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MOSCOW — A Russian foundation devoted to democracy and human rights is setting up shop in the United States. The Moscow-based Institute of Democracy and Cooperation officially registered its New York branch on Dec. 31, several weeks after registering a branch in Paris, the chairman of the foundation said Friday. Anatoly Kucherena, a lawyer and member of the Public Chamber, said his foundation’s U.S. office would organize expert discussions about elections and human rights issues — while helping improve Western perceptions of Russia. “The improvement of Russia’s image abroad is, of course, an important goal,” Kucherena said by telephone. The foundation appears to be the latest attempt to influence foreign opinion about Russia through so-called “soft power” tactics. |
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 The St. Petersburg branch of the British Council opened on Monday in defiance of a Jan. 1 order to close, prompting an angry reaction from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a diplomatic dispute between Russia and the U. |
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Two activists were detained during a protest against the city administration’s plans to build a controversial 400-meter, 67-floor skyscraper tower for Gazprom, Russia’s state-controlled energy behemoth, on Saturday. An estimated 300 protesters arriving at the site of the rally on Malaya Okhta, a district on the Neva’s right bank in the city’s north-east near the planned site for the Okhta Center tower, were met by two dozen police officers who warned that the meeting could not be held as it was “unsanctioned. |
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MOSCOW —A court on Monday is to review a prosecutor’s request that a group of Beslan survivors and their relatives be outlawed as extremist. Acting Ingush Prosecutor Magomed Aushev wrote in his complaint that the Voice of Beslan broke the law on extremism by making “false accusations” against President Vladimir Putin as “an accomplice of terrorism” in an open letter, according to a copy of the lawsuit posted on the Voice of Beslan’s web site. |
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MOSCOW — It was clear from the start of the session what would occupy most of the time for State Duma deputies Friday as they returned from their long holiday recess. “Good afternoon,” Speaker Boris Gryzlov said in the way of a brief greeting, adding without a pause, “Let’s start voting. |
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MOSCOW — The first biometric passports for Russians traveling abroad will be issued this month as Russia joins the world community in its efforts to fight terrorism, the Federal Migration Service said Friday. |
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GENEVA — A money-laundering investigation against the daughter of former Nuclear Power Minister Yevgeny Adamov has been dropped, Swiss prosecutors said Friday. Switzerland also released funds frozen in connection with the case, said Jeannette Balmer, a spokeswoman for the federal prosecutor’s office. |
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Construction of the high-speed freeway between Moscow and St. Petersburg could start as early as this year, a government official said Friday at a meeting in Murmansk with journalists from the Northwest region. The highway will become one of the largest public-private partnership projects in the region. |
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Whisky Usurps Vodka ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) — Imported whisky, gin and rum are replacing vodka in the segment of imported spirits in Russia, Interfax reported Saturday. |
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MOSCOW — The Cabinet on Thursday backed further efforts to battle one of Russia’s most unhealthy addictions — smoking — by giving the go-ahead to a total ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorships. The bill approved by the Cabinet in its Thursday session clears the way for Russia to join a UN tobacco control convention requiring members to take these steps within five years of signing on. |
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MOSCOW — General Motors announced on Thursday that Chris Gubbey would head its Russia division as it seeks to expand and cement its market share in the country. |
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MOSCOW — The extended New Year’s holiday cost the economy 700 billion rubles ($28.5 billion), or about 2 percent of the gross domestic product, economists said Thursday. Most businesses across the country shut down for the 10-day holiday, which began Dec. |
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The end of the New Year vacation usually brings with it some contradictory thoughts. Looking back, we can remember a lot of significant deals and contracts. |
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For years, President Vladimir Putin promised everybody that he would retire from politics when his second term lapsed in 2008. With his usual consistency, he changed his tune last June, saying he would maintain a major political role. In December, he “agreed” to serve as prime minister under a future President Dmitry Medvedev. |
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MOSCOW — It’s a slow start to the year when half the country is still on vacation. Two weeks after the ushering in of a new year, there is still a skeleton staff at many Moscow investment banks. |
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 After years of proclaiming that it understood international politics better than its predecessors, the Bush administration is now trying to undo the damage its first seven years have wrought — trying, in effect, to take U.S. foreign policy back to where it was before President George W. |
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On Moscow’s Romanov Pereulok stands a handsome apartment building dating from the turn of the 20th century. Its facade is festooned with memorial plaques bearing dozens of names of illustrious former tenants, including Semyon Budyonny, a Red Cavalry commander in the Russian Civil War, and Alexei Kosygin, a Soviet prime minister. |
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LONDON — Prime Minister Gordon Brown, often accused of being lukewarm towards the European Union, said on Monday it would be a mistake to question Britain’s EU membership at a time of global economic problems. Recent financial turbulence was “a wake-up call” for every economy and has tested the stability of financial systems, Brown told an audience of business leaders in London. |
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 Metallurg Magnitogorsk became the fourth consecutive Russian team crowned European Champion after they defeated Sparta Prague 5-2 in the 2008 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) European Champions Cup (ECC) final at the Ice Palace in St. Petersburg on Sunday night. |
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LONDON — English champions Manchester United thrashed Newcastle United to take the Premier League lead in a high-scoring weekend across the big European leagues. |
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Issues Archive