... court handed down its first conviction under the city's new anti-gay law on Friday, ordering a leading gay activist to pay a 5,000-ruble fine for his picket against the law. The district court ruled that Nikolai Alexeyev had promoted homosexuality among minors by picketing City Hall with a sign reading, "Homosexuality Is Not a Perversion" on April 12. As proof of its verdict, the judge read out statements from several people who had expressed concern to the court that Alexeyev's actions might...

... return to the new Cabinet under Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, said last month that a window for the Sberbank sale could open up in the late summer or early fall. After dividends, privatization is one of the questions that most worries the bank's minority shareholders, the chairman of Sberbank's committee on cooperation with minority shareholders, Anton Danilov-Danilkin, told reporters Wednesday. They are specifically concerned about the possibility of share-price falls after the stock sale goes...

... Georgian nation. It is also a sinister plot to brainwash children into being gay. "[Their] eventual goal is the legal and moral legitimization of homosexuality, indecency, depravity and a perverted way of life," the leader of the parliamentary minority ­Christian-­Democratic Movement, Giorgi Targamadze, announced in the parliamentary chamber on May 23. He called for constitutional amendments to deter the propaganda of homosexuality and indecency. One of Targamadze's deputies, Nika Laliashvili...

... goods, save for the rare exceptions established by WTO regulations. As far as indirect taxes (VAT, excise duty) are concerned, Russia has already been applying such rules for a long time. Requirements for customs formalities and procedures constitute a minor part of the WTO rules. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) of 1947 contains general principles for arranging customs formalities with a view to them not being artificial barriers in trade. Article VIII of GATT requires customs fees...

VTB Capital acquired a minority stake in Siberian gold miner Zapadnaya Gold Mining, which tried unsuccessfully to list in London last year. VTB Capital did not disclose the size or price of the stake Friday. Sources said last year that Zapadnaya wanted to raise about $70 million...

... million, up 10.8 percent from 2010. (Reuters) Novatek is in talks with the government to receive the right to export gas, which is currently a Gazprom monopoly, Kommersant reported Thursday.  (Reuters) Ingosstrakh shareholders approved a board without minority representation at their annual meeting Thursday, Interfax reported.  (MT) Scartel, which operates under the Yota brand, has commercially launched an LTE network in Moscow, Interfax reported Thursday.                  (MT) KamAZ posted 1.82...

A mass fight between citizens of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan resulted in dozens of arrests, with at least one person hospitalized. A mass fight between citizens of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan resulted in dozens of arrests, with at least one person hospitalized. Police responded to a caller Sunday evening just before 6 p.m. who said a group of aggressive people with "Asian appearances" had gathered near 16 Olimpiisky Prospekt, Moscow police said in a statement on their website. Police made...

A migration amnesty law is being developed that could allow as many as five million illegal immigrants to become Russian citizens. A migration amnesty law is being developed that could allow as many as five million illegal immigrants to become Russian citizens. The Migration of the 21st Century foundation, which seeks to assist the government in developing immigration strategies, has taken the task of drafting an amnesty law after President Dmitry Medvedev called the issue of illegal immigration...

... Kazakhstan, said in a statement that four people were jailed for between four to seven years each for taking part in the violence in Shetpe. A fifth defendant was given a suspended three-year sentence and a sixth was released under a nationwide amnesty for minor crimes. The verdict in another trial of 37 people charged over the violence in Zhanaozen is expected in the next few days. 179738

... institutional factors weigh on Azerbaijan's creditworthiness, according to Fitch. The ratings could come under downward pressure following a political shock, either domestic or external. Fitch notes that extraparliamentary opposition to the government, although minor, has been on an upswing. Continuing political stability should be favored by tangible improvements in living standards, the agency said. 179742

... traffic, several incidents of alleged abuse involving high-profile figures have come to light. On Thursday, the son of Russia’s ombudsman for children failed to appear in court over his refusal to take a Breathalyzer test after getting into a minor fender-bender in April. The case comes after years of public rancor over officials’ abuse of driving privileges. Anton Astakhov’s father, Pavel Astakhov, a well-known lawyer and an outspoken advocate for young people’s rights as...

