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

Disappointment and Defiance in Party Camps
By Catrina Stewart, Nikolaus von Twickel and Anatoly Medetsky / Staff Writers Disappointment hung heavy at the campaign headquarters of the Communist Party on Sunday night, even though preliminary results indicated that it would win seats in the next State Duma.

Party Ponders Life After Landslide
By Anna Smolchenko / Staff Writer At polling station No. 2074 at the Russian Academy of Sciences, President Vladimir Putin looked relaxed and content as he arrived with his wife, Lyudmila, to vote.

Turnout Up as United Russia Takes 63%
By Nabi Abdullaev / Staff Writer Results released early Monday gave United Russia a crushing victory in Sunday's parliamentary elections after a campaign clearly aided by the popularity of President Vladimir Putin and, opponents say, smothering tactics by the authorities.

Youths' Exit Poll Reflects Official Results
By John Wendle / Staff Writer The exit poll results from Nashi Vybory, a spinoff from the pro-Kremlin youth movement Nashi, lay among hamburger wrappers Sunday on a table at the McDonald's on the Arbat.

Early Voters Support a Just Russia
By Alexander Osipovich / Staff Writer At first it seemed Polling Station No. 59 would be a hotbed of support for A Just Russia.

Policemen Beef Up Security in Beslan
By Francesca Mereu / Staff Writer Soldiers patrolled the streets with automatic weapons here Sunday, while police stopped cars entering and leaving town, meticulously checking the documents of drivers and passengers and asking them why they were going to Beslan.

3 Elderly Voters Die
The Moscow Times At least three elderly voters died in polling stations during State Duma elections Sunday.

Red Square Residents Vote With Homeless
By Kevin O'Flynn / Staff Writer The residents of No. 1 Red Square marched to their local polling station early Sunday morning, stamping their feet in the cold as they waited to vote.

Observers, Voters See Violations
By David Nowak / Staff Writer Voters complained of intimidation and attempted bribery in what election observers called a coordinated effort to boost United Russia's results in the State Duma vote on Sunday.

Fancy Medal Unveiled for Foreigners
Reuters An extravagant gold and diamond medal was unveiled Friday to honor late Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov, who died a year ago after two decades of eccentric rule.

'Godzilla' Dies After 6 Months on the Run
Reuters A crocodile that escaped from a traveling circus in Ukraine and evaded capture for six months died Friday after two days back in captivity, officials said.

Okruashvili Asked for Asylum
Reuters Georgian opposition leader Irakly Okruashvili applied for asylum in Germany days before police arrested him in a Berlin hotel on a request from Georgia's government.

Kazakhstan to Manage the OSCE in 2010
Combined Reports Kazakhstan won approval Friday to take over the chairmanship of Europe's main human rights and security watchdog in 2010 after accepting U.S. demands to pledge to protect the OSCE's election monitoring body.

44 Miners Injured in Ukrainian Blast
Combined Reports An explosion injured 44 miners on Saturday at a colliery in eastern Ukraine was struck by the country's worst mining accident two weeks earlier.

Paper Reports Rise in Russian Spying
Reuters Russia's foreign intelligence services are accelerating efforts to recruit young lawmakers and academics in Germany, a German newspaper reported Sunday.

Putin Signs CFE Moratorium Drawing U.S., OSCE Protests
The Associated Press President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed a law suspending Russia's participation in the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, the Kremlin announced.

Trepashkin Freed After Serving 4-Year Sentence
By David Nowak / Staff Writer Mikhail Trepashkin, a former Federal Security Service agent, was freed from a Urals prison on Friday after serving four years for divulging state secrets.

British Muslim Delegation Pushes for Teacher's Release
The Associated Press The British government and a Muslim delegation from the House of Lords are together pushing hard to obtain a pardon from Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for a teacher imprisoned when she allowed her students to name a teddy bear Muhammad.

