objects may be stolen for the lack of proper safeguards," Ugryumova said.
Museum specialists also worry about public access to cultural treasures, a constitutionally protected right that is nonetheless little used. Critics of the plan say the church may impede access after it receives the artifacts.
But church officials argue that museums, too, have been unable to provide regular access to their collections. Many items can remain in storage for years without going on display.
"It is true that museums don't display everything they have in storage, but the artifacts are carefully looked after," said Vdovin, of the Ostankino Estate Museum. "Museums are not the ideal option, but they're the best we have. We've lost a lot, but we are going to lose even more."
Many art officials say they have no idea why the current system needs to be changed so dramatically.
“For many years, church and museum personnel have been peacefully co-existing in museum-convents,” Ugryumova said. “It's hard to understand why the Russian Orthodox Church decided to abandon this favorable cooperation."
Museum staff interviewed for this article cautioned that the new bill had the power to cause a rift in society that could possibly lead to public unrest.
"There is an opinion that the conflict was triggered by someone within the Russian Orthodox Church who wanted to pit the Russian intelligentsia against the clergy," said Yegorov, of the State Historical Museum. "My son is a priest, and he says that not everyone among the clergy approves of the project, but the rigid discipline [of the church] doesn't let them speak out."
Museum workers linked the possible restitutions to the growing role of the Russian Orthodox Church in state affairs and its proximity to Russian leaders.
"Over the past few years, we have been witnessing a ‘clericalization’ of the country. We see how religious studies are introduced to school programs, while the prime minister and president are shown visiting Orthodox churches," Vdovin said.
Archpriest Chaplin said the real problem was commercial in nature, not social or political: The museums are reluctant to relinquish their lucrative real estate.
"They just don't want to move from prestigious premises with good locations that bring profit," Chaplin said. "We are aware of about a dozen such places now," he said, without elaborating.
Despite mutual accusations, the church and museums agreed that they shared a single goal of safeguarding the country's cultural heritage, which requires their cooperation.
"Cultural preservation is the cause of both believers and nonbelievers," Yegorov said.
Epoch Times: Russians Can Read 'Nine Commentaries,' Says Court
Ruling counters Chinese regime pressure on Russian government
Created: Apr 12, 2010 Last Updated: Apr 27, 2010
The Russian people have a right to read the “Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party,” ruled a court in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg. Following a six-month trial, the court struck down a prosecutor’s motion to consider the book “extremist literature.”
Russian citizen Andrey Tolmachev was among those who felt the consequences of the authorities' previous rulings on the “Nine Commentaries.” In June 2009, upon returning home to Yekaterinburg from abroad, he was detained and held in custody for over 24 hours. He was accused of carrying “extremist materials,” in particular, “Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party.”
Tolmachev was detained on the eve of the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and BRIC, a forum for Brazil, Russia, India and China to meet on trade issues, shortly before the Chinese delegation, led by CCP leader Hu Jintao, was expected to arrive.
“During my detention, I was told that my arrest and the confiscation of ['Nine Commentaries' was] connected to the upcoming summit,” said Tolmachev.
Nine Commentaries is an award-winning Epoch Times series that sets forth in detail, for the first time, the true nature and history of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The book has fueled a quiet but steady and massive withdrawal by Chinese citizens from the CCP and its related organizations.
Others confirm the point that the overturned ban of the book resulted from pressure by the CCP on Russian authorities.
“I do not know whether we are going to become one of the Chinese provinces, or maybe, we wish to become the respected ally of the People’s Republic of China,” Lyudmila Alekseeva, human rights activist and the head of the Moscow Helsinki Group.
“Once, we already tried to become an ally of the Third Reich,” Alekseeva said. “And we know that it led to a four-year war in which we had lost millions of our citizens. With China, it will be more complex.”
Alekseeva is appalled by what she sees as “the [Russian government's] servile attitude to the Chinese leadership.”
“Just imagine if customs officers found a book in which—not the Communist party of China was being criticized but, for example, the Democratic or Republican Party of the United States, or the president of the United States [was being criticized]. In no way would they touch such a person, let alone start an investigation,” Alekseeva said.
Alexey Simonov, Russian film director, journalist, and legal expert, said, “Over the last 10 years, in Russia, no one would have possibly come up with the idea that this book [“The Nine Commentaries”] might be considered as an extremist one.”
“It is only possible if you are reading the book with Chinese eyes,” he said. “Fawning before China is a general tendency.”
Alexander Verhovsky, journalist and director of SOVA Center for Information and Analysis, commented on the “growing illegal application of the anti-extremist legislation in Russia.” He said that actions such as the overturned ban of “Nine Commentaries” result from foreign policy considerations.
“Whatever you could think about the communist party of China, the criticism of its crimes can in no way be considered an illegal act on the Russian territory,” he emphasized.
Pravda: Russian Hackers Threaten the World
28.04.2010
According to Symantec, the number of cyber crimes last year has increased twofold and continues to grow, while the number of hacker attacks has increased by 71%. Within the last year nearly 3 million viruses were registered. Russia shot significantly ahead and made it to seventh place among top ten countries producing the most cyber threats.
The USA and China remain the mastodons of the harmful landscape of the cyber world. They are followed by Brazil, Germany, India and Great Britain. The report mentions that the development of broadband access combined with insufficiently developed legislation in the area of cybercrime make the developing countries an outpost for the activity of cyber criminals.
The report highlights two global epidemics of 2009: Downadup (same as Conficker/Kido) in the beginning of the year and Hydraq at the end of the year. Currently Downadup continues its activity on the world scale. During 2009 it infected 7 million computers. The difficulty in assessing the threat is in the absence of symptoms. Yet, the threat of botnets created on its basis remains extremely high.
There are increasingly more opportunities for organization of internet attacks. Corresponding tools are available on-line for moderate money, and the simplest ones are free. Famous Keyboard spy Zeus (ZBot) is only $700. Visits to online banking and payment system sites are tracked by ZeuS through keyboard espionage and then delivered to the criminals.
This software can create networks of remotely operated computers, botnets. According to Sym а ntec, in 2009 alone over 90 thousand copies were sold. Meanwhile, out of 107 billion of spam messages distributed on a daily basis, approximately 85% are provided by zombie computers connected into networks. Ten largest world botnets control over 5 million computers. The most infamous botnets are Cutwail, Rustock and Mega-D.
Affordable packets (like Zeus) can create unique harmful codes, which allow overcoming signature defense. In 2009 Symantec specialists found over 240 million specimens of the unique code, which is a 100% increase compared to 2008. Some think that in 2010 this growth tendency will continue.
Social engineering remains one of the main ways of obtaining confidential information and introduction of harmful programs. Users are enticed to come to the websites containing a harmful code. In 2009 a sharp increase in the number of attacks linked to viewing PDF files was registered. These attacks account for 49% on the entire volume of web attacks. Viewing of videos and documents is the main goal of hackers. Browsers sensitivity is becoming increasingly more popular.
Hackers’ activity is transferring to the area of corporate espionage. In addition to a well developed system of theft of personal financial data, hackers are focused on the increase of the so-called Advanced Persistent Threats. These are programs created for hidden supply of information for a long period of time. In 2009, 75 % of business structures were exposed to various cyber attacks.
Vitaly Salnik
Bigness
Telegraph: Amateur model known as 'Katya' revealed to Russian honeytrap bait
Ekaterina Gerasimova has piercing blue eyes, an innocent girl-next-door face, and likes to do a little amateur modelling.
By Andrew Osborn in Moscow
Published: 6:40AM BST 28 Apr 2010
But if her "victims" are to be believed, she is the Kremlin's most effective secret agent and a latter-day Mata Hari.
Her mission, it is claimed, is to discredit prominent Kremlin critics by luring them into compromising situations using vintage KGB honey trap techniques.
Offering her own body, sex, and drugs from cocaine to marijuana as an inducement, "Katya" as she is usually known has tried and often succeeded in bedding at least half a dozen high-profile Kremlin critics.
The reputational damage she has inflicted has varied from serious to negligible depending on her victim's marital status and response.
