Renault and Japanese partner Nissan moved to expand in the growing Russian car market on Thursday with a $750 million deal that would give the French manufacturer effective control of Lada maker AvtoVAZ. PARIS — Renault and Japanese partner Nissan moved to expand in the growing Russian car market on Thursday with a $750 million deal that would give the French manufacturer effective control of Lada maker AvtoVAZ. The tentative agreement...

As the financial crisis began to bite in 2009 and AvtoVAZ lurched toward bankruptcy, French auto giant Renault must have rued the day it heard of the Soviet behemoth. As the financial crisis began to bite in 2009 and AvtoVAZ lurched toward bankruptcy, French auto giant Renault must have rued...

... for some, the country itself. Russia is ending its long love affair with a car that was once prized by the nation but has come to symbolize the decline of its automobile industry and, for some, the country itself. The decision by state carmaker AvtoVAZ to halt production of the last models in the Lada Classic series this year after four decades is more than just the end of the road for an automobile. Although the outmoded box-like series of family cars is ridiculed abroad, many Russians consider...

... of Unicredit Group's subsidiaries — but not the Russian one — will own 60 percent and 40 percent of the joint venture, respectively, said the report, citing an unidentified source close to Unicredit Bank. The Renault-Nissan Alliance and AvtoVAZ expect to spend more than 10 billion rubles ($322 million) on upgrading IzhAuto by 2016, AvtoVAZ president Igor Komarov said late last week, Interfax reported. "We are leaning toward the option of deep modernization. After the business plan...

... resigned Thursday as the Kremlin pushed ahead with a campaign to replace unpopular regional leaders before the first direct gubernatorial elections this fall. The Kremlin immediately replaced Governor Vladimir Artyakov, a former senior manager with the AvtoVAZ carmaker who had led Samara since 2007, with Nikolai Merkushkin, the long-serving leader of the Mordovia republic and a stalwart of the ruling United Russia party. President Vladimir Putin also accepted the resignation of Leningrad Governor Valery...

State-owned oil giant Rosneft saw net profit to International Financial Reporting Standards fall 8.9 percent year on year in the first quarter to 112 billion rubles ($3.8 billion), according to a statement Wednesday. (MT) AvtoVAZ sold 56,219 cars in Russia in April, down 8 percent year on year, the company said Wednesday, Interfax reported. (MT)

... seized a $20 million villa from Berezovsky at Russia's asking. Russia has unsuccessfully sought Berezovsky's extradition from Britain on a variety of charges, including embezzlement of millions of dollars from state-owned airline Aeroflot and automaker AvtoVAZ. 179742