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Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov defended the top brass at a State Duma session on Wednesday against criticism of widespread hazing, warning that media organizations could be investigated if they called for a boycott of conscription and arguing that hazing was a societal problem that began in kindergarten. Ivanov had been called to address the Duma in response to the scandal that arose last month over the brutal hazing of Andrei Sychyov, a conscript who had his legs and genitals amputated after being beaten on New Year’s Eve. “Yes, there was an outrageous occurrence that prompted the well-founded indignation of all clear-thinking people,” Ivanov told deputies. “Yes, unfortunately crimes and incidents occur in the military, and we are not evading responsibility.” Ivanov’s speech at the Duma coincided with a news conference of local army bosses in St. |
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FASHION FAIR
Alexander Belenky / The St. Petersburg Times
A model at the International Fashion Industry Fair being held at the SKK sports complex presents a design by Yulia Kotik from her “Classy Lady”collection. The fair closes on Saturday. |
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VLADIKAVKAZ — A Russian judge retired to consider his verdict on Thursday on the only person to stand trial for the Beslan school siege that killed 300 people, half of them children. Prosecutors have requested the death penalty for Nurpashi Kulayev, who they say is the only surviving hostage-taker of the group that stormed Beslan’s school in September 2004 with the intention of killing as many hostages as possible.
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All photos from issue.
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MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin met Wednesday with the envoy of the so-called Quartet of Middle East peace mediators to discuss the tense situation in the region after last month’s surprise victory of militant group Hamas in Palestinian elections. Envoy James Wolfensohn, former president of the World Bank, said he had come to Moscow to seek advice as well as to inform the Russian leadership of his work. |
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The composer Andrei Petrov, whose works include the ballets “The Creation” and “The Master and Margarita,” the opera “Peter the First,” numerous symphonic works and over 80 film soundtracks, died on Wednesday at the age of 75 following a massive stroke. |
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MOSCOW — The Pressa complex on Ulitsa Pravdy, the site of a huge fire on Monday, appears to have been too badly damaged to be repaired and is likely to be demolished an official in the presidential administration said Wednesday. Dmitry Khrekov, a spokesman for the Presidential Property Department, which owns the complex, said experts would assess the state of the building, but that preliminary analysis had shown it was not suitable for reconstruction. |
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A plan by Sir Norman Foster, one of the world’s best known architects, has won the New Holland Island Redevelopment competition, Governor Valentina Matviyenko said Tuesday. The competition, announced by City Hall in November, invited tenders requiring participants to invest over $300 million and complete the project within seven years. |
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Although long term life insurance hardly exists in Russia today, it has great potential, the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation reported recently in the publication “Reforming the Insurance Market in Russia. |
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National mobile operator Sky Link has set what experts consider an ambitious goal of attracting about four million subscribers by 2010, 30 percent of them in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Sky Link will invest over $100 million into development this year, the company’s CEO said Monday at a press conference in Moscow, Interfax reported. |
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MOSCOW — The government will hold new tenders for special economic zones at the end of this year, Economic Development and Trade Minister German Gref said Wednesday, Interfax reported. |
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Airbus Discount TOULOUSE, France (Bloomberg) — Airbus SAS is offering Aeroflot a $100 million discount as it tries to trump Boeing to win a $3 billion order for 22 long-haul jets from Russia’s national carrier, Vedomosti said, citing a source familiar with the offer. The offer by Toulouse, France-based Airbus is for its A350 model, which Aeroflot is considering along with Boeing’s 787, the Russian newspaper said Thursday. |
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Probably the most interesting reaction to Hamas’s victory in the Palestinian elections was one of the least noticed. It came from Essam Erian, a leading spokesman of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, of which Hamas is a branch. Erian duly lauded Hamas’s “great victory. |
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President Vladimir Putin first promised to “waste” terrorists “in the outhouse.” Last Tuesday he went further in a speech to the top brass of the Federal Security Service, instructing FSB agents to hunt down terrorists “in every cave” and “to destroy them like rats. |
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On Tuesday, the controversial 30-year saga of the redevelopment of one of the most mysterious sites in St. Petersburg — New Holland Island — finally came to a close when Governor Valentina Matviyenko announced that a plan by British architect Sir Norman Foster will be adopted (see story page 5). |
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MOSCOW — If you come from a warm place like Sydney or Florida, you may think dog clothing is the ultimate in ridiculous extravagance. But your Russia-based dog is likely to think otherwise. |
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City Bar is closed now that Aileen Exeter, the owner for the legendary expat hangout that she established nearly 10 years ago, is leaving for the U.S. Although a pair of the bar’s former staffers intended to keep the place going, they failed to come up with a workable plan, said Exeter by phone this week. |
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“Don’t commit suicide, don’t be like cattle,” cried Andrei Knyazev, one of the two vocalists for 1990s stadium punk band Korol i Shut, addressing a small crowd of fans on Monday as the Alexander Bashlachev Memorial Concert finally got under way. |
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An intriguing new exhibition of video art run by the National Center for Contemporary Art at the Anna Akhmatova Museum shows how modern artists from the west have been inspired by Russia. Yet the Russia many have responded to in “The Significant Other: Russia as inspiration for the West” is its Soviet incarnation and the main interest (if not admiration) of the artists — almost all of them U. |
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Was ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev the artist who captivated the world or the temperamental diva behind the scenes? A sensational memoir by Carolyn Soutar claims to tell the inside story. |
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PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Given Haiti’s history of dictatorship, violence and perpetual political chaos, it could be seen as high praise that Rene Preval’s first term as president was relatively peaceful. Preval was declared the country’s next president on Thursday after a deal was reached over charges of vote fraud. |
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GENEVA — The United States on Thursday faced mounting international calls to close its Guantanamo prison camp with UN investigators saying detainees there faced treatment amounting to torture. |
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NIAMEY, Niger — In West Africa’s bustling markets and street eateries, some consumers are spurning chickens, eggs and even their favourite dishes as a bird flu scare grips the region. “I haven’t sold a single bird among the 40 or so chickens I put up for sale at Niamey’s market,” said Ada Ali, a poultry seller in the capital. |
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TURIN — There has been only one mantra about the men’s figure competition at the Winter Olympics — the gold medal is Yevgeny Plushenko’s to lose. It doesn’t matter whether you ask Plushenko’s rivals, former Olympic champions or skating critics, they all have the same answer. |
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History repeated itself when FC Zenit St. Petersburg beat Norway’s Rosenborg 2-0 in Trondheim in a UEFA Cup tie on Wednesday. The scoreline mirrored Zenit’s two previous matches with Norwegian sides to the delight of approximately 1,500 fans who traveled to Lerkendal Stadium in support of the St. |
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Lokomotiv UEFA Loss ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) — Lokomotiv Moscow was unable to take advantage of playing at home in the UEFA Cup when they lost 1-0 to Spanish side Sevilla on Wednesday. Other results: Litex — Strasbourg, 0-2; Artmedia — Levski, 0-1; Basel — Monaco, 1-0; Hertha — Rapid, 0-1; Lille — Shakhtar, 3-2; Heerenveen — Steaua, 1-3; Schalke — Espanyol, 2-1; Bolton — Marseille, 0-0; Club Brugge — Roma, 1-2; Udinese — Lens, 3-0; Betis — AZ, 2-0. |
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Issues Archive