Her latest victim was Viktor Shenderovich, a journalist and the script writer on Russia's now defunct version of the Spitting Image TV satire.
Mr Shenderovich, who is married and has a daughter, admits that he slept with Ms Gerasimova but claims he was set up by the Kremlin.
Though he has tried to laugh the incident off, his credibility as an authoritative critic of Vladimir Putin, the prime minister, appears to have been at least partly dented by the sting and his marriage is now reportedly in trouble.
The editor of Russian Newsweek magazine also fell under Ms Gerasimova's spell and was filmed in his underpants chopping up what looked like cocaine after having sex with her.
A clutch of anti-Kremlin opposition figures and activists including a man who looked like the leader of the radical National Bolshevik Party have also been caught in flagrante delicto with the twentysomething model.
But unlike Soviet times when the secret service used compromising material or 'compromat' as it was known to blackmail, Ms Gerasimova's exploits have been widely publicised in grainy and heavily edited videos on the internet.
The videos are often accompanied by mocking music and subtitles. It has taken a few weeks for her victims to realise that they have all been set up by one and the same girl.
Yet little is known about Ms Gerasimova beyond that she registered for an online modelling agency that supplied pretty girls for ad campaigns, trade exhibitions and fashion shoots.
Pictures of her show a brunette posing in her underwear wearing pink nail varnish and a broad smile.
Nicknamed 'Moo-Moo' after the surname she appears to have given herself on a social networking site, victims say she used different first names, had different cover stories, and was highly persistent in her advances.
Some of the victims say they knew something was wrong when she suddenly produced drugs or, in one case, asked a young opposition leader to join her and a female friend in experimenting with a large selection of sex toys.
The politician, Ilya Yashin, said he got up and left at that point after asking her whether they were being filmed.
Katya herself appears to have disappeared into the ether but at least one other prominent Kremlin critic has already warned that he expects a similar video featuring himself and Katya to hit the internet soon.
News.az: 'Madness' to hold Olympics near Chechnya
Wed 28 April 2010 | 06:18 GMT
News.Az interviews Eldar Zeynalov, director of the Azerbaijani Human Rights Centre.
This region is plagued with instability; there has been tension in the North Caucasus, including terrorist attacks and murders of high ranking state officials over the past 20 years. Three conflicts - Nagorno-Karabakh, South Ossetia and Abkhazia - are still unresolved. Against this backdrop, the Winter Olympics will be held in Sochi in 2014. What is the likelihood of new threats and risks in the region?
Well, it's madness to hold the Olympics near such a centre of tension as Chechnya. In saying 'near', I don't mean geographically, as it's not that close, but don't forget that Chechens got to Budennovsk and armed Chechens came within 500 metres of the Kremlin when they took hostages at the performance of Nord-Ost at the Dubrovka theatre. Because of corruption in the law-enforcement agencies, the militants can move unnoticed and such an event as the Olympic Games may attract the attention of terrorists. They will try to do something to achieve their political goals and attract attention.
And let’s not forget that this is a border with Georgia. I mean the internationally recognized border, not Abkhazia. Once, before 1918, this territory was part of Georgia, until either Denikin or someone else in the White Army occupied Sochi. Since that time it has been considered Russian territory and Georgia has recently recalled this. Moreover, as soon as rumours emerged about Sochi’s chance of hosting the Olympic Games, we saw some unpleasant incidents there, some explosions on the beaches and so on. This is something of a hint and the first signal.
Sochi is also a place for show business and criminals. It is not a quiet spot in terms of security for the competitors. I think a place could have been found well away from the centres of tension. Sochi is near Abkhazia and Chechnya. I do not know who suggested it, but whoever it was was extremely incautious. I mean the international figures who voted for this.
You mentioned Chechnya. Might the United States and the West try to prevent the Olympic Games being held, since it is no secret that Washington once did its utmost to bring about the collapse of the USSR?
I don't think this is the same. Why? Because whatever might be said about international organizations and others, the world is balanced because of the agreement of the superpowers and the Americans will never penetrate Russia, as they could be caught. For example, there has not been a single case of an American or American organization being caught in Chechnya supporting Chechens. The Arabs support them and it's clear that the Arabs are quite friendly towards America.
Nevertheless, America does not go there, because it’s too risky. The geopolitical balance includes such elements, as, for example, the communist government of Cuba, the left-wing regime in Nicaragua, the unstable regime in Venezuela. As soon as America makes a mistake somewhere, the strategic bombers leave for Venezuela, Nicaragua recognizes the independence of Abkhazia and so on. These are pro-Moscow steps. Therefore, no one will try to hamper the Olympic Games. I don't think they will. It could have been done at the stage when the venue for the games was being selected.
What undercover steps may Moscow take to ensure security at the Olympic Games?
I think these will be steps taken for show, not undercover. Broad, counter-terror operations will be conducted in the North Caucasus to ensure the security of the participants in the Olympic Games. In addition, as Sochi is at issue, it will be possible to justify such operations and such pressure even beyond the scope of the Chechen conflict. For example, laptops were confiscated from human rights activists in Krasnodar because there was something Chechen there and a criminal case was almost instituted against the human rights activists beyond Chechnya.
Are changes to be expected in the Karabakh, Abkhaz and Ossetian conflicts in connection with the Olympic Games in Sochi in 2014?
Well, it's not worth expecting any major changes in the Karabakh conflict until most of the Caspian oil has been pumped out. Some major change in the balance that would make the Americans get more involved in Caucasian affairs is unlikely. And until then, there will be peace in Karabakh without a single peacekeeper, no one will change the status quo and no one will try to annex land or expand their territory.
As for Ossetia and Abkhazia, these tiny states are backed by a great superpower with a truncheon in his hand and whoever tries to use force will have to deal with Russia's Ivan. A similar situation could once be seen in Serbia. Until Russia gave up on Milosevic, no one could do anything to him. After his surrender, bombing started, there was American military pressure on Serbia, the opposition became bolder and took to the streets and something changed. It will be the same with Abkhazia and Ossetia. Until Russia surrenders them, nothing will change. Meanwhile, Russia is not interested in changing anything there. It feels at ease there and plans to have a reserve naval base in Abkhazia instead of one in Crimea, in Sevastopol. And if this plan goes ahead, Russia will never leave, just as the Americans do not leave Guantanamo.
April 27, 2010 01:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time
BusinessWire: Bloomberg Offers Interfax Russian Newswire Service
BLOOMBERG PROFESSIONAL service users get real-time news from Interfax on Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan
MOSCOW & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bloomberg, the world's most trusted source of market data, news and analytics, and Interfax, the leading Russian-language newswire, today announced the release of Interfax’s real-time, Russian-language news service on the BLOOMBERG PROFESSIONAL® service.
Bloomberg users in Russia and the other CIS countries will get free access to three, specialized Interfax newswires covering Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, all in Russian. The Russian financial newswire offers about 250 breaking news stories a day, covering politics, economics, companies and banks. It also includes commentaries and market forecasts. The Ukraine and Kazakhstan newswires focus on news relevant to those financial markets.
"Combining Bloomberg's Russian and CIS market data and cutting-edge analytical products with Interfax's news creates the most complete data solution in the region in a single platform," said Gerard Francis, head of Bloomberg’s Global Emerging Markets. "Market conditions in Russia and CIS countries are changing rapidly, so professionals need to have the fastest, most reliable and complete analytics, news and data available."
Mr. Francis noted that Russian financial market participants rank Interfax as a highly used specialized financial news product. He added that Interfax's real-time newswire will feed into Bloomberg's news search engine, accessible at NSE , making Bloomberg the most complete venue for Russian-language financial market news. Interfax’s information complements Bloomberg News, which has journalists in Kiev, Moscow, St. Petersburg and Almati.
"We have continually developed new Interfax products focused on the needs of professionals in the financial markets who make vital investment decisions using our information. Our growing audience, including traders, analysts and bankers with access to Bloomberg terminals in Russia, show the wisdom of our strategy," said Mikhail Komissar, General Director of Interfax.
