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

Putin Appears to Be the Big Winner
By Nabi Abdullaev and Miriam Elder / Staff Writers Occupying the Kremlin chair he sat in for eight years as president, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Monday gave a first clue of where power will lie during the presidency of his protege, Dmitry Medvedev.

Old Faces Follow Putin to New Jobs
By Anna Smolchenko / Staff Writer Prime Minister Vladimir Putin unveiled his Cabinet lineup on Monday, reappointing most key ministers and taking several powerful Kremlin allies with him to the White House.

Nuclear Exec to Head New Energy Ministry
By Anatoly Medetsky / Staff Writer Prime Minister Vladimir Putin picked Sergei Shmatko, head of a company that builds nuclear reactors worldwide, including for Iran, as the new energy minister Monday, in a move that could lend more emphasis to atomic power.

Austrians Suggest Small Is Better
By Francesca Mereu / Staff Writer If a report published recently by a team of Austrian physicists is to be believed, the government formed by incoming Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Monday will be less efficient than its predecessor.

Premier Has a Busy First Week
The Moscow Times Vladimir Putin’s first week as prime minister will be a busy one, featuring a meeting with Japanese judo athletes on Sunday and the announcement of his Cabinet before embarking Monday on a working trip to the Northwest Federal District.

Shuvalov Gets Same Job on a Much Bigger Stage
By Matt Siegel / Staff Writer In Group of Eight parlance they’re called sherpas — the personal representative of a head of state tasked with setting the stage for a successful summit.

FSB Shuffle Seen Helping Medvedev
By Simon Saradzhyan / Staff Writer President Dmitry Medvedev has replaced the Federal Security Service’s longtime director with a veteran security agent who, analysts said, could tackle economic crimes with gusto and strengthen Medvedev’s hand over the law enforcement agencies.

Ustinov's Ouster May Be a Loss For Siloviki
By Simon Saradzhyan / Staff Writer As part of Monday’s government shakeup, President Dmitry Medvedev named Alexander Konovalov, the presidential envoy to the Volga Federal District, to replace Vladimir Ustinov as justice minister, in a move that appeared to further undercut the influence of the so-called siloviki.

Karimov Is 'Rewriting History'
The Associated Press Three years after gunning down unarmed protesters in the city of Andijan, Uzbek authorities are still persecuting people they believe are linked to the unrest, an international rights group says in a report released Monday.

Abkhazia Says It Shot Down 2 Planes
AP, Reuters The separatist Georgian republic of Abkhazia said Monday that it had shot down two unmanned Georgian spy planes over its territory -- the latest in a series of such claims denied by the Georgian government.

Path Cleared For Russia's EU Talks
Reuters The European Union looks likely to start talks with Russia next month on a new partnership deal after Lithuania on Sunday dropped its veto on negotiations starting.

Lebanon Gunbattles Spread to Tripoli
Reuters Pro-government Sunni Muslim gunmen fought militiamen allied to Hezbollah in the northern city of Tripoli on Monday, in further violence that has already dismantled the balance of power in Lebanon.

Serbian Democrats See Narrow Win
Reuters Serbia's pro-European alliance sought a coalition deal with smaller parties on Monday to stave off a challenge from nationalist runners-up who say they too can form a government after Sunday's parliamentary election.

Death Toll Skyrockets After Quake in China
By Ben Blanchard / Reuters China's most devastating earthquake in three decades killed nearly 9,000 people Monday, with the toll likely to soar as authorities struggle to reach casualties in large areas cut off from relief.

Survivors of Cyclone Left in Disarray
The Associated Press As the cyclone raged around him, Ko Zaw Min clung to a tree with one arm while clutching his newborn son with the other.

Aid Reaches Reluctant Myanmar
By Aung Hla Tun / Reuters The first U.S. military aid flight to Myanmar landed in Yangon on Monday but emergency supplies remained at a trickle for 1.5 million people facing hunger and disease in the cyclone-ravaged Irrawaddy delta.

