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The local political opposition says the authorities are increasing the pressure on them as the March 1 municipal elections approach. City Hall refused to authorize a meeting that the Solidarity democratic movement was planning to hold on Saturday, and policemen were reported to have visited the homes of people who support oppositional candidates and asked them to retract their signatures. Solidarity was planning to hold meetings against the deterioration of the social-economic situation both in Moscow and St. Petersburg, but while the meeting was authorized by the mayor’s office in Moscow, St. Petersburg’s City Hall said it was not possible to hold a rally at any of the six locations suggested by the organizers. |
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 MOSCOW — A jury on Thursday acquitted three men charged in the murder of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, a relentless critic of the country’s ruling elite whose 2006 slaying rekindled fears about the safety of journalists working in the country. |
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BEIJING — China called on Russia on Thursday to explain how a Chinese cargo ship sank in Russian waters after reports it was fired on by the Russian military. Seven Chinese sailors were missing after the “New Star” sank on Saturday in stormy seas off Vladivostok and after a Russian warship shot at least 500 rounds into it, the official China Daily newspaper said, quoting a Chinese-language paper which in turned quoted a Russian newspaper. |
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MOSCOW — AvtoVAZ is developing a new budget car to appeal to buyers of its boxy 30-year-old Zhiguli series, the carmaker said Wednesday. Details about the new economy car are few, but it is expected to be based on AvtoVAZ’s Lada Kalina and priced at about 180,000 rubles ($4,950), making it the least-expensive new car available on the Russian market if the Zhiguli series is phased out. |
All photos from issue.
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TBILISI — Still smarting from war with Russia six months ago, Georgians have picked a song for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow that takes a swipe at Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The disco song “We Don’t Wanna Put In” by Stefane & 3G was chosen late on Wednesday by a jury and public vote on Georgian television, and has already caused a stir on the Internet. It promises to receive a cool reception in Moscow on May 12-16. The band has not hidden the fact the song alludes to Putin, the ex-Russian president who evokes strong feelings in Georgia. “Since we (Georgia) decided to take part, we need to send a message to Europe and first of all to Moscow,” song producer Kakha Tsiskaridze told Reuters on Thursday. |
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 PRIGORODNOYE, Sakhalin Island — Russia’s first plant to supply natural gas by tanker opened Wednesday on Sakhalin Island, marking the country’s foray into a new market both by product and location. |
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Famed for his slips of the tongue and pithy witticisms, Viktor Chernomyrdin, Russia’s ambassador to Ukraine, has been threatened with expulsion after giving a newspaper interview peppered with derogatory remarks about the country’s leaders. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko “fight like dogs and bad-mouth each other,” Chernomyrdin said in an interview published last week in Komsomolskaya Pravda. |
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MOSCOW — The European Court of Human Rights has accepted a $34 billion lawsuit by former Yukos management against the government, apparently the largest claim ever made in the court. |
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 Despite one of Russia’s three major mobile network operators, Beeline, announcing a significant raise of its tariffs Wednesday, the amount paid by Russian mobile telephone subscribers for cell connection recently decreased. Beeline, the brand name owned by VimpelCom, said it would raise tariffs in some of the country’s regions, including Moscow and St. |
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Russia’s plan to increase the money supply to cover this year’s budget deficit may lead to an 18 percent devaluation in the ruble versus the dollar, Alfa Bank said. |
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Ilim Group, St. Petersburg’s biggest pulp and paper corporation, has denied it plans to make large-scale redundancies after it was reported the company planned to lay off 5,000 of its employees as a result of the economic crisis. Yelena Kononova, a spokeswoman for Ilim, said the crisis had seriously affected the company, which is indeed planning to dismiss some staff, but mainly at its enterprises in southern Siberia. |
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TBILISI, Georgia — Georgia said Tuesday that it would sell the rights to produce its distinctive Borjomi mineral water, drunk around Russian dinner tables for decades until Moscow banned it in 2006. |
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 Despite living separately for the last 17 years, Russia and Ukraine are still inextricably intertwined. Events in one country inevitably have an impact on the other. In fact, two of Vladimir Putin’s greatest foreign policy failures were linked to Ukraine. |
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The wisdom of our State Duma deputies is a well-known attribute — second only to their selfish patriotism. Apparently, it was their sense of national pride that moved them to pass in two readings amendments to the Civil Code regarding copyright violations. |
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 There is a cliche — one too readily employed with regard to contemporary Western culture — to the effect that such and such an artist has “pushed boundaries” or has “broken taboos.” Most people, if they are honest with themselves, would admit that aesthetic boundaries are exceedingly porous in liberal democracies, where bold statements are more likely to bring accolades than rebukes. |
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Alt-rock band Tequilajazzz will perform at the underground rock club Zoccolo on Saturday. “It’s our traditional concert at Zoccolo — lest we should lose our roots, we play there twice in summer and twice in winter, but this year we have only managed to perform once,” Tequilajazzz frontman Yevgeny Fyodorov said by phone on Thursday. |
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How often does a translation sing with the original voice of the author? Almost never. Consequently, great poetry and artistic prose writing remain fully appreciated only by those who understand the author’s native tongue. Andrei Bely’s great Russian novel “Petersburg” was translated into English three times in the 20th century. |
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Located in the Courtyard by Marriott Vasilievsky Hotel on the northern bank of Vasilievsky Island, newcomer Pierrot hasn’t quite worn in its squeaky new interior since its opening in November, but it more than makes up for its sterile atmosphere with a menu of exquisite dishes that should stand the test of time. |
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 JAKARTA — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Indonesia on Thursday that Washington would not neglect Southeast Asia and addressed anger in the predominantly Muslim country over U.S. policy in the Middle East. Clinton also discussed economic cooperation and efforts to reach a new global agreement on climate change with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during her 24-hour sidetrip to Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, before heading for South Korea for meetings on the North’s military threat. |
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PARIS — Rioters fired at police and stormed a city hall in a third night of violence on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, officials said Thursday, as France proposed a plan to boost poor islanders’ income in a bid to cool tensions. |
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JERUSALEM — Hawkish Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday gained pole position to become Israel’s next prime minister as ultra-nationalist Avigdor Lieberman backed his bid to form a government. The support from Lieberman’s Yisrael Beitenu party means Netanyahu, a former premier popularly known as Bibi, can count on the support of 65 of the 120 members of parliament, army radio said. |
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 PARIS — Competition-rusty champions Zenit St. Petersburg braved minus 10 degrees temperatures to beat VfB Stuttgart, St. Etienne relived the glory days and AC Milan and Aston Villa drew as 2009 UEFA Cup action kicked off on Wednesday. Petersburg, fixtureless since December 10, showed no little match fitness in beating their German opponents 2-1 at home in this last 32 match. |
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JOHANNESBURG — Around 400 builders at one of the 2010 South Africa World Cup stadiums have been dismissed for going on strike in a move that could put at risk its July completion deadline, their union and employers said. |
Temp: -1°C clear 
Issues Archive