About 150 people were detained Sunday as scores of people gathered for a series of anti-government demonstrations in Moscow and St. Petersburg. About 150 people were detained Sunday as scores of people gathered for a series of anti-government demonstrations in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Police detained some 40 people outside the Mayor's Office, where gay rights activists gathered to protest anti-gay legislation passed in several Russian cities and waiting for a vote in the capital. YouTube footage...

... answer "yes" unequivocally because LCIA proceedings are ridiculously time-consuming. For certain deals, timing is absolutely crucial. To illustrate this, we could use the example of a typical private equity transaction where an investor is a minority shareholder who does not have full operational control over the company portfolio. If something goes wrong and the principal owner of the business is in material breach of the shareholders agreement, then every single day of delay in obtaining...

... went into force in January. The heavier fiscal burden on the overall industry will, however, likely reduce the company's ability to finance its share of the hugely expensive project, said Konstantin Cherepanov, a gas analyst at UBS. Total also owns a minority stake in Novatek. Gennady Sukhanov, an analyst with the TKB-BNP Paribas Investment Partners brokerage, played down the effect of the higher tax on new production. The reason: Along with the tax, regulated gas prices will also grow. "The...

... economy” issued by Putin on his return to the Kremlin a week ago. Although Shuvalov has been a public advocate of privatization to reduce the state’s 50 percent share of Russia’s $1.8 trillion economy, he has soft-pedaled on plans to sell off a minority stake in Sberbank. Shuvalov also said Russia should not be afraid to increase borrowing to finance the innovative sectors of the economy and infrastructure. “The deficit is not necessarily a risk. It can be an instrument for development...

... year. Not surprisingly for anyone who knows history, in Russian ïðîâîêàöèÿ usage peaks in the 1930s, jumps up a bit in the early 1950s and then starts heading up off the charts in the 21st century. Ïðîâîêàòîð has a huge peak in the late 1930s and a minor one in the late 1990s. In English, provocation frequency peaked in the late 1700s and then has gone straight downhill since then. Provocateur usage jumped up in what looks like the World War II years and then had a tiny bump in the 1980s before...

... how to operate there," he added. He also said a proposal from President Vladimir Putin's government, which outlined new rules for the development of offshore oil and gas resources and offering tax breaks, was a positive signal. Statoil will be a minority partner with Rosneft in the Russian firm's latest venture, which is modeled on deals struck in the last month with U.S. oil major ExxonMobil and Italian oil firm Eni. Statoil has had a string of "high-impact" oil and gas discoveries...

... affairs investigators at the Moscow police, but they hung up on her. A mafia state, by definition, cannot function efficiently. Laws are fundamental to all states, and even tyrannies rely on a set of rules. Since there are no rules in a mafia state, even minor decisions require complex deals that involve negotiating among various gangs and their conflicting interests. Agreements hold only as long as there is muscle to enforce them. The state is a tool of those who have the muscle, but a criminal can turn...

... Chizhov said Europe had many of its own problems, the most common being a rise in nationalism and xenophobia. Konstantin Dolgov, the Foreign Ministry's ombudsman for human rights, specifically accused Latvia and Estonia of harassing Russian-speaking minorities, Great Britain, Denmark, the Netherlands and Poland of discriminating against immigrants and the United States of creating secret prisons where suspected terrorists were allegedly tortured. He said Europe and Russia had to have "equal...

... organizing them from 5,000 rubles to 1.5 million rubles. Critics of the bill, which include the Public Chamber and a group of public figures headed by former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, have described it as draconian, and deputies from all three minority Duma parties say they will walk out of Friday's reading in protest. 418973 179742