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Russia Today: 28 April, 2010 in Russian Newspapers
Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Four tasks for the fleet
Commander in Chief of the Russian Navy announced that Russia and Ukraine will hold joint military training in Sevastopol in June
By Yury Gavrilov
On Tuesday, Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov announced that the ratification of the lease-extending agreement for the Black Sea Fleet base in Crimea provides a good opportunity to upgrade its infrastructure and shipborne forces.
Moreover, it provides a real chance to strengthen military and military-technical cooperation between the two countries. Serdyukov argues that Ukraine will reap the practical benefits from this decision.
Nezavisimaya: Belarus: Not a penny for the allies
Lukashenko does not intend to share revenues from Venezuelan oil with Russia
By Anton Khodasevich
It is expected that Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich will arrive in Minsk today on a two-day visit. This will be his first visit to Belarus as a head of state. Presumably, Lukashenko and Yanukovich’s meeting will determine the future of Belarusian-Ukrainian relations and clarify the fate of the project for the transfer of Venezuelan oil to Belarus through Ukraine.
Vremya Novostei: A Victory Day defeat
The European Court of Human Rights ruled against the Soviet partisan
By Darya Zhdanova (Riga)
In Riga, unofficial sources reported that the 87-year-old Soviet veteran and native of Latvia Vasily Kononov lost his case against the Latvian government -- which listed him as a military criminal -- in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. Moreover, the scandalous verdict could allegedly be
announced on the eve of the 65th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany.
Moscow Times: Today in Vedomosti
Issue 4381. Last Updated: 04/28/2010
When Employer-Employee Relations Sour
By Oksana Goncharova
Are employers ever interested in reducing the efficiency of their own employees? Sometimes! For example, when you need to get rid of excess staff. If the formal reasons for the dismissal are not enough, there is always psychological warfare.
Another File-Sharing Service Shut Down
By Anastasia Golitsyna and Alexei Nikolsky
The Interior Ministry has closed another file-sharing service. They seized the server that held the torrent tracker Filehoster.ru, said Igor Kamenev, the service's owner.
RUVR: Press review
Topic: Russian Press (33 documents)
Apr 28, 2010 11:38 Moscow Time
The Rossiyskaya Gazeta daily reports that Russia’s State Duma has ratified the agreement between Moscow and Kiev on the Russian Black Sea Fleet deployment in Ukraine. The problem that seemed impossible to settle over the past decade and was repeatedly used by Ukraine’s previous leaders as an ultimatum was resolved by the Russian President during his brief visit to Ukraine recently. When staying in Kharkov last week, Dmitry Medvedev initiated and became the author of what has become a historic development that imparts new quality to Russian-Ukrainian relations. The Russian leader offered a discount on gas supplies to his Ukrainian counterpart. This made it possible to prolong the stationing of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet by 25 years after 2017.
The Vremya Novostei newspaper writes in an article that Ukraine’s Supreme Rada, or parliament, ratified the agreement on extending the term of stationing the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol by another 25 years almost simultaneously with the Russian Parliament’s lower house, - the State Duma. But first the Ukrainian MPs had to survive an unprecedented standoff between the opposition and the pro-government coalition. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has described the ratification of the agreement as a victory for common sense. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said, for his part, that the ratification of the Black Sea Fleet agreement shows that the new Ukrainian authorities are capable of consolidating the main political forces and are set to build relations with Russia in a different way.
The Russian periodical Gazeta is focused on Vladimir Putin’s visit to Ukraine, whose industry will now stand to gain by receiving Russian orders. By 2015 Russia will have built 10 new nuclear power-generating units, each worth some 2 billion dollars. Kiev hopes that Ukraine’s share of equipment supplies may reach 40%. Putin told Ukrainians that their atomic power engineering was building generating units exclusively for the Russian market, and Russia was prepared to promote that cooperation. He added that the Ukrainian nuclear power engineering industry needed updating that would prove more effective if Ukraine cooperated with Russian facilities.
Reuters: PRESS DIGEST - Russia - April 28
Wed Apr 28, 2010 12:47pm IST
MOSCOW, April 28 (Reuters) - The following are some of the leading stories in Russia's newspapers on Wednesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
KOMMERSANT
kommersant.ru
- Russian air carriers in the first quarter of 2010 transported 33 percent more passengers than in the same period of 2009, the daily says.
- Russian fertiliser company Phosagro is preparing to raise $1 billion through an IPO by the end of 2011, the paper reports.
VEDOMOSTI
vedomosti.ru
- Russian banks earned 114.9 billion roubles in March, which is 70 percent of their profits for all of last year, the daily says.
- The daily runs an interview with the chairman of Kazahstan's central bank Grigory Marchenko.
- Four Russian restaurants have made it onto the list of the top-100 best restaurants in the world, the paper reports.
- The marketing of Russian gas monopoly Gazprom's (GAZP.MM) brand costs $6.35 billion, the paper writes, citing a study prepared by Millward Brown Optimor company.
ROSSIISKAYA GAZETA
rg.ru
- The daily runs an interview with Moscow's police chief, who says the salary of ordinary policeman will triple by the end of 2011.
KOMSOMOLSKAYA PRAVDA
kp.ru
- Authorities in Moscow will spend 2 million roubles ($68,140) to install beehives in parks, the paper says.
TRUD
trud.ru
- A ten-year old boy, whose father died in the Moscow metro bombings, wants to sue Russia's national anti-terrorist committee for failing to prevent an act of terror, the paper reports.
National Economic Trends
Bloomberg: Russian Economic Growth Slowed in First Quarter (Update1)
April 28, 2010, 4:13 AM EDT
(Adds seasonally adjusted figures in second paragraph.)
By Paul Abelsky
April 28 (Bloomberg) -- Russia’s economy slowed its quarterly expansion in the first three months of the year after the country’s record slump in 2009, the Economy Ministry said, citing preliminary estimates.
Gross domestic product grew a seasonally adjusted 0.6 percent in the first quarter compared with the previous three months, the Moscow-based ministry said in a report today, citing preliminary estimates. On a seasonally adjusted basis, GDP gained a quarterly 1.7 percent in the fourth quarter and 2 percent in the third, the report said.
The economy showed signs of revival last month after a “pause” in February. GDP expanded a seasonally adjusted 0.2 percent in March from the previous month after 0.7 percent decline in February, the ministry said.
GDP added 4.5 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, gaining an annual 4.9 percent in March, according to the report. The economy shrank an annual 9.4 percent in the first three months of 2009.
Russia’s trade surplus more than doubled in the first quarter of this year to $46 billion from $18.8 billion a year earlier, the ministry said.
--Editors: Jennifer Freedman, Alan Crosby
To contact the reporter on this story: Paul Abelsky in Moscow at pabelsky@.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chris Kirkham at ckirkham@
Black Sea Grain: Russian grain harvest 'could top 100m tonnes'
Limited winterkill has left Russia's grain harvest in with a chance of topping 100m tonnes for the second time in three years, merchants believe.
The Russian Grain Union, an industry group, has further raised the bar for production forecasts for the world's third biggest wheat exporting country, after the farm ministry lifted it to 97m tonnes two weeks ago.
"If the weather permits we may well exceed 100m [tonnes]," Arkadiy Zlochevsky, the union's president, said.
The forecast reflected winterkill losses of 1.8m hectares, and expectations that sowings of spring crops will match last year's despite cold weather delaying progress.
"As we have increased the winter grain sowing area by 800,000 hectares, we will have an increase in the [winter grain] harvesting area of around 300,000 hectares," Mr Zlochevsky said.
Yield question
The forecast was met with some caution by foreign observers, with one London analyst questioning the assumption of large yields.
"It would be surprising if production got that high," the analyst told .
SovEcon, the influential Moscow-based analysis group, has pegged the crop at 88m-89m tonnes, citing the impact of prolonged periods crops spent under snow and the impact on yields of the spring planting delays.
Price protests
If it proves true, the union's forecast bodes ill for grain prices both in the Black Sea region and further afield, with Russia's success in snapping up exports viewed as a big factor in the weak grain prices which French farmers protested against on Tuesday.
Russia has, over the last decade, raised its wheat exports by nearly nine times, and accounted for 70% of the growth in world wheat trading.
