LOCAL NEWS

GRYZLOV RESIGNS TO LEAD IN DUMA

MOSCOW - Interior Minister Boris Gryzlov resigned Wednesday to take a seat in the new State Duma, where, he said, his pro-Kremlin United Russia party will have 298 seats.

However, Interfax on Thursday quoted a source within the party leadership as saying this number had already grown to 307, after deputies applied join.

MARKOVA TO STAND FOR DUMA

Former vice governor Anna Markova says she will run for the State Duma in St. Petersburg's electoral district No. 207.

Announcing her intention to introduce to the Duma a new policy toward the regions, she said a lawsuit against her, which was opened by the City Prosecutor's Office, is evidence of a worrying tendency for regional officials to prosecute opponents of administrators backed by the Kremlin.

New Exhibition Does Away With Ideology

Organizers of the Museum of the History of St. Petersburg's first permanent exhibition say it marks a shift away from the ideology-dominated historic rhetoric of past exhibits to a more factual and visual approach towards the realities of Russia's imperial capital in a century that dragged the nation into the Bolshevik Revolution.

NATIONAL NEWS

BEATLE-FUNDED SCHOOL PLAYGROUND OPENS

McCartney gave $5,000 to boarding school No. 38 after his visit to St. Petersburg in May. The school is located at 20/75 Rastannya Ulitsa. The playground is due to open Friday.

McCartney came to the city at the invitation of Anthea Eno, wife of musician Brian Eno, to officially inaugurate the work of a charity, the Menshikov Foundation.

IN BRIEF

Corruption 'Down'

ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) - The number of corruption crimes in St. Petersburg was down 40.6 percent this year, Interfax reported the City Prosecutor's Office as saying Wednesday.

LOCAL BUSINESS

PUTIN THREATENS TO REVISIT PRIVATIZATIONS

MOSCOW - President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday asked big business to help the state resolve the country's social problems and threatened to undo fraudulent privatizations - indicating for the first time that the investigation into Russia's richest man, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, might not be isolated and could spark renationalizations.

KHODORKOVSKY, LEBEDEV REFUSED BAIL BY COURTS

MOSCOW - Jailed former Yukos chief Mikhail Khodorkovsky will remain in pre-trial detention for another three months, a Moscow court ruled late Tuesday afternoon.

GORDEYEV: U.S. BEEF BANNED

MOSCOW - Russia imposed a ban on imports of American beef on Wednesday after U.S. veterinary officials confirmed the first case of mad cow disease in the world's largest market.

"We have received official confirmation that in the U.S. state of Washington the first case of mad cow disease was reported," Agriculture Minister Alexei Gordeyev said.

IN BRIEF

Sewage Plant Loan

ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on Tuesday signed a credit agreement with Vodokanal St.

CULTURE

ICY REALITY MELTS INTO ILLUSIONS

A beautiful woman who turns into a flame, the surface of the frozen Neva blowing like leaves of paper, a poet silhouetted in winter twilight whose head is replaced by the moon are just some of the memorable images from "Elle fait fondre la glace" ('She Melts The Ice'), a short film made in St. Petersburg last winter which had its premiere at Dom Kino this month.

The 9-minute film, made by Paris-based American Ron Padova and based on his own poem, mixes live action and computer generated special effects to bring to life a magical meditation on love, death and creativity.

CLUBS PUT ON TOP ACTS FOR NEW YEAR

As the New Year approaches, the local music clubs think of interesting ways and popular acts to attract the public for their New Year parties - which people traditionally used to hold at their homes, and never out on the town, even as recently as 10 years ago.

CHERNOV'S CHOICE

Boris Grebenshchikov of the seminal local rock band Akvarium, who turned 50 in November, suffered a bit of overexposure and even a certain loss of street credibility this year - appearing with a pro-President Putin party candidate on state television before the general election earlier this month and accepting honors from the state.

SHERBET FIZZES WITH TURKISH DELIGHT

Babies are usually loud, rough around the edges, and altogether sloppy. This is often true of new restaurants too. Not so for Sherbet, a new Turkish-influenced restaurant and club that opened a few weeks ago about seven minutes walk from Ploshchad Vosstaniya.

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS RUSSIA-U.S. TIES

St. Petersburg's top winter cultural event, the International Arts Square Festival, which begins this week, has a novel theme in its fifth year to help anyone beat the cold weather blues. Kicking off on Sunday, this year's festival, which runs until Jan. 7 is devoted to musical parallels and contacts between Russia and America.

Launched by Yury Temirkanov, the renowned artistic director and principal conductor of the St.

FIFTH INTERNATIONAL ARTS SQUARE WINTER FESTIVAL

Dec. 28 Festival opening reception. The Grand Hotel Europe

t Dec. 28 Opening of the festival: St.