zaxi

The Wall Street Journal

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is probing a computer-security breach targeting Citigroup Inc. that resulted in a theft of tens of millions of dollars by computer hackers who appear linked to a Russian cyber gang, according to government officials.

The attack took aim at Citigroup's Citibank subsidiary, which includes its North American retail bank and other businesses. It couldn't be learned whether the thieves gained access to Citibank's systems directly or through third parties.

The attack underscores the blurring of lines between criminal and national-security threats in cyber space. Hackers also assaulted two other entities, at least one of them a U.S. government agency, said people familiar with the attack on Citibank.

The Citibank attack was detected over the summer, but investigators are looking into the possibility the attack may have occurred months or even a year earlier. The FBI and the National Security Agency, along with the Department of Homeland Security and Citigroup, swapped information to counter the attack, according to a person familiar with the case. Press offices of the federal agencies declined to comment.

Joe Petro, managing director of Citigroup's Security and Investigative services, said, "We had no breach of the system and there were no losses, no customer losses, no bank losses." He added later: "Any allegation that the FBI is working a case at Citigroup involving tens of millions of losses is just not true." ...

The threat was initially detected by U.S. investigators who saw suspicious traffic coming from Internet addresses that had been used by the Russian Business Network, a Russian gang that has sold hacking tools and software for accessing U.S. government systems. The group went silent two years ago, but security experts say its alumni have re-emerged in smaller attack groups. ...

Dec. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Russia agreed to resume natural-gas imports from Turkmenistan in January, ending a nine-month halt in supplies from Central Asia’s biggest producer caused by a pipeline explosion and a slump in European demand.

OAO Gazprom, Russia’s largest gas company, will buy as much as 30 billion cubic meters of the fuel a year at market prices, Deputy Chief Executive Officer Alexander Medvedev told reporters today in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Flows will start as early as Jan. 1 and no later than Jan. 10, he said. ...

The company and Turkmenistan will move to a pricing formula that “fully matches the terms of the European gas market,” Medvedev said. Gazprom controls Turkmenistan’s only gas route to Europe and the cut-off has hurt the country’s economic growth.

“Turkmenistan lost at least $7 billion, or about 25 percent of annual GDP” as a result of the halt, Mikhail Korchemkin, an analyst at East European Gas Analysis, said in an e-mail. “Before signing a new deal, Russia needs to reimburse the loss of Turkmenistan, for instance by price discounts in Russian exports.” ...

The Moscow-based company agreed to take lower Turkmen volumes in today’s accord than outlined in its long-term contract. Medvedev didn’t disclose the price agreed on by the two sides, saying it was “a commercial secret.”

Gazprom loses revenue on reselling Turkmen gas because it substitutes a portion of its own sales, Korchemkin said. ...

Finam FM News

Переход Вооруженных сил России к новому облику, в основном, завершен. Об этом сообщил начальник Генштаба Вооруженных сил Николай Макаров. По его словам, все соединения и воинские части ... переведены в состояние постоянной готовности. Макаров отметил, что значительно сокращён командирский состав; из 355 тысяч офицерских должностей осталось только 150 тысяч, а число полковников сократилось с 60 до 80 тысяч человек. Полностью ликвидирован институт прапорщиков, насчитывавший 142 тысячи человек. Таким образом, как резюмировал Макаров, Министерство обороны выполнило план по завершению первого этапа военной реформы к декабрю этого года.

Vedomosti

Предприниматель Олег Дерипаска рассказал в интервью испанской El Pais о том, сколько еще продлится кризис, как победить коррупцию в России и почему его сложно назвать олигархом.

«Олигарх — это тот, кто использует институты власти, но я только помогаю этим институтам и ничего у них не прошу», — приводит выдержки из интервью Дерипаски «Инопресса». ...

Отвечая на вопрос о его отношении к российским лидерам, Дерипаска сказал: «Путин добивается поставленных целей и интенсивно работает. С Медведевым я знаком меньше, но это упрощение — считать, что Медведев и Путин диктуют нам, как дышать. Наша страна гораздо свободнее многих развитых демократических стран. Если хочешь, можно отправиться осваивать Сибирь, работай, реализуй себя». ...

The Wall Street Journal

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services raised its outlook on Russia's ratings to stable from negative on expectations that the country's budget and balance sheet performance gradually will improve.

But it noted the country's sensitivity to oil prices and the needed for more capital injections into its financial system.

Russia's foreign-currency ratings are at triple-B, two notches into investment-grade territory, while its local-currency sovereign ratings is one step lower.

S&P said Monday it still might downgrade Russia if its government fails to implement tight spending control in the next budget cycle. An upgrade could result from the government showing greater commitment to economic reforms that could stimulate investment inflows.

Analyst Frank Gill said the credit ratings company expects Russia's initial deficit forecast, at 8.3% of gross domestic product, will turn out to be 1% to 2%. Barring oil prices dropping below $60 a barrel and absent any additional external shocks, S&P expects Russia could return to a budget surplus by 2012. The country's deficit targets of 7.5% and 4.3% of GDP for 2010 and 2011, respectively, are based on a conservative oil price view for $59 a barrel and are likely to turn out smaller by several percentage points. ...

However, Russia's banking system is likely to weigh on its growth in the medium term, S&P said, noting the country's long-standing structural impediments to growth and foreign investment. ...

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Black belted Russian leader Vladimir Putin has offered to join the national judo team after showing off his martial arts skills to members of the squad.

The 57-year-old prime minister made the proposal at a special coaching session on Saturday aired on state television, adding to his carefully-crafted macho image.

Putin, who many observers believe is still paramount leader despite standing down as president last year, entered the hall of St Petersburg's School of Sport Mastery dressed in a white judogi and black belt, to applause from the assembled squad.

After bowing, the former KGB spy went onto the mats, throwing squad members half his age and even tackling the chief trainer, Olympic Gold medallist Ezio Gamba.

Then, over tea and cakes, Putin made the suggestion. "If you need direct help, you can include me in the team," he told the trainer, an Italian who won gold at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. ...

Officials praised Putin's technique in the Japanese martial art, and dismissed any hint that he may have been allowed to win. "He has the psychology of a winner, the psychology of the victorious," said Georgy Kukoverov, the school's chief. ...

Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) -- A Siberian power-plant accident that killed 75 people in August was caused by staff failure to halt and examine a faulty turbine, Russian lawmakers said today.

The second turbine at OAO RusHydro’s Sayano-Shushenskaya power plant, Russia’s largest, had exceeded permitted vibration levels since April 21, according to Yury Lipatov, secretary of the parliamentary commission tasked with investigating the accident. Management had neglected safety at the facility, he said in a statement distributed to reporters today in Moscow. ...

The commission has asked the Prosecutor General’s Office to determine those responsible for the accident, Russia’s biggest power-plant disaster, Lipatov said.

“A basic incompetence occurred,” Lipatov told reporters, presenting the commission’s report on the incident. “An operator or someone didn’t press the button on time and didn’t deactivate the turbine, which led to such big problems.”

The turbine, one of 10 at the 6,400-megawatt hydro plant, had operated for more than 29 years and 10 months, virtually exhausting its 30-year lifespan, Lipatov said. ...

Gazeta.ru: ... В докладе парламентской комиссии нет имен виновных в аварии. Однако, как пояснил [сопредседатель комиссии от Госдумы Владимир] Пехтин, в нем перечислено более 20 лиц, «причастных к трагедии».

