The Moscow Times

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Putin Labels Markets 'Unfair'
By Courtney Weaver / Staff Writer Prime Minister Vladimir Putin described the effect foreign markets have on domestic share prices as “unfair” during a government meeting Monday, saying the values of the securities do not accurately reflect those of the companies themselves.

Tourists Ignoring Troubles in Thailand
By Anna Malpas / Staff Writer Despite opposition protests that have closed Bangkok’s main airport, Russian travelers keep heading to the Asian destination.

Sechin in Line for Best Chairman Award
By Anatoly Medetsky / Staff Writer When it comes to defending investors, Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin might just be the country’s best chairman of the board — or so a group of private investors said on Monday.

German Driver Kills Pedestrians
By Nikolaus von Twickel / Staff Writer A German man who works as a teacher at the German Embassy's school struck and killed two pedestrians at a Moscow crosswalk after he failed to stop for them while driving a luxury sports utility vehicle, city police said Monday.

Foreign Firms Lining Up to Help Beat the Traffic
By Nikolaus von Twickel / Staff Writer Moscow's catastrophic traffic woes are increasingly hurting investment and hampering growth, but city authorities are slow to exploit innovative ideas to improve the situation, transportation experts say.

UN to Raise Aid Package for Kyrgyzstan
Reuters The United Nations appealed Monday for an emergency aid package to help the impoverished Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan survive energy shortages.

Ships Get Escort Off Somalia
The Associated Press A Russian frigate escorted three ships off the coast of Somalia on Monday to protect them from pirates. A multinational force, including U.S., British and German warships, is patrolling the waters.

Opposition Wants Kazakh Premier Out
By Maria Golovnina / Reuters Kazakhstan's opposition party urged the prime minister Monday to resign and accused the government of failing to get a grip on a deepening financial crisis.

Oil Reserve Funds Post Gains
Bloomberg The value of the country's oil funds rose 5.9 percent to $209 billion in November, the Finance Ministry said.

NATO Likely to Balk at Road Map
By David Brunnstrom / Reuters NATO is expected to encourage Georgia and Ukraine to pursue reforms needed to eventually join the alliance but stop short of offering formal Membership Action Plans - also called road maps - at a meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers on Tuesday.

Mother, Daughter Face 10 Years for Stun-Gun Robbery
By Natalya Krainova / Staff Writer An elderly Moscow woman and her daughter are facing up to 10 years in prison for purportedly using a stun gun to rob a company offering a knitting course in which the daughter had enrolled, city police said.

Putin Q&A Expected to Be Subdued
By Nabi Abdullaev / Staff Writer When Prime Minister Vladimir Putin takes to the airwaves Thursday to answer questions from citizens around the country, his interlocutors are unlikely to learn when he became sexually active or if he still believes that gigantic robots will one day defend Russia's borders.

Russia to Upgrade Its Missile Arsenal
By Vladimir Isachenkov / The Associated Press The military will upgrade its missiles in response to U.S. plans for weapons in space, a top general reportedly said Monday.

Business

Norilsk Post May Go to CEO
By Nadia Popova / Staff Writer Norilsk Nickel CEO Vladimir Strzhalkovsky was nominated Monday by Rosbank to the miner’s board, the company said Monday.

Tycoon's Schools Suffer Along With Company
By Tova Cohen, Amie Ferris-Rotman / Reuters A network of Jewish schools spanning Russia and many former Soviet countries says it is facing budget cuts and shutdowns as the global financial crisis bites into its benefactors’ real estate empire.

Lending Losses to Be Compensated
Reuters The Central Bank has offered to compensate losses on interbank lending to four more banks after lowering the credit rating requirements, the regulator said in a statement on Monday.

Grain Producers Search For Place to Store Bumper Crop
Bloomberg Russia will move grain from the Central Federal District after storage space ran out and exports were little changed from a year earlier.

Serbia Threatens Not to Sell Energy Company
The Associated Press Serbia said it will not sell its energy monopoly to Russia unless it gets firm guarantees from Moscow that it will build a strategic pipeline through the Balkan country.

Production Stats Lowest Since 1998
Bloomberg Russia’s manufacturing shrank more in November than during the 1998 financial collapse as the global economic crisis drove output and new orders to record lows and companies cut jobs, VTB Bank Europe said.

Rosneft Gets Loan, Expects Tough Q4
Reuters Rosneft expects a difficult fourth quarter after strong third-quarter results and hopes that state aid will help it refinance its massive foreign debt, its finance chief said Monday.

Opinion

The Death of NATO
Death comes to all living things, and NATO - which approaches its 60th birthday next spring - is dying. Human institutions, like human beings, can collapse with surprising speed once they have outlived their usefulness.

City Wise

Skating Season Opens on Red Square, City Rinks
By Jessica Lee / Special to The Moscow Times Skating rinks have opened around Moscow. With close to 90 open-air ice rinks spotting the city, you are sure to find one to satisfy whatever atmosphere or price range you might be seeking.

Between the Lines

The Media Crisis
In the context of the global financial crisis, Russia's media business is experiencing two very distinct consequences: widespread layoffs and a string of business failures.

Business in Brief
Putin Approves Pipeline; X5 Reports $15M Loss; Dudley Officially Resigns; Sitronics Gets $230M Loan; $78Bln in Requests to VEB; RZD Cuts Tariffs; RusAl Withdraws Suit and For the Record.

Quiet on the Reform Front
On Saturday, Kommersant reported that Nikolai Makarov, head of the General Staff, apparently signed an order barring officers from publicly discussing military reforms, and that some "dissenting" top-ranking officers have already submitted their resignations. Without delay, the Defense Ministry denied all reports, calling the Kommersant piece a "brazen lie."

5-Star Hotels Come to Yekaterinburg
By Anna Korolyova / Vedomosti Yekaterinburg is seeing a mini-boom in the construction of high-end hotels, but as the financial crisis takes a toll on corporate budgets, experts question whether cheaper accommodations wouldn't be a better idea.

As Occupancy Drops, More Hotels Opening
By John Wendle / Staff Writer For years, the city's hotel sector was defined by shortage. Now - in the midst of the financial crisis - the city is seeing more new hotels than ever.

Economic Woes Could Bring Cheaper Rooms
By John Wendle / Staff Writer As corporate budgets shrink, the city’s high-priced hotels might have to make room for some more affordable options.

News in Brief
EU Monitors to Relocate; Parrot Fever Hospitalizes 13.

LSR to Cut Jobs, Delay Projects
By Paul Abelsky / Bloomberg LSR Group, the country's second-largest property developer, will cut 10 percent of its workforce and freeze new projects next year because of a slump in the construction industry. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs gives the company a buy rating.

Community Bulletin Board

Community Bulletin Board
Community Bulletin Board is published every Tuesday. Please submit notices of up to 40 words by noon Thursday. E-mail community@imedia.ru , call +7 (495) 234-3223 or fax +7 (495) 232-6529.

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