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Governor Valentina Matviyenko has revived a controversial plan to merge the administration of the city of St.Petersburg and the surrounding Leningrad Oblast into a single unit. The initiative comes in the wake of a series of unification plans that entail combining several regions of Russia with larger regional entities, apparently in an effort to complement the construction of Vladimir Putin’s “vertical of power” and further centralize the government. The proposal to merge the city and the oblast is not new, having first been proposed by former mayor Anatoly Sobchak nearly fifteen years ago. Carrying out such a merger would require the consent of the federal government and amending the constitution. |
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SEVENTH HEAVEN
Alexander Belenky / The St. Petersburg Times
Newlywed couples embracing on Saturday on the Strelka of Vasilievsky Island, in keeping with the local tradition of touring the city’s key landmarks on wedding days. The sevens in the date on Saturday (07/07/07) were thought by many to bring luck to newlyweds. |
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MOSCOW — The Other Russia opposition coalition adopted a political platform Sunday as it continued preparations for primaries to select a unity opposition candidate in October. With the identity of the coalition’s candidate for March’s presidential election still undecided and former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov having jumped ship, leaders of The Other Russia said the creation of the platform, which proposes to undo some of the political changes of the past seven years, was an important step.
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Amid growing evidence of a rise in the use of intravenous drugs in the city, the St. Petersburg Anti-Narcotic Squad claimed major breakthroughs in the past six months, saying it had crushed drug cartels and broken the market for new, locally manufactured drugs. |
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MOSCOW — An underground prison dating back to the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan has been found on the northern outskirts of Kabul, the BBC reported Friday. |
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Bridge to Reopen ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) — Lieutenant Schmidta bridge is due to be reopened by Aug. 10, Fontanka.ru reported. A representative of the City Hall committee dealing with road repairs was quoted as saying that all that remains to be done is the laying of a top layer of asphalt on the bridge, which has been closed for a year, and to replace street lamps. |
All photos from issue.
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MOSCOW — Inveterate leadfoots and motorists who like to dial and drive might have to change their habits soon or risk heftier fines for reckless driving. The State Duma on Friday passed in a third and final reading a bill that would increase sixfold fines for excessive speeding and talking on a cell phone behind the wheel without a hands-free device. |
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To what extent is Russia governable over the Internet? Some attempts at answering this question were made at a June 25 conference entitled “Development of e-Government in St. Petersburg” and organized by the St. Petersburg Information-analytical Center (IAC) the Partnership for Development of the Information Society in Northwest Russia (PRIOR NW) and City Hall. |
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The State Duma approved last week the third reading of a law on the nanotech industry. The law stipulates that state funding of the Russian Corporation for Nanotechnologies will amount to $5 billion and total spending to $7 billion. |
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MOSCOW — As crowds in Sochi reveled in the city’s Olympic win, traders in Moscow huddled to figure out how to cash in on it, providing a welcome shot in the arm for dozing local markets. The MICEX and RTS exchanges both gained 4 percent on the week. Now at 1975 index points, its highest close since it failed to hold the 2000-point benchmark on April 17, the RTS is again within a whisker of an all-time high. |
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Rosbank Office ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) — Rosbank management company has opened a new sales office in St. Petersburg on Griboedova Canal, the company said Friday in a statement. |
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MOSCOW — Rosneft paid $3.4 billion to acquire Yukos headquarters and a trading company thought to be sitting on billions of dollars in cash from mystery firm Prana last week, according to a Rosneft document released Friday. The sum was equal to the amount it received from Vneshekonombank for selling the state lender a 50 percent stake in Tomskneft, a Yukos production unit it bought in a bankruptcy auction in May. |
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MOSCOW — For several months last year, Shell fought off daily accusations that its construction of the giant Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project was causing unspeakable damage to the land and animals of the far eastern island. |
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MOSCOW — Russian steel billionaire Alexei Mordashov has requested permission from the anti-monopoly agency to buy control of turbine maker Power Machines as he bets on booming demand for equipment amid power sector reforms. A representative of Russia’s Federal Anti-Monopoly Serive said on Monday the agency had received a request from Mordashov, the majority owner of steel maker Severstal, to buy a stake in the country’s largest turbine manufacturer. |
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Cypriot developers expect demand for real estate to soar in the near future as increasing numbers of Russians feel the pull of “Aphrodite’s island.” To meet buyers’ expectations, both local authorities and private companies are investing heavily into infrastructure and regional development while remaining weary of conserving the island’s natural beauty. |
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 To be perfectly honest, I did not think that Russia would get the Olympics. Why did I believe that International Olympic Committee would choose another city? One, because I did not believe that we could outspend the other candidate cities (in the amount of $12 billion) on bringing Sochi up to Olympic standards. |