По словам Пехтина, среди «причастных к аварии» лиц в докладе называются руководство «Русгидро», гендиректор станции, главный инженер и компания-производитель автоматизированного оборудования. «Перечисление виновных не входит в компетенцию комиссии, но если интересны конкретные фамилии, вы можете их найти», – заявил Пехтин. ...

The Wall Street Journal

A plane loaded with weapons from North Korea that was recently impounded in Bangkok was bound for Iran, according to documents obtained by arms-trafficking experts.

The destination of the Ilyushin-76, which Thai authorities have said carried 35 tons of armaments, has been unknown. Thai officials said the plane flew to Pyongyang via Bangkok two weeks ago to collect its cargo, then returned to Bangkok to refuel on Dec. 11. It was seized during that stop and its five crew members were detained by Thai police. ...

A flight plan for the IL-76, obtained by researchers in the U.S. and Belgium, shows that after Bangkok the plane was due to make refueling stops in Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates and Ukraine before unloading its cargo in Tehran. Iranian officials didn't respond to requests for comment.

The flight plan indicates that en route to Pyongyong the plane stopped at an air force base in Azerbaijan, although the nature of that stop is unclear. Azerbaijani officials couldn't be reached for comment. ...

Thai officials say they have received little information from the plane's crew, who come from Kazakhstan and Belarus. The crew members say they were told the cargo was oil-drilling equipment. The crew members have denied knowledge that there were weapons on board.

The flight documents obtained by TransArms and IPIS state that the cargo is "oil industry spare parts." ... Thai officials have said the actual cargo included shoulder-launched missiles, large rockets, parts for surface-to-air missiles and electronic systems to control weapons.

Arms-trafficking specialists have puzzled over the plane's stop in Bangkok, an airport that is heavily policed because of the drug trade in Thailand. "This is an unusual flight plan for general cargo, but if it's for an arms flight, it doesn't make any sense," said Peter Danssaert, an arms-trade researcher at IPIS involved in preparing the report. He said the flight plan and detailed cargo list suggest the crew may have been unaware of what they were carrying.

A question that remains unanswered is who organized the weapons shipment, but it appears the planners went to great lengths to hide their identities. The plane is registered in the Republic of Georgia to a Georgian company, Air West Ltd. Air West on Nov. 5 leased it to another company, SP Trading Ltd., according to an Air West manager and a contract seen by The Wall Street Journal. SP Trading is registered in New Zealand and appears to be only a shell company owned by other companies.

In another contract dated Dec. 4, discussed in the report by TransArms and IPIS and seen by the Journal, SP Trading leased the plane to another company, based in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong company is owned by a second Hong Kong company, which is owned in turn by a third company, based in the British Virgin Islands, according to company registration documents. These companies appear to have organized the cargo. ...

In addition, the Georgian-registered Ilyushin-76 cargo plane is actually owned by a company based in the United Arab Emirates, according to information in the draft report and confirmed by Georgian aviation officials. ...

Time

... Russian businessman Alexei Kozlov, who claims he was the victim of a raid aimed at seizing his synthetic leather factory in Moscow, was convicted of fraud in May and sentenced to eight years in prison. In a telephone interview from prison, Kozlov said that Butyrka is teeming with entrepreneurs locked up on phony charges brought against them in raider attacks. "Before I landed behind bars, I thought only criminals were in jail," Kozlov said. "Now I know it's not only criminals." ...

Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) -- United Co. Rusal’s initial share sale was approved by Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission, allowing it to become the first Russian company to list in the city, two people familiar with the application said. ...

[The Wall Street Journal: ... The green light was given on the condition that it won't sell the deal to retail investors, in a bid to "protect" Hong Kong's retail investors from the complexities of the deal. ...]

Rusal plans to sell 10 percent of its shares to help repay $17 billion debt. The Moscow-based company’s plans to sell the shares by the end of 2009 were thwarted earlier this month after Hong Kong’s stock exchange sought more information on the debt. The bourse approved the offering, people with knowledge of the matter said Dec. 18. ...

Earlier this month, Rusal signed a $17 billion accord with creditors in Russia’s largest corporate debt restructuring.

Its borrowings almost doubled last year after Rusal bought 25 percent of OAO GMK Norilsk Nickel, Russia’s biggest mining company, for $7 billion in cash and a 14 percent Rusal stake. Commodity prices subsequently collapsed, with aluminum tumbling 36 percent in 2008 on the London Metal Exchange.

Rusal had a net loss of $6 billion last year, Vedomosti newspaper reported in October. The company was forced to take a $4.5 billion loan from Vnesheconombank in October 2008, the biggest state-led bailout of any Russian company. ...

via marie_automne

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Russia, a top market for U.S. meat, has cut its 2010 import quotas, meaning fewer pork and poultry imports will be allowed in at low duty rates compared to 2009, industry officials said on Friday.

The news comes as U.S. livestock farmers and meat exporters try to recover from the blow caused by high feed prices and weak global demand, and as Russia aims to become more self-sufficient in meat production. ...

Russia set its annual import quota for U.S. poultry at 600,000 tonnes, down from 750,000 tonnes in 2009. For pork, the quota was cut to 57,500 tonnes, down from 100,000 tonnes in 2009. ...

The poultry industry and top U.S. government officials have also stepped up efforts to work with Russian counterparts on concerns about antimicrobial chlorine rinses, routinely used in U.S. plants to kill pathogens that can cause food poisoning.

The European Union bans imports of poultry treated with the rinses. The United States has launched a legal complaint about the ban at the World Trade Organization.

Russia had threatened a year ago to cut off imports of U.S. poultry over the chlorine issue, but postponed its decision.

The issue remains unsettled, and the U.S. industry on Friday offered to conduct a joint study with Russian health officials to assure them the product is safe.

If not resolved by December 31, U.S. shipments could be disrupted. ...

МОСКВА, 18 дек - РИА Новости. Делегации России и США взяли перерыв до января на переговорах по договору о сокращении стратегических наступательных вооружений (СНВ), а лидеры двух стран на встрече в Копенгагене в пятницу заявили, что документ может быть подписан в ближайшее время и осталось согласовать лишь некоторые детали. ...

О том, что делегации РФ и США взяли тайм-аут до января, сообщил помощник президента РФ Сергей Приходько по итогам встречи Обамы и Медведева.

"Сейчас в работе делегаций, которые (работали) практически без перерыва, практически на протяжении нескольких месяцев, без выходных, будет объявлен небольшой перерыв. У них рождественские каникулы", - сказал Приходько. ...

Приходько подчеркнул, что договор о СНВ - сложный документ, и напомнил, что предыдущий договор готовился порядка двух лет. ...

Reuters: The United States and Russia are "quite close" to agreeing a new START nuclear arms reduction pact, U.S. President Barack Obama said on Friday.

Obama met Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on the sidelines of U.N. climate talks in Copenhagen.

"We've been making excellent progress," Obama said of the arms reduction talks. "We are quite close to an agreement." ...

"Our positions are very close," Medvedev said, adding that technical details remained to be worked out.

The two leaders spoke briefly to reporters after their meeting. ...

Russia called on Thursday for simpler verification procedures for planned cuts in nuclear weapons arsenals, while Washington insisted it wanted a deal that worked for both former Cold War foes.

