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

Medvedev To Head Council On Graft
By Anatoly Medetsky / Staff Writer In one of his first major steps as president, Dmitry Medvedev on Monday said he would head a council to battle corruption, which he singled out as one of the country’s worst woes.

Football Fans Staging English Invasion
By Max Delany / Staff Writer The ball flew off the pitch, bounced across Red Square, passed the giant inflatable football, and just missed Lenin’s mausoleum — and the stony-faced guard didn’t even bat an eyelid.

Turkmen Tower Gets Place in Sun
The Associated Press Turkmenistan plans to build a soaring $70 million monument in its capital that will outstrip anything built during the ostentatious rule of the late dictator Saparmurat Niyazov, the country’s state newspaper reported Monday.

Duma Will Not Pass Media Bill
The Moscow Times The State Duma will not pass a bill that had raised alarm about media freedom by toughening the penalties for libel.

Hockey Fans Hit the Streets to Cheer World Title
By Anna Malpas / Staff Writer Hockey fans poured onto the city streets late Sunday night to celebrate Russia's first World Hockey Championship since 1993.

Institute Denies Its Director Was Killed by Poison
By Francesca Mereu / Staff Writer A Moscow scientific institute dismissed reports Monday that its deputy director, Svetlana Zheludeva, died of poisoning after opening a letter containing white powder of unknown origin.

West Will Scrutinize Georgian Elections
Reuters The West will closely watch Georgia’s parliamentary election Wednesday for signs the country is committed to democracy, four months after Mikheil Saakashvili won a presidential vote described as flawed.

Tensions Heated for Abkhaz Leader Visit
By Nikolaus von Twickel / Staff Writer Heated tensions over Abkhazia showed no sign of waning Monday as the breakaway region's leader arrived in Moscow for talks over closer ties with Russia.

Business

Superjet Makes First Flight In Secret
By Nadia Popova / Staff Writer Sukhoi’s Superjet, the first post-Soviet commercial airplane, made its maiden flight under tight secrecy Monday, apparently amid fears that any mishap would spell disaster for the ambitious multibillion-dollar project.

Medvedev's First Trip Highlights Asia Ties
By Anna Smolchenko / Staff Writer resident Dmitry Medvedev plans to sign a political declaration and economic agreements with China and two space deals with Kazakhstan this week during an Asian visit aimed at highlighting the continuity of Russia's foreign policy and its priorities.

Khodorkovsky Says Medvedev Could Reform Judicial System
By Miriam Elder / Staff Writer Jailed former Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky said in his first interview since President Dmitry Medvedev's election that he was cautiously optimistic about the new president's desire to overhaul the country's notoriously corrupt legal system.

Turkmen President Visits Baku
Reuters The leaders of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan met for the first time in 12 years Monday, boosting Europe’s hopes of a new route for Central Asian gas that bypasses Russia.

EU Scraps Tariff On NLMK Steel
Bloomberg The European Union on Monday scrapped an 11.5 percent electrical-steel tariff against Novolipetsk Steel, increasing competition for EU producers, such as Germany’s ThyssenKrupp.

Sberbank Hires 2 Top Execs, Ups Dividend
By Catrina Stewart / Staff Writer Sberbank said Monday it would appoint two bankers from leading investment houses to its management board as the country's biggest bank undergoes a huge and complicated restructuring.

Peugeot, Mitsubishi Sign Kaluga Deal
The Associated Press French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen said Monday that it has signed an agreement with Mitsubishi Motors, one of Japan's biggest automakers, to set up a factory in Russia.

City Wise

Football Frenzy
By Natalia Vasilyeva / Special to The Moscow Times Moscow-based expats are excited about the Champions League final, even if few of them were able to score tickets.

Between the Lines

Frodo Putin vs. Sam Medvedev
By Alexei Pankin There was a striking contrast between Russians' heartfelt joy at Zenit's UEFA Cup victory and Russia's win over Canada in the World Hockey Championship, and an earlier celebration among young United Russia supporters who gathered on Red Square on the night of President Dmitry Medvedev's election. The election party looked more like a choreographed opera than a spontaneous outburst of enthusiasm.

