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 DAVOS, Switzerland - As the World Economic Forum makes headlines in all the major international papers this week, the only splash of interest in Russia so far has been generated by the ever-upbeat born salesman Bill Browder. Browder, the CEO of Hermitage Capital Management, gathered together a room of prominent journalists Thursday for a 7:45 a. |
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MOSCOW - Europe's top human rights watchdog harshly criticized Moscow's handling of the Yukos affair, prompting Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov on Wednesday to issue a sharp rebuttal and suggest that Yukos executives might face new charges. |
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A new film called "Leningrad," set during World War II and starring Hollywood stars, U.S.-born Mira Sorvino and Irish-born Gabriel Byrne is being shot in St. Petersburg. The film is one of the most ambitious attempts to tell the story of wartime St. |
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The highly anticipated reunion in St. Petersburg of a British music group that split last summer appears to have been a publicity stunt, although local promoters say confusion sown about the concert is a simple mistake. |
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R.E.M. Show Canceled ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) - A much-hyped concert to have been given by R.E.M. at the Ice Palace on Thursday was abruptly canceled earlier in the day after the band's equipment got stuck at the Estonian border, the band announced on its official web site. "After a great night in Tallinn and an all-night journey to St. |
All photos from issue.
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The main obstacle to the development of the Russian economy is the entanglement of government in all areas of business, former prime minister Yegor Gaidar said Thursday. "Economic growth in Europe started when the hands of the rulers were kept out of the economy," Gaidar said at a presentation organized by Open Russia, an organization set up by allies of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former Yukos head who is in custody on what many see as selective use of the justice system. |
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Cyprus opened its St. Petersburg Consulate General in the building formerly used as the visa department for the Finnish Consulate at 27 Ulitsa Furshtadskaya this month. |
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Less than a week after the Estonian government confirmed its intention to sign a border treaty negotiated with Russia in 1999, but not yet signed or ratified, people on both sides were arguing about where it should be. Over 500 representatives of Estonia's Setu ethnic minority gathered outside the Estonian parliament and the Russian embassy in Tallinn on Wednesday to object to the agreement. |
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Four of 10 men who helped clean up the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power station disaster and who began a hunger strike 16 days ago in the St. Petersburg suburb of Sestroretsk seeking higher compensation, had been hospitalized by Thursday. |
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MOSCOW - Andrei Illarionov, the outspoken presidential adviser who was demoted after lambasting Kremlin policies, has now launched a broadside at the World Economic Forum. Unhappy that he could not speak at the session of his choice at the prestigious gathering in Davos, Switzerland, Illarionov scrapped his plans to attend the forum, which opened Wednesday. |
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MOSCOW - Crude pipeline monopoly Transneft has begun project work for a massive pipeline to the Pacific coast, including a branch to China that had been in doubt, Interfax quoted Transneft's head as saying. |
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MOSCOW - The Moscow Arbitration Court adjourned until Feb. 1 an appeal hearing by Japan Tobacco Inc. against an $85 million bill for back taxes, Interfax reported Wednesday. Tax authorities slapped the sales unit of Japan Tobacco's Russian branch with the claim for 2000 tax arrears, interest and penalties in June 2004. |
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MOSCOW - Russia and Belarus will establish a common economic zone by 2006, Pavel Borodin, secretary of the Russia-Belarus Union, said Wednesday. Closer ties will benefit both countries, whose annual trade volume is $17 billion, second only to Russia's $25 billion bilateral trade with Germany, Borodin said. |
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The St. Petersburg city government will not raise taxes unless some unforeseen negative factors develop, Vladimir Blank, head of City Hall's committee for economic development, industrial policy and trade, said Wednesday. Speaking at a St. Petersburg International Business Association for North-Western Russia (SPIBA) meeting, he said that the city budget revenues had grown by more than 20 percent in 2004. |
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Rapid expansion is the key to succeeding on the city's food retail market, says the president of food retailer Lenta, a company that plans to open four new stores in St. |
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Gas-Station Site Tender ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) - Sixty-one sites for gas stations are to be put up for auction in March, Interfax quoted Natalya Sheludko, spokeswoman for Vice Governor Alexander Vakhmistrov, as saying Wednesday. Speaking after a meeting between Vakhmistrov and the Oil Club, which represents the oil-products industry in St. |
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This week a group of State Duma deputies have made it again clear that the lower chamber of parliament is aping the Nazi brownshirts and the Bolsheviks' red nationalism. |
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Whether we look at politics, economics or the structure of the state, the main thrust in 2004 was to strengthen the president and the government in pursuit of so-called authoritarian modernization. Authoritarian modernization, as President Vladimir Putin is implementing it, aims to reinforce the state and speed up economic development. |
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 A new work by a British composer living in St. Petersburg, written for an obscure 18th century stringed instrument rediscovered by a Russian violin-maker, will premiere Sunday in the Kolonny Zal of the Herzen Pedagogical University at 4 p.m. Peter Dyson's "Quintot" features five movements and is designed for five quintons - a hybrid stringed musical instrument that emerged in France and was largely in use during the 18th-century. |
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The sensational local reunion of Orbital, advertized in local media to take place at the opening of the PIK trade and entertainment complex on Friday will not take place after all. |
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Nobody gave Greece much of a chance at Euro 2004, but the heroic team downed the giants of European soccer to become unlikely champions. A few weeks later, Athens hosted the Olympic Games without a hitch, despite widespread predictions that nothing would be ready in time. |
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The Night Salesman" ("Nochnoi Prodavets"), the debut feature from director Valery Rozhnov now showing in St. Petersburg cinemas, is a mixture of thriller and dark comedy with frequent references to Russian and Western detective films and crime comedies, particularly to films by Quentin Tarantino and to the 2003 Russian hit "Boomer. |
 He whispered the songs in my ear like poems. And it felt good, safe, like being in a bomb shelter," writes Irina Denezhkina in her intriguing collection of short stories "Give Me" to be published in the U.S. in February. Already an acclaimed international bestselling author at just 23 years old, Denezhkina latest book chronicles contemporary Russian adolescent life. |
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Flying on a clear day over a land of flashing lakes, forests and tiny farms, you can understand why Norway's 4.5 million people prefer to spread out. Water from the tap actually tastes good. |
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Zhao to be Buried BEIJING (AFP) - The funeral of purged Chinese leader Zhao Ziyang will take place on Saturday, his family and the government said. Security has been intensified to prevent mourners attending the ceremony. Witnesses said China has detained dozens of people before the event, some of whom have been severely beaten. |
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Spurs Sign Finn LONDON (Reuters) - Tottenham Hotspur have signed a pre-contract agreement with Finland international Teemu Tainio, the Premier League club announced on Thursday. |
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