Russia hopes EU talks will provide support for WTO bid - By Toby Vogel
A simpler era in EU-Russia relations? - Greater understanding of several points would help the EU. First, Russia may claim Ukraine and Belarus as part of a “sphere of privileged interests”, but Belarus's Alyaksandr Lukashenka and Ukraine's Viktor Yanukovych prefer independence to dependence on Russia. Second, the EU needs Russian energy, but Russia needs the EU market. Third, a unified front matters. Still, there is a greater appreciation of these points now than in the past.
Italy, RF FMs to examine RF-EU relations, int'l issues - Meetings between Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov, and Vice-Premier and Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin are held here on Thursday ahead of the 7th round of Russo-Italian enlarged interstate consultations at summit level.
Minister for Industry, Tourism and Trade announces a new "Made in/by Spain" Plan for Russia
Putin rearranges government personnel - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has rearranged government personnel by relieving Stanislav Naumov, State Secretary and Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, and Vladimir Azbukin, Deputy Minister of Energy, of their duties at their request.
Medvedev approves new commemoration date - President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree establishing the 15th of February the Day to commemorate Russians who served their professional duty abroad.
Sergei Ivanov appointed to co-chair RF-Sweden panel
Russian government to sell media outlets - All the newspapers, television channels and radio stations owned by members of the Russian government will be put up for sale.
Laws to bring Russian legislation into conformity with the legal framework of the Customs Union
Russian leader declines to back Caspian European Integration Business Club - “Yuri Schedrin, Russian Federation’s trade representative in Azerbaijan, declared this officially and noted that his response is considered to be an official reply to CEIBC’s letter addressed to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. Schedrin assumed that this proposal probably was not of interest to the President of Russia,” it was informed.
Federation Council approves amendments to law on rallies - If adopted, they would have imposed severer penalties for violations of the law.
OSCE SUMMIT ASTANA
Slovenia President urges OSCE to focus on Russia’s common European security plan
Kazakhstan wants OSCE to put religious tolerance on its agenda
Beginning of meeting with President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev
Beginning of meeting with Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte
START TREATY
Republicans Signal Support for Russia Nuclear Treaty (Update1)
Former top US diplomats urge support for START
Why New START deserves GOP support - By Henry A. Kissinger, George P. Shultz, James A. Baker III, Lawrence S. Eagleburger and Colin L. Powell
Powell endorses Russian arms control treaty
Russia completes delivery of guaranteed nuclear fuel reserves
Rosatom sees orders to build 23-25 nuclear power plants abroad
Transcript of Vladimir Putin's interview with CNN's Larry King
Moscow media questions Putin's Zurich no-show - Russian media on Thursday questioned Vladimir Putin's decision to skip the World Cup announcement in Zurich, with one paper saying it had cost the country the favourite's mantle for the 2018 tournament.
Chances are high for Russia to host 2018 World Cup – Lavrov
Putin to hold meeting on Kaliningrad reg healthcare modernization
Woody Allen monument in Russia - A monument to three-times Academy award-winning American actor and director Woody Allen was unveiled on Wednesday in Russia’s westernmost city of Kaliningrad on the Baltic.
Russia's first lady awards Azerbaijani musicians
India tests BrahMos cruise missile
India conducts BrahMos cruise missile test
Saudi MoDA, Rosoboronexport and military equipment - Russia’s arms exporter Rosoboronexport is said to have plans to provide the Saudi Ministry of Defence and Aviation (MoDA) with alluring offers for military equipment.
Insurgents In Daghestan Threaten Further Strikes On Russian Targets - The man named three months ago as commander of the Daghestan sector of the North Caucasus insurgency has warned that his group will continue to "inflict horrors" on Russian territory -- an allusion to the suicide bombings in the Moscow subway in which 40 people were killed.
WIKILEAKS
WikiLeaks cables allege rampant high-level corruption in Russia
WikiLeaks disclosures reveal U.S. frustration with Russian corruption
Julian Assange says WikiLeaks wants to expose China and Russia as much as US
Wikileaks: Russia branded 'mafia state' in recent cable
Wikileaks: Vodka made Serdyukov tell Abiev about Russian weapon transfer
WikiLeaks cables: Solzhenitsyn praise for Vladimir Putin
Embassy cables: Chatshow confirms Putin as the Kremlin supremo
US embassy cables: The Litvinenko affair: conspiracies abound
WikiLeaks cables allege Russia bribed Viktor Bout witnesses
Viktor Bout: Weapons Smuggler May Be the Tip of the Iceberg
US embassy cables: Russia's growing clout in the global arms trade
WikiLeaks cables: Moscow mayor presided over 'pyramid of corruption'
WikiLeaks cables: Dmitry Medvedev 'plays Robin to Putin's Batman'
Embassy cables: Medvedev and Putin, the two heads of Russia
WikiLeaks cables: Roman Abramovich denies links with Vladimir Putin
WikiLeaks: Russian undercover agents hounded staff working at the British embassy in Moscow for visas
Russian Opposition Activist Speaks Out for Visa-Free Regime - Lev Ponomaryov, one of Russia's most prominent human rights and civil society activists, has expressed his support for visa-free travel between the EU and Russia, saying it would be a collosal victory for the democrats and opposition in his country.
