Russia 101018
Basic Political Developments
· START threatened unless ratified by mid-term Senate elections
o INTERVIEW - Nuclear pact with U.S. at risk - Russian lawmaker - "If for whatever reason -- political, technical -- that does not happen ... then I think the agreement will have problems from the point of view of ratification, very big problems," Kosachyov told Reuters in an interview late on Saturday.
· Medvedev to discuss security, visas with leaders of France, Germany - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will meet with French and German leaders on Monday to discuss, among other things, European security and the Russia-EU visa regime.
o Leaders of Germany, France and Russia brainstorm by the sea - More pressing matters like the economic crisis, and its effect on bilateral and European trade with Russia, are also expected to be discussed. Also on the agenda is the framework with which Russia is prepared to negotiate with NATO.
o Medvedev, Sarkozy, Merkel to discuss RF-NATO ties, Iran, Mideast - The Iranian nuclear problem, Russia-NATO relations, the promotion of Russia’s initiative for a new European security treaty will be high on the agenda of a Russia-France-Germany two-day summit that will open in Deauville on Monday, Russian presidential aide Sergei Prikhodko told Itar-Tass on Sunday.
o France and Germany aim to enhance Russia ties at summit - No big decisions are expected - not least because the German and French leaders do not want to be seen to be bypassing the European Union - but they will be discussing big ideas such as a proposed security and economic partnership.
o France and Germany seek to draw Russia closer - The French and German leaders see it as an opportunity to build on a recent warming of their relationships with Russia and to draw Moscow deeper into what the Elysée Palace calls “a common economic, human and security space in Europe”.
o Paris and Berlin seek ‘reset’ with Moscow - The meeting between Nicolas Sarkozy, French president, Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor, and Dmitry Medvedev, president of Russia, is intended to discuss security relations and the global economy in advance of next month’s summits of the G20 group of leading economies, the Nato alliance and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
o Merkel and Sarkozy 'brainstorm' with Russia on security - According to the Elysee palace, this will be "a brainstorming exercise, certainly not a directorate of three," Le Figaro reports – a reassurance meant to alleviate potential criticism from neighbouring Poland or even the US over the exclusive nature of the meeting.
o Medvedev, Sarkozy and Merkel to Meet - “We have serious differences,” Prikhodko said of the missile defense plans. “They relate to practically one main issue: We do not always similarly identify threats. When we establish a dialogue on this topic and these threats are identified, it won’t be difficult to make decisions.”
o Three-way meeting of European powers to discuss security - A meeting among German, French, and Russian leaders gets under way Monday to discuss European security cooperation. France and Germany are expected to emphasize that a missile defense plan does not threaten Moscow.
o Russia Wants to Formalize Relation With E.U. - “We would like Russia and the E.U. to be able to take joint decisions,” Vladimir Chizhov, Moscow’s ambassador to the European Union, said in a telephone interview with the International Herald Tribune over the weekend from Brussels. “I don’t expect to be sitting at every session of the political and security committee, but there should be some mechanism that would enable us to take joint steps.”
· Axel Springer: Russian Newsweek License Won't Be Prolonged - German publishing house Axel Springer AG (SPR.XE) said Monday its subsidiary Axel Springer Russia isn't extending Russky Newsweek's license agreement due to economic reasons.
o Axel Springer Closes Russian Newsweek for ‘Economic Reasons’ - “We have failed to bring the magazine to a firm economic base and we could not create a prosperous perspective,” Axel Springer International President Ralph Buechi said in the statement.
· Russian president to visit Poland - The Polish president says his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, will visit Poland on December 6. President Bronislaw Komorowski announced the date on Sunday and described the planned visit as a step in a difficult process of reconciliation between the two nations.
· New Polish Gas Deal Agreed, Details Being Hammered Out
o UPDATE 1-Russia, Poland agree gas supply deal - Gazprom, PGNiG to finalise contract; Poland says EU delegation raised no objections; Gazprom says deal to be finalised within two weeks
o Russia, Poland agree on gas deal text
o Moscow, Warsaw approve deal to increase gas supplies
· Polish investigator to Moscow to study final report on air crash - The Polish envoy on the investigation in the crash of the late President Lech Kaczynski’s airliner, Edmund Klich, will arrive here on Monday to study a final report drafted by the Interstate Aviation Committee (MAK), a source in the civil aviation authorities told Itar-Tass on Sunday.
o Leading Polish expert to study Smolensk plane crash probe in Moscow
· Russian watchdog slaps import ban on several Ukrainian food producers - Therefore, of the 15 meat-processing enterprises in Ukraine with the right to import to Russia, only three remain and of the 14 dairy facilities, 10 still can import.
· Russian companies interested in developing business relations with Abkhazia - Kremlin chief of staff - Russian companies are interested in developing business and trade relations, along with implementation of investment projects with Abkhazia, the Kremlin chief of staff said. Sergei Naryshkin arrived in the Abkhazian capital of Sukhumi to participate in a business forum.
· Moscow Duma to vote for new mayor on Thursday
· Mayor Sobyanin to Court Investors - "There are many opportunities for doing business in Moscow, but not all of them can be easily accomplished," Medvedev said. "There are many reasons for this, one of which we are openly talking about: corruption."
· Putin’s Nobody for Mayor - Although the appointment of Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Sobyanin to the post of Moscow mayor was widely expected, the news set off a barrage of emotional opinions on the Russian Internet. Most were negative. Sobyanin was already being criticized for being a nobody, not a public politician and, most damningly, the closest associate of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin among all the candidates for mayor.
· Central Moscow opposition rallies set to get green light - “It’s too early to shout ‘victory,’ but it looks as if the authorities are tied and will give us Triumfalnaya,” leading opposition figure Eduard Limonov wrote on his Live Journal blog on October 17. He also said the Kremlin had taken opportunity of the departure of Luzhkov to “blame everything” on the former mayor.
