|
|
|
|
The Dzerzhinsky Federal Court on Wednesday ended a criminal case against Maxim Reznik, head of the local branch of the democratic party Yabloko, dropping the charges and releasing him, after the three police officers that had filed suits against the politician earlier this year withdrew their evidence from the case. Maxim Reznik had been charged with insulting and physically assaulting a state representative, a crime that carries a term of up to five years in prison. Speaking at the courtroom on Wednesday, the policemen confirmed that the fight took place but said they no longer wish to sue Reznik and will be happy to drop the charges. The plaintiffs refused to comment on their decisions, and simply said the incident had been resolved. The case had been surrounded by murky circumstances. Shortly after 2 a. |
|
CHIME TIME
Alexander Belenky / The St. Petersburg Times
One of 17 bells from Moscow’s St. Daniil Monastery arriving in the city on Thursday on their way back from the U.S., having been sold by the Bolsheviks in the 1930s to an American industrialist. |
|
Almost immediately after the war between Russia and Georgia erupted on Aug. 8 over the breakaway Georgian republic of South Ossetia, a leading foreign news network requested an interview with President Dmitry Medvedev. But nearly three weeks passed before Medvedev finally sat down with the network on Aug. 26, when Russia recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states.
|
|
MOSCOW — Yevroset faced twin criminal investigations this week, in what an industry source and analysts said appeared to be an attempt to undermine the possible sale of a stake in the country’s largest mobile phone retailer. The Prosecutor General’s Office announced that it was investigating whether Yevroset had smuggled handsets into the country and whether a senior company executive had been involved in kidnapping and extortion. |
All photos from issue.
|
|
|
|
|
President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday praised the European Union’s decision to reject slapping sanctions on Russia over its war with Georgia but criticized the Western bloc for failing to understand the Kremlin’s motives in the conflict. “In my view, the outcome is double-edged,” Medvedev said of a resolution reached by EU leaders at the Monday summit in Brussels. The heads of the EU’s 27 member states at the emergency summit voted unanimously to postpone talks on a partnership agreement with Moscow until Russia removes its troops from Georgia. |
|
IN MEMORIAM
Alexander Belenky / The St. Petersburg Times
Mourners on Malaya Sadovaya on Wednesday mark the fourth anniversary of the Beslan terrorist act by lighting 334 candles — one for each victim. |
|
Washington on Wednesday announced an aid package of more than $1 billion to help Georgia rebuild after its war with Russia. The aid package totals $1.07 billion for reconstruction, with $570 million to be disbursed this year and $500 million subsequently, U.S. officials said. None of the money is expected to go for military aid, a highly sensitive issue to Moscow.
|
|
MOSCOW — More than one in 10 of the country’s citizens have been convicted of crimes over the past 15 years, a retired Supreme Court judge wrote Tuesday in government daily Rossiiskaya Gazeta on Tuesday. Criticizing the social consequences of what he called excessively harsh sentencing. Former Supreme Court deputy chairman Vladimir Radchenko wrote that between 1992 and 2007, more than 15 million people were found guilty of crimes — the equivalent of one-quarter of the male population. |
|
|
|
 In a bid to develop and modernize outlying areas of the city, City Hall last week announced a “revolutionary” public-private partnership program for the reconstruction of 40 residential districts, most of them consisting of run-down buildings built under former Soviet leader Nikita Krushchev and known as Khrushchyovky. |
|
The aftermath of the global credit crunch and the possible impact on the national real estate market of the recent conflict between Russia and Georgia were widely discussed during the PROEstate 2008 International Investment Forum held in St. |
|
|
|
 Aug. 8 stands out as a fateful day for Russia. It marks Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s greatest strategic blunder. In one blow, he wiped out half a trillion dollars of stock market value, stalled all domestic reforms and isolated Russia from the outside world. |
|
Although no countries have joined Russia in recognizing South Ossetia’s and Abkhazia’s independence, Moscow can surely count on Hamas and Hezbollah for support. |
|
|
|
 GORI, Georgia — When Russian bombs began falling on Gori, Robert Maglakelidze took a desperate decision: he loaded his car with a precious consignment and fled along the dangerous road to Tbilisi. Stowed inside were the personal effects of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin: his military greatcoat, peaked cap, pen, glasses, silver sword and pipe — in total some 50 unique items. |