Leaked U.S. document portrays Moscow as haven of corruption - By Will Englund
About Gagarin and About Myself - By Oleg Kashin
A scramble for the Arctic - With one fifth of the world's oil and gas at stake, countries are struggling to control the once-frozen arctic.
Vladimir Putin: profile - Vladimir Putin is one of the world's most high-profile leaders.
Perminov Says Spaceship Fixed After Incident - A Russian spacecraft that suffered rough handling during transportation to the launch pad has been repaired and is safe to carry the next crew to the international space station, the nation's space chief said Tuesday.
PRESS DIGEST - Russia - Dec 2
www.kommersant.ru
Russia is threatening the United States with a renewed arms race.
The Russian government refused on Wednesday to support a 23 percent increase in railways shipment fees in 2012.
Russia has launched public discussions of a new draft law on education.
www.vedomosti.ru
Russia's businessmen have no faith in the national economy, the daily says in connection with reports that businesses saved about 30 trillion roubles in bank accounts in 2010 instead of investing.
"We have survived the most critical period of the crisis but we have not yet eliminated its basic cause", the head of state lender Sberbank German Gref says in an interview.
www.rg.ru
Russian lawmakers will discuss amending criminal law to reduce the number of crimes foreseeing arrests and imprisonment, Supreme Court chairman Vyacheslav Lebedev says.
Russia may turn to the Australian dollar as an element of its national reserves, according to Alexei Ulyukayev, first deputy head of the central bank.
www.ng.ru
Russia's natural gas monopoly Gazprom (GAZP.MM) plans to spend up to 15.5 billion euro on building a pipeline to supply Europe with gas bypassing Ukraine.
Russia has made utopian forecasts for its economic development in 2011 according to the budget approved by parliament on Wednesday.
www.izvestia.ru
Russian Orthodox Church Patriach Kyrill, 64, would like to travel to space, the daily says.
Russia's top anti-drug watchdog Viktor Ivanov is urging the United Nations to define the threat of drugs spreading from Afghanistan as a global threat to international security.
Police have detained a lawmaker's aide who is accused of selling jopbs in parliament for up to $200,000.
Russian Press at a Glance, Thursday, December 2, 2010
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin gave a satellite interview to CNN's Larry King.(Vremya Novostei, Moscow Times, Vedomosti, Kommersant, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
Belarus said Wednesday that it would give up its stockpile of material used to make nuclear weapons by 2012.(Moscow Times, Vremya Novostei)
Trade unions refused to sign a general agreement with the government and employers.(Vremya Novostei)
The United States on Wednesday called on Europe's main security watchdog to lend more support to the war in Afghanistan and resolve "frozen conflicts" across the former Soviet Union.(Moscow Times, Vremya Novostei, Vedomosti)
Interpol joined the efforts to hunt down WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.(Kommersant)
Russia is closer than ever to joining the World Trade Organization: an agreement on the completion of talks will be signed December 7 at a Russia-EU summit.(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
RusAl said Wednesday that it chose Sberbank as the issuer and VTB Capital as its advisor for the first-ever Russian Depositary Receipts.(Moscow Times)
German energy concern E.On said Wednesday that it sold its 3.5 percent stake in Gazprom. VEB bought 2.7 percent, with settlement to come later this month. E.On has already sold the other 0.8 percent on the market and is earning 3.4 billion euros ($4.5 billion) on the entire deal, the company said.(Moscow Times, Vremya Novostei, Vedomosti)
Russia's hopes for winning the right to host its first World Cup were thrown into disarray on Wednesday, when Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said he wouldn't go to Zurich for FIFA's vote on the 2018 tournament.(Moscow Times, Vremya Novostei, Kommersant, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
Russian businessmen and State Duma deputy Ilya Ponomaryov have drafted amendments to the country's Criminal Code, proposing criminal responsibility for spamming.(Kommersant, Vedomosti)
President Dmitry Medvedev fired Krasnodar Territory police chief Sergei Kucheruk following a massacre in the village of Kushchevskaya.(Kommersant, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
Russians will remember 2010 for the terrorist attacks in the Moscow metro, the record heatwave, and the dismissal of Mayor Yury Luzhkov, judging by the list of top search queries for the past year's events published by Yandex on Wednesday.(Moscow Times)
United Russia: Nine years later - December 1 of 2001 marked the day of birth of the Russian political party "Unity and Fatherland - United Russia." On the one hand, it is not an anniversary. On the other hand, the party has been around for a long time, taking the leading position in the Russian political system throughout the period of its existence.
Russia! presents a special business issue - A special edition of Russia! will hit bookstores on Dec. 1. Its cover story is the seizure of the Lenta retail chain by the U.S. fund TPG Capital and VTB, a major Russian bank.
