Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko announced that the government has concluded agreements with oil and electricity producers to institute a price freeze on gas and electricity at December levels, despite a rise in oil tariffs. Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko announced that the government has concluded agreements with oil and electricity producers to institute a price freeze on gas and electricity at December levels, despite a rise in oil tariffs, Interfax reported...

Average food import tariffs in Russia will drop from the current 10 percent to 7.8 percent as soon as Russia's entry into the World Trade Organization is complete, but challenges remain in taking advantage of the new status, industry experts...

... former Soviet republic's negotiations with the International Monetary Fund, or IMF, Bloomberg reported. Ukraine wants to revive its $15.6 billion bailout from the IMF and will propose alternatives to the fund's demand to raise household natural gas tariffs during talks this week. While the former Soviet republic can survive without the resumption of IMF disbursements, the government is seeking to repay cash it borrowed from the Washington-based fund in 2008 and 2009, according to Prime Minister...

... to lift the Jackson-Vanik amendment to ensure equal access for U.S. companies in the Russian market.  Obama has long been a strong supporter of Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization. As Obama has noted, WTO accession "will lower tariffs, improve international access to Russia's services markets and hold the Russian government accountable to a system of rules governing trade behavior and provide the means to enforce those rules." Joseph Kruzich Press attache U.S. Embassy...

... for United Russia in the State Duma elections. In the Arkhangelsk region, United Russia won just 31.86 percent of the vote, below most other regions. But senior United Russia official Sergei Neverov said Mikhalchuk's resignation was linked to high tariffs for housing and utilities services in the region, not the elections. Last fall, "we drew the head of state's attention to that problem," Neverov said in a statement on United Russia's web site. Medvedev appointed Mikhalchuk governor...

... 30, according to a statement from the Central Bank, and the aim is to keep the year's figure between 5 percent and 6 percent. Inflation in 2011 was 6.1 percent. But Ulyukayev said it would be hard to keep inflation below 6 percent in 2012. Utility tariff hikes have been delayed until after the March 4 presidential election. The International Monetary Fund predicted on Jan. 26 that the 2012 inflation figure would be 6.4 percent. The Central Bank is also resisting calls from the country's lending...

... at 7.5 percent to 8 percent." In a bid to postpone inflationary kicks ahead of the presidential election on March 4, the Energy Ministry confirmed a temporary freeze on electricity and gasoline prices last week. The government has also delayed tariff hikes usually scheduled for January until July. "Inflation is likely to stay low until at least May, before rebounding in the second half of 2012," VTB Capital analysts led by Alexander Zabotkin wrote in a note Thursday. The IMF also...

... Organization in December, America will be in breach of WTO rules requiring members to give each other permanent normal trade relations. As a result, without a repeal "U.S. companies will be denied the full enjoyment of Russia's improved market access and tariff reductions, and thus be placed at a competitive disadvantage versus their European, Asian and Latin American competitors," Andrew Somers, head of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia, argued in a recent article. "That gives the...

... "Moscow is really a leader in Europe by certain price categories at this time," Shpilko said, adding that these rates can't be considered typical. Calculations by hotel-booking services usually don't take into account discounts provided by hotels and tariffs for corporate clients, which also decrease the rates, said Anna Shvetskova, an analyst with Knight Frank. Moscow ranked fifth after Paris, London, Amsterdam and Rome by the average size of hotel rates last year, according to the company's survey...

... months. FSK The national power distribution grid company is 79.11 percent owned by the government and has been penciled in for a 4.11 percent stake sale in 2012 or 2013. The utilities sector has seen its value plummet due to government dithering over tariff reform ahead of this year’s presidential election, but FSK has been shielded by its focus on industrial rather than household consumers. The company is valued at $13 billion. Rusnano The $10 billion technology holding intends to invest in...

... everything honestly. We had an incident importing toy bubble blowers. In Europe, the customs code is clear that this is a toy. But in Russia, the customs guy said: "No, it's not a toy. It's cleaning fluid. It's soap," and he demanded a higher tariff. At this point we can do two things: We can agree with him and pay the higher import duty, or we can say, "No, I stick with my position, it's a toy," and take the customs terminal to court. Everybody advised me to take the first road...

... cities around Voronezh to help them meet European standards. I am also worried about my furniture production business. We can make furniture comparable to European furniture — we work only with natural wood — but we are worried that energy tariffs might become higher because of Russia’s accession to the WTO. Q: How did you get involved in horse breeding? A: I was inspired by God. This is a hard job. There are no laws that regulate horse breeding, but the Orlov breed of horse is the...