The Moscow Times

Were this 2008 and not 2012 — and had Dmitry Medvedev been named prime minister without having first served a full term as president — then the composition of his new government might have created a generally positive impression.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev officially joined United Russia on Tuesday, becoming Russia's first prime minister to ever hold party membership.

Auchan's banking unit and Dutch Credit Europe Group have embarked on establishing a joint bank in Russia to  provide a broader range of services to corporate clients.

The start of 2012 was pretty gloomy for M&A bankers; 2011 had just finished on a very uncertain note, and politicians in Europe were unable to plug the stream of bad news about the European crisis. And although it was not nearly as gloomy as the start of 2009, expectations for M&A bankers in 2012 were quite low and representative of the overall mood on the market as both market and M&A volumes have historically been pretty correlated elsewhere in the world. Not in Russia, however, as M&A volumes remain, high here and seemed little effected by the market prices, as there a set of deals for any set market conditions.

Foreign investors praised the new Cabinet on Monday as a sign of economic stability, but said it reflects that Vladimir Putin is firmly in charge and no significant policy changes are in the offing.

Sokolniki Park is gearing up to welcome up to 400,000 guests to its annual ice cream festival next weekend, and among them several new guests — foreign companies.

Half a century ago, this town on the White Sea coast was a supply mecca for residents of the nearby metropolis Arkhangelsk, who regularly made the 35-kilometer trip just to buy sausage, which was usually available in the well-stocked stores of strategically important defense industry centers.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is a well-meaning yet incompetent man. His recently completed term as president was spent, innocuously enough, tweeting, toying with high-tech gadgets and listening to British rock. Yet, his four years in office have done enormous harm to Russia. Sometimes incompetence can be as dangerous as ill intent.

Following through on his election promise, President Vladimir Putin visited Uralvagonzavod on Thursday, having announced a bundle of state orders worth up to 25 billion rubles ($833 million) for the Siberian manufacturer of battle tanks and railway cars.

Live updates on Vladimir Putin's presidential inauguration and his first actions as president, as well as on opposition demonstrations in central Moscow that began Monday morning.

Russian billionaires are famous for being big buyers of contemporary art, bolstering sales in capitals across the West, but at home it's a different story.

“Empower Medvedev” was the headline of The Moscow Times editorial the day after the new president took office on May 8, 2008. Four years later, there are few who claim that this actually happened.

Medvedev Thanks Top Officials, Wishes Putin Luck as President

Rostelecom posted a 7 percent increase in revenue and a 47 percent increase in net income for 2011, ramping up television and Internet services as part of strategies that are continuing this year.

The state-backed Russian Direct Investment Fund has attracted a Middle East private equity firm to co-invest in a blocking stake in power producer Enel OGK-5, with the deal slated to be closed by the end of next week.

In a widely expected move, President Dmitry Medvedev has accepted an offer to take over the United Russia party, all but guaranteeing his election at a special convention next month.