Grani.ru

Чеченский криминальный авторитет Лом-Али Гайтукаев принимал участие в ликвидации Шамиля Басаева. Как сообщает Росбалт, это заявление сделал сам Гайтукаев в ходе слушаний в Таганском суде Москвы, где рассматривается дело о вымогательстве денег у бывшего сотрудника ГУВД столицы Дмитрия Павлюченкова.

Отвечая на вопрос судьи Ивановой, знаком ли он с Павлом Рягузовым (сотрудник ФСБ, также фигурировавший в деле об убийстве обозревателя "Новой газеты" Анны Политковской), Гайтукаев ответил положительно и сообщил, что вместе с Рягузовым неоднократно выезжал в Чечню, где принимал участие в разработке операций, направленных на уничтожение лидеров бандформирований. "Это благодаря нашим с Рягузовым усилиям был взорван Шамиль", – сказал Гайтукаев. Судья поинтересовалась, о каком Шамиле идет речь, на что свидетель ответил – "о Басаеве".

Информация о том, что спецслужбы в свое время использовали в операциях представителей криминального мира из Чечни, появлялась и раньше, отмечает агентство. Однако впервые об этом объявил непосредственный участник событий. ...

Имя Лом-Али Гайтукаева, одного из лидеров лазанской преступной группировки, действовавшей в Москве с 1980-х годов, ранее также фигурировало в деле Политковской. По данным оперативников, в 2006 году ему поступил заказ на убийство журналистки. Однако выполнить задание Гайтукаев не успел: 25 августа 2006 года он был арестован в Москве по подозрению в покушении на украинского бизнесмена Геннадия Корбана и приговорен за это преступление к 15 годам тюрьмы.

RBC

Думское большинство отклонило предложение почтить память известного политика и экономиста минутой молчания.

Представитель "Справедливой России" Вера Лекарева предложила на сегодняшнем заседании Госдумы почтить память бывшего премьера и депутата Госдумы двух созывов Егора Гайдара, скончавшегося 16 декабря 2009г. Она напомнила, что Е.Гайдар проработал в Госдуме 6 лет.

Ведущий заседания вице-спикер Госдумы единоросс Олег Морозов не поддержал предложение, отметив, что председатель нижней палаты Борис Грызлов уже отправил соболезнования семье покойного от имени руководства Госдумы. "Все депутаты, которые разделяют эти чувства, примут участие в траурных мероприятиях", - попытался закрыть тему О.Морозов. ...

Несмотря на протесты, представители думского большинства отказались почтить память знаменитого экономиста. ...

Kommersant

Официальный представитель МИД РФ Андрей Нестеренко сообщил, что Россия не признает обвинение британской разведки MI6 в срыве мирного решения иракской проблемы. Высказывание главы MI6 Джона Соерса о том, что именно из-за России США и их союзники были вынуждены начать войну в Ираке, в российском МИДе прокомментировали поговоркой: "С больной головы на здоровую".

Глава британской разведки Джон Соерс на прошлой неделе заявил, что Россия ответственна за провал попыток ввести в 2001 году против режима Саддама Хусейна так называемые "разумные санкции", которые позволили бы избежать вооруженного столкновения. ...

"Заявление Соерса вызывает в Москве недоумение, если не сказать больше. У нас есть поговорка: "С больной головы на здоровую", — так прокомментировал 18 декабря официальный представитель МИД РФ Андрей Нестеренко слова главы MI6. Как он пояснил, "предложенные британцами летом 2001 года "умные санкции" не привели к какому-либо существенному улучшению катастрофического положения иракского населения и были направлены по сути на увековечивание санкционного режима под предлогом того, что Ирак продолжал работу по запрещенным программам разработки оружия массового уничтожения".

Дипломат напомнил, что "при обсуждении иракского вопроса в СБ ООН мы неоднократно заявляли, что Совету нельзя руководствоваться непроверенной информацией о наличии у Ирака оружия оружия массового уничтожения при принятии решения о введении новых мер против этого государства. У России нет данных, свидетельствующих о наличии в Ираке ядерного оружия. Вместо этого Россия предложила решить проблему по существу — направить в Ирак инспекторов ООН и определиться по результатам их работы. Однако мнение Москвы было проигнорировано американским и британским правительствами". "Что же касается экономических интересов России, из-за которых, как утверждается, "было сорвано мирное решение иракской проблемы", то хотелось бы задать ответный вопрос господину Соерсу — какими интересами руководствовались союзники по силам коалиции, начиная войну в Ираке?"— сказал Нестеренко.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Thursday he saw no need for a new security treaty proposed by Russia, rebuffing the Kremlin's call for new defense arrangements in Europe.

After talks with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and other Russian leaders, Rasmussen urged greater cooperation between NATO and Russia in Afghanistan, but showed no enthusiasm for Moscow's treaty proposal.

"I don't see a need for new treaties or new legally binding documents because we do have a framework already," he told a news briefing in Moscow.

"We have already a lot of documents, so my point of departure is: 'I don't see a need for new treaties.' But let me reiterate, we are of course prepared to discuss the ideas in the right forum," said Rasmussen. ...

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev published a draft post-cold war security pact on November 29. He said it would replace NATO and other institutions and would restrict the ability of any country to use force unilaterally.

In Moscow on his first visit since taking office on August 1, the NATO chief repeatedly said recent rows should not prevent Russia and the military alliance from confronting a common security threat from Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan. ...

The Associated Press

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The richest man in Russia is another step closer to owning the New Jersey Nets.

Mikhail Prokhorov's Onexim Sports and Entertainment Holdings and the development company that owns the Nets announced on Wednesday that they had completed their agreement to create a partnership for owning the NBA team and developing the Atlantic Yards project in New York City.

The agreement provides for the sale of 80 percent of the Nets and 45 percent of a new Nets arena to Prokhorov's Onexim, subject to approval by the NBA Board of Governors.

It also includes an option for Prokhorov to acquire up to 20 percent of Atlantic Yards, which would surround the new Barclays Center arena with apartments and office towers on 22 acres in Brooklyn. ...

Wednesday's announcement came one day after Forest City Ratner announced that $511 million in tax-free bonds for the Barclays Center had been sold. Project opponents had hoped the bond sale would fall flat and end the project.

Reuters

Negotiations on a nuclear arms reduction treaty to replace START may extend into 2010 despite calls by U.S. and Russian leaders for a deal by year's end, a senior Obama administration official said on Wednesday.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, rejected speculation an accord might be signed this weekend on the sidelines of the Copenhagen climate summit, which U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev plan to attend along with their foreign ministers.

The official said the negotiators in Geneva had cancelled plans to take a break in discussions over the weekend.

"They're powering right through the weekend. They're going to go right up to Christmas," the official said. "Nothing's going to happen in Copenhagen." ...

The senior administration official said Obama and Medvedev might have a bilateral meeting in Copenhagen but were not planning to conclude a nuclear treaty.

"We're not expecting a deal by the end of the week," the official said, adding negotiators were continuing to work on the issue of verification and other technical details. ...

Grani.ru

Правозащитный центр "Мемориал" полностью возобновил свою деятельность в Чечне. Как сообщает Газета.Ru, об этом на пресс-конференции в Европарламенте по окончании церемонии вручения премии имени Андрея Сахарова за 2009 год заявил руководитель центра Олег Орлов.

