http://www.moscowtimes.ru Fri, 16 May 2008 14:01:15 +0400 1 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362779 Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced the creation of a new executive body that he said would inject efficiency into the unwieldy government machine. Frontpage Top/ Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362778 The elevation of new First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov to oversee large swaths of economic policy has left political pundits scrambling to work out whether Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin will retain his longtime influence over the country’s fiscal policy. Frontpage Top/ Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362775 The St. Petersburg club's win over Glasgow Rangers in the UEFA Cup final touches off violent clashes in Manchester. Frontpage Top/ Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362791 Leading oil producers' business with the secretive trader faces more scrutiny. Frontpage Top/ Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362790 Billionaire Mikhail Fridman's Alfa Group on Thursday denied any connection with Tetlis, a little-known company that filed a lawsuit against TNK-BP in a Siberian court. Frontpage Top/ Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362794 There is a broad consensus in Brussels on the need for an external energy policy to diversify suppliers and routes and loosen Russia's grip on the European natural gas market. Frontpage Top/ Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362803 Dick Advocaat hopes Zenit St. Petersburg's UEFA Cup triumph will kickstart a revolution in Russian club football. Advocaat led Zenit to its first European title at its first attempt Wednesday in a 2-0 win over Rangers at the City of Manchester Stadium, off goals from Igor Denisov and Konstantin Zyryanov. Frontpage Top/ Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362780 The Moscow City Court on Thursday handed down life sentences to four people convicted of staging a 2006 bombing at Moscow's bustling Cherkizovsky market that killed 14. News/ Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362782 China, India and Russia called on Thursday for the creation of a security belt around Afghanistan to halt the spread of heroin. News/ Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362783 Air Force chief Alexander Zelin said Thursday that he favored establishing a military base in Georgia's separatist Abkhazia region, in remarks likely to spike already-high tensions between the countries. News/ Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362784 Law enforcement officers searched the apartment of Primorye Governor Sergei Darkin on Wednesday night as part of a criminal investigation into the misappropriation of real estate in the region. News/ Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362785 His appointment to the drug control service is seen as a demotion. News/ Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362786 President Dmitry Medvedev pledged on Thursday to ensure that the country's nuclear deterrent remained properly funded to ward off threats to national security. News/ Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362787 Domestic and foreign manufacturers show off their choppers for visiting Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov. Business/ Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362788 First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov was introduced to British business leaders as Gazprom's next chairman by the company's chief executive officer, Alexei Miller. Business/ Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362789 Britain’s Virgin Group made its Russian debut Thursday, breaking into the country’s Internet business a few months after it unveiled big plans for Russia, including setting up an airline by 2010. Business/ Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362793 Professor Marples is correct when he reminds us that World War II broke out on Sept. 1, 1939, when Germany attacked Poland. The Soviet annexation of the Baltic states, Eastern Poland, Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina was also described well. Opinion/Comment/ Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362796 If expats want to understand the country they're living in, they need to understand what is deemed right and wrong in the local culture. And if they want to fit in, they have to get with the program -- do what's right and don't do what's wrong. Opinion/Columnists/The Word`s Worth/ Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362797 Divers trained in archaeology discovered a marble bust of an aging Caesar in the Rhone River that France's Culture Ministry said was the oldest known. News/ Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362798 Sigurdur Hjartarson is missing a human penis. But he's not worried: four men have promised to donate theirs to him when they die. News/ Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362799 A previously unknown Islamic militant group claimed Thursday to have carried out deadly bombings in the historic Indian city of Jaipur by planting bicycles packed with explosives on the city's crowded streets, police said. News/ Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362800 The death toll from China's massive earthquake rose to at least 20,000 on Thursday, as rescuers struggled to help survivors and hopes faded for a further 25,000 buried under rubble for more than three days. News/ Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362801 U.S. President George W. Bush offered a peace prophecy for the Middle East on Thursday, in which the enemies of the United States faced a future of defeat. News/ Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362802 Russia striker Alexander Kerzhakov was a surprise omission when coach Guus Hiddink unveiled his 25-man provisional Euro 2008 squad Wednesday. Sports/Soccer/ Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362781 Germans Blast Russian SpiesSecurity Beefed Up in IranHope for EU-Russia TalksAzeris Bar Vote ObserversYoung Guard Snorted Coke News/News in