Business in Brief
Putin Calls for More FoodKerimov in Polymetal TalksArbat Prestige Picks CEODvorkovich as G8 SherpaRussneft's $1.4Bln in NotesNew EBRD PresidentFor the Record

Play Football
By Lara McCoy Roslof What to Do

Game Pelmeni
Chef's Secrets

Ossetian Pies and More
By Nathan Toohey / Staff Writer Moscow's boutique bakery scene keeps getting better as more and more specialty patisseries and bread shops open around town. One of the most recent to open is Tri Piroga, or three pies.

A 2nd Briefcase for Putin
By Alexander Golts President Dmitry Medvedev made his first domestic trip as president in his capacity as the commander in chief of the armed forces. It was clear that he wanted to see exactly what he controls with the ""nuclear briefcase"" inherited from former President Vladimir Putin.

Russia Back on Top of Hockey Worlds
By Steve Keating / Reuters Russia rallied to its first world championship gold medal since 1993, when Ilya Kovalchuk's overtime power-play goal gave it a 5-4 win over defending champion Canada on Sunday.

News in Brief
Khakamada Quits PoliticsMedvedev Appoints AdviserTajik Busted for Heroin

Real Estate in Brief
Forestry Body Faces ChargesLabor Violations at UkrainaLSR to Spend $1Bln in '08Miel's Regional SubsidiaryMirax Raises $100M

Jordanians May Invest in Kazakh Resort
Bloomberg Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said Sunday that Jordanian businessmen were planning to invest $1.5 billion to build a resort on the Caspian Sea coast as the country seeks to diversify its energy-based economy.

Israel to Return Sergei Courtyard
Bloomberg, MT Israel will hand over ownership of a 19th-century Jerusalem building to the Russian government in July, following negotiations between the two countries, Haaretz said Thursday, without citing anyone.

Developer Contests Outlook Report
By John Wendle / Staff Writer Fitch says Sistema-Hals is facing liquidity problems but that the sector looks stable for now.

PIK Group Profits Rise To $700M
Reuters Residential property developer PIK Group said Monday that its full-year 2007 net profit rose by 135 percent to $700 million, helped by booming demand for new housing that has spread to the regions.

Business For Business

Breach of Procedure Leads to Refusal to Collect Taxes From the Taxpayer
By Galina Akchurina The Tax Code pays much attention to the legal governing of both the procedure for calculation and payment of taxes as well as the procedure of tax administering.

Are Tax-Free Dividends for Foreign Investors Possible?
By Evgeny Timofeev As of this year, Russia alongside many countries with developed tax systems has a participation exemption enabling Russian (but not foreign) companies to receive dividends from Russian or foreign subsidiaries tax-free.

A New Order to Performing Tax Audits And Tax Control Measures
By Irma Nemshevich The main changes in the articles of the Tax Code concerning tax control were made by Federal Law No. 137-FZ dated as of July 27, 2006, and were put in force from Jan. 1, 2007.

13% Tax -- Does It Apply to You?
By Danara Sharp The personal income tax rate in Russia is one of the most attractive in the world due to the comparatively low rate of 13 percent. There is however requirements that must be met in order to have a status of tax resident within Russia and to be applicable for the tax rate of 13 percent.

Are Things Really Getting Better?
By Sergei Pepeliaev Arbitration court statistics for 2007 help form an objective impression of the way tax relations are tending to develop in our country, indicating that there are still considerable risks involved in unjustified actions on the part of the tax authorities. On the other hand, the state arbitration courts are finding the strength, on the whole, to stand up against breaches of the laws in tax relations.

Community Bulletin Board

Community Bulletin Board
How to Submit Items 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. From May 15 until June 15, the ELENA GALLERY will feature an exhibit entitled ""Rendezvous at Patriarch's Ponds,"" featuring works by A. Plastov, N. Nikogosyan, V. Chulovish, N. Safronov, I. Alexandrina, Y. Obuhovsky, M. Sherbinina, V. Grafov, A. Filatov, A. Aranishev, I. Ptichkin A. Dureev, I. Krisuk, A. Lufer, O. Kosachev and others. The gallery is located at 32 Malaya Bronnaya, M. Mayakovskaya. For more information, visit www.elenagallery.ru . The INDIAN SUMMER BAZAAR, organized by the Indian Women's Association, will be held on June 7 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the grounds of the Embassy of India, 6-8 Ulitsa Vorontsovo Polye, M. Kurskaya. All are welcome. Entrance tickets will be available at the gates of the embassy.

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