Business

After 9 Years, Reiman Leaves Mixed Record
By Tai Adelaja and Max Delany / Staff Writers The appointment of Igor Shchyogolev, the Kremlin's polyglot protocol chief, to head the new hybrid Communications and Press Ministry brings an end to the tenure of one of the country's most controversial ministers, Leonid Reiman.

Usmanov Ups MegaFon Stake to 39%
Bloomberg Billionaire Alisher Usmanov is buying 58.9 percent in Telecominvest for an unspecified sum to increase his stake in MegaFon, the country’s third-largest mobile- phone company.

Football Chief Gets Sports Job
By Max Delany / Staff Writer Despite his humble origins as a sailor on a riverboat, Vitaly Mutko, who was chosen to head the newly created Sport, Youth and Tourism Ministry, has a wealth of administrative experience and high-ranking contacts.

Abramovich Buys $36M Colorado Ranch
The Moscow Times Roman Abramovich has snapped up yet another residence far from the Chukotka autonomous district he governs, purchasing a $36.3 million Colorado ranch not far from a ski house he bought there in February.

Crocus Chief Plans $1Bln Azeri Resort
Reuters Crocus International said Monday that it would spend $1 billion building a luxury resort on the Caspian coast near Azerbaijan's capital Baku.

Thieves Pick Up on Building Boom
Reuters, MT Forget the luxury cars that cram Moscow's streets; thieves are after dump trucks, cranes and asphalt pavers to feed a booming construction sector.

Kashagan Field May Face Further Delays
Reuters The Kazakh government on Monday threatened to slap sanctions on a Western consortium developing the giant Kashagan oil field in the Caspian Sea should its operators decide to delay the start of production again.

Opinion

Reflections of a U.S. Ambassador
By William J. Burns Last month in Sochi, during U.S. President George W. Bush's visit to meet then-President Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev, I was reminded of how much the complicated U.S.-Russian relationship still matters to both of our countries and to the rest of the world.

City Wise

What's in Your Water?
By Maria Antonova Likbez

Business in Brief

Business in Brief
Inflation Forecast RisesRusAl's $4.5Bln Loan SoldEuropean Med Center SoldVirgin's Russia WiMax PlansSt. Pete's VIP MetroFor the Record

The Season Of Cold Showers
By Svetlana Osadchuk / Staff Writer This week the long-standing summer tradition of turning off the hot water begins.

Extra Rounds at Litrbol
By Nathan Toohey / Staff Writer The only sport you're a master of is literball,"" or so goes the old joke. But it seems that this old joke may have a new lease on life at the recently opened Litrbol where a liter mug of the house beer sells for just 130 rubles.

Herring Parboiled in Cream and Piquant Herbs with Caramel Carrots and Green Aioli
Chef's Secrets

Tanks Roll Over Russia's Image
If anyone was having trouble grasping the fact that Russia has an image problem, the sight of intercontinental ballistic missiles rolling across Red Square on Victory Day should have cleared matters up.

News in Brief
Politkovskaya Suspects FreedSenators Approve Visa BillU.S. Ambassador Leaves

Returning Direct Elections
By Nikolai Petrov Since the inauguration, the presidential web site has evolved into the domain of President Dmitry Medvedev, and the updated version of the White House's web site now carries information about Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's activities.

The Natural-Resources And Democracy Curse
By Konstantin Sonin May 8, the date Vladimir Putin was appointed prime minister, might go down in history as the end of Russia's latest attempt at democracy. That date might stand alongside other similar milestones in Russia's history -- for example, Oct. 25, 1917, when the Bolsheviks overturned the temporary government that was to rule until elections; or Jan. 6, 1918, when the Bolsheviks dissolved the Constituent Assembly in protest over the results of national elections.

Zenit Banks On Attacking Flair
By Justin Palmer / Reuters Zenit St. Petersburg chases its first European trophy when the free-scoring Russian champion take on Rangers in Wednesday's UEFA Cup final at the City of Manchester stadium.

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