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Newspaper in Putin Scandal To Print Again

Moskovsky Korrespondent, the newspaper that closed after writing that former President Vladimir Putin would marry a former Olympic gymnast, intends to resume publication in two months.

"The site is already working. The print version will come out at the beginning of September," said Artyom Artyomov, director of the Noviye Media holding, which owns the newspaper.

Artyomov, speaking by telephone Wednesday, said Moskovsky Korrespondent would keep its tabloid format but come out once a week instead of daily. "It will be a weekly paper completely devoted to the life of the megalopolis. We will cover only what is going on in Moscow, from politics to the economy and social problems," he said.

The tabloid suspended operation on April 18 after reporting that Putin had left his wife to marry Alina Kabayeva, a 24-year-old former gymnast and Duma deputy with United Russia. Putin denied the report when asked at a news conference with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in Sardinia.

Artyomov said the story played a role in the closure, but "there were also economic reasons," he said. "The weekly version will be less expensive."

Noviye Media, a newly created media holding, belongs to billionaire Alexander Lebedev, and includes Novaya Gazeta and has licenses to publish Russian editions of the British Fashion and Dazed & Confused magazines.

Akram Murtazayev, a journalist with Novaya Gazeta, will be Moskovsky Korrespondent's editor-in-chief.

"We will have objective and well-checked information this time," Artyomov said.

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