Russia 110214
Basic Political Developments
· Iran gives a week to airlines to ban Tupolev flights - Iranian airlines have only less than one week to stop flying Russian-built Tupolev-154 following ultimatum of Head of Iranian Civil Aviation Organization Reza Nakhjavani.
· UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay to continue visit to Russia, until February 19
o Feb 15: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to hold meeting with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay
· Artur Chilingarov, special representative ofthe Russian president forinternational cooperation inthe Arctic andAntarctic, will arrive onMonday todiscuss Russian-Belarussian cooperation inthe polar regions with Belarussian Deputy Minister ofNatural Resources Vitaly Kulik andmembers ofthe Belarussian Academy ofSciences.
· Lavrov heads to London to improve Russian-British relations
o Lavrov begins visit to UK to strengthen positive trends in relations - In general, the Russian diplomat plans to discuss a wide range of issues on the bilateral agenda and pressing international problems, in particular European security, cooperation in Europe’s missile defence project, Russia-EU and Russia-NATO relations as well as the situation in the Middle East and Afghanistan and Iran’s nuclear program.
o A telephone hotline linking the Kremlin and Downing St aims to ease tensions - A better-encrypted telephone link will be provided for David Cameron and President Medvedev in an echo of the London to Moscow hotline used at the height of the Cold War.
o We are not safe doing business in Russia - Employees are in constant danger of being harassed, arrested and killed, writes William Browder.
o Russian diplomats win in friendly football match - Russian diplomats have beaten their English counterparts with a score of 6:4 in a friendly football match, which took place in London on Sunday.
o MP's Russian assistant accused of spying offered Kremlin TV role - An MP's assistant accused of spying for Russia is on course to follow in the footsteps of Anna Chapman after being offered a job at the Kremlin's English-language TV news propaganda channel.
· Japanese opposition criticize government for anti-Russian rhetoric - "Due to the spontaneous statement by Prime Minister Naoto Kan, the foreign minister's visit to Russia which followed became absolutely pointless," said Shigeru Ishiba, a leader of Japan's major opposition party, the Liberal Democratic Party.
· Some 400 kg hashish seized by Russia, Azeri anti-drug officers -"The three operations resulted in the total seizure of almost 390 kilograms of Afghan hashish, preventing 807,000 one-off doses of dangerous pot from reaching the consumer and the income of over 15 million narcodollars into the criminal world," the FSKN said.
· Developments around Manas Transit Center from Russian journalist’s point of view
· Barred British Reporter Allowed Back Into Russia
· Military satellite, "Geo-IR-2" could turn into space junk
· Medvedev to chair meeting on employment issues - According to official figures, Russia has registered more than a million and a half unemployed. The most difficult situation dates to 2009, when the total number of unemployed exceeded 9% of the working-age population.
· Medvedev suggests tougher penalty for inciting ethnic and religious hatred
· Medvedev's visit to mosque will consolidate inter-religious peace in Russia - Kadyrov
· Mufti denies Muslim clerics will be put through lie detectors - The interim mufti of the Russian republic of Tatarstan denied as "a lot of lies and slander" allegations that Russian authorities plan to appoint senior Muslim clerics and put them to lie detector tests in fighting religious extremism.
· Moscow court hears defamation case vs Putin - Before Monday's court hearing Nemtsov told the AP he doesn't expect to win but said the fact the suit was admitted is a victory. Russia's courts are notoriously loyal to the state and often used to bury Kremlin opponents.
· Search continues for missing Russian trawler
· 23 fishermen missing in Russia: report
· Russian Railways install metal detectors at Moscow Station in St. Petersburg - Employees of the Russian Railways have installed the first frame metal detectors at the Moscow Station in St. Petersburg. From now on, each passenger will have to pass through them to get to the platforms. If the detectors trigger alarm, policemen are going to check the contents of luggage and its owners.
Russia’s Health Ministry reports 25% decline in tuberculosis cases
· Canadian bison prepare for journey to repopulate Russia - As part of a conservation partnership with Russia, the animals will be flown to the Republic of Sakha, a huge, mountainous swath of Siberian land where the Communist party used to exile its opponents and temperatures can plummet to -60 C.
· FACTBOX-Finans magazine's list of Russia's richest people
· Putin's judo partner jumps in Russia's rich list - Finans magazine said on Monday that Arkady Rotenberg, 59, who as a teenager trained in judo with Putin in St. Petersburg, jumped 17 positions in the list to become Russia's 63th richest person with an estimated wealth of $1.75 billion.