Деятельность "Мемориала" на территории Чечни была приостановлена в июле, после похищения и убийства одной из ведущих сотрудниц этой организации – Натальи Эстемировой. ...

23 сентября в интервью газете "Завтра" Кадыров заявил, что "Мемориал" – это организация, "придуманная для подрыва России". ... Сразу после убийства Кадыров отзывался о "Мемориале" иначе. "Если из Чечни уйдут сотрудники "Мемориала", уйду я, другие, кто должен защищать права граждан? Разве не такого поворота событий добиваются те, кто похищает и убивает людей? Мы ни в коем случае не должны идти у них на поводу", -- заявлял президент Чечни. Он считал тогда, что "Мемориалу" необходимо укрепить республиканское отделение правозащитного центра и расширить его деятельность.

The Associated Press

MOSCOW – Yegor Gaidar, who oversaw Russia's painful economic transition from communism to the free market in the 1990s, died Wednesday, an aide said. He was 53.

The Associated Press

Gaidar died unexpectedly of a blood clot at his Moscow-area home while he was working on a book early in the morning, his aide Valery Natarov told The Associated Press.

Gaidar — who served under Boris Yeltsin and as acting prime minister for six months in 1992 — was loathed by ordinary Russians who saw their savings wiped out by the inflation that followed his sudden price liberalization that year.

But he was praised by others for taking it upon himself to make painful but necessary changes to fix a dysfunctional communist economy.

He oversaw the so-called shock therapy reforms that opened prices that formerly were set by the state to the free market. That meant grocery stores restocked immediately but that hyperinflation put most goods out of reach of consumers.

Gaidar, a graduate of the economics department of Moscow State University, was among a group of young liberals in the 1990s who have been cast as the architects of that decade's economic and political chaos by Russia's current leadership.

Former associates acknowledged Gaidar was loathed by ordinary Russians who lost everything during the economic liberalization, but they praised him for avoiding a greater catastrophe.

"He stood before the choice of civil war or painful reforms," Boris Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister under Yeltsin, told the Ekho Moskvy radio station.

"He gave his life to avert civil war." Anatoly Chubais, Gaidar's close associate in the reforms and a former deputy prime minister, described Gaidar in his blog as a friend and "an intellectual and moral leader for all of us."

"He was a great man," Chubais said. "Russia is very lucky to have had him in one of the most difficult times of its history. ... He saved the country from hunger, civil war and collapse."

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin posted a Web site statement calling the death "a heavy loss for Russia, for us all."

"We have lost a genuine citizen and patriot, a strong spirited person, a talented scientist, writer and expert. ... He didn't dodge responsibility and 'took the punch' in the most challenging situations with honor and courage," the statement said.

President Dmitry Medvedev issued a statement calling Gaidar a "daring, honest and decisive" economist who "evoked respect among his supporters and opponents."

Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, who opposed Gaidar's reforms, said in comments carried by the ITAR-Tass news agency that he "personally grieves" Gaidar's death.

But he also pointed to what he called the shortcomings of Gaidar's policies.

"Gaidar went into politics with many hopes, but his plan was to (resolve all the problems) in one shot," Gorbachev said. In one of his final interviews, Gaidar spoke of his time in office.

"One of the main achievements in 1991-1993 was that we managed to avoid civil war," he was quoted as saying by Novaya Gazeta, in an interview published Nov. 20.

Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the leader of the right-wing Liberal Democratic Party, and a contemporary of Gaidar as a State Duma deputy, expressed his admiration Wednesday.

"He had courage to stand up for his position, which he never concealed. He was a man of great erudition and could answer any question. He made a great contribution to Russia's economic science. I am very sorry that such people die so young," Zhirinovsky said.

Gaidar fell ill on a book promotion trip to Ireland in November 2006, a few days after the poisoning death of former Russian security agent Alexander Litvinenko.

Gaidar said he feared he had been poisoned, too, and pointed the finger at unidentified enemies of the Kremlin.

Gaidar was part of a renowned family. His grandfather, Arkady, was a Red Army hero of the Bolshevik Revolution who turned to writing children's books that remain popular today. His father, Timur, was a military reporter with the Soviet Pravda newspaper.

His daughter, Maria, is a liberal campaigner who has been arrested several times for taking part in anti-government rallies and now serves as an aide to Nikita Belykh, a regional governor. Gaidar is survived by his wife, three sons and his daughter, Maria. A public memorial service was scheduled for Saturday at a funeral hall in a Moscow clinic.

Vedomosti

Крупнейший по посещаемости после «Яндекса» портал Mail.ru и американская Google объявили о заключении соглашения о сотрудничестве в области поисковых и рекламных технологий. С января 2010 г. поисковая система Mail.ru, последние несколько лет использовавшая технологии «Яндекса», будет работать на основе технологий Google, а также отображать в результатах поиска контекстную рекламу, размещаемую через рекламную систему Google AdSense.

Продлевать партнерство с «Яндексом» Mail.ru не стала потому, что тот стал требовать упоминания своего бренда на странице поисковой выдачи. ...

Соглашение с Mail.ru серьезно укрепит позиции Google в рунете. В 2008 г. американская компания договорилась с другим российским порталом — Rambler о покупке системы контекстной рекламы «Бегун» и размещении на главной странице портала своего поиска. Но сделку заблокировала Федеральная антимонопольная служба. Близкие к акционерам Rambler источники рассказывали, что против размещения иностранного поиска на популярном российском сайте выступал премьер Владимир Путин (его представитель это отрицал). В этом году президент Дмитрий Медведев посоветовал следить за иностранными инвестициями в интернете. ...

Vedomosti

Президент России Дмитрий Медведев освободил от должности генерал-майора милиции Анатолия Михалкина, возглавлявшего управление по налоговым преступлениям ГУВД Москвы. Об этом сообщает «РИА Новости» со ссылкой на указ, размещенный на сайте президента. Фонд Hermitage утверждает, что Михалкин был связан с организацией давления на банк HSBC и фонд Hermitage и руководил деятельностью подполковника Кузнецова, организовавшего «незаконное преследование» юриста Сергея Магнитского. ...

Как утверждает в своем пресс-релизе фонд Hermitage, именно Михалкин в середине 2007 г. направил ряд запросов, подготовленных его подчиненным подполковником Кузнецовым, в московские филиалы международных банков с целью получения конфиденциальной информации о российских компаниях фонда Hermitage.

Спустя месяц именно эти компании по заявлению фонда были украдены мошенниками и еще через три месяца более 5 млрд руб. были похищены из российского бюджета «как якобы излишне уплаченные» налоги. Разрешение на возврат налогов на столь колоссальную сумму было дано московскими налоговыми инспекциями в течение одного дня. ...

NEWSru.com

Министерства иностранных дел Республики Абхазия и самой маленькой в мире Республики Науру во вторник подписали соглашение об установлении дипломатических отношений. Документ подписали глава МИДа Абхазии Сергей Шамба и министр иностранных дел, внешней торговли и финансов Науру Кирен Кеке. ...

По информации СМИ, наурианский дипломат прибыл в Цхинвали и Сухуми из Москвы, где на встрече с главой МИДа РФ Сергеем Лавровым обсуждалась возможность оказания Россией гуманитарной помощи Науру в размере 50 млн долларов. Как отмечает "Независимая газета", на каждого наурианца таким образом придется по три с половиной тысячи долларов.