FNSEA, the French farm union, said that 10,000 grain farmers, backed up by 1,300 tractors, supported the demonstration in Paris for government action to support cereals prices and prop up growers' incomes.
Paris wheat last month fell to E115.25 a tonne, the lowest for a spot contract since July 2006.
Paris has since staged a sharp recovery, and at E131.75 a tonne in lunchtime trade, up E0.25 on the day.
Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions
Reuters: Russian markets -- Factors to Watch on April 28
Wed Apr 28, 2010 11:45am IST
MOSCOW, April 28 (Reuters) - Here are events and news
stories that could move Russian markets on Wednesday.
You can reach us on: +7 495 775 1242
STOCKS CALL (Contributions to moscow.newsroom@):
Uralsib: Inevitably, equities, and anything that can be
categorised as a risk asset, will come under fresh downward
pressure this morning. The downgrade of Greece's debt and rising
concerns about contagion to other EU debt markets provides a
hostile backdrop to all markets.
Olma: Expects the downward correction to deepen on Wednesday
following international indexes.
Troika: We are opening our prices this morning down 2.0
percent.
EVENTS [RU-DIA] (All times GMT):
COPENHAGEN - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is visiting
Denmark, due to meet Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen.
MOSCOW - The upper chamber of parliament, the Federation
Council, is set to ratify the treaty with Ukraine on the Black
Sea Fleet base in the Crimea.
MOSCOW - Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak will report to
the Federation Council on preparations of 2014 Winter Olympic
sites in Sochi.
BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan - Rocket booster Soyuz will set off to
take to orbit cargo space ship Progress-M05M, which is due to
dock with the International Space Station.
ASTRAKHAN, Russian - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin chairs a
meeting on offshore oil exploration.
MOSCOW - Russian power producer OGK-6 (OGK6.MM) to announce
2009 IFRS results.
IN THE PAPERS [PRESS/RU]:
Business daily Vedomosti writes that Alfa-Group has pledged
its 25.1 percent stake in MegaFon as collateral on a $1.5
billion VEB loan, which was previously secured by its stake in
Vimpelcom (VIP.N), in order to free up its Vimpelcom stake ahead
of the mobile operator's merger with Ukraine's Kyivstar.
TOP STORIES IN RUSSIA AND THE CIS [RU-NEWS]:
TOP NEWS:
* Protests as Ukraine backs Russia base [ID:nLDE63Q0NL]
COMPANIES/MARKETS:
* Rouble gives up gains on Greek uncertainty [ID:nLDE63Q0WS]
* Rusagro IPO price band set at $13.5-$17.0 [ID:nLDE63R02I]
* Protek raises $400 million in IPO [ID:nLDE63Q0CJ]
* Phosagro eyes $1 bln in 2011-12 IPO [ID:nLDE63P1VR]
* Sberbank may start Eurobond roadshow in May [ID:nLDE63Q1ZZ]
* Rosneft to increase '09 dividend by 20 pct [ID:nLDE63Q1GW]
* Mechel Q1 coking coal output up 230 pct [ID:nLDE63Q24X]
* TNK-BP sees capex flat over next 5 years [ID:nLDE63Q11I]
* Deere eyes $500 mln investment in Russia [ID:nLDE63Q1GK]
* Coke deal to buy Nidan may be postponed [ID:nLDE63Q1ZN]
* Avtovaz in talks on 24 bln credit line [ID:nLDE63Q1OV]
ECONOMY/POLITICS:
* VEB sells $1 bln bond on domestic market [ID:nLDE63Q24H]
* Putin sets Ukraine pipe quota at 260,000 T [ID:nLDE63Q1VI]
* Russia M2 +2.8 pct m/m, +32.1 pct yr/yr [ID:nLDE63Q0N6]
ENERGY:
* Rosneft tenders one May cargo ex-Primorsk [ID:nLDE63Q1C1]
* Surgut calls May tenders to lift Urals,ESPO [ID:nLDE63Q1AP]
COMMODITIES:
* Russia Q1 total gold output down 7.9 pct y/y[ID:nLDE63Q1BP]
* Russia 2010 grain crop may top 100 mln T [ID:nLDE63Q0W4]
* Russia mulls cutting poultry import quotas [ID:nLDE63Q0OM]
* Uralkali to challenge decision on tax claim [ID:nLDE63Q0Q3]
MARKETS CLOSE/LATEST:
RTS 1,582.2 -1.33 pct
MSCI Russia .MIRU00000PUS 859.7 -1.79 pct
MSCI Emerging Markets .MSCIEF 1,008.4 -1.16 pct
Russia 30-year EurobondRU011428878= yield: 5.343/5.305 pct
EMBI+ Russia 11EMJ 183 basis points over
Rouble/dollar RUBUTSTN=MCX 29.3650
Rouble/euro EURRUBTN=MCX 38.7900
NYMEX crude CLc1 $82.19 -$0.25
ICE Brent crude LCOc1 $85.54 -$0.24
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Dow Jones: Russia's Alfa Puts Up Megafon Stake As Loan Collateral –Vedomosti
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Privately held conglomerate Alfa Group has pledged its 25.1% stake in Russia's third-biggest mobile provider, OAO Megafon, to a state-owned bank as loan collateral, business daily Vedomosti reports Wednesday.
The stake replaces the 44% holding in No. 2 provider OAO Vimpel Communications (OVIP: 15.12, 0, 0%) with which Alfa previously collateralized its $1.5 loan
[pic]
from Vnesheconombank, or VEB. The change was required by last week's formation of VimpelCom Ltd., a holding company that merged the Russian and Ukrainian telecom assets of Norway's Telenor ASA (TEL.OS) with those of Alfa Group, including the original VimpelCom. Telenor now holds 39.6% of VimpelCom Ltd.'s common shares, while Alfa holds 39.2%.
A source close to Altimo, Alfa's telecommunications-holding unit, told Vedomosti about the stake substitution. VEB spokeswoman Yekaterina Karasina confirmed this, adding that the bank's supervisory board approved the change. An Altimo spokesman, Yevgeny Dumalkin, declined to comment, the newspaper says.
In October 2008, Alfa's Eco Telecom Ltd. indirect subsidiary in Gibraltar took out a one-year, $2 billion loan from VEB so it could repay Deutsche Bank AG (DB: 68.69, 0, 0%) and avoid risking the loss of Altimo's VimpelCom stake. In April 2009, Altimo repaid VEB $500 million, and last October the bank extended the loan for another year.
Uralsib Capital analyst Konstantin Belov said the total value of Megafon is comparable to that of VimpelCom--about $19 billion--once an allowance for net debt is made.
Newspaper Web site: vedomosti.ru
-Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2900
Reuters: Russia's Rusagro IPO price band set at $13.5-$17-UPDATE 1
RUSAGRO/ (UPDATE 1)
* Key owner to raise up to $309 million, reinvest up to $194 million
* Agricultural group eyes $1.23 bln-$1.55 bln market value
* To price share offer on May 13 (Adds details, background)
MOSCOW, April 28 (Reuters) - Major Russian agricultural group Rusagro has set an indicative price range for its share offer between $13.5 and $17.0 per share as it kicks off meetings with investors.
The band implies a market capitalisation of $1.23 billion to $1.55 billion after the initial public offering (IPO) for the company, which last year produced 18 percent of all Russian sugar.
Russian companies are flocking to domestic and international markets with bonds and share placements after a cash drought during the country's first recession in a decade. Analysts say IPOs this year could exceed $20 billion.
Rusagro, controlled by senator Vadim Moshkovich, said his vehicle, Matchzone Holdings Ltd, will sell 18.2 million shares and use part of the proceeds to subscribe for 11.4 million new Rusagro shares to be issued through a closed subscription.
The price band implies Moshkovich would receive up to $310 million and would immediately reinvest between $154 million and $194 million in the firm.
Rusagro, which also makes margarine and mayonnaise -- a staple in Russian salads -- and breeds pigs, expects around 20 percent of its shares will be freely floated.
The IPO is expected to be priced on May 13, and trading under the AGRO ticker on RTS and MICEX would start the same day.
