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Russia’s Ministry of Culture on Thursday objected to Gazprom’s plans to build a 400-meter skyscraper near to the historic center of St. Petersburg. “Our opinion is negative,” Culture Minister Alexander Avdeyev was quoted by Interfax as saying. “As a minister of culture, the ministry’s staff and I are against the construction of such a tower.” He added that if built, the skyscraper would spoil the city’s historic appearance. The latest twist in the saga of the controversial skyscraper came just two days after St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko finally signed off on the Sept. 22 decision allowing Gazprom to build its Okhta Center tower — contrary to the laws protecting St. Petersburg’s historical skyline. |
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HELPING HAND
Alexander Belenky / The St. Petersburg Times
Former tennis champion Anna Kurnikova pictured at the opening of a new Social Development and Information Center for teenagers in St. Petersburg on Wednesday. The center will provide social welfare services and information on health issues for teenagers and young people. |
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MOSCOW — Nanotechnology will rival oil as a global powerhouse industry, so Russia’s economy needs to embrace it now to avoid a repeat of the “well-known scenario” in which growing oil prices keep it from modernizing, President Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday. Medvedev spoke at the opening of the International Nanotechnology Forum, where one senior official said the burden to create new innovations should fall on small and midsized businesses.
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MOSCOW — Billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov said the best place to invest during the crisis is in debt restructuring, a niche that has so far gone largely unfilled. Prokhorov, Russia’s richest businessman, also said a government goal to halve inflation to about 6 percent was realistic, and he criticized the authorities for cutting investment in infrastructure. |
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MOSCOW — Investigators have identified new suspects in the 2006 killing of Novaya Gazeta reporter Anna Politkovskaya, the newspaper’s deputy editor said Tuesday. |
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LONDON — Britain’s Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband was stunned when a long-lost Russian family member rang in as he appeared on a radio show in Moscow, he said Wednesday. In the country this week to discuss climate change, Miliband was taking questions on Ekho Moskvy when an 87-year-old woman rang up and said in Russian: “I am Sofia Davidovna Miliband, I am your relative; I am the only one left. |
All photos from issue.
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MOSCOW — The government plans to raise 70 billion rubles ($2.34 billion) next year by selling stakes in more than 450 companies, Economic Development Minister Elvira Nabiullina said Tuesday. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin reiterated his support for the major sell-off of government property, saying the efforts would help fill the federal budget. The forecast revenues from the privatizations would be dwarfed by the anticipated budget deficit of 3 trillion rubles. The government previously wanted to collect 7 billion rubles through sell-offs. The assets to go on the block will include 13. |
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WELCOME REPRIEVE
Alexander Belenky / The St. Petersburg Times
Local residents celebrate the decision to delay the start of infill construction in their neighborhood on Komendantsky Prospekt on Tuesday following a visit by local politicians. |
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MOSCOW — The Kremlin’s human rights council won’t apologize for a statement condemning the Nashi youth group for “persecuting” a journalist and intends to send the matter to prosecutors, council head Ella Pamfilova said Wednesday. The comments came as United Russia and Liberal Democratic Party deputies piled on Pamfilova, demanding that she apologize for offending veterans and defending Alexander Podrabinek.
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MOSCOW — Investigative Committee chief Alexander Bastrykin on Tuesday proposed introducing a new clause in the Criminal Code that would cover corporate raiding, Interfax reported. Bastrykin also said criminal punishment must also be stipulated for private and state registry offices that act as accomplices in corporate raiding. |
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 MOSCOW — First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said Tuesday that Renault was ready to invest more into AvtoVAZ, but the French carmaker cautioned that such support may not mean more money. “[Renault] confirmed its strategic interest in the development of AvtoVAZ and said it was ready to invest in the development of the enterprise,” Shuvalov told journalists. |
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Lada Still Most Popular MOSCOW (Bloomberg) — Russian sales of new cars and light commercial vehicles fell 52 percent in September from the same period last year, the Association of European Businesses said. |
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 The continuing bitter feud between Russia and the Council of Europe reflects a major problem about Russian engagement with the rest of Europe. Most contacts that Russia has with other European nations are state-to-state, business-to-business or other bilateral relations ranging from culture to tourism. |
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The EU fact-finding commission report that was released last week on the causes of the Russia-Georgia war was terrible — not because it placed blame for the conflict on one particular side, but because it failed to place any blame at all. |
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 The 227th season of St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theater got off to an astoundingly good start last week with the debut of a new production of Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s opera “Iolanta,” coproduced by the Mariinsky with the Festspielhaus of Baden-Baden, Germany, where it premiered in July. |
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Local rock musicians protested the Gazprom Tower after Matviyenko signed a decree this week approving the controversial 400-meter skyscraper, despite the 100-meter height limit stipulated by law and protests by UNESCO and Russian experts and public figures. |
 The Tunics played a great rock and roll concert at A2 on Sunday, taking the public by storm while proving again that this venue is home to some of the most exciting shows in the city. The British trio seemed to like the concert itself; the musicians spent nearly an hour after the show giving autographs to everybody who wanted them — which it seemed was almost everybody at the concert. |
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The Russian language has an ideal phrase for describing Brasserie Repin — “dorogoe udovolstvie,” or “enjoyment at a high price.” This restaurant’s lovely atmosphere and outstanding service make it worth visiting — for those who can afford it. |
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 MOSCOW — The government should set long-term prices for heat producers and use money earmarked for new power stations to modernize the country’s inefficient grid system, which would help keep costs down for consumers, billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov said. |
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Billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov said he was counting on his newly acquired New Jersey Nets basketball team to become profitable as soon as it moves to Brooklyn for the 2011-12 season. |
 MOSCOW — Eight animal rights protesters posed in T-shirts printed with fake blood, several hiding their faces in surgical masks, outside the trial of a man accused of shooting pet dogs. The trial could result in one of the country’s first serious convictions for animal cruelty. It also provides a showcase for a new, more radical animal activism that is gaining popularity in Russia. |
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Issues Archive