Отметим, что в свое время Россия оценила свою благодарность Никарагуа за признание суверенитета Абхазии и Южной Осетии всего в размере 3,5 миллиона долларов. Официально деньги были безвозмездно выделены РФ для проведения работ по разминированию территории в северных районах страны. ...

Признание Абхазии ... не первый случай, когда [Науру] зарабатывает на совершении тех или иных дипломатических действий. Семь лет назад островная страна получила 130 млн долларов от Китая за непризнание Тайваня, сообщает деловой портал Bloomberg. ...

RBC Ukraine

В жеребьевке на участие в теледебатах перед первым туром президентских выборов примут участие 13 из 18 кандидатов в Президенты Украины. Об этом заявил в ходе заседания Центральной избирательной комиссии ее председатель Владимир Шаповал, передает корреспондент РБК-Украина. Как пояснили в пресс-службе ЦИК, кроме Юлии Тимошенко, Владимира Литвина, Виктора Януковича и Виктора Ющенко отказался от теледебатов также Арсений Яценюк.

Dec. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Renaissance Capital, the investment bank backed by Russia’s richest man, said it will work with the former Indian partner of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to advise clients on takeovers in emerging markets.

Renaissance, based in Moscow and half-owned by Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, and Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd.’s investment banking unit will advise companies on cross-border investments and mergers and acquisitions in India, Africa and the Commonwealth of Independent States, the two companies said in a statement today. ...

Goldman Sachs, which broke with 126 years of tradition to form a joint venture with Kotak Mahindra for Indian operations in 1995, sold its 25 percent stakes in the local investment banking and brokerage units in 2006 to start its own financial services firm in the South Asian country.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia and the United States may sign an agreement to replace the START nuclear weapons treaty during the Copenhagen climate summit, a Russian source familiar with the summit plans told Reuters on Tuesday.

The presidents of the United States and Russia will go to the Danish capital later this week to attend the climate conference, and agreement on cutting their arsenals of nuclear arms would signal that previously tense relations are easing.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will be joined by his Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, as part of the presidential delegation, said the source.

The source said the foreign minister would not be going to Copenhagen unless Russia believed the new treaty could be signed with President Barack Obama there. ...

Vedomosti

У терминалов аэропорта «Шереметьево» привычное цифровое обозначение меняется на буквенное. С 25 декабря «Шереметьево-2» будет именоваться терминалом F, а «Шереметьево-1» станет терминалом B к началу летнего сезона, говорится в сообщении «Аэрофлота». «Шереметьево-3», подконтрольное авиакомпании, уже присвоена буква D. Обозначение терминала С останется, соответственно, без изменения.

Буквы дадут последовательность, считает аналитик «Авиапорта» Олег Пантелеев, в противном случае строящаяся галерея между «Шереметьево-2» и «Шереметьево-3» будет обозначена цифрой четыре, что нелогично. ...

Vedomosti

Добыча нефти в России в кризисном 2009 г. вырастет на 1%, но при этом добыча газа рухнет на 13,5%, сообщил в понедельник вице-премьер Игорь Сечин, докладывая предварительные итоги года президенту Дмитрию Медведеву. ...

Экспорт газа России удастся сохранить на уровне прошлого года, сообщил Сечин, однако его добыча упадет сразу на 13,5%. «Здесь мы, как известно, несем наибольшие потери, и здесь нам надо проводить усиленную работу по сохранению наших рынков», — сказал он, добавив, что добыча газа снизится до 575 млрд кубометров. В 2008 г. нефтегазовые компании извлекли в России 665 млрд кубометров.

В то же время Сечин отметил, что экспорт газа из России, рухнувший в начале года на треть, почти восстановился. «Подчеркиваю, что по газу сейчас ситуация к концу года начинает улучшаться, практически выходим на параметры прошлого года», — сообщил Сечин.

Экспортные поставки, по его оценке, составят в 2009 г. 170,6 млрд кубометров против 174,3 млрд в 2008-м. ...

NEWSru.com

В понедельник в России по традиции отмечается день памяти известного советского физика и правозащитника Андрея Сахарова. Лауреат Нобелевской премии мира умер 20 лет назад – 14 декабря 1989 года. Памяти правозащитника посвящена открывающаяся в Москве двухдневная международная конференция "Идеи Сахарова сегодня".

Президент России Дмитрий Медведев поприветствовал участников конференции и отметил, что идеи Сахарова созвучны задачам, которые решает современное российское общество, передает "Интерфакс". Приветственное письмо зачитал уполномоченный по правам человека в РФ Владимир Лукин. Как написал президент, Сахаров хорошо понимал, насколько неразделимы свобода и ответственность, как важно стремление к нравственному самосовершенствованию.

По словам Медведева, Сахаров считал огромной угрозой для человечества его разобщенность и постоянно доказывал: лишь равноправное сотрудничество, открытость и уважение личности - позволят сохранить и развивать нашу цивилизацию. Как отметил президент, в настоящее время мы можем в полной мере оценить глубину и актуальность идей Сахарова. ...

The Associated Press

BANGKOK — Five foreigners who crewed an aircraft carrying about 35 tons of weapons originating in North Korea have been charged with illegal possession of arms in Thailand, police said Sunday.

The men — four from Kazakhstan and one from Belarus — were detained when an Ilyushin 76 transport plane, carrying explosives, rocket-propelled grenades and components for surface-to-air missiles, was impounded Saturday during a refueling stop at Bangkok's Don Muang airport, Thai officials said. ...

[Xinhua: The pilot ... told police investigators Sunday that the shipment was bound for Ukraine, the Thai News Agency reported.

Belarussian Mikhail Petukhou told Crime Suppression Division police during a six-hour interrogation that the plane left Ukraine to pick up the goods in an Asian nation.

Insisting that he had no knowledge about the war material aboard the aircraft, Petukhou told investigators that he and his four companions were hired to transport goods and that he would only "provide other information in court." ...]

Local press reports said Thai authorities were tipped off by their American counterparts about the cargo aboard the aircraft. ... Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said it would take several days to obtain details on the incident, which would be reported to the United Nations, Belarus and Kazakhstan. ...

[The New York Times: ... The choice of Thailand as a refueling station is strange, analysts say, considering the country’s close military ties with the United States.

“There’s much more to this story than what has been made public so far,” said Bertil Lintner, an author who has written extensively on North Korean arms sales. “Why would you refuel in Thailand?”

If the aircraft had landed in neighboring Myanmar, which is ruled by generals friendly to the North Korean regime, “there would have been no problem,” Mr. Lintner said.

Among the theories discussed on Thai Web sites and in the media here is that the plane was forced to land by the Thai Air Force as it crossed Thai airspace. ...]

Baek Seung-joo of the state-run Korea Institute for Defense Analyses said the seizure demonstrated a U.S. intention to continue to enforce sanctions on the North while also engaging in dialogue.

Arms sales are a key source of hard currency for the impoverished North. Baek said the North is believed to have earned hundreds of millions of dollars every year by selling missiles, missile parts and other weapons to countries like Iran, Syria and Myanmar.

In August, the United Arab Emirates seized a Bahamas-flagged cargo ship bound for Iran with a cache of banned rocket-propelled grenades and other arms from North Korea, the first seizure since sanctions against North Korea were ramped up.