Venezuela Votes on Chavez's Changes
By Hugh Bronstein / Reuters Venezuelans voted in a tightly contested referendum Sunday on whether to allow left-wing President Hugo Chavez to stay in power for as long as he keeps winning elections or hand him his first defeat at the polls.

U.S. Focus of Climate Discussions
The Associated Press Any agreement hammered out by a massive United Nations climate change conference starting in Indonesia this week would not make sense without the participation of the United States, the world's top emitter of greenhouse gases, the UN's climate chief said Sunday.

Business

Several Rosneft Vice Presidents Could Quit
The Moscow Times Several Rosneft vice presidents could leave the company in the near future, including senior managers in charge of finance and exports, sources inside the company said, Interfax reported Sunday.

$7Bln Demanded for Kashagan Delay
Reuters Kazakhstan sought $7 billion in compensation from a group of Western companies Friday for delays at the Kashagan oil field, a source close to the talks said, naming a fine much smaller than its earlier demands.

Putin Says Science Funding to Double
The Associated Press President Vladimir Putin pledged on Friday to double the government's spending on science in the next two years, saying it was crucial to ensuring the country's development.

UES to Sell 21% of Mosenergo to City
Reuters The board of state utility Unified Energy System on Friday approved the sale of 21.2 percent of Moscow utility Mosenergo to the city government for 6.5 rubles per share, valuing the stake at $2.25 billion.

Gazprom May Choose Total for Astrakhan
Reuters Gazprom may bring in Total to help it tap a large gas field in Astrakhan, it said Friday, only a few months after teaming up with the French oil major on the giant Arctic Shtokman deposit.

Venture Fund Boss Touts Ties to Siloviki
By Miriam Elder / Staff Writer The Kremlin and an Israeli investment fund on Sunday sought to distance themselves from Oleg Shvartsman, an unknown Russian fund manager who claimed in an interview that he was a key money manager for the siloviki clan.

Alfa Says MegaFon Dispute Resolved
Combined Reports Altimo, the telecoms investment vehicle of billionaire Mikhail Fridman, said Friday that it had resolved a long-running dispute over its stake in the country's third-largest mobile operator, MegaFon.

Business in Brief

Business in Brief
Kovytka Deal DelayedGazprom Mulls Ruble SalesProkhorov Sells Media StakeRZD Bank to Borrow $2BlnPolyus Wins Gold LicenseGAZ Eyes Michigan PartsNovolipetsk Net Falls 20%UES Plans China VentureMechel Mulls Coal SpinoffTGK-7 Manager KilledEni to Buy Burren Energy

First Person
By John Wendle Igor Moskovin, doughnut kiosk owner/operator.

Opera With a Twist of Beet
By John Wendle / Staff Writer From the Trans-Siberian to opera, Neil McGowan has embraced a wide swath of Russian culture.

Restaurant News
By Nathan Toohey Those looking for a cozy countryside retreat for a couple of pints now have a new pub to unwind in, the Chester Ferry Pub and Restaurant.

Hot Choc to Warm Up
By Nathan Toohey / Staff Writer Moka D'oro describes itself as a ""city cafe,"" which seems quite an apt description given that it follows the city cafe formula closely.

The Vote Was Not Free or Transparent
Vladimir Churov, head of the Central Elections Commission, gave a small group of foreign reporters a personal guarantee five days before the State Duma elections took place.

Dubai on the Moscow River
By Alexei Bayer Writing in the Nov. 22 issue of The New York Review of Books, former Soviet dissident Sergei Kovalyov analyzed the reasons for President Vladimir Putin's remarkable popularity.

U.S. Sweeps Russia in Davis Cup Final
By Anne M. Peterson / The Associated Press The United States won its first Davis Cup since 1995 with a doubles victory over defending champion Russia on Saturday.

Market Matters

Investors Hoping for Clarity After Election
By Catrina Stewart / Staff Writer Investors await President Vladimir Putin's plans for the next administration.

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