Brief/ Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362792 Norilsk Bids for UdokanProkhorov Sells KM-InvestVekselberg Picks Up TGK-7E4 Purchases TGK-11 StakeFighter Talks With AlgeriaBaltika Buys Azeri BrewerGazprom Neft's Q4 ProfitSurgut's Q1 Profit Up 31%For the Record Business/Business in Brief/ Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362745 Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his new energy policy director, Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, went on the offensive Wednesday to battle claims that the country's oil production was in decline. Business/ Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362744 The new makeup of the Cabinet and presidential administration resulting from this week's government shakeup is aimed at undercutting the power that political clans within the security services have accumulated in recent years, former security insiders said. News/ Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362742 In another sign of the special relationship between Moscow and Berlin, President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday welcomed German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier as the first prominent foreign guest to the Kremlin since his inauguration last week. News/ Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362756 Dancing children armed with toy weapons and dressed in military garb opened a five-day security exhibition at the All-Russia Exhibition Center on Wednesday. News/ Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362753 A court order banning BP employees from working for its Russian unit, TNK-BP, came at a time when some of them were ready to come back to their jobs after a suspension, a BP spokesman said Wednesday. Business/ Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362761 The structure of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's Cabinet probably reflects his vision of how the government should be run. It has a record number of deputy prime ministers -- seven. This will inevitably create overlapping functions and competition among them, allowing Putin to remain the ultimate powerbroker. For Sergei Mironov, a staunch Putin loyalist and speaker of the Federation Council, this represented the successful realization of public administration reform. Opinion/ Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362766 Every individual has their own personal hangover cure -- for some it's Berocca fizzy vitamins, for others it's a hair of the dog that bit you. Rassol, or pickle brine, has been the cure of choice among Russians from time immemorial. This is not just some folklore remedy -- it even has its backers among the medical community. City Wise/ Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362752 President Dmitry Medvedev told his new government on Wednesday to step up efforts to help small and medium-sized businesses choked by red tape and corruption. Business/ Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362754 U.S.-based Human Rights Watch is urging Kyrgyzstan not to extradite an Uzbek asylum seeker, saying he could face torture if returned to his homeland. News/ Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362755 U.S. President George W. Bush has nominated John Beyrle, a career diplomat with extensive experience in Russia and Eastern Europe as U.S. ambassador to Moscow. News/ Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362757 Seven NATO allies signed a deal Wednesday to create a research center in Estonia to boost the alliance's defenses against cyber-attacks, which are seen as a growing threat to military and civilian computer networks. News/ Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362759 It was rather charming how the inauguration of the new president and the appointment of the old president as the new prime minister fit nicely between Labor Day on May 1 and Victory Day on May 9. Russians commemorated the events by celebrating nonstop for 10 days in a row. Opinion/Columnists/Always a Dissident/ Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362760 One curious feature of Russia's bureaucracy is that the more incompetent an official is, the more likely he is to be rewarded and promoted. This rule has endured under various regimes, from the 19th century to the Soviet period and on to present-day Russia. It provided fodder for generations of Russian satirists, from Gogol to Saltykov-Shchedrin and from Ilf and Petrov to Vladimir Voinovich. Opinion/ Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362762 A Georgian minister said Wednesday that French diplomacy fended off potentially provocative actions by Russia in separatist Abkhazia. News/ Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362763 The six powers negotiating with Iran to suspend its uranium-enrichment program could offer Tehran security guarantees, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters Wednesday. News/ Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362765 Barbaris is the kind of restaurant that is becoming increasingly hard to find in the center. Rising rents have been squeezing out small democratic cafes, which are being replaced by upmarket fine-dining establishments and cafes run by the big-chain restaurateurs. Luckily, further out from the center, these reasonably priced, down-to-earth eateries can still be found -- Barbaris is one such cafe. City Wise/Dining/ Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362767 The Tver region town of Torzhok offers a range of architectural treasures from the 19th century. City Wise/Travel/ Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362746 A deputy finance minister says $50 billion must be set aside for five to seven years. Business/ Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362747 U.S. President George W. Bush has asked Congress to review a civilian nuclear deal with Russia, but lawmakers warned that it might be blocked over Moscow's links to Iran's nuclear program. News/ Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362748 President Dmitry Medvedev is filling the Kremlin with advisers and aides who held similar positions in Vladimir Putin's administration. News/