The Moscow Times

Market Matters: Struggling Stocks Spur New Record Oil Prices
Oil hit another record of just under $143 as global stocks tumbled last week, with the Dow briefly dipping into bear market territory as investors sought safety in gold, government debt and the Swiss franc.

News

Swiss Court Ties Conditions to Extradition
By Nikolaus von Twickel / Staff Writer Switzerland's highest court has ruled that a former executive at a state-owned company can not be handed over for trial in Russia without a guarantee that conditions for his detention will meet standards set by the European Convention on Human Rights.

Zubkov Tipped to Head Gazprom
By Anatoly Medetsky / Staff Writer Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov is most likely to replace First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev as board chairman of state-controlled Gazprom in a reshuffle prompted by the upcoming presidential elections, a top Kremlin adviser said Wednesday.

Liberals Call for Friendlier Face Abroad
By Catrina Stewart and Anna Smolchenko / Staff Writers Two of the country's top liberal government officials broke ranks with the Kremlin on Wednesday, calling for a change in the country's increasingly strident foreign policy to ensure a stable platform for investors.

Putin Gives FSB Election Orders
Reuters President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia's domestic intelligence service on Wednesday to increase its vigilance against attempts by foreigners to interfere in the March presidential election.

Ukrainian Nazi Guard Loses Appeal
Reuters An appeals court on Wednesday ruled against accused Nazi guard John Demjanjuk, a decision that could bring the retired Ohio auto worker only one step away from deportation to his native Ukraine.

Siberian Asteroid Downsized
By Sue Major Holmes / The Associated Press An asteroid that exploded over Siberia a century ago, leaving 2,000 square kilometers of scorched or blown down trees, was not nearly as large as previously thought, a researcher concludes, suggesting a greater danger for Earth.

Model Killed in Battle With Carjacker
By David Nowak / Staff Writer Investigators are looking for a suspect in the death of a model who was killed while trying to prevent her Porsche Cayenne from being carjacked, city prosecutors said Wednesday.

Russia Pledges to Back Belarus
Reuters Russia promised on Wednesday to help Belarus withstand what it called""short-sighted"" punitive measures imposed against President Alexander Lukashenko by Western countries that accuse him of human rights breaches.

Moscow on Serbian Presidential-Election Map
The Associated Press Serbia's pro-Russian presidential candidate visited Moscow on Wednesday, reaching out for the Kremlin's support days after a trip by his incumbent rival.

Missile-Defense Sites Lead to Rethink in Kaliningrad
The Associated Press Russia may reconfigure its military presence in the Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad in response to U.S. plans for missile defense sites in Europe, a top general said Wednesday.

Mogilevich, Nekrasov Charged
The Moscow Times Suspected crime boss Semyon Mogilevich and Arbat Prestige owner Vladimir Nekrasov were formally charged Wednesday with large-scale tax evasion, Mogilevich's lawyer said.

Aleksanyan Gets Support of Old Boss
By David Nowak / Staff Writer Former Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky is on a hunger strike to protest his colleague's treatment.

Business

Oil Stocks Retreat, Led By Rosneft
Reuters Russian stocks fell on renewed concern that a recession in the United States will hurt global demand for oil and gas, the country's biggest exports.

Medvedev Bemoans Pollution
By Steve Gutterman / The Associated Press President Vladimir Putin and his likely successor, First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, on Wednesday called for sweeping environmental improvements, saying cleaning up Soviet-era pollution and reducing industrial waste were crucial for the country's economy and public health.

Billionaires See a Golden Opportunity
By Robin Paxton / Reuters The country's metals billionaires are moving into gold, attracted by record prices and the prospect of carving a share of production that is forecast to rise 40 percent by 2015.

Lenta Shareholders' Fight Goes to Court
Bloomberg Shareholders of Lenta, the country's third-biggest food retailer, are battling in court for control of the company after failing to agree on funding for expansion.

Fridman to Take Smaller Role at Bank, Focus on Alfa Group
The Moscow Times Billionaire Mikhail Fridman is set to resign Friday as chairman of Alfa Bank to focus on the overall management of Alfa Group.

Greenspan Warns Russia Over Inflation
The Moscow Times Former U.S. Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan said Wednesday that the double-digit inflation rate was hurting Russia's economy, Interfax reported.

Turkmens Peeved at Ukrainian Pipe Snub
By Alexander Vershinin / The Associated Press Turkmenistan's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday scoffed at Ukraine's proposal to build a new pipeline that would carry Turkmen natural gas to European markets, saying other nations should consult it before making such statements.

AvtoVAZ May Have 2008 IPO
The Moscow Times AvtoVAZ, the country's biggest carmaker, may have an IPO this fall, Troika Dialog chief Ruben Vardanyan told journalists Wednesday on the sidelines of an investment conference.

City Wise

The Lost Capital
By Maria Antonova / Staff Writer Once a proud Siberian city on the Irtysh, Omsk bears the scars of the country's Revolutionary struggle.

Business in Brief

Business in Brief
MegaFon May Sell SharesSeverstal's Hyundai TalksS7 Sales Advance 24%Electricity Prices May RiseUES's Mosenergosbyt PriceCoal Sales Won't Fill GapLUKoil to Buy TGK-8Gazprom to Up Sulfur PricesChina Wants Gazprom TalksRaspadskaya Raises OutputNoga Problem to Be SettledEni Unit May Bid for FieldAeroflot Profit Up 92%For the Record

Something Is Very Wrong With Russia
The Washington Post First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev polled at 80 percent in a recent survey, compared with 1 percent for the only opposition candidate then in the running, former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov.

Flashbulbs & Cocktails
By Nathan Toohey / Staff Writer Pyatnitskaya Ulitsa is already home to many bars and restaurants, so Paparazzi certainly has its work cut out for it trying to make a name for itself. It's a classic bar, located in basement, with brick, cellar-like vaulted ceilings, which make for a cozy setting. The paparazzi theme is created with celebrity-gossip magazine covers in the stairwell, black-and-white photos around the walls, and reels of film hanging from the air-conditioning vents. The mannequin with a camera slung around his neck is a slightly creepy addition.

Freedom Sprats
By Maria Antonova Golden Baltic sprats drowning in golden oil in a golden tin can added festivity to parties during Soviet times, especially on New Year's, when they were a dinner table must-have. Sprats are a specific type of small herring-like fish, canned in a signature way: The fish is smoked over alder wood cuttings and then covered with oil. The smoking method is traditional for Baltic countries, especially Latvia. Eventually, sprats became so popular in the Soviet Union that any type of fish canned in oil were called shproty. Sprats over buttered black bread garnished with a sprig of parsley was a classic canape that diversified ham-and-cheese sandwiches.

News in Brief
Medvedev Election Site UpBomb Suspects Plead Guilty99 Percent Conviction Rate

Travel News
By James Marson

Medvedev's Amorphous Political Agenda
By Georgy Bovt As a presidential candidate, what values and ideas does First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev stand for? According to the latest VTsIOM survey, with only five weeks remaining until the March 8 presidential election, 65 percent of the people still have no idea. And considering that Medvedev's victory was a foregone conclusion from the moment President Vladimir Putin chose him as his successor, I think the word vybory, which means ""elections"" and, in the singular, ""choice,"" has little relevance to what will take place on March 8. Instead, the word golosovaniye, which means ""voting,"" is a better word to describe the presidential election.

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