The Moscow Times

Disabled Athletes Show Up Olympics Team

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

Five days into the Winter Paralympic Games in Vancouver, Russia's team has already left its rivals - and the Russian Olympic team - in the dust with six gold medals, six silvers and three bronzes.

Online Commerce Choked by Shipping Delays

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

Foreign-based Internet shopping sites are drawing increasing numbers of Russian consumers looking for deals, but as delays mount at the country's notoriously inefficient postal service, many are finding that securing delivery of their items is no simple task.

Police Roll Out Plan To Improve Reputation

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

The Interior Ministry started a nationwide public relations campaign this week to burnish its tarnished image, posting billboards showing respectable cops and Internet ads promoting reports acts of police heroism.

Nestle Sees Sales Up 12%, New Local Capacity

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

Nestle, the world's largest food producer, saw its sales in Russia shoot up 12 percent last year despite a steep drop off in the food market, Stefan de Loecker, the company's regional head, said Wednesday.

Bastrykin Calls for Test DNA Database

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

Investigative Committee chief Alexander Bastrykin called for fingerprints and DNA samples to be collected from residents of a single Russian region as part of a pilot program for a possible federal database.

Currency Exchanges Face Oct. 1 Deadline

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

Effective Oct. 1, street exchange points will be required to become cash-transaction desks or full-fledged bank branches, otherwise the Central Bank will close them.

Gryzlov Skips Critical Online Interview

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

In skipping the interview with Gazeta.ru, State Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov missed being asked some of the more than 1,100 questions submitted by readers over the past five days over his ambitious water filtering program.

Trutnev Warns TNK-BP on Kovykta

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

Oil major TNK-BP won't be compensated for its investment into the Kovykta gas field should its license be revoked, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Yury Trutnev said Wednesday.

IMF to Review Ukraine Lending in Late March

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

n International Monetary Fund mission will visit Ukraine at the end of March to discuss a resumption of lending with the new leadership, and Ukrainian officials said they expected "difficult talks."

Tax Breaks Planned for Innovation Investors

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

The government is planning to exempt investors from long-term capital gains taxes, but for now the rules would only apply to shares of companies not traded on exchanges, in hopes of stimulating private equity and venture capital investment.

Emergency Gas Plans for EU Approved

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

European Union proposals to force countries to build new emergency gas infrastructure were approved Thursday by a parliament panel, but a requirement to prepare for 60 days of supply cuts was reduced to 45 days.

Hundreds of WWII Artillery Shells Found

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

Sappers removed 916 field artillery shells of various calibers after workers expanding Prospekt Marshala Zhukova stumbled upon the cache, prompting evacuation of residents from two nearby apartment buildings.

Russian Technologies May Miss Out on Aeroflot Stake

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

The six airlines handed over to Russian Technologies by presidential order in 2008 and 2009 could now be handed over to Aeroflot for management because the two state-run companies cannot agree on how to manage their aviation assets jointly..

Conoco 'to Halve LUKoil Stake'

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

U.S. oil major ConocoPhillips is close to announcing the halving of its stake in LUKoil and will sell 10 percent of the company within three years, a source close to the deal said Wednesday.

Sberbank Reports $834M Profit in 2009

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

The state-controlled bank said full-year profit was down about 75 percent from 97.7 billion rubles in 2008 after it took huge provisions against bad debt during the worst of the financial crisis.

Industrial Output Expands More Slowly

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

Industrial production expanded at a slower pace in February, led by manufacturers of steel pipes and rail freight containers, the State Statistics Service said Wednesday.

Israeli Dispute Clouds Moscow Peace Talks

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

A bitter dispute over Israeli settlements is clouding the chances for progress Friday at a high-level Moscow meeting aimed at advancing Middle East peace.

Russia Seeks 10% of Carbon Credits

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

Russia seeks 10 percent of the global trade in carbon credits within three to five years of holding its first tender under a United Nations program to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

Levitin Pushes Revival of Road Funds

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

The Transportation Ministry wants to return to the use of separately administered funds to pay for road construction, but the Finance Ministry opposes the idea, saying it would lead to corruption and be impractical to finance.

U.S. Company Accused of Exporting Military Technology

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

A U.S. company is accused of illegally exporting defense technology used by the U.S. military to Russia and three other countries, U.S. prosecutors said.

Rosneft Faces Export Deadlock as Yukos Attacks

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

Rosneft faces an export deadlock after bankrupt rival Yukos won U.S. and British court injunctions making cash payments to Rosneft in the West very complex, market sources said.

Medvedev to Visit Ukraine in May

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

President Dmitry Medvedev will visit Kiev in May, returning a trip that new Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych made to Moscow this month, Yanukovych's office said Wednesday.

Shale Gas Seen Boosting Europe's Energy Security

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

In the past two years, big energy giants including Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell have snapped up licenses in Sweden, Poland, Germany, France and Austria to explore for shale gas - natural gas trapped in layered rock rather than porous reservoirs.

Nose Falls in Love at New York Opera

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

Based on Nikolai Gogol's 1836 short story, the opera mocks snobby St. Petersburg society.

New Venue for St. Pat's Parade

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

Tens of thousands of Muscovites are expected for the capital's 18th annual St. Patrick's Day Parade on Sunday.

Wanted: Mammoth Tooth

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

Tatyana is selling a 12-kilogram mammoth tooth, discovered minus body. Her dad found it in a river in a small town in Tatarstan.

Bringing the Money Back to Russia

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

The medicine to cure bad loans needs to be taken quickly, but not so quickly as to kill the patient - the bank system.

Start of a New Thaw

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

We are probably seeing the start of a new "thaw," and that is the best news we have had as spring begins to blossom.

Between Tehran and Riyadh

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

It seems that a major Saudi weapons purchase from Russia is highly likely. The only thing in doubt is the timing of the deal.

Letters to the Editor

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

More Privatization Receipts

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

FIFA Asks Putin to Speak

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

Cinema

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

RZD's Eurobond Debut

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

Alkhanov to Oversee Prisons

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

Concerts

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

Timber Duty May Be Raised

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

Communists Want Meeting

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

Dance

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

Independent Deal Closer

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

For the Record

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

Opera

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

Moscow Sells $343M Bonds

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

Theater

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

Serbia, Russia on Loan

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

Gigs

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300

Exhibits

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300