Reuters

The rebel Georgian region of Abkhazia re-elected President Sergei Bagapsh, preliminary election results showed on Sunday, in a vote hailed by protector Russia but shunned by most of the world.

Abkhazia held its first election on Saturday since Moscow recognised the Black Sea territory as an independent state after a brief war with Georgia last year. The vote was branded a farce by Georgia.

Bagapsh secured 59.37 of the vote, almost four times that of second-placed former KGB agent Raul Khadzimba on 15.44 percent, the central election commission said.

Russian election observers said voting was fair and transparent, but Khadzimba complained of widespread irregularities and threatened to challenge the result. ...

The election was seen as a test of stability in Abkhazia, which threw off Georgian rule in a vicious 1992-93 war.

The last presidential election in late 2004 saw Khadzimba challenge results that gave Bagapsh victory, and a standoff ended in unrest in the streets.

Russia did not want to be embarrassed by a repeat, having recognised Abkhazia in August last year after crushing an assault by U.S. ally Georgia on Abkhazia's fellow breakaway territory of South Ossetia in a five-day war. ...

The New York Times

The United States has begun talks with Russia and a United Nations arms control committee about strengthening Internet security and limiting military use of cyberspace.

American and Russian officials have different interpretations of the talks so far, but the mere fact that the United States is participating represents a significant policy shift after years of rejecting Russia’s overtures. Officials familiar with the talks said the Obama administration realized that more nations were developing cyberweapons and that a new approach was needed to blunt an international arms race. ...

On Nov. 12, a delegation led by Gen. Vladislav P. Sherstyuk, a deputy secretary of the Russian Security Council and the former leader of the Russian equivalent of the National Security Agency, flew to Washington and met with representatives from the National Security Council, State Department, Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security. Officials familiar with these talks said the two sides made progress in bridging divisions that had long separated the countries.

Indeed, two weeks later in Geneva, the United States agreed to discuss cyberwarfare and cybersecurity with representatives of the United Nations committee on disarmament and international security. The United States had previously insisted on addressing those matters in the committee on economic issues.

The Russians have held that the increasing challenges posed by military activities to civilian computer networks can be best dealt with by an international treaty, similar to treaties that have limited the spread of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. The United States had resisted, arguing that it was impossible to draw a line between the commercial and military uses of software and hardware.

Now there is a thaw, said people familiar with the discussions. ...

Viktor V. Sokolov, deputy director of the Institute of Information Security in Moscow, ... characterized this new round of discussions as the opening of negotiations between Russia and the United States on a possible disarmament treaty for cyberspace, something Russia has long sought but the United States has resisted.

“The talks took place in a good atmosphere,” he said. “And they agreed to continue this process. There are positive movements.”

A State Department official, who was not authorized to speak about the talks and requested anonymity, disputed the Russian characterization of the American position. While the Russians have continued to focus on treaties that may restrict weapons development, the United States is hoping to use the talks to increase international cooperation in opposing Internet crime. Strengthening defenses against Internet criminals would also strengthen defenses against any military-directed cyberattacks, the United States maintains. ...

The Associated Press

ALMATY, Kazakhstan — The leaders of Kazakhstan and China jointly unveiled Saturday the Kazakh section of a natural gas pipeline that will tap into Central Asia's vast energy riches and loosen Russia's influence over the region. ...

The 1,300-kilometer Kazakhstan-China pipeline is the Central Asian nation's first export route that completely bypasses Russia. ...

Kazakh state energy company KazMunaiGaz says the pipeline will eventually be able to transport 30 billion cubic meters of gas annually from Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Capacity could be boosted to 40 billion cubic meters, the company said.

Gas deliveries to China through the pipeline are expected to hit around 13 billion cubic meters in 2010, with supplies fulfilling pipeline capacity by 2013, after the route has been definitively completed. ...

The bulk of financing for the project was supplied by the state-run China Development Bank, which has provided much of the funding for the Asian giant's energy shopping spree over recent months. ...

The entire 7,000-kilometer (4,300-mile) Turkmenistan-China pipeline cuts through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan into China's far western Xinjiang region.

Commencement of gas deliveries from Turkmenistan to China comes as the former Soviet nation remains mired in a dispute with Russia.

Turkmenistan has until recently sold most of its gas to Russia. However, supplies have been suspended since a pipeline blast in April that Turkmenistan blames on Gazprom.

The pipeline has been fixed, but deliveries to Russia have not resumed, which some international experts have estimated may be costing Turkmenistan $1 billion in monthly losses.

The Associated Press

BAGHDAD – A consortium led by Russia's private oil giant won the biggest prize of Iraq's second oil auction this year, nabbing a field initially promised them a decade ago by Saddam Hussein while other companies Saturday showed little interest in offerings outside the secure southern part of the country.

Lukoil and Norway's Statoil ASA won rights to develop the 12.88 billion barrel West Qurna Phase 2 field in the Basra region, beating out three other consortiums led by France's Total SA, Malaysia's state-run Petronas and British giant BP PLC.

The field was the crown jewel of Iraq's second international oil auction, which has placed some of the country's most coveted sites up for grabs compared with the riskier fields that drew little interest in the first auction in June. In all, 15 fields were offered over two days, and of the seven offered Saturday, four were awarded.

"It is a big victory for Iraq," Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani told reporters after the final field was auctioned. "It is a big achievement for Iraq to win such contracts at the current prices."

Al-Shahristani said that the contracts awarded over the two days, coupled with those awarded over the past few months — including the June auction — would help the country boost production to 12 million barrels per day in six years. Iraq currently struggles to produce 2.5 million barrels a day.

The aggressive interest in West Qurna 2 — the biggest of the 15 offered — reflected not only its ample reserve base and cheap development costs, but also its location in the relatively Shiite heartland in Iraq's south. ...

Reuters

The rebel Georgia region of Abkhazia voted for a president on Saturday in an election hailed by sponsor Russia but shunned by most of the world.

The five-way race is the first since Moscow recognised the Black Sea territory of 200,000 people as an independent state after a brief war with Georgia last year and could prove a test of stability.

U.S. ally Georgia has branded the vote a "comedy" led by Russia, Abkhazia's economic lifeline and protector with thousands of servicemen in the territory. ...

"Elections are the basic indicator of the well-being of the state," incumbent president Sergei Bagapsh, who is running for a second term, said after voting at the National Library.

"All the candidates understand that in Abkhazia today we are choosing not just a president but our further course." ...

Bagapsh faces four rivals who include former vice president and ex-KGB agent Raul Khadzimba and tycoon Beslan Boutba.

Russia does not want to be embarrassed by a repeat of a standoff in late 2004 when then Russian-backed Khadzimba challenged results that gave Bagapsh victory and there was unrest in Sukhumi. Moscow has not named a favourite this time. ...

Gazeta.ru

За смерть юриста Сергея Магнитского в московском СИЗО должностей лишились глава столичного управления ФСИН Владимир Давыдов и начальник Бутырской тюрьмы. В ведомстве говорят, что Давыдов и его коллега не останутся без работы, но будут понижены. Адвокаты и правозащитники считают, что следующим шагом должно стать привлечение их к уголовной ответственности. ...

Если перестановки в региональных управлениях ведомства представители ФСИН объясняют обычной оптимизацией рабочего процесса, то увольнение Давыдова и Комнова связано со скандалом, начавшимся после смерти юриста фонда Hermitage Сергея Магнитского.

