LOCAL NEWS

10 HOPEFULS ENTER PRESIDENTIAL RACE

MOSCOW - Nine candidates, including SPS leader Irina Khakamada and Rodina leader Sergei Glazyev, met a year-end deadline to register to run against President Vladimir Putin in the March presidential election. But many of the challengers are Putin allies or are running at the Kremlin's request, so the election is shaping up to be a one-horse race, political analysts said Thursday.

BILL TO SAVE GREEN AREAS SUSPENDED AT CITY HALL

A bill aimed at protecting green areas in St. Petersburg from construction projects that damage parks, gardens and lawns in the city is in suspended animation somewhere in City Hall.

Kadyrov Taps Businessman to Represent Chechnya

MOSCOW - Umar Dzhabrailov, a Moscow-based Chechen businessman whose name surfaced in investigations of the murder of his one-time American partner and of an assassination attempt against a senior Moscow official, has been picked by Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov to serve as Chechnya's representative in the Federation Council.

NATIONAL NEWS

LAWYER: STAROVOITOVA SUSPECTS ADMIT ROLE

Three of six suspects being tried for their role in the assassination of State Duma deputy Galina Starovoitova in 1998 have admitted their guilt to investigators, "with certain reservations," Yury Shmidt, the lawyer for Starovoitova's family, said Monday.

ENTRY FEE TO HERMITAGE RISES

The entry fee for Russians visiting the State Hermitage Museum went up more than six times on Jan. 1, but certain people will still be able to enter at no charge and individual visitors will be able to enter free on the first Thursday of each month.

IN BRIEF

Trading Quadruples

ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) - Trading in shares on the St. Petersburg Stock Market in 2003 grew to 228 billion rubles, four times the volume for 2002, Interfax reported Thursday.

A stock exchange press release cited growth in the number of securities traded and trader activity as reasons for the increase in volume.

CULTURE

BIGGEST 2003 ACTS WERE LOCAL

Last year marked the city's 300th anniversary, but despite early rumors about Radiohead or Paul McCartney performing on Palace Square, no big or current international rock stars turned up for the event. However, a bunch of seemingly randomly picked Euro performers, from the veteran Greek pop singer Demis Roussos to German rockers The Scorpions, did lip-sync their way through the exclusive concert thrown by President Vladimir Putin for 40 foreign heads of state on a beach on the Gulf of Finland during the official anniversary celebrations in May.

CHERNOV'S CHOICE

British singer Marc Almond postponed his Russian concerts this week - which might lead to a total cancellation of his St. Petersburg concert.

EUROPE'S BUFFET IS A BOUNTIFUL FEAST

It turns out the old adage that you can't get too much of a good thing is true after all - at least when it comes to the brunch buffet offered every Sunday at the Europe Restaurant in the Grand Hotel Europe off Nevsky Prospekt. The all-you-can-eat-and-drink smorgasbord is not just a meal, but rather a dining extravaganza replete with exotic food options, an incredible atmosphere and impressive attention to detail.

At first glance, the hefty price tag of $58 per person plus 5 percent government tax (1,781 rubles total per person) seems outrageous, but a quick survey of the all-inclusive brunch makes it clear that the cost is justified - particularly once you notice the bowls piled high with black and red caviar and the free-flowing champagne, wine and vodka.

DIVA WHO WEAKENS STRONGMAN

The first opera premiere at the Mariinsky Theater in the 2003/04 season was designed for Olga Borodina.

talents of new eu members perform in kremlin armory

MOSCOW - Musical institutions sometimes come up with highly original ideas for programming, but it would be hard to think of a more unlikely theme for a music festival than European Union expansion. Yet that's the common tie of the Chamber Orchestra of the Kremlin's annual "Christmas at the Kremlin" series.