· FT: Record number of Russian billionaires
· Russian Village Is Angry, but Not With Bomber - Residents of this run-down little settlement in the Caucasus Mountains, in the south of Russia, speak only kindly about the Yevloyevs, a tightknit family of six who lived in a one-story, red-brick home at the edge of the village. By ANDREW E. KRAMER
· Reuters PRESS DIGEST - Russia - Feb 14
· RIA Russian Press at a Glance, Monday, February 14, 2011
· Russian cosmonauts imitate landing on Mars
· Two die after trying to ride roof of Moscow metro train
· Al Jazeera English vs. Russia Today - Two takes on Egypt, but only one shown on American television. By Miriam Elder
· The rake of multiculturalism - When resolving inter-ethnic problems, Europe has no authority over Russia Aleksandra Samarina
· Moscow’s armada - Last week Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced a whopping $678 billion package of new defence spending for the next decade, with a quarter of the money going to revamp Russia’s Pacific fleet. On the Kremlin’s shopping list: 20 new ships, including a new class of attack submarines, plus new missile subs, frigates, and an aircraft carrier. By Owen Matthews
· Russia: The Non-Reluctant Arctic Power - By Dr. Richard Weitz
National Economic Trends
· Russian Growth May Accelerate to 6% as Oil Climbs, RenCap Says
· VTB 10% stake placement successful says Putin
· Putin decrees VTB bank stock privatization
· Russia Raises $3.3 Billion in VTB Sale, Biggest in Four Years
· Russia starts asset sale, gets $3.3 billion for VTB
· Russia to earn over RUR 95 bln in sale of 10% of VTB stock
· Capital inflows from VTB privatisation will not support the rouble
· 1.6 million people unemployed in Russia
· Sugar Import Tariffs to Fall
· Population Drop Could Put Debt at 585% of GDP
Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions
· Rusal, Rosneft, Lukoil, VTB, TNK-BP: Russian Equity Preview
· Polish biggest utility PGE PGEP.WA along with PSE Operator are in talks with the Russian Inter RAO about building an energy link with the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad and energy supplies from a planned nuclear power, daily Rzeczpospolita wrote quoting PGE Chief Executive Tomasz Zadroga.
o Poland to buy Russian nuclear energy?
· Crescent Investments and Inter Rao UES enter into regional partnership
· RusAl raises aluminum output 3% in 2010, plans further growth
o UPDATE 1-RUSAL sees steady 2011 aluminium output growth
· Russian iron firm plans London IPO - Metalloinvest, which is half-owned by oligarch Alisher Usmanov, could be launched into the FTSE 100 by the listing.
· UPDATE 1-Indonesia says Russia to build $3 bln nickel smelter
· France's Alstom Signs $675M Turbine Joint Venture
· Vimpelcom Ltd changes key manager in Russia - needs to focus on Russian operations
· Russian company invests in cold - Russian company MMG Production has announced plans to create a Winter Park at Fisherman’s Wharf. The total investment is estimated at US$19 million (MOP152 million).
· Russia’s Teleca acquires UK based SurfKitchen
· London snubbed by Russian Papa John’s
· The rules of scavenging for gold - Private yellow metal recovery may be allowed in Russia before the summer Tatiana Zykova
· Shaftan reaffirms her commitment to Russia as rising oil price drives growth - Elena Shaftan is the head of Jupiter’s emerging European team and manager of the £626m Emerging European Opportunities fund with Ingrid Kukuljan. Here she explains her fund positioning, why she does not subscribe to the ‘bigger fool’ theory, and why the Russian market is not for tourists.
Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)
· Russia should keep oil output at 2010 level of 505 million tonnes per year – Putin
· UPDATE 1-Exillon says oil reserves rise 74 pct
· Inter RAO may join oil shale project in Jordan (Part 2)
· Shotkman Profitable Without Regard to Tax Relief
· Rosneft deal has issues for BP - More details on the surprise tie-up between BP and Russian behemoth Rosneft. This definitely looks like it is about both companies finding scale outside the U.S. sphere.
· TNK BP unifies gas and energy divisions
· Tatneft registered the branch in Turkmenistan.
