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

An Alternative Reality -- All in Cardboard
By Natalya Krainova / Staff Writer The Project_Fabrika gallery is hosting an exhibit allowing visitors to cut out their own niche.

British Council Closes in St. Pete
By Irina Titova and Nabi Abdullaev / Staff Writers Tensions over the British Council escalated Wednesday as the group shut its office in St. Petersburg and Russia's ambassador to Britain was summoned to the Foreign Office.

More Attendees, Less Splash at Davos
By Catrina Stewart and Andrew McChesney / Staff Writers A record number of Russian delegates will attend the World Economic Forum next week, but in sharp contrast to last year their dealings will be largely behind the scenes.

Uzbekistan's President Sworn In for a Controversial Third Term
The Associated Press Uzbek President Islam Karimov was sworn in for a third term Wednesday, Uzbek media reported, after an election declared undemocratic by Western observers.

Kiev Says It's Ready for NATO
Reuters Ukraine said it was ready to take the next step toward NATO membership, the president's office said Wednesday, after more than a year of stalled relations.

Kasyanov Turns Over 2 Million Signatures
The Moscow Times Former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov submitted to the Central Elections Commission on Wednesday the 2 million signatures required to run for president in the March election.

Red Cross Calls for Answers to Disappearances
Reuters The International Red Cross appealed to Russia on Wednesday to speed up work in discovering the fate of more than 1,000 people who have disappeared in the North Caucasus over the last 20 years.

Japanese Faces Spy Charges
Reuters, MT Japanese investigators plan to seek charges against an official at the nation's key intelligence unit for leaking classified information to a Russian diplomat, media reports said Wednesday.

Margelov Blocked From PACE Presidency
By Nikolaus von Twickel and Natalya Krainova / Staff Writers Senator Mikhail Margelov will not be the next president of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly due to a reform that has been described as aimed at preventing a Russian from chairing Europe's prominent human rights watchdog.

Freedom Is Downgraded From 'Bad'
By Alexander Osipovich / Staff Writer A U.S. democracy watchdog says Russians enjoy the same level of freedom as people in Angola.

Business

Putin to Push Pipeline Plan in Sofia
By Vladimir Isachenkov / The Associated Press President Vladimir Putin heads to Bulgaria this week to push a Kremlin plan to build a web of pipelines that would cement Europe's dependence on Russia's energy supplies.

Stocks Take Steepest Fall in Months
Reuters Stocks fell sharply on Wednesday amid a global flight from risk, and the RTS index saw its worst daily losses since May 2006, dropping 4.52 percent.

Oil Growth Seen Slowing to 1.8%
Reuters Russian oil output growth will fall this year below 2 percent for the first time since 1999, because of a lack of greenfield developments, stagnation at mature Siberian fields and rising capital costs, a survey showed.

Finnish Courts May Delay Baltic Gas Link
By Terhi Kinnunen / Reuters Environmental concerns in Finland over the Nord Stream consortium's plans to build a gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany could cause months or even years of delay to the project, officials said.

Ex-Yukos Executive Tells of Blackmail
By Christian Lowe / Reuters A gravely ill former Yukos executive has accused his jailers of trying to blackmail him into testifying against old associates by denying him the medical treatment he needs to stay alive.

X5 Will Snap Up Karusel Chain
By Tai Adelaja / Staff Writer X5 Retail Group, the country's largest food retailer, said Wednesday that it would exercise its option to purchase Karusel, a grocery retail chain with outlets in the country's northwest.

Yukos Boosts Profit at Rosneft by 80%
By Anatoly Medetsky / Staff Writer Rosneft's profits jumped by 80 percent following its purchase of assets of the bankrupt Yukos oil firm, the state-owned company said Wednesday in its first statement concerning the effect of the acquisitions.

City Wise

Keeping Russia Warm
By Maria Antonova / Staff Writer A small Moscow region town has been ""putting flowers on Russia's shoulders"" since 1868.

Business in Brief

Business in Brief
Exxon in Sakhalin Gas TalksRosneft Not Planning SaleRosneft, Renova Make BidsLUKoil Signs Auto DealTatneft's Oil Output UpEvraz's Q4 Output Up 21%Pipe Sales Rise 10%UralChem Signs DealNew Car Sales to Rise 13%,VimpelCom's LoanComstar Broadband SoarsGallery Plans to Delay IPOLSR Group to Appoint CEOSU-155 Group, Lone Bidder

EU's Russia Question
By Giles Merritt Friend or foe, or something uneasily in-between? That's the question Europe is asking about Russia, and Russia about a newly aggressive Europe. President Vladimir Putin's choice of Dmitry Medvedev, chairman of Gazprom, the gas company with an emerging stranglehold on European energy supplies, only throws this question into an even starker light.

Snacks While You Shop
By Nathan Toohey / Staff Writer Z-Cafe -- no it's not Zorro's favorite watering hole, but a rather pleasant spot to go for drinks on the corner of Novy Arbat and the Garden Ring. Situated inside the posh new Lotte Plaza retail center, it's surrounded by swank boutiques. Yet unlike the usual mall cafe, it manages some sense of individuality, thanks largely to the fact that besides opening onto the shop floor, it has its own separate entrance from the street.

Bloody Bars
By Maria Antonova Besides occasional sugar cubes, satisfying your sweet tooth was not always easy in the Soviet Union. However, generations of children fondly remember the existence of various sugary over-the-counter medicines that made life more exciting. Examples of these are rolls of giant Vitamin C tablets and rosehip cough syrup that was made into ""cola"" by diluting it with mineral water. The strangest of them all was surely gematogen, a type of candy bar with high iron content, achieved by spiking it with processed cow blood.

Compromise Needed Over British Council
The standoff between Moscow and London over the activities of the British Council is regrettable. It is regrettable not only because tens of thousands of Russians could lose the opportunity to acquire new skills, including a better knowledge of English and best practices in Britain, which the council either teaches or facilitates.

News in Brief
Lavrov to Visit GeorgiaUkrainians Protest Visas'Aren't You Dead?'

Medvedev's Status-Quo Liberalism
By Georgy Bovt Many observers have concluded that First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who in all probability will become the next president in March, is a liberal. But it is a mystery to me why so many people sign on to this interpretation. It may be because Medvedev has a smooth, soft-spoken and intelligent way of speaking. In addition, he is not known for making hard-line speeches and has never engaged in diatribes against the West -- that is, not yet.

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