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Earlier this year, I attended a breakfast hosted by the Lord Mayor of London John Stuttard, at which he kept quoting statistics on the number of foreigners working in London’s financial district and the variety of countries they represent. |
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It is time for the United States to leave Iraq without any more delay than the Pentagon needs to organize an orderly exit. Like many Americans, the editors of The New York Times have put off that conclusion, waiting for a sign that President George W. Bush was seriously trying to dig the United States out of the disaster he created by invading Iraq without sufficient cause, in the face of global opposition and without a plan to stabilize the country afterward. |
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 TROMSO, Norway — As climate change took center stage at last weekend’s massive series of Live Earth concerts, held on all seven continents and including a gig in Antarctica by an unknown five-piece composed of British Antarctic Survey scientists, a conference held last month north of the Arctic Circle in Tromso, Norway, also added to the debate. |
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BRUSSELS — France headed for a clash with other euro zone countries on Monday over its plans to backtrack on earlier commitments and delay budget deficit cuts despite an economic upswing. French President Nicolas Sarkozy was due to present plans to kick-start the French economy to finance ministers from the 13 countries using the euro and the European Central Bank at an informal meeting on Monday evening. |
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ZURICH — Pharmaceutical group Novartis said on Monday it had received U.S. approval for Exelon Patch, which delivers a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease through a skin patch instead of an oral capsule. |
 VIENNA — The UN nuclear watchdog’s governing body agreed on Monday to send monitors to North Korea to verify a shutdown of its atomic bomb program, launching what is likely to be a long and arduous disarmament process. It would be the first International Atomic Energy Agency mission in the reclusive Stalinist state since it expelled IAEA inspectors in 2002 after Washington accused it of a clandestine effort to refine nuclear fuel. |
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LONDON — Roger Federer arrived at Wimbledon on Sunday in his stylish cream suit and walked away wearing the mantle of sporting greatness. By burying second seed Rafael Nadal in a nerve-jangling 7-6 4-6 7-6 2-6 6-2 thriller, the world number one took his place alongside Bjorn Borg as the only men to have won five successive titles the All England Club in the professional era. |
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SILVERSTONE , England — Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen won the British Grand Prix on Sunday to wreck championship leader Lewis Hamilton’s hopes of a home celebration. |
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LONDON — Jamie Murray became the first British winner at Wimbledon in 20 years when he and Serbian partner, Jelena Jankovic defeated Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden and Australia’s Alicia Molik in Sunday’s mixed doubles final. The 6-4 3-6 6-1 victory provided a buzzing late evening Centre Court crowd with their first home winner since Britons Jeremy Bates and Jo Durie won the same event in 1987. |
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U.S. Boy Wonder WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Long touted as the next great American tennis player, Donald Young played the part Sunday by winning the Wimbledon juniors title. |
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SONKAJARVI, Finland — Estonians took gold and silver at the world wife-carrying championships in Finland on Saturday, defying rain and exhaustion to stumble along a path with women clinging upside-down to their backs. They were among 44 couples from 12 countries competing in the annual event in Sonkajarvi, central Finland. The race, held for the 12th time, is intended to evoke the spirit of a legendary Finnish brigand, Rosvo-Ronkainen, who made those who wanted to join his gang run through a forest carrying heavy sacks on their backs. In the modern version, couples race along a 250-meter track, tackling a pool and several hurdles, with the men carrying the women on their backs. |
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 CANTERBURY, England — Australian Robbie McEwen recovered from a crash to clinch the first stage of the Tour de France, a 203-km ride from London to Canterbury on Sunday. |
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The SPIBA Legislation & Lobbying Committee continues its efforts to improve the investment climate in the region and to provide SPIBA members with opportunities to exchange experience and ideas related to the legal frame of business operations. Currently, the agenda of the Committee includes such issues as customs payment security in importing goods as in-kind contribution to charter capital; special economic zone in St. |
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• Digital Advertising Group • Enfo • Mr. Henric Nilsson Digital Group is a Russian company providing a full range of services for the design and installation of audiovisual systems and low-power cable circuitry. |
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What happened since April 2007 24.04.07 SPIBA Seminar: Trademark: Live Issues and Answers Leading sponsor: ARS-Patent Intellectual Property Law Firm Supporter: Corinthia Nevskij Palace Hotel 26.04.07 St. Petersburg Entrepreneurship Group in partnership with the US – Russia Center for Entrepreneurship Managing Strategic Change and Innovation: Micromanagement Versus Creating a Culture of Change 17. |
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ANCOR holding, one of the Russian recruitment and HR consulting services market leaders, marks its 17th anniversary with 30 branches in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. |
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On June 29, 2007, SPIBA held its regular summer White Nights Boat Cruise. This year SPIBA’s crew numbered around 130 people. Despite the rainy weather, members and guests were cruising the Neva River and enjoyed fantastic live music by the Verona trio, entertainment, and dancing. Some happy guests were lucky to win exciting lottery prizes, while all the guests won from the warm atmosphere of friendly networking. |
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