· RenCap: Oil and gas monitor
Gazprom
· Russia to start natural gas export to China in end-2015, report
· Gazprom Tells Investors Pipeline Costs are Cut: Vedomosti Says
· Gazprom Sees 15% Price Rise for Europe
· One-fourth of EU member states support South Stream: Gazprom
· Gazprom Neft Profits Up, Eyes Sibir
· Gazprom Neft presents 4Q10 numbers, gives views on taxation
· TNK-BP and Gazprom Neft buy operator of Yamal oil and gas deposits
· Gazprom: Ambitious plans disclosed during investor day
· Gazprom to help Poland reduce CO2 emissions? - Alexander Medvedev, the president of Russia’s oil giant Gazprom has said that with the company’s help Poland could switch to gas for its electricity production, which would help reduce its reliance on CO2 emitting coal.
------Full Text Articles
Basic Political Developments
Iran gives a week to airlines to ban Tupolev flights
http://www.isna.ir/ISNA/NewsView.aspx?ID=News-1715499&Lang=E
ISNA - Tehran
Service: Industry
TEHRAN (ISNA)-Iranian airlines have only less than one week to stop flying Russian-built Tupolev-154 following ultimatum of Head of Iranian Civil Aviation Organization Reza Nakhjavani.
Tupolev jets were in service of Soviet airlines and then Russia's before being sold to countries such as Iran, China, and Central Asian states.
The biggest Russian airlines ended flights with its Tupolev-154 jets and replaced them with western built fleets.
Now it is Iran's turn to replace these aging aircrafts following the ultimatum given 6 months ago.
The scenario to omit the Russian Tupolev from Iranian air fleet was discussed after a Tupolev-154 belonging to Iranian Caspian airline collapsed in central city of Qazvin which led to death of 168 of the passengers and crews onboard.
"According to the latest investigation results on the incident of Caspian airline aircraft, we found out there were some problems in the engine of the craft and informed the Russian company of it," Reza Nakhjavani said.
The crashes continued when a Tupolev-154 belonging to the polish airline fell down near an airport in Russia because of thick fog and Polish President as well as some high-ranking officials were killed in the accident.
While the charter Tupolevs were out in the due time in Iran, a six time period was suggested to national airlines for dismissal of owned Tupolevs as well.
The due period was extended one more month by Nakhjavani who said that the national airline companies have to ban their flights by Tupolev by February 19.
In the recent seven years more than 3400 have been killed in the plane crashes in all over the world, 800 of whom were Iranians.
End Item
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay to continue visit to Russia, until February 19
http://www.prime-tass.com/news/calendar/_Russian_calendar_Key_events_for_February_14/-103/%7BD8EA38FD-2FDD-4CA6-BA6B-B34F29420788%7D.uif
Feb 15: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to hold meeting with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay
http://www.prime-tass.com/news/calendar/_Russian_calendar_Key_events_for_February_14/-103/%7BD8EA38FD-2FDD-4CA6-BA6B-B34F29420788%7D.uif
MINSK— Artur Chilingarov, special representative ofthe Russian president forinternational cooperation inthe Arctic andAntarctic, will arrive onMonday todiscuss Russian-Belarussian cooperation inthe polar regions with Belarussian Deputy Minister ofNatural Resources Vitaly Kulik andmembers ofthe Belarussian Academy ofSciences. (MT, Interfax)
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/for-the-record/430932.html
February 14, 2011 09:35
Lavrov heads to London to improve Russian-British relations
http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=222034
MOSCOW. Feb 14 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will for the UK for a two days' visit on Monday.
This will be the first visit to London by a Russian government official of this level since the relations between the two countries aggravated following the killing of former Federal Security service official Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006.
"The minister will be the British government's guest," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said.
Lavrov is scheduled to meet with his British Prime Minister David Cameron and Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs William Hague and is expected to make a speech in the London School of Economics.
"The upcoming contacts are expected to address a broad range of bilateral relations issues, including those related to the visit by the UK prime minister to Russia scheduled for this year, Lukashevich said.
The meeting will also address the steps aimed at strengthening Russian-British trade and economic cooperation, the development of political dialogue, a broad range of international and regional issues, including the situation in the Middle East, European security issues, European missile defense, dialogue in the format of Russia-EU and Russia-NATO, the Iranian nuclear issue, etc.
"Naturally, the ministers will also discuss the Middle east peace process, the situation in the Arab world in general, and the situation in Afghanistan," Lukashevich said.
"The negotiations will also address trade and investment cooperation," he said.
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Lavrov begins visit to UK to strengthen positive trends in relations
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15950394&PageNum=0