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MOSCOW — Gas transit through Belarus to Europe will be illegal unless Gazprom relents on demands that Minsk pay steep price increases in 2007, a senior Belarussian official said Wednesday. Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller responded by demanding still higher prices and insisting that the gas for Europe cross the Belarussian border. |
All photos from issue.
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MOSCOW — Ali Kaitov, the son-in-law of the president of the republic of Karachayevo-Cherkessia, was sentenced Wednesday to 17 years in prison by the republic’s Supreme Court for ordering seven murders. The court also handed down lengthy terms to Tamerlan Bostanov and Azamat Akbayev, who fatally shot local lawmaker Rasul Bogatyrev and six other men in a dispute over a local cement plant. |
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MOSCOW — The Federation Council rejected a bill Wednesday that would have moved the Constitutional Court to St. Petersburg from Moscow but left the door open for a revised draft permitting for occasional sessions in the capital, as the judges would like. |
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MOSCOW — The Economic Development and Trade Ministry has raised its maximum inflation forecast to 7.0 percent in 2008, from a previous 6.0 percent, and to 6.8 percent in 2009, from 5.5, a top ministry official said Wednesday. Andrei Klepach, the ministry’s chief macroeconomic planner, said the move was due to an increase in domestic gas prices and the partial liberalization of electricity tariffs. |
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MOSCOW — Authorities have issued 32 warnings to mass media organizations for inciting racial hatred, xenophobia and extremism, Boris Boyarskov, head of the Federal Service for Media Law Compliance and Cultural Heritage, said Wednesday. |
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TBILISI, Georgia — Lawmakers on Wednesday approved a bill that envisages holding simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections in 2008. The parliament voted 167-10 to hold the vote in October or November 2008. Critics called the move an attempt by President Mikheil Saakashvili to help his allies retain control of the legislature. |
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MOSCOW — Jailed Yukos founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky is looking at a possible 15-year prison term in connection with a money-laundering inquiry. The prison term would come on top of the eight years he is already serving. Prosecutors on Wednesday questioned Khodorkovsky as part of their inquiry. |
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MOSCOW — Royal Dutch Shell signed a secret protocol with the Russian government as part of its deal to sell half of the Sakhalin-2 project to Gazprom, allowing Shell to boost spending but not as much as it wanted, a newspaper said on Thursday. |
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MOSCOW — This year’s most remarkable event was the emergence of grassroots democracy, according to former Kremlin economic adviser Andrei Illarionov. Citizens across the country defended their interests, rights and property by joint protests, such as the one against the eviction of residents from Moscow’s southern Butovo area where authorities want to build new apartments, Illarionov said in a speech in Moscow, where he presented his personal awards for the year. |
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It’s been some decades since art first spilled out of an author’s studio to a public venue, sculpting life itself to fit its purposes. A new value was found in works that not only force reality to become their integral part – like installations or performance art – but themselves transform, welcoming life as an equal partner in creation. |
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 Turkmenistan’s President Saparmurat Niyazov died unexpectedly on Dec 21. Presidents die unexpectedly elsewhere in the world, but this case is different in its geo-strategic implications. If the instability that sometimes comes with political change occurs in Turkmenistan, it could affect Central Asian, Iranian and European gas supplies. |
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The authorities in the Chita Region are investigating the murder of Federal Security Service, or FSB, Captain Alexander Ovsyannikov. Truth is, there is nothing to investigate: Men involved in illegal logging beat Ovsyannikov to death after he arrived at their site in his own car and demanded they produce the necessary documents for their timber. |
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There was a lot of talk this year about Russia reasserting its presence on the world stage. Whether it was President Vladimir Putin swaggering in front of fellow world leaders at the G8 summit, Gazprom swallowing up new assets or the country’s boxers and tennis players winning titles, the story was much the same: Russia was back. Much the same thing happened in the cultural sphere, too. Consider the first big arts story of the year: the release of the supernatural blockbuster “Day Watch.” In the run-up to Jan. 1, 2006, Moscow was overrun with gigantic ads for Timur Bekmambetov’s movie. The sequel to “Night Watch” went on to gross over $30 million, becoming Russia’s all-time box-office champ and cementing a trend of homegrown blockbusters. |
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A huge illuminated yolka, or New Year Tree, on St. Isaac’s Square in downtown St. Petersburg heralding celebrations held this weekend. |
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Despite millions of dollars spent on the country’s international image, Russia did not look good in 2006, with its out-and-out corruption and political murders. The international music world was affected, when British chart toppers Razorlight got a taste of both. Razorlight came to Moscow in November only to find out that it was the band that had to pay to play.
