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Candidates in the next elections for the Legislative Assembly in 2007 will be selected from party lists, according to a new local election law passed in its first reading by the city parliament Wednesday. Voters will no longer be able to choose a candidate according to single-mandate districts, as has been the case to date. |
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While St. Petersburg's foreign tourists grumble about a lack of security, the metro and street signs being written in Cyrillic and dodgy airport shuttle buses, those trying to serve them say they don't have enough money. |
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The Finnish Foreign Ministry has set up a working group on human trafficking across its land border with Russia that has produced a draft action plan. "In the assessment of the working group, each year Finland is a country of transit and a target country for hundreds of victims of human trafficking," the ministry says in a report posted on its web site last week. |
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Bear Skulls Seized ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) - FSB representatives have confiscated 11 cave bear skulls that were about to be smuggled out of Russia, Interfax reported Tuesday quoting local law enforcement officers. |
All photos from issue.
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Dozens of St. Petersburg residents and guests visited the Polish Consulate General this week to leave their notes of sympathy in a condolence book for Pope John Paul II. "The death of this great man has become a very hard event for me," said Yadviga Petrovskaya, 52, a teacher of Polish descent who lives in St. |
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Smashed tent frames and rusty cups lying on the ground in the dark evening light - that was what was left of a destroyed Roma community camp last year. |
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Muscle-bound men broke into the studio of nonconformist artists Mitki on Ulitsa Pravdy on Wednesday in an effort to force them out. "They threatened to kill us if we didn't leave," said Dmitry Shagin, the leader of the artists who are known for their blue-and-white striped sailor shirts. |
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Leningrad Military District prosecutors said Thursday that the bodies of 12 conscript sailors who deserted their unit on Tuesday night showed signs of beatings. |
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Estonia Compensation TALLINN (SPT) - Estonia says a compromise is possible on the issue of compensation for what it calls its occupation by the Soviets, Interfax reported Tuesday. Asked about Estonia's claims against Russia for cash compensation if Russia, the successor to the Soviet Union, recognizes the occupation and offers an apology, Estonian Foreign Minister Rein Lang, said "this is a matter for interstate negotiations. |
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MOSCOW - The country's financial authorities faced a chorus of criticism this week after insisting their inflation targets could be met, even as the numbers appeared to suggest otherwise. |
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Baltika Buys Pikra Stake ST.PETERSBURG (SPT) - Russia's largest brewer Baltika bought a 16.38 percent stake in the East-Siberian Pikra brewery, Baltika said Thursday in a statement, news agency Itar-Tass reported. Baltika would not name who it had purchased the stake from or how much it had paid in the deal, the agency said. |
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Lenders and investors interested in St. Petersburg were given one more reassurance this week as credit ratings agency Moody's Interfax confirmed the city's top Aaa (rus) rating. |
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St. Petersburg has more vacancies than unemployed people because the wages for the vacant jobs are too low to attract applicants, officials say. Official unemployment in the city is about 3 percent, and below the national average of 7.8 percent. The numbers of jobless will grow as modern technologies that need smaller numbers of workers are introduced, a report by the city's economic development committee says. |
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Smolny held an awards ceremony to recognize the city's "best" taxpayers last week, news agency Fontanka.ru reported. City Hall awarded 20 companies that it said proved to be conscientious tax payers with honorary diplomas and even souvenirs. |
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You can't help but get the impression that the Kremlin is losing its political momentum when it comes to appointing governors. It is increasingly acting like a political fire brigade. In certain cases, it can't seem to make an appointment before the deadline, while in others, it is being forced to respond the best it can to expanding local initiatives and protests. |
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Time goes by as fast as an arrow and leaves behind many good and bad things. Some of them stick in our memory and are tinged with a sense of regret. This was my feeling while standing and listening to the St. |
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And cut! Fifteen-minute break for everybody. Hot tea and coffee are available in the trailer!" These were the welcome words of a curly-haired production assistant, shouted through a loudhailer during the filming of a new World War II drama "Polumga" ("Half-Light") near St. |
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A no-show from The Prodigy became second in a line of big cancellations this year (after R.E.M.'s concert famously fell apart), with an testy exchange of statements between local promoters and the band's European tour management sure to follow. |
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The Jimi Hendrix Blues Club is one of the city's premier jazz joints and if you want to spend a lively Saturday night there it's necessary to book a table. Its helpful but slightly formal staff expedite this process efficiently and will help you select one of the 15 tables on offer in the compact basement bar ahead of time. With live blues, jazz or R&B acts performing each night at 8.30 p.m., the focus at Jimi Hendrix is clearly on music, but the food on offer is also worth the trip. Last Saturday, the young guitarist and singer Ilya Lushtak and his quartet New York-SPb showcased mainstream mellow jazz while the mixed-age crowd chowed down on classic Russian dishes such as Beef Stroganoff (190 rubles, $6. |
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 Despite an abundance of material that could create wonderful film scripts, the new generation of Russian movie directors seem to be happy with re-writing and adapting familiar plots. |
 The black sheep in a flock of urban folk bands, La Minor adds sophisticated arrangements to carefully chosen, authentic Russian gangster songs, throws in some ska and rock and roll and doesn't hesitate to perform the occasional Adriano Celentano cover. But La Minor's upcoming album, which it will launch at a concert in Platforma this week, will contain less straightforward gangster songs than usual, according to lead singer Slava Shalygin. |
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 Rossini's long-lost, magnificent "party piece," originally created for an army of bel canto singers, "Il Viaggio a Reims," is being revived at the Mariinsky Theater, where it premieres on Wednesday with a further performance on April 16. |
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More Zenit at RFU? ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) - Local media named former Russia manager Anatoly Byshovets, who coached FC Zenit St. Petersburg when new Russian Football Union (RFU) head Vitaly Mutko headed the premier league soccer club, as front-runner for the job of Russian national coach. Current Zenit coach, Czech Vlastimil Petrzela, is also said to be under consideration for the job. |
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