Alfa Capital Markets, Credit Suisse, Renaissance Capital and Sberbank are acting as joint global coordinators, joint bookrunners and joint lead managers of the offering, Rusagro said on Wednesday.
For a factbox of Russian companies' IPOs see (Reporting by Maria Kiselyova; Editing by Erica Billingham)
EasyBourse: Russia's MTS, VimpelCom Rank Among Top World Brands –Vedomosti
• Publié le 27 Avril 2010
- DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Two of the 100 most valuable brands in the world are Russia's biggest cellular provider, OAO Mobile TeleSystems (MBT), and the Beeline trademark of rival operator OAO Vimpel Communications (OVIP), business daily Vedomosti reports Wednesday based on an international consultant's research.
MTS and Beeline ranked 72nd and 92nd, respectively, on the 2010 edition of the Brand Z list of top 100 global brands compiled by Millward Brown Optimor, a division of U.K.-based advertising giant WPP PLC (WPP.LN). The phone companies finished 71st and 72nd last year; in terms of share of Russia's market, MTS and VimpelCom are No. 1 and No 2.
Millward Brown said MTS's brand value increased by 6% from 2009, to $9.72 billion (capitalization is $23.1 billion), while brand growth for Beeline was 8%, to $8.16 billion (VimpelCom's capitalization is $15.9 billion).
The Brand Z report, which began publishing in 2006, recognized Russian natural gas monopoly OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS) for the first time, with a brand value estimated at $6.35 billion. That didn't put the energy giant in the top 100, but it was ranked eighth among worldwide oil and gas producers. Based on its $141.9 billion capitalization, Gazprom is one of the world's biggest companies.
Newspaper Web site: vedomosti.ru
Link to Brand Z report:
-Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2900
Reuters: UralChem former shareholder asks FSA to stop IPO-report
Wed Apr 28, 2010 7:08am IST
LONDON, April 28 (Reuters) - A former shareholder of Russian fertiliser producer UralChem Holding has asked the U.K.'s Financial Services Authority to stop the company's public offering, the Times reported on Wednesday.
Citing a person familiar with the matter the paper said lawyers from Brown Rudnick had filed a complaint with the FSA on Monday asking the regulator to withhold approval of the prospectus because of concerns about the company's solvency.
The FSA declined to comment. UralChem and Brown Rudnick could not immediately be reached for comment.
UralChem, Russia's largest producer of ammonium nitrate and second-largest producer of nitrogen-based fertilisers, plans to raise up to $642 million in an initial public offering of shares in London that will help it to repay debts. [ID:nLDE63I086]
"All the information about the company's financial position is disclosed in its preliminary prospectus, based on audited financial statements. Neither the company nor its subsidiaries have any claims from state authorities regarding its solvency," UralChem was cited as saying in the Times. (Reporting by Caroline Copley; Editing by Carol Bishopric)
Bloomberg: Lenengergo Raised to ‘Buy’ From ‘Neutral’ at Goldman
By Alexander Nicholson
April 28 (Bloomberg) -- OAO Lenenergo and MRSK Center-Volga were raised to “buy” from “neutral” at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which said the Russian power distributors are likely to “outperform relative to their peers.” Goldman also upgraded MRSK South to “neutral” from “sell,” according to an e- mailed note dated April 27.
Last Updated: April 28, 2010 01:27 EDT
2010-04-28 08:41
Reuters: UPDATE 1-Russia's Chelyabinsk Zinc Q1 output rises 58.5 pct
MOSCOW, April 28 (Reuters) - Chelyabinsk Zinc Plant said on Wednesday it raised output in the first quarter of 2010 by 58.5 percent year-on-year, indicating Russia's top zinc producer is emerging from the economic crisis.
The plant, Russia's largest maker of the anti-corrosive metal, produced 38,570 tonnes of zinc and zinc-based alloys, up from 24,327 tonnes a year ago, it said in a statement. 44 percent of the metal was supplied to the domestic market.
Chelyabinsk, which is controlled jointly by Russia's Urals Mining and Metals Co (UMMC) and the Russian Copper Company, had to cut output last year along with other Russian metal producers because of the economic crisis, which reduced demand and lowered metals prices.
UMMC has pledged to restore output at Chelyabinsk to pre-crisis levels.
Chelyabinsk's subsidiary, Nova Zinc LLC, which operates the Akzhal zinc and lead ore mine in Kazakhstan, processed 301,300 tonnes of ore in January-March 2010, 5.7 percent more than in the same period of 2009, the statement said.
But production of zinc in concentrate fell by 11.1 percent in the first three months of 2010 to 7,218 tonnes, and lead in concentrate production decreased by 18.5 percent to 1,028 tonnes, as metals content in ore declined.
Chelyabinsk's UK subsidiary, the Brock Metal Company, sold 7,388 tonnes of products in January-March 2010, 45.7 percent more than a year ago, the statement said.
(Reporting by Aleksandras Budrys; Editing by Amanda Cooper) Keywords: ZINC RUSSIA/CHELYABINSK (aleksandras.budrys@; +7 495 775 1242; Reuters Messaging: aleksandras.budrys.@)
Reuters: Coke Deal to Buy into Russia's Nidan May be Postponed
Source: Reuters
28/04/2010
Moscow, April 27 - A Russian law on bacteria used in food processing may postpone Coca-Cola Co's acquisition of juicemaker Nidan Soki, as it places the deal in the strategic investment territory, a Russian regulator told Reuters on Tuesday.
"The decision on Nidan will be made based on a ... law, which relates to investment in strategic sectors. Nidan has a license which falls under that law," Teimuraz Kharitonashvili, head of the chemical and agriculture department at the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS), said.
"Only a special government committee may decide on such deals."
Nidan owns a license to work with food bacteria and conduct microbiological research, which is considered strategically important, a source closed to Nidan said.
"It's a technical question, it's unlikely it could become a reason to reject the deal," the source said.
Kharitonashvili said the next meeting of the government committee may take place in the beginning of June.
Russia's law on strategic investment limits the rights of foreign investors buying into assets of companies or resources having strategic importance to the country.
The law states that activities related to using bacteria that can potentially cause infectious diseases, such as bifidobacteria, fall into the strategic territory.
At this moment there are no other formal obstacles to Coke's acquisition, FAS said.
Coca-Cola, the world's largest soft-drinks maker, applied in March to buy into Nidan in a deal that would push the company to number one in the Russian juice market, leapfrogging PepsiCo .
: Leading glass maker to set up JV with Turkish group in Russia
Michel Rose in Paris - 28.04.2010
French glass maker Saint-Gobain said it would set up a joint-venture with Turkey's Trakya Cam to build a car glass plant in Russia by 2013 to supply the growing Russian car parts market.
The plant, to be built in the Republic of Tatarstan, 500 miles east of Moscow, will start producing windshields, side lights and back lights in three years time to equip about 500,000 vehicles a year, it added.
A memorandum of understanding has been signed between the two companies to create a 50-50 joint-venture, but no amount for the investment was disclosed, a spokeswoman for Saint-Gobain said.
Last year, glassmaker Sisecam, owner of Trakya Cam, agreed with Saint-Gobain to jointly develop glass activities in Russia and Egypt.
Last week, Saint-Gobain reported a 0.5 percent fall in first-quarter sales, beating analysts' forecasts, and maintained its target for a strong rise in operating profit in 2010, driven by growth in emerging markets.
Shares in Saint-Gobain closed up 0.86 percent before the statement was released, broadly in line with France's CAC 40 index of blue chips. Source: Reuters
Moscow Times: John Deere Opens Factory in $500M Russian Initiative
28 April 2010
By Maria Antonova
U.S.-based tractor maker John Deere opened a factory in Domodedovo on Tuesday, in the first step of its plan to invest $500 million in the country.
John Deere is betting that Russia, with a rapidly growing supply of cultivated land, will become a key market for its agricultural equipment and other capital goods. Much of that land has lain fallow, however, since the fall of the Soviet Union left many farmers unable to develop the land.
Russia will be able to bring an additional 20 million to 30 million hectares back into production in the coming years. The country "has potential to become one of the world's breadbaskets," said CEO Samuel Allen, who recited a famous Russian poem.