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January saw an intense start to the year as the Mariinsky Orchestra performed Gustav Mahler’s titanic Eighth Symphony — often referred to as the “Symphony of a Thousand” — giving a profound rendition that was generous with dark, vibrant color and rich in deep, low sound. The orchestra, renowned for its great strings section, thrived in the exuberance and flaring passion of the intensely-scored work. By contrast, a ballet premiere that followed, captivated with naivety and romanticism. French choreographer Pierre Lacotte, a restorer of undeservedly forgotten gems of 19th-century choreography, revived the original version of Jules Perrot’s romantic ballet “Ondine” at the Mariinsky Theater in March. |
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 The city’s monopolists of Western art and Russian art — The State Hermitage Museum and The State Russian Museum respectively — were, predictably, the cultural newsmakers of the departing year. |
 Over the centuries, Russians have inherited and claimed a hodge-podge of New Year’s traditions and superstitions from pagan, Christian, Slavic, Western and Eastern cultures. Here’s a short primer on holiday high jinks. Holiday History Until 1700, Russians celebrated two new years: one on March 1 (originally a pagan celebration of new life) and one on Sept. |
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It’s that time of year again, when couriers are scurrying between offices, delivering thousands of glittering corporate gifts bearing company logos. Naturally, all gift-givers want to make the right impression and avoid overstepping the boundaries of what’s acceptable and appropriate: Even if the goal is just to thank one’s partners and clients for a year of doing business together, giving can go wrong if a gift is poorly chosen or the recipient does not have a sense of humor. |
 The swiftly departing year of 2006 was a year like any other in the movie world: it had a new box-office deity, another streak of movies that didn’t live up to expectations, a few indie movies that unexpectedly made it big — and last but not least, another horrifying Adam Sandler comedy. In Russian cinema, 2006 should be remembered as a year of horror movies since most of what was made in the country this year can only be classified as that, regardless of what was intended. |
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 LONDON — Chelsea’s defensive frailties cost two valuable points in their quest for a hat-trick of Premier League titles on Tuesday when a Michael Essien own goal gave Reading a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge. Leaders Manchester United took full advantage later in the day, extending the gap at the top to four points by cruising past Wigan Athletic 3-1 at Old Trafford with Cristiano Ronaldo continuing his hot streak with two more goals. |
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LOS ANGELES — Ernie Els gave himself an early Christmas present by winning the South African Open last Sunday. More significantly, he proved he had fully recovered from the knee injury he suffered after the 2005 British Open. |
 NEW YORK — The Houston Rockets proved they can win without Yao Ming when they dumped the New Jersey Nets 96-71 on Wednesday, led by a 23 point effort from Shane Battier. With Yao sidelined for six weeks after sustaining broken bone in his right leg in loss to the Clippers on Dec. |
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MELBOURNE — Australia thrashed England by an innings and 99 runs at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Thursday, wrapping up a fourth straight win in the Ashes series with more than two days remaining. |
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SYDNEY — Australian maxi Wild Oats was on course for a rare second successive victory in the Sydney-Hobart yacht race as it neared the finishing line on Thursday. The 30-meter (98 feet) yacht has led for most of the 628-nautical mile race since it started in Sydney Harbour on Tuesday and was sailing strongly in southeasterly winds of up to 20 knots with less than 60 miles to go. |
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LONDON — New Charlton Athletic manager Alan Pardew saw his struggling side come from behind and then concede a stoppage time goal in a 2-2 draw with London rivals Fulham in the English Premier League on Wednesday. |
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OTTAWA — Ray Emery made 18 saves to collect his second shutout of the season as the Ottawa Senators found a way past the New York Islanders’ Rick DiPietro to register a 2-0 win on Wednesday. Before the game, DiPietro was in the spotlight after registering back-to-back shutouts against the Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Rangers and not allowing a goal in 156 minutes and 30 seconds of play. |
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