The Moscow Times

Market Matters : Oil Tax Pledge Buoys Markets
Markets surged after the swearing-in of Dmitry Medvedev as president in a pomp-filled ceremony Wednesday and a tax-cutting speech by Vladimir Putin the day after, when he was approved as prime minister.

News

Easy to Get in Mess, Hard to Get Out
By Svetlana Osadchuk / Staff Writer Edmond Pope considers himself lucky to have escaped 20 years in prison. But the U.S. businessman says he can do nothing about the nightmares that started with his arrest on espionage charges in 2000.

Putin Pushes Iran on Nuclear Transparency
Combined Reports President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday told Iran’s top nuclear negotiator that Tehran’s nuclear program should be transparent and stay under the control of the United Nations atomic watchdog.

Rosneft President Losing His Allies
By Miriam Elder / Staff Writer He made his first public appearance at Rosneft’s inaugural shareholder meeting five months ago. Now, Igor Sechin, President Vladimir Putin’s powerful deputy chief of staff and chairman of Rosneft’s board, stands poised to consolidate control over the country’s largest oil company, industry sources and analysts said Tuesday.

Ukraine to Pay $180 for Gas
Reuters Ukraine has agreed to raise payments for Russian gas by 38 percent next year, Gazprom said Tuesday.

OSCE Criticizes Uzbek Campaign
Reuters Europe's main rights watchdog chided Uzbekistan on Tuesday over its upcoming presidential election and said it would not send a full team of observers due to visa delays.

2 Arrests for Headless Corpse
By Carl Schreck / Staff Writer Police have arrested two men suspected of shooting a Moscow businessman, cutting off his head and making off with $20,000 in cash, a law enforcement source said Tuesday.

News in Brief
Putin to Keep HomeTymoshenko NominatedOSCE Decision CriticizedRussia Firm on KosovoTallinn Fire Kills 6Theft of 4 Kilos of Coins

EU Split Over Duma Vote
Reuters The European Union was in disarray Tuesday over the State Duma elections after French President Nicolas Sarkozy telephoned President Vladimir Putin to congratulate him.

Video of Ballot Feeding Elicits Fraud Accusations
By Natalya Krainova and Kevin O'Flynn / Staff Writers A video showing purported ballot stuffing during the State Duma elections is making its way through the Internet and prompting allegations of electoral fraud from opposition activists.

Golos Sees Serious Violations
By David Nowak / Staff Writer Golos, the country's only independent election-monitoring body, criticized on Tuesday the State Duma vote as riddled with serious violations that robbed the election process of all legitimacy.

Business

McDonald's Contests Tax Bill
Combined Reports McDonald’s Russian unit is disputing a bill for 160 million rubles ($6.5 million) in unpaid taxes, Kommersant reported Tuesday.

GM Bids for Stake in Automaker AvtoVAZ
Reuters General Motors said Tuesday that it had bid for a ""significant"" stake in the country's biggest automaker, AvtoVAZ.

Business in Brief
Inflation to Rise to 8.5%Kazakhstan's Rate IncreaseImperial Energy's Big DropEricsson, Sitronics Win BidGazprom's Good, Enel SaysMagnitogorsk Up 9.6%U.S., Russia Uranium DealExxon Is Kashagan HoldoutCPI Up 1.5% in December

UES Sets Price for TGK-12
Reuters Unified Energy System has set the price of new TGK-12 shares at 75 rubles each, an 8.7 percent premium to market, UES spokeswoman Marita Nagoga said Tuesday.

Investors Pull Out of Shvartsman Venture
By Max Delany / Staff Writer A state fund, an Israeli merchant bank and the EBRD have pulled the plug on a Russian investment venture after a minority shareholder said Kremlin siloviki had given him the go-ahead to conduct ""velvet reprivatization"" in strategic industries.

25% Gas Price Hike Approved
By Dmitry Zhdannikov / Reuters The government on Tuesday approved a planned 25 percent rise in state-capped gas prices for 2008 and a higher-than-planned gas transportation fee, in a move that will create extra inflationary pressures.

Potanin's Hopes Fade for Norilsk Stake
By Catrina Stewart / Staff Writer Prokhorov is offering a discount of $3 billion to RusAl, a report says.

Millhouse in $400M Gold Deal
By Robin Paxton / Reuters Roman Abramovich will acquire a 40 percent interest in miner Highland Gold for $400 million by subscribing to a new share issue.

Opinion

Yulia Latynina: How Nemtsov's Arrest Differs From Anya's
Last week I heard the most optimistic news that an inveterate pessimist like me could have possibly imagined. No, I'm not referring to the recent State Duma elections.

City Wise

Ask the Chef
By James Marson Narek Avagyan is head chef at Cafe Ararat in the Ararat Park Hyatt Moscow hotel.

Ryumochnaya Revival
By Nathan Toohey / Staff Writer Ryumochnayas are making a comeback. These drinking dens of old, with their standup-only service, limited selection of strong spirits and lack of any substantial food, were certainly simple affairs.

No Longer Forbidden Fruit
By Tai Adelaja / Staff Writer The obstacles to BlackBerry arriving on the Russian market have finally been overcome.

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