"Russia cannot be understood by the mind alone. … In Russia one can only believe," Allen said, quoting poet Fyodor Tyutchev, in an opening ceremony that featured a tractor rolling out in a dramatic fog and light show.
The Domodedovo site will include production lines, where it will build tractors and combines to start with, and a parts distribution center for regional operations, the company said.
John Deere will assemble tractors and other agricultural, forestry and construction machinery from imported knockdown kits, but will increase its level of localization by doing welding, metal fabrication and cab assembly on-site once demand picks up, Allen said. "Once volume goes back to 2008 levels, then localization will happen," he said, adding that he does not expect low demand to last for many years.
"We would like to do more manufacturing here, as long as it's cost effective," Allen said. Once volume increases and production is further localized, John Deere will look into exporting from Russia to other countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States, he said.
Although he declined to provide any production figures, Allen said the company already has orders for tractors and combines this year, and plans to assemble motor graders, four-wheel drive loaders, back hoe loaders, as well as forestry equipment on its Domodedovo lines within 12 to 24 months.
John Deere is the first tenant at South Gates, a 575,000-square-meter warehouse facility developed by Canada's Giffels. Giffels is leasing 47,000 square meters of the 76,550 square meters already available on a long-term basis, or at least five years, said vice president Ruslan Suvorov, who declined to give any other details of the deal.
Giffels bought land in 2006 from Coalco, which has stayed on as a partner and is currently building a railroad track to the complex, Coalco said in a press release.
Emerging Markets: Fleming hires Troika Dialog duo in expansion
by admin on April 27, 2010
By Andrei Skvarsky
London-based asset management company Fleming Family & Partners (FF&P) has hired two former managers for Troika Dialog and one from Trust Bank in an expansion of its Russian business.
Alexander Yakubov, previously chief equity market analyst at Russian investment bank Trust, was appointed a managing director and strategist at the Moscow-based subsidiary, FF&P said in a press release.
Earlier in his career, Yakubov was on the investment committee at Russia’s nano technology corporation Rusnano and worked as an analyst at Russian investment company CenterInvest.
Yelena Levit was appointed managing director responsible for the firm’s private banking business and for attracting large personal investments. Levit arrives from Troika Dialog, where she was a vice president and oversaw private banking and large-scale institutional investment.
Vsevolod Iotko was hired as senior investment consultant with tasks that include looking for new clients and strengthening ties with the current clientele. Iotko had also worked at Troika as an investment consultant.
In addition to its London headquarters and Russian operation, FF&P has offices in Hong Kong, Zurich and Vaduz, Liechtenstein.
Pravda: Enterprise of Nanotechnologies Opens in Russia
28.04.2010
On Monday, the first nanotechnological batch manufacturing opened in Russia in the city of Rybinsk, Yaroslavl region. The enterprise was created with participation of ROSNANO, NPO “Saturn,” and OAO Gazprombank. The enterprise “New instrumental solutions” will produce solid carbide tooling with multilayered nanostructure coating, RIA Novosti reports. The constituent documents for the enterprise were signed by the founders on October 15, 2008. It took almost 18 months to complete the entire cycle from ground zero to the completion of construction and the launch.
The entire volume of investment for the project is 1 billion rubles, 500 million of which was invested by the state corporation. NPO “Saturn” has 25% plus one share, Gazprombank has 25% plus one share, SC Rosnano has 50% minus two shares.
The enterprise will produce solid carbide tooling with multilayered nanostructure coating to be used for the engineering industry and for air engines in particular. Nanostructure coating increases wear of the tools which allows processing metals at higher speeds and increases their service life. The orders have been already submitted for these tools.
The opening ceremony was attended by Sergey Ivanov, vice prime minister, Anatoly Chubais, general director of Rosnano, Sergey Vakhrukov, Governor of Yaroslavl region, as well as the mayor of Rybinsk, managing director of NPO Saturn and general director of ZAO NIR. Representatives of potential consumers also attended the ceremony.
Chubais wrote in his blog earlier that nanotechnologies introduced at Rybinsk factory in March of 2010 will “radically improve the quality of work and service life of cutting tools while decreasing the number of re-sharpening.”
“I think that if this business develops properly, it has a huge potential for expansion. The technology has capacities that will allow its use beyond tools production. This is, without exaggeration, a new technical world level which introduces the task of competition with leading western brands in Russia and strategically, entering the world market.”
Lately, the Russian government has been paying close attention to the development of nanotechnologies in Russia. At the conference “Innovations and technological modernization” held in the middle of April of 2010 during the Russian Business Week, vice prime minister Sergei Ivanov mentioned that in the near future the President was expected to sign a decree establishing 8 priority directions of nanotechnology development and 27 critical technologies necessary for the Russian economy, Rossiyskaya Gazeta reports.
Every technology will have a passport reflecting positions of the main functions of technologies, area of application, and innovative products and services created with them. Ivanov explained that it will allow concentrating government and business resources on certain projects. Rosnano was also discussed at the conference. The vice prime minister said that there were first results produced by the state corporation, i.e., a factory in Rybinsk collaborating with ROSNANO. He said the factory was ready to start production of cutting tools and drills with nano coating. Ivanov emphasized that there were orders for these tools in place. A number of other enterprises cofounded by ROSNANO will start production of rather tangible market products. In all these cases an absolutely correct investment method was chosen where a state corporation cannot invest more than 50% of the cost of the project.
The vice prime minister also talked about the state corporation “Bank of development and external economy activity.” He thinks the corporation should act as a development institute, but because of the crisis it was vested with new functions beyond financing of high technology sector, Ivanov stated.
He reminded that the government is increasing investment in innovations under the conditions of state deficit, while private investors make very modest investments in the sector.
According to Ivanov, the reduction of the business sector participation in the financing of scientific developments may lead to a dangerous disconnection between these developments and actual needs of the economy. Therefore, the business sector must participate in the development of themes for scientific development and further financing of the research, including the research under federal special-purpose programs. Ivanov believes that commercialization remains to be a problematic issue since budget funds are mostly invested into science and manufacturing.
Marina Volkova
Pravda.Ru
IANS: Flat in Moscow costlier than New York's largest apartment
28 Apr 2010, 1000 hrs IST,IANS
MOSCOW: An under-construction apartment in Moscow is to be sold for $42.8 million, 50 percent more than the price of the largest apartment in New York's Trump Tower.
"Now there is a $42.8 million apartment for sale on the Moscow real estate market. This is a panoramic penthouse in shell condition," Penny Lane Realty's elite property department chief Alexander Ziminskiy said.
He said the floor space of the Moscow apartment is 902.98 square meters, while the cheaper rival in Trump Tower was of comparable size to the White House in Washington.
"The Russian capital continues to be one of the most expensive cities in the world. Something that is a record for other countries is just a residence for Moscow's elite real estate buyers," the realtor said.
However, the outrageous prices are only thing Moscow's real estate market can be proud of, said Villagio Estate marketing director Lidia Grechina, because in terms of infrastructure the Russian capital bears no comparison to Manhattan.
Moscow Times: For the Record
28 April 2010
• The RTS exchange will move up the start of stock trading by 30 minutes on May 17, the bourse said Tuesday. (Bloomberg)
• AvtoVAZ may agree on five-year loans of about 24 billion rubles from state-controlled lenders Sberbank and VTB next month, said Oleg Lobanov, the automaker’s vice president for finance. (Bloomberg)
Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)
Gazeta.kz: More than 10 billion cubic meters of Turkmen gas to be imported to Russia in 2010
12:12 28.04.2010
text: "Kazakhstan Today"
Aktau. April 28. Kazakhstan Today - Russia plans to import more than 10 billion cubic meters of Turkmen gas in 2010. The chairman of the Board of Directors of EMEX Turkmenistan LTD, Murat Seytnepesov, informed on Monday at the IV International Caspian Oil and Gas Trading and Transport Conference in Aktau, the agency reports.
M. Seytnepesov reminded that export of Turkmen gas to Russia resumed on January 9, 2010 after almost a nine-monthly break due to the disagreements between the countries in regards to the procurement prices of gas.