· Court to pronounce verdict in Ruslan Yamadayev’s murder case - The Moscow City Court will pronounce a verdict in the murder case of the former State Duma deputy Ruslan Yamadayev on Monday.
· The Minister of the Interior of Russia arrives in Dagestan - Makhachkala, October, 18, 2010. On October, 18, the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, Army General Rashid Nurgaliyev has arrived in Dagestan with working visit. The President of Dagestan Magomedsalam Magomedov, the Minister of the Interior of Dagestan Abdurashid Magomedov, members of the government and other officials have met the guest of honour at the airport.
· Chechen leader vows to end bride kidnapping - Ramzan Kadyrov says bride kidnapping violates the laws ofRussia, of whichChechnyais a part, and goes against Islam, the dominant religion in the North Caucasus republic.
Gazprom economist found shot dead in Moscow - Initial reports suggested Sergei Klyuka had died from a self-inflicted gun shot from a gun presented to him by the Kazakh prime minister.
· Russia Today journalist shot in foot in Moscow - Natalya Arkhiptseva was shot with a gun firing rubber bullets a by a 35-year-old native of St. Petersburg in the capital’s Prado Cafe. She said he opened fire after she objected to being sworn at by him and his friends as she passed their table.
· Putins reappear in public to reaffirm marriage - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his wife Lyudmila made a rare joint public appearance over the weekend seeking to reaffirm their marriage amid persistent divorce rumours.
· Russian spacemen take part in census
· Russia hopes to join ranks of top tourist destinations - The Russian government will soon be considering a 352-billion-ruble (11.7-billion-dollar, 8.5-billion-euro) plan to improve infrastructure, train specialists and launch a major advertising campaign, she said.
· Krasnodar territory to help all people affected in flood-governor
· South Russia to mourn flash flood victims on Monday
· Communication cable damaged in Sakhalin, Khabarovsk - Thousands of residents of Sakhalin, the Khabarovsk Territory and Birobidzhan were left without communication on Monday due to damaged fibre-optic cables of the Transtelecom and Dalsvyaz companies.
· Orange alert in Russia`s volcano - Eruption of Russia’s Klyuchevskaya sopka volcano in Kamchatka has sent ashes and gas to the area of 418 kilometers.
o Ash and gas plume from Klyuchevskoi volcano stretching for 418 km
· Russian political and economic calendar: October 18
· RIA Novosti Press Review for Monday, October 18, 2010
o Russian President Dmitry Medvedev nominated Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Sobyanin to the post of Moscow mayor on Friday evening. Experts say Sobyanin had no real opponents on the list of four candidates, compiled by the ruling United Russia party, and that transportation minister Igor Levitin was included in the list only to make the presidential choice less evident. Meanwhile, media and experts are trying to guess possible candidates to take up Sobyanin's old post as Chief of Staff.
o A meeting between the prime ministers of the Customs Union states - Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan - went smoothly despite ongoing tensions between Moscow and Minsk. At the meeting in Moscow, the premiers reached agreements on a number of controversial issues, including gas prices. They also agreed on the key issues surrounding the formation of a single economic space. The meeting made the future of the Union State between Russia and Belarus look even more uncertain as Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin hinted that it might be replaced by the single economic space.
o Russian President Dmitry Medvedev demanded that the Central Election Commission (CEC) conduct a thorough probe into all 551 violations, reported during the October 10 elections. The president said, however, that the recent amendments to election laws "have created better voting conditions."
o Viktor Baturin, the brother of Moscow ex-mayor's billionaire wife Yelena Baturina, said he did not receive a just price for his share in the Inteko company "because of Moscow corruption," and is now set to collect the debt from his sister in court, even if it leads to selling some of Inteko's assets
o The Georgian parliament adopted constitutional amendments on the redistribution of powers between the president and the prime minister. Georgian opposition have criticized the move, saying the amendments are designed to allow President Mikheil Saakashvili to stay in power when his term expires in 2013.
o Revenues of almost 700 billion rubles ($23 billion) were included into the Russian 2011-2013 draft budget without relevant calculation and substantiation, the Russian Audit Chamber said in its evaluation. It is unclear where the money, which makes up almost 8 percent of all budget revenues, would come from, the chamber said.
o The government may include Russia's flagship air carrier Aeroflot and Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport into its privatization program for the coming years
o Russia's state-controlled nuclear corporation Rosatom said it would build Venezuela's first nuclear power plant, while the South American country agreed to allow Russian oil giant Rosneft and Russian-British joint venture TNK-BP to purchase oil assets as part of a package of 10 agreements signed during Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's visit to Moscow.
o As residents and public activists express their outrage at the plans of the Russian energy giant Gazprom to build the 403-meter tower in the historical center of St. Petersburg, architects at RMJM, the company designing the tower, have received letters of support from Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, U.S. architect Anton Glikin told Kommersant. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said last week the decision on the skyscraper would only be made after all court procedures and UN consultations are carried out.
o The second nationwide census in Russia since the break-up of the Soviet Union continued over the weekend, with both the president and the prime minister being surveyed before cameras
o Ukraine's WBC Heavyweight Champion 'Dr. Ironfist' Vitali Klitschko (40-2, 38 KOs) defeated U.S. Shannon 'The Cannon' Briggs (51-5-1-1, 45 KOs) on points and defended his champion title.
· Expulsion for Kremlin Ride - Surkho Taramov, 19, the son of a wealthy Chechen businessman, parked his car by the eternal flame memorial and then sped away after police officers attempted to fine him 4,500 rubles ($150) last Monday, the Rapsi legal news web site reported. He was detained by traffic police half an hour later.