Накануне судмедэксперты пришли к официальному заключению, что он умер в больнице СИЗО «Матросская Тишина», куда его перевели из «Бутырки», от острой сердечно-сосудистой недостаточности, хотя его адвокаты настаивали, что смерть наступила из-за холецистита и халатности тюремных врачей. Ранее во ФСИН заявили, что по факту смерти Магнитскому начата служебная проверка, добавив, что частично ответственность за произошедшее лежит на сотрудниках ведомства. ...

Reuters

A policeman in Russia's turbulent Ingushetia region was sentenced on Friday to two years in a low-security prison settlement for "unintentionally" shooting dead a prominent opposition reporter while in custody.

Magomed Yevloyev, editor of Ingushetia's main opposition news Website, was killed by a pistol shot to the head after being detained at the local airport on Aug 31, 2008.

His death sparked massive protests against the local authorities in the mainly Muslim region, which has suffered a wave of attacks in recent months. ...

The www.ingushetia.org Website said the judge had described the killing as "unintentional," echoing similar statements by prosecutors. Opposition leaders have repeatedly said Yevloyev was murdered. ...

Azerisport.com

Сборные Азербайджана и Армении не смогут попасть в одну отборочную группу чемпионата Европы 2012 года. Как передает azerisport.com со ссылкой на грузинские СМИ, об этом заявил генсек федерации футбола Грузии Реваз Арвеладзе. По его словам, также по разным группам будут разведены Россия и Грузия. Напомним, что жеребьевка отборочного турнира состоится в Варшаве 7 февраля 2010 года.

BBC Russian Service

Глава британской разведки Джон Соз заявил, что мирному решению иракского конфликта, приведшему в конечном итоге к вооруженному вторжению в Ирак, помешала Россия.

Такое заявление прозвучало в рамках проходящих в Лондоне общественных слушаний, посвященных расследованию обстоятельств начала иракской войны.

В тот период Соз, возглавляющий ныне МИ-6, занимал пост советника премьер-министра Тони Блэра по иностранным делам и участвовал в переговорах, посвященных решению конфликта вокруг ситуации в Ираке.

Выступая в четверг перед депутатами британского парламента, он заявил, что именно Россия ответственна за провал попыток ввести в 2001 году против режима Саддама Хусейна так называемые "разумные санкции", которые позволили бы избежать вооруженного столкновения. ...

"Они провалились в конечном счете из-за того, что на них не согласились русские", - заявил Соз.

"Официальным предлогом для этого послужило то, что новый режим санкций якобы был, по их мнению, слишком широким и сложным. Но подлинной причиной было то, что, как признались нам высокопоставленные россияне, они беспокоились за свои коммерческие интересы в Ираке", - рассказал глава британской разведки. ...

Dec. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Russia’s economic decline abated in the third quarter as companies began restocking inventories depleted during a record slump in the first half of the year.

Gross domestic product fell 8.9 percent from a year earlier, in line with the government’s estimate, after a 10.9 percent contraction in the second quarter, the State Statistics Service said on its Web site today. On the quarter, output grew a non-seasonally adjusted 13.8 percent.

“The model of economic development has rapidly changed,” said Anton Struchenevsky, an economist at Troika Dialog in Moscow. “Investors are much more sensitive to risk. The euphoric component has gone and this is impeding lending. There is a slight improvement, but it would be a great illusion to think we will return to the pace of growth we had before the crisis.” ...

Almost 9 percentage points of the 10.4 percent plunge in output in the first half was because of “a massive inventory adjustment,” says Martin Gilman, former head of the Moscow office of the International Monetary Fund, and OAO Gazprom, the world’s No. 1 gas producer, accounted for most of the slump. European consumers tapped stored gas as the delayed effect of dearer oil drove up gas prices earlier this year. ...

The Hollywood Reporter

The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming … to American reality television.

ABC has ordered a presentation for a U.S. version of “What? Where? When?” the No. 1 Russian game show that next year will mark its 35th anniversary.

Merv Griffin Entertainment is producing the project, tentatively titled “The Six,” after the number of contestants on the show.

“What?” was created by veteran Russian TV host and director Vladimir Voroshilov. It premiered in 1975, the same year Merv Griffin’s “Wheel of Fortune” made its debut as a daytime show.

The two have something else in common: Their centerpiece is a spinning horizontal wheel divided into segments. While on “Wheel” three contestants compete against one another in solving a word puzzle, on “What” a team of six “knowledgeable persons” or “experts” compete against viewers. Each segment on the wheel represents a viewer question. When the spinner lands on a question, the team has 60 seconds to discuss it and formulate an answer.

The team earns a point for each correct response; a wrong answer means a prize for the author of the question and a point for the viewers. ...

“It’s much more accessible knowledge and intelligence than you would think at a first glance that translates to the viewers at home, and they can play along,” Merv Griffin Entertainment’s Roy Bank said. “It’s a show about teamwork and interaction.” ...

But acquiring rights wasn’t easy. They are controlled by Voroshilov’s widow, Natalia Stetzenko, and stepson Boris Kruck, who succeeded Voroshilov as the show’s host and director after his death in 2001.

Several U.S. producers flirted with the idea of bringing “What” to the U.S., but none was able to acquire the format because the rights-holders have been protective of the show.

Reznik spent about two years talking to Stetzenko and Kruck until he convinced them to allow him to do a U.S. version. Then, when he found a U.S. partner in Merv Griffin Entertainment, Bank had to get the Russians’ approval as well in video conferences via Skype. ...

Although there will be tweaks to the format — on the original series, the host is present in the studio only as a voice; in the U.S. version, there will be an on-set host — “our goal is to preserve as much of the essence of the original as we can,” Bank said. ...

Moscow Echo

Очередное испытание ракеты «Булава» которое долго и тщательно готовили, опять закончился неудачей. Как пишет "Российская газета", пуск был произведен в среду утром и до позднего вечера должностные лица ВМФ и Московского института теплотехники никак не комментировали состоявшееся испытание и его результаты. В свою очередь газета "Ведомости" пишет, со ссылкой на источник в российском оборонно-промышленном комплексе, что предположительно «не сработала третья ступень ракеты». По его словам, первые две ступени ракеты отработали штатно, так что запуск даже можно считать частично успешным — при предыдущих неудачных испытаниях не срабатывала уже первая ступень. У "Булавы" было 12 испытательных пусков, и лишь четыре из них были признаны успешными (причем два -- частично). Нынешний, тринадцатый пуск в Минобороны пока не подтверждают.

Time

When Vladimir Putin took to the airwaves on Dec. 3 for his annual call-in show on state-run television, the questions and Putin's answers appeared natural and unprompted. But as with many high-profile political campaigns in the West, little is left to chance at the upper echelons of Russia's leadership, especially when the Prime Minister's image makers want to send a message to the public. Which is why, says Andrei Kryukov, a student who asked Putin about his plans for the 2012 elections, he had been steered by Putin's press service and coached for two days before the live show went on the air. Putin's answer to Kryukov's question and one other was clear and direct. Yes, he told the millions of viewers watching the show, he would think about running for President again. And no, nobody should hold their breath for his giving up power.

If the Q&A session is anything to go by, Russia's democracy will probably stay tightly choreographed. "It was very well organized," says Kryukov of the rehearsals for the show. "They gathered together people from various institutes across the country, and one of those was our institute," he says, referring to the St. Petersburg State Mining Institute, which he has studied at since 2005.

