LOCAL NEWS

PUTIN JUSTIFIES POLICIES

MOSCOW - President Vladimir Putin defended his course of political and electoral reforms Thursday, asserting that the changes will streamline public administration and consolidate the country in the face of terrorism without curtailing democracy.

Putin spoke with journalists from three national television channels and met with pro-Kremlin State Duma deputies to reiterate his commitment to pursue his reforms, which include scrapping the popular vote for regional leaders, eliminating independent races in Duma elections, and obtaining the right to disband regional legislatures.

FITCH LIFTS RUSSIA'S RATING TO INVESTMENT GRADE

MOSCOW - Russia's sovereign rating has been raised to investment grade by Fitch Ratings, which said swelling government coffers on the back of high oil prices make the country better able to repay its debt.

Zhirinovsky Moots Tunnel to Kaliningrad

With one eye on next week's EU-Russia summit, outspoken nationalist politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky called for the construction of a tunnel between Russia and the exclave of Kaliningrad.

"We have abandoned an entire region of Russia without legal support," he fumed in the State Duma on Wednesday.

NATIONAL NEWS

PRESIDENT PROMISES BETTER NUKE MISSILES

MOSCOW - Russia's defense industry is developing a new nuclear missile system that will be second to none in the world, and the armed forces will have it in their arsenal in the near future, President Vladimir Putin told a meeting of the military top brass Wednesday.

NEW REACTOR BOUND FOR PLANT IN INDIA

St. Petersburg's Izhorskiye Zavody on Thursday shipped a new nuclear reactor body that will be the first power unit of India's Kudankulam nuclear power plant to the city's sea port.

OUTRAGE AT ZHIRINOVSKY PLAN

Democratic politicians in St. Petersburg are outraged at plans by LDPR party leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky, to lay flowers on the grave of assassinated liberal State Duma Deputy Galina Starovoitova's grave during his visit to the city on Friday when he will testify at the trial of those accused of murdering Starovoitova.

IN BRIEF

Call for More Deputies

ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) - Federation Council speaker Sergei Mironov has proposed increasing the number of Legislative Assembly deputies from the 50 to 100, Interfax reported Wednesday.

LOCAL BUSINESS

BOEING FLIES $2.5 BILLION INTO RUSSIA'S LAP

MOSCOW - Boeing has pledged to invest $2.5 billion into the Russian aerospace industry over the next five years, Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko said Wednesday.

With the signing of two agreements, Boeing is inviting Russian companies to participate in the design and production of its next-generation aircraft, the 7E7 Dreamliner.

LUKOIL READIES TO EXPLOIT JAPAN AND CHINA ENERGY MARKETS

MOSCOW - Top oil producer LUKoil said earlier this week it is preparing to ship crude directly to China and Japan by rail and ship, opening up vast new markets for the energy giant.

FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN CITY RISES

The volume of foreign investment in the city is expected to reach $900 million by the year's end, the head of economic development committee said at a government meeting Tuesday.

The meeting focused on the results of St. Petersburg's socio-economic development from January to September.

CITY BUDGET 2005 PRIORITIZES CONSTRUCTION AND WELFARE

The Legislative Assembly passed the city budget for 2005 with 113.3 billion rubles ($3.95 billion) of income and 122 billion rubles ($4.25 billion) of expenditure on Wednesday.

IN BRIEF

For the record:

City administration's announced sale of its share packages in six city hotels, valued by international auditing companies at a total of $79 million, will start from early February next year.

Hotels Oktyabrskaya and Moskva will be auctioned off February 9-10, said city administration.

OPINION

In Defense of the Lowly Kiosk

City Hall has started a fight against kiosks in St. Petersburg, refusing to extend agreements with traders who operate in public places, such as bus stops or at train stations.

The authorities say terrorists could misuse kiosks and that the kiosks should therefore disappear from the city's streets once and for all.

CULTURE

CHERNOV'S CHOICE

Sergei Shnurov's new song, I Am Free (Ya Svoboden), has been released on a multi-media CD intended to support the jailed businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky, according to the Internet publication Dni.ru.

The song, a rapping ode to freedom, does not mention Khodorkovsky, who is considered one of the most influential opponents to President Vladimir Putin, but Shnurov has been quoted as saying that he was inspired by his visit to a labor camp in Mordovia, and by an article allegedy written by Khodorkovsky in prison which was published in business daily Vedomosti.

COMIC VISITORS

A Finnish comic book artist whose parents were forced out of the border town of Vyborg when it was absorbed into the Soviet Union as a result of World War II, has published a new book which takes a twisted look at the complex historical relationship between Russia and one of its closest neighbors.

RISING STARS JURY PRESIDENT VLADIMIR ATLANTOV (C) ANNOUNCES WINNERS AT THE MARIINSKY THEATER.

The sixteen finalists of The Sixth International Rimsky-Korsakov competition for young opera singers, which concluded last weekend, are set to fill their diaries with international engagements, and very soon.

Belorussian counter-tenor Yury Minenko, a finalist, is being seriously considered for the role of Ziebel in a forthcoming staging of Gounoud's "Faust" at the Vienna State Opera, Ioan Holender, the company's director and a member of the contest's jury, said.

"Usually the role is sung by a mezzo-soprano, so inviting a counter-tenor would be a departure from tradition. But it is not impossible, and the singer is definitely worth a look," Holender said.

THE HOSTEL OPTION

You've told all your out of town friends and relatives that St. Petersburg is a happening place and a veritable must-see travel destination. Suddenly they agree.

WORLD

IN BRIEF

Hostage Hassan 'Dead'

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - British-Iraqi aid worker Margaret Hassan has probably been killed by kidnappers, her family has said after a video apparently showing her being shot in the head was sent to an Arab television station.

SPORTS WATCH

Racial Slurs Disappoint

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Tony Blair was "very disappointed" by the racial abuse of England's black players during Wednesday's soccer international against Spain in Madrid.