LOCAL NEWS

RIGA MAKES BIG ISSUE OF BORDER

The spat between Russia and Latvia over a border treaty due to be signed in Moscow on May 10 continued last week with the Kremlin refusing to accept a declaration issued by Riga as a supplement to the border deal.

The declaration filed by the Latvian government in April describes its view of the Soviets' role in the history of the Baltic state.

U.S. HELPS RUSSIA FIGHT NUCLEAR SMUGGLERS

MOSCOW - A man carrying the hidden radioactive material mingled among airline passengers at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport one afternoon this year. His briefcase, holding the contraband, was indistinguishable from anyone else's carry-on bag.

IN BRIEF

Vilnius Tourist Visas

VILNIUS (SPT) - Lithuania's Foreign Ministry plans to toughen entry procedures for tourists from Russia and CIS countries, RIA Novosti reported Monday.

Quoting the president of the Lithuanian Tourism Association, Kestutis Ambrozaitis, the agency reported that Vilnius will end the practice of allowing the booking of package holidays to be sufficient for an applicant to receive a visa.

NATIONAL NEWS

BERLIN MAY REPAY WORK ON RUBENS

Germany is ready to compensate the expenses of restoring the painting Tarquin and Lucretia by Peter Paul Rubens, provided the canvas is returned to Sanssouci palace in Potsdam, Germany, the general director of the Foundation of Prussian Palaces and Gardens in Berlin-Brandenburg , Hartmut Dorgerloh said Thursday.

VYBORG CYCLIST HURT IN U.S.

Two-time Olympic cycling champion Vyacheslav Yekimov, of Vyborg, was released from a Texas hospital Sunday and is believed to be on his way back to his hometown, Russian media reported Monday.

CITY CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS HIGHLIGHT VICTORY CELEBRATION

As the 60th anniversary Victory Day commemorating the defeat of Nazi Germany on May 9 approaches, St. Petersburg's cultural institutions and public organizations are gearing up for the celebrations.

The city's artistic and theatrical organizations and NGOs are putting forward an array of memorial events to mark the victory over fascism.

PRESUMPTION OF GUILT COSTS SOCIETY PLENTY

The fact that the Constitutional Court recently cleared up the problem of the legal term, "unconscientious taxpayer," is reason enough to celebrate.

LOCAL BUSINESS

CITY TO LURE MORE U.K. FIRMS

The U.K. could soon become the biggest foreign investor in St. Petersburg as rising market stability has made the city attractive to an increasing number of British companies, head of the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce said Thursday.

"We want to become number one foreign investor in St.

STATE TO REVIVE DAM BUILDING

The federal government will ask the European Investment Bank (EIB) for a 40 million euro ($51.4 million) loan to complete the construction of the St. Petersburg's dam by 2009, Interfax news agency reported Friday.

IN BRIEF

Culture Needs Cash

ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) - St. Petersburg needs to invest 19 billion rubles ($684 million) of state funds in its historic and cultural monuments over the next four years to hold onto its cultural heritage, a state official said Friday.

CITIGROUP ANALYSTS START WORK

Citigroup Smith Barney, the global financial services company, established an equity research unit in Russia, increasing its Russian presence, the company said Friday.

IN BRIEF

Russneft to Buy Stake

BUDAPEST (Bloomberg) - Russneft, a closely held Russian oil producer, will buy Yukos' 50 percent stake in a Siberian crude-oil production venture with Hungary's Mol Rt, the Hungarian company said in a stock-exchange statement.

ROVER GETS RUSSIAN RAY OF HOPE

The drowning saga of Britain's last national carmaker MG Rover may have a Russian happy-ending or an Iranian twist, depending on which set of newly emerged buyers win the rights to buy out the company.

REPORT: KREMLIN TAKING CHINA'S LEAD

MOSCOW - The Kremlin is moving toward a Chinese-style model of "directed capitalism," where the state controls key sectors while letting the market run loose in the rest of the economy, HSBC said in a report presented Thursday.

Yet the vastly different structures of the two economies, as well as Russia's failure to enforce its own laws, means that Moscow might be making a mistake by mimicking Beijing, the bank said.

IN BRIEF

Mayor's Wife Hotelier

MOSCOW (Bloomberg) - Yelena Baturina, the wife of Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov and Russia's only female billionaire, plans to spend $2 billion building hotels and office complexes, Vedomosti said, citing the deputy head of her holding company, Inteko.

Children of Elite Well-Placed for Winning Top Jobs

MOSCOW - In Soviet times, the children of Politburo members were often awarded plum jobs in foreign trade or as diplomats in Western countries. Today, the children of the country's new political elite are being hired at the commanding heights of Russian business.

For instance, 24-year-old Sergei Ivanov, the defense minister's son, was appointed vice president in January of Gazprombank, the banking arm of the state-controlled gas monopoly.

OPINION

IN DICTATORIAL COMPANY

Try, if you can, to picture the scene. A vast crowd in Red Square: Lenin's tomb and Stalin's memorial in the background. Soldiers march in goose step behind rolling tanks, and the air echoes with martial music, occasionally drowned out by the whine of fighter jets.

TWO MESSAGES: ONE FULL OF OBSFUCATION, THE OTHER WITH CLEAR GOALS

Recently there have been two appeals by the authorities to the voters. One was President Vladimir Putin's annual address and the other is the program for the social and economic development of St.

WORLD

IN BRIEF

New Pope Appears

VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Benedict XVI, embracing a cherished habit of his predecessor, appeared at his apartment's window on St. Peter's Square on Sunday for the first time in his papacy to bless tens of thousands of faithful and curious.

ZENIT COACH RUES REF'S PENALTY CALLS

FC Zenit St Petersburg slipped in the Russian Premier League to fourth place after a controversial 1-1 home draw on Saturday at Petrovsky Stadium against 2004 champion Lokomotiv Moscow.