Turkmenistan plans to extract 70 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2010.
RBC: Transneft registers sharp decline in Q1 net profit
RBC, 28.04.2010, Moscow 10:58:03.Transneft's net profit under RAS slumped 54.4 percent to RUB 574.847m (approx. USD 19.78m) in the first quarter of 2010 compared to the fourth quarter of the previous year, the world's largest pipeline company announced in a statement today.
At the same time, the company's net profit inched up 3.3 percent against Q1 2009. Transneft attributes the sharp decrease in net profit seen in the first three months of this year to the negative effect of currency exchange rate differences. As reported earlier, Transneft's net profit amounted to RUB 3.8bn (approx. USD 131m) in 2009, 5.4 percent greater than in 2008.
April 28, 2010 12:13
Interfax: Transneft boosts net profit 3.3% to 574.847 mln rubles in Q1 (Part 2)
MOSCOW. April 28 (Interfax) - Russian oil pipeline operator Transneft (RTS: TRNF) posted a net profit of 574.847 million rubles in the first quarter of 2010 under Russian accounting standards, the company said in a statement.
That is 3.3% higher than the net profit of 556.479 million rubles in the first quarter last year.
Q4 net profit came to 1.26 billion rubles, the company said. The 54.4% drop in the succeeding quarter was mainly due to the increasing negative impact of exchange-rate differences, it said.
Jh cf
Bloomberg: Vekselberg May Quit TNK-BP Management Post, Interfax Reports
By Maria Levitov
April 28 (Bloomberg) -- Billionaire Viktor Vekselberg said he may quit his management position at oil and gas producer TNK- BP, BP Plc’s Russian venture, Interfax reported, citing an interview with state television.
Vekselberg, tasked by the government with overseeing its project to create a Russian version of Silicon Valley, said he won’t leave TNK-BP “today, but in the near future,” Interfax reported.
To contact the reporter on this story: Maria Levitov in Moscow at mlevitov@
Last Updated: April 28, 2010 00:33 EDT
Financial Times: Surgut confident of better relations with Mol
By Ed Crooks in London
Published: April 27 2010 20:41 | Last updated: April 27 2010 20:41
The response of Mol, the Hungarian oil and gas company, to the shareholding taken by Surgutneftegaz of Russia is a “litmus test” of its attitude to foreign investment, the head of the Russian company has said.
In a rare interview, Vladimir Bogdanov, general director of publicity-shy Surgut, which is Russia’s fourth-largest oil group, told the Financial Times he had not expected to be rebuffed by Mol after paying €1.4bn for a 21.2 per cent stake in the Hungarian company last year.
However, he added, “things were now moving in the right direction” after the election of a new government in Hungary, and he still hoped to “build a partnership” with Mol.
Surgut has faced legal and regulatory obstacles in Hungary and still has not managed to secure voting rights for Mol’s annual general meeting on Thursday, in spite of having taken its stake in April 2009.
Hungary’s financial markets regulator said this week it would take no action over Surgut’s acquisition of the stake from OMV of Austria, but its decision has come too late for the Russian company to register its holding for the AGM. An investigation by Hungary’s energy office into the stake sale to Surgut is still ongoing.
Mr Bogdanov said both investors and the media were closely monitoring the situation, and he hoped the new government would take decisions that “allow investors to appreciate the attractions of Hungary for foreign investment”.
Concerns over Surgut are centred on its ownership, which is largely unknown. Under Russian law, holdings of less than 5 per cent do not have to disclose their ultimate ownership, and the only Surgut shareholder above that threshold is the Bank of New York.
Mr Bogdanov is a close ally of Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, but the company says “to the best of our knowledge” no senior government officials hold any shares in Surgut.
Zsolt Hernadi, Mol’s executive chairman, has rejected the idea of talks with Surgut about possible co-operation, saying the Russian company had not made its intentions clear.
Mr Bogdanov, however, said he had been open about his plans. Unlike OMV, Surgut did not want to launch a bid for Mol, he said, but was seeking to use some of Mol’s refining capacity to strengthen its downstream position in the European Union.
He added that he expected Surgut would eventually be able to reach an agreement on co-operation with Mol. “There is a Russian proverb: water cuts stone, as time goes on,” he said.
28.04.2010
Oil and Gas Eurasia: Russian Refining Grows 4.3% In First Quarter
From January to March 2010, Russia produced 123.901 million tons of oil or 103.2 percent of the volume the country produced in 2009, the Russian Energy Ministry reported.
During the same period, Russian refining enterprises processed 60.538 million tons of oil (104.3 percent) and produced 8.8 million tons of motor fuel, 17.48 million tons of diesel fuel and 1.91 million tons of jet fuel.
Copyright 2010, Russian Energy Ministry. All rights reserved.
BarentsObserver: Statoil: New agreement creates expectations
2010-04-28
Norway's Statoil takes a positive view of the new agreement reached on Tuesday between Norway and Russia on the delimitation line in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean.
Statoil believes the agreement may open for the exploration for oil and gas in new areas, Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation reports.
- We know that finds have been made both on the Russian and Norwegian side of the delimitation line. This creates expectations, says Statoil information director Ola Morten Aanestad.
However, he underlines that these are unsheltered waters, and a difficult region in which to carry out oil and gas production.
Financial Times: Deal opens Barents Sea to exploration
By Andrew Ward in Stockholm
Published: April 27 2010 23:30 | Last updated: April 27 2010 23:30
Russia and Norway have struck a provisional deal over their disputed Arctic maritime border, promising to open large tracts of the Barents Sea that have been out of bounds to oil and gas exploration.
Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said the two countries had decided to “turn the page” on a conflict that has soured bilateral relations since the cold war and highlighted broader international tensions over Arctic mineral rights.
Under the deal, each country will get roughly half of the disputed area covering 175,000 sq km of the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean. It is not known how much oil and gas is at stake but large gas fields exist on either side of the zone, leading geologists to predict further reserves in between.
Jens Stoltenberg, Norwegian prime minister, said the pair had reached a “good and balanced agreement” that paved the way for deeper co-operation between the countries’ energy industries. “This is a historic day. We have reached a breakthrough in the most important outstanding issue between Norway and the Russian Federation,” he said, after talks with Mr Medvedev in Oslo.
It had been predicted the two countries would make progress on the issue during this week’s summit but the provisional agreement exceeded expectations. Mr Stoltenberg said a final pact would be signed before the end of the year.
Wrangling over Arctic maritime borders has intensified in recent years as technological advances and possibly climate change improve access to the inhospitable region.
Statoil, the Norwegian energy group, is already producing natural gas from its Snøhvit field in an undisputed part of the Barents Sea, while Russia’s Gazprom is developing the massive Shtokman field beneath Russian waters together with Statoil and Total of France. Mr Medvedev said he hoped “more projects in the energy sphere will arise” once the border is settled.
Development of Arctic oil and gas fields promise to breathe fresh life into the Norwegian energy industry as North Sea reserves slowly dwindle.
Norway said it had also agreed to increase co-operation with Russia over fisheries and set out guidelines for managing oil and gas reserves that straddle the border. “The two delegations recommend the adoption of detailed rules and procedures ensuring efficient and responsible management of their hydrocarbon resources in cases where any single oil or gas deposits should extend across the delimitation line,” the Norwegian government said in a statement.
Transneft improves planning procedures in Kozmino
Tue Apr 27, 2010 1:07pm IST
MOSCOW, April 27 (Reuters) - Russia's Transneft (TRNF_p.RTS)
will likely extend the planning horizons for ESPO Blend, setting
the loading dates for the parcels ex-Kozmino up to 75 days ahead
of loadings, traders said, quoting preliminary schedules.
This will improve tender policies in order to comply with
regional trading practices, as it is more common for the Asian
market to call tenders two months prior to delivery, traders
said.
Russian crude supplies ex-Kozmino will total 1.3 million
tonnes per month in May and June and will be delivered to
consumers by 100,000 tonne cargoes, the plan showed.