Kryukov, a graduate student in open pit mine development, says he and four classmates caught a train to Moscow and were housed at a resort outside the capital that is owned by the Russian State Technology University. "That's where all the students were taken. They treated us really well. We didn't pay for any of it," he says. Rehearsals for the program lasted two days and were organized by Putin's press service and producers from the state-owned Vesti television channel. "We had other questions, ones that were more relevant to us, about mining, about the education system and so on," Kryukov says. "Then it was decided that the question should be more general, more significant. So that's how it came out."

In a statement to TIME, Putin's press service said it had helped state TV producers organize the event and rehearsals but had not helped select questions. "Of course we did not help them formulate their questions. People asked their questions on their own and chose what questions they would ask," the statement said. ...

KIEV, December 8 (Itar-Tass) -- Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko's hairstylist, Yelena Sedykh, is working on a new image of the premier.

"Yulia Timoshenko is a globally known politician, so her image cannot be changed drastically," says a report posted on the Timoshenko personal website on Tuesday. "Her braid is a very strong and charismatic attribute. It is not accidental that the Yulia braid has won world fashion podiums, from London to Sydney. Many celebrities, among them Naomi Campbell and Kylie Minogue, copied her hairstyle."

"Still, even the best hairdos have to be changed sometimes. I can tell you that we are already discussing possible changes and working on a new image," Sedykh said.

The change of image will be very smooth. "There will be no short haircuts or dark hair. I would say it will be an evolution rather than a revolution," she said.

Timoshenko used to be a brunette, in a much less official style, but she changed her image in 2002. Asked a couple of years ago what her hairdo symbolized, Timoshenko joked, "That is the steering wheel. The steering wheel of my country." ...

Gazeta.ru

Правительство Пермского края сложило полномочия после пожара в клубе «Хромая лошадь», унесшем жизни 124 человек. Чиновники, которые могут повлиять на ход следствия по факту трагедии, отстранены от должностей, остальные продолжат работать в статусе исполняющих обязанности. Подал заявление о расторжении контракта и глава пермской администрации Аркадий Кац. ...

По решению губернатора края Олега Чиркунова новое правительство не будет формироваться до завершения всех следственных действий по факту пожара, сообщает официальный сервер пермских властей. ...

Ранее своих постов уже лишились несколько краевых чиновников: семь высокопоставленных чиновников Госпожнадзора во главе с руководителем ведомства Владимиром Мухутдиновым, глава Ленинского района Перми Иван Воронов, глава центра технической инвентаризации Пермского края Татьяна Магзумова, исполняющий обязанности начальника архитектурно-планировочного управления Перми Олег Горюнов и начальник инспекции государственного строительного надзора Пермского края Ольга Антипова. ...

Grani.ru

Российские пограничные сторожевые катера типа "Соболь" и "Мангуст" в декабре приступят к охране морской границы Абхазии и "будут обеспечивать соблюдение правил судоходства", сообщает Центр общественных связей ФСБ.

"Данные катера будут решать задачи по охране государственной границы и морских пространств, на которые распространяются суверенитет, суверенные права и юрисдикция Республики Абхазия, а также по обеспечению соблюдения правил судоходства во внутренних морских водах и территориальном море Абхазии", – говорится в сообщении.

Ранее в октябре о том, что Россия намерена отслеживать маршруты судов в нейтральных водах Черного моря, чтобы "защитить Абхазию от грузинских провокаций", по итогам переговоров с президентом Абхазии Сергеем Багапшем выступил глава российского МИДа Сергей Лавров. По словам Лаврова, Россия и Абхазия разработают "схему взаимодействия", которая позволит наладить сопровождение грузов и "гарантировать защиту от провокаций". ...

Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said “there should be no problems” in renewing imports of Georgian goods, banned by Russia in 2006, two years before a war between the two countries.

“Georgian products, if we’re talking about products shipped legally to the Russian Federation, should be received like any other products,” Medvedev told reporters during a televised press conference today.

Medvedev said he sees “no particular impediments” to restoring direct flights between Russia and Georgia, and that he hopes visas for travel between the two countries can someday be eliminated, though diplomatic relations were severed after the August 2008 war over the separatist Georgian region of South Ossetia.

Russia cut road, rail, air and sea links with Georgia, halted postal service and blocked money transfers in October 2006. The dispute erupted when Georgia arrested four Russian servicemen a month earlier, accusing them of espionage. Earlier, Russia banned imports of Georgian wine and mineral water.

In March 2008, direct flights briefly resumed between Moscow and the Georgian capital Tbilisi. A month later, then- President Vladimir Putin ordered his government to hold talks with Georgia on lifting the trade embargo. Both initiatives were abandoned during the war, in which Russia routed Georgia’s army, then recognized South Ossetia and another breakaway region, Abkhazia, as sovereign countries.

“I’m not sure why Medvedev is saying this now,” Georgian Economic Development Minister Zurab Pololikashvili said by telephone. “All I can say is that we welcome these comments, but we don’t want bite-size statements, we want an entirely new phase in our relations.” ...

The Associated Press

MOSCOW – Russia's highest court on Tuesday upheld a ruling halting the activities of a regional branch of Jehovah's Witnesses and banning dozens of its publications in what the group deplored as an unfair move.

Russian Supreme Court spokesman Pavel Odintsov said it rejected the group's appeal of September's ruling by a regional court in Rostov-on-Don. That ruling outlawed the group's activities in the region, seized its assets there and labeled 34 of its publications as extremist.

The group said the list of books includes a children's book of Bible stories, and its signature magazine, The Watchtower. ...

Jehovah's Witnesses spokesman Yaroslav Sivulskiy ... said that the group will appeal the Supreme Court's verdict to the European Court for Human Rights, arguing that the Russian courts misinterpreted the law. The law on combating extremism that served as a basis for the verdict has been widely criticized by many rights groups, which said its loose phrasing allowed authorities to stifle dissent.

A 2004 ruling by the Moscow City Court prohibited Jehovah's Witnesses branch in the Russian capital from engaging in religious activity in the Russian capital.

Sivulskiy said there are at least 160,000 Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia.

BBC

CSKA Moscow could be thrown out of the Champions League after players Aleksei Berezutsky and Sergei Ignashevich tested positive for a banned substance.

They failed a doping test on 3 November after the 3-3 draw at Manchester United and have been provisionally suspended.

Uefa regulations state that if more than one player from the same side tests positive for banned substances, the team could be disqualified.

CSKA beat Besiktas 2-1 on Tuesday to reach the last 16 ahead of Wolfsburg.

The international defenders were suspended for the victory in Turkey which sealed second spot in Group B behind Manchester United and a place in the first knockout round of the Champions League.

If CSKA were thrown out of the tournament, then that could open the way for German side Wolfsburg who finished third in the group after being beaten 3-1 at home by United on Tuesday. ...

CSKA has defended its players, claiming they were given the cold remedy Sudafed while battling colds on international duty and the club's medical staff had failed to include the medication on a list given to Uefa staff before the game against United at Old Trafford.

The substance is not on Uefa's banned list according to CSKA, who said in a statement: "The problem is that during the doping control procedures a clerical error was made by employees within our medical staff." ...

Uefa will discuss the case further on 17 December, one day before the draw for the last 16 of the Champions League is made. ...