|
The musicians and oppositional political activists who organized an outdoor event called “Rock for Freedom” last month assumed that rock music and freedom are synonymous. |
 MOSCOW — Last year, a controversial teachers’ manual described him as an “effective manager.” Now a new manual explains that Soviet dictator Josef Stalin acted rationally in conducting a campaign of terror to ensure the country’s modernization. The new manual, titled “A History of Russia, 1900-1945,” is part of a series of education materials the authors say will help promote patriotism in young people. |
|
 MOSCOW — With his neatly ironed suit and thick-rimmed glasses, Yevgeny Pashkin, 75, looked out of place in the hustle and bustle of the Mayakovskaya metro station. |
|
BERLIN — Two years after the release of Oscar-winning movie “The Lives of Others”, communist East Germany and its Stasi secret police are back in the spotlight in a new film that examines the persecution of a top cyclist. While the 2006 international hit was a fictional tale of a Stasi officer who develops feelings of compassion for his victims, documentary “Sportsfreund Loetzsch” recounts a true story. Wolfgang Loetzsch, once feted as the most talented cyclist of his generation, was booted off the national team, ostracized, persecuted and even imprisoned for refusing to join the Communist party. “Loetzsch’s story is a snapshot of the Cold War,” said director Sascha Hilpert, who hopes to secure foreign rights deals when the movie is screened later this month at the Split film festival in Croatia. |
|
 Vladimir Sorokin is one of the most well-known Russian authors today, and one of the handful known and respected outside Russia. His popularity started with perestroika, when his first novels obliquely described the horrors and perplexity of Soviet life. |
 Men are worthless. Young and old, American and Russian, rich and poor — it matters not to the women who people Sana Krasikov’s debut collection of stories, “One More Year.” Regardless of educational background, personality type or other qualifications, these men prove themselves deficient in every measurable way, leaving their women — wives, girlfriends, mothers — alone to piece through the rubble, assess the damage, salvage the fragments of their shattered lives. |
|
 VENICE — Jurors at the Venice film festival on Wednesday had only three days left to make their pick for the coveted Golden Lion after many of the 21 movies in competition failed to live up to expectations. |
 What is claimed as St. Petersburg’s first international exhibition of contemporary public art, “H2O: Nordic and Russian Art in Public Spaces,” opened Monday at the Peter and Paul Fortress with works by leading artists from Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and St. |
|
Schastye (Happiness) // 15 Ulitsa Rubinshteina // Tel: 572 2675 // Open Mon to Thurs 9 a.m.- midnight, Fri 9 a.m.-7 a.m., Sat 10 a.m.-7 a.m, Sun 10 a.m. |
 This week, Rossia television started a new show called “Phenomenon,” which is hosted by the spoon-bender Uri Geller. It’s a competition between various mystical performers, who channel their psychic energy into winning a car. In addition, Geller gets his spoons out again, for old times’ sake. The show was first broadcast on NBC, and the format has now been sold to other countries. |
|
|
|
 ST. PAUL — Republican presidential nominee John McCain has a new attack dog. Her name is Sarah Palin, and she bites hard. Palin’s mocking critique of Democrat Barack Obama and the Washington elite charged up Republicans looking for signs of hope that she and McCain can win the White House on November 4. |
|
HARARE — Zimbabwe’s main opposition party has lost faith in power-sharing talks with President Robert Mugabe and will leave him to form a government alone rather than be forced into a deal, a party official said on Thursday. |
|
|
|
 NEW YORK — Serena Williams fought off 10 set points to prevail in the greatest duel yet with sister Venus, a heart-stopping 7-6 7-6 victory that put her in the U.S. Open semi-finals Wednesday. Played with uncommon ferocity and passion from both combatants, Serena emerged triumphant in the grueling two hour 25 minute battle to reach the final four at Flushing Meadows for the first time since her 2002 win. |
|
BANGKOK — Jorvan Vieira claimed that only a madman would take his job when he quit as Iraq coach last year after leading the side to an unlikely Asian Cup triumph. |
|
CHICAGO — Talk show host Oprah Winfrey threw a rousing welcome home party for more than 150 U.S. Olympic medal winners on Wednesday that was a salute to the athletes and a pep rally for efforts to bring the 2016 summer games to America. Winfrey, whose program is seen in 140 countries and boasts a weekly U. |
Temp: -1°C clear 
Issues Archive