Urals shipments ex-Primorsk URL-NWE-E in May will likely
rise by 3.3 percent on a daily basis to 6.3 millon tonnes, the
plan showed, while Russian crude loading from Poland's port of
Gdansk may reach up to 800,000 tonnes.
Urals exports from Black Sea port of Yuzhny in Ukraine may
fall in May, as traders say the profitability of such supplies
is lower then for other export outlets.
The schedule provides for nine cargoes ex-Yuzhny in May, but
the shippers of four of them have not been found yet.
Following is the preliminary export schedule for May in
millions of tonnes. (Reuters uses a rate of 7.33 to convert 1
tonne of Urals crude into barrels):
MAY
Novorossiisk 3.542
Primorsk 6.300
Yuzhny 0.630
Tuapse 0.378
Gdansk 0.800
Odessa 0.0
Kozmino 1.300
TOTAL 12.950
(Reporting by Gleb Gorodyankin)
Gazprom
28.04.2010
Oil and Gas Eurasia: Gazprom Begins Building Pipeline in North Sakhalin
Work has started on Sakhalin to build the island segment of the Sakhalin-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok pipeline, Gazprom reported in a news release. Sixty-five people and 50 pieces of equipment are involved in the effort. Sub-contractors have already cleared areas to the north of Sakhalin along more than 50 kilometers of the route. This segment is now completely prepared for pipe laying work to begin and 21 kilometers of pipes have already been delivered to the island.
The Sakhalin-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok pipeline is part of the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean (VSTO) pipeline project, which is being coordinated by Gazprom and its subsidiaries.
Copyright 2010, Gazprom. All rights reserved.
April 27, 2010
Russia Profile: Southern Comfort
By Tom Balmforth
Russia Profile
Gazprom’s Rapid Progress in Laying the Groundwork for South Stream Reflects Strong Political Will in Moscow, but There Is Still a Long Way to Go
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s trademarks were on full display on his three-day tour of Europe, as he put in an appearance at the European judo championships in Vienna and caught up with his Italian counterpart and good friend Silvio Berlusconi for some signature macho banter. But top of Putin’s agenda was advancing Russian gas interests, and the premier made significant headway on the South Stream project on his visit to Austria on Saturday. There are good economic and political reasons for Russia to push the Gazprom pipeline, often seen as Moscow’s bid to torpedo its Western-backed Nabucco rival, but some analysts still question the logic behind it.
On April 24 Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann signed an agreement for Austria will join the South Stream gas pipeline project. The move continues Gazprom’s rapid progress on the pipeline, which in expected to pump 63 billion cubic meters of Russian gas to Europe a year. Gazprom head Alexei Miller repeated that the pipeline would be operative by the end of 2015 and said that “the conclusion of [South Stream’s] technical and economic assessment is planned for February 2011,” RIA Novosti reported.
“Today is an important day in the history of South Stream,” reads a Gazprom statement posted on its Web site. “Austria became the seventh country-participant in the land section of the project, confirming its commitment to the idea of creating additional transport routes for Russian gas into Europe.” The 900 kilometer pipeline is meant to run across the bed of the Black Sea from Russia to Pleven in Bulgaria, where it will split in two, one branch snaking south through Greece, across the Adriatic and into the heel of Italy, and the second going north up into Austria, where it will terminate.
Securing the Austria signature was crucial for the pipeline. “Because of its location, Austria is a key junction in the pipeline system from Eastern Europe and the Trans Caspian,” said Chris Weafer, chief analyst at UralSib. “Austria is basically the crossroads for pipelines in that sense, so getting the Austrians on board is a very significant step forward in the South Stream project, and also deals a serious blow to Nabucco,” he said.
The Western-backed Nabucco pipeline project, which seeks to “make a significant contribution to natural gas supply security for Turkey, South-Eastern Europe and Central - and Western-Europe” by diversifying sources away from Russia, is supposed to begin construction at the end of 2011 and be operational by 2014. A Nabucco press release on April 23 reiterated this start date, and announced that the beginning of Nabucco’s “prequalification tender” for pipelines and relevant equipment which “paves the way for construction.”
But Nabucco’s press statement was eclipsed by South Stream’s more conspicuous progress. Putin drew attention to the lagging rival project at a press conference given after his meeting with the Austrian head of state. “Before constructing something, one should sign supply contracts. Construction of the pipeline without contracts is dangerous and makes no sense. Name me just one contract for Nabucco,” The Moscow Times quoted Putin as saying.
Nabucco spokesman Christian Dolezal challenged that description. “Nabbucco shareholders are currently negotiating gas supply contracts with Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Iraq,” he said.
Nonetheless, independent analysts are skeptical that Nabucco will ever get off the ground. Chirvani Abdoullaev, a senior gas analyst, said “Nabucco is a long way off, and it will probably never happen.” Weafer seemed to draw the same conclusion. “Every signature Putin collects is a nail in the coffin of Nabucco…Frankly though, I would say gazumping the Nabucco pipeline is of secondary importance - I think killing off Nabucco is more of a happy side-benefit,” said Weafer, adding that Nabucco has basic problems such as where it intends to get gas from.
Weafer said that South Stream’s two primary objectives were political and economic.
Economically, it seeks to protect Russian dominance of the European market from the emerging threats from shale gas and liquefied natural gas. “Russia has moved fast to lock in a pipeline grid so that it can establish customers for that grid and therefore be in a better position to maintain its market share when the alternative sources of gas arrive,” he said.
And politically, it ties these transit and recipient countries into Russia either directly or by bringing them profit from transit and storage fees. “If these countries are all customers of South Stream or are economically benefiting from the pipeline, then that also improves Russia’s position – it establishes the basis for barter for Russia, whether in trade or politics,” said Weafer.
That Putin has personally presided over negotiations and signings illustrates the importance to Moscow of the southern arm of Russian gas policy, and the closeness between the authorities and the oil and gas industry. Russia’s state-owned gas monopoly Gazprom accounts for some ten percent of Russia’s GDP. Russia’s liberal news weekly The New Times last week published a table to illustrate cronyism within Gazprom – the table showed how a substantial proportion of the monopoly’s top brass are allegedly directly connected to Putin through family and friends.
The speed with which Gazprom has maneuvered to gain signatures in Europe has been greatly facilitated by having the Italian gas company Eni as a joint share holder. “Eni is playing an extremely important role in Gazprom’s system of relations with its European partners,” Fyodor Lukyanov, the chief editor of Russia in Global Affairs, told Radio Free Europe. Putin yesterday finished up his three-day tour of Europe in Italy with his close friend Silvio Berlusconi, where he announced Italian companies have been awarded $2 billion worth of contracts in Russia’s Nord Stream project, which was received with chummy rhetoric from Berlusconi.
“South Stream is important because it allows us to have gas supplied from Russian even in the event that problems emerge through transit countries such as Ukraine - the countries which have not stabilized themselves politically,” Berlusconi said in a press conference yesterday. Bilateral trade, which topped $52 billion in 2008, has helped Italian-Russian relations flourish, but they are also buttressed by the strong personal relationship between Berlusconi and Putin.
In yesterday’s press conference in Italy, both leaders said that that joint South Stream share holders Eni and Gazprom would both give 10 percent of their share to France’s EDF, in a sign that Moscow is already moving to consolidate recent advances in Austria.
Nonetheless there remain serious obstacles to South Stream, said Abdoullaev, not only because the pipeline will swamp Europe with gas for which there is no demand. “The European gas market is soft and it’s not growing fast enough, so there is no need for additional capacity. Even South Stream is building excess capacity. Nord Stream and a stable Ukraine are pretty sufficient to supply European needs. So at this moment, I don’t see the need for additional capacity. Even South Stream is not a done deal – it’s not a given that this will happen unless European demand explodes, which is highly unlikely,” said Abdoullaev.
Then there are practical considerations. The Black Sea an extremely adverse environment for laying a pipeline, and it is unclear who will pay for it. Nor is it clear where the gas to fill it will come from: Russia is already having to develop its Yamal gas fields in order to compensate for declining output in its existing fields. “Now the key elements are in place. But that’s only phase one. Phase two is construction – that’s not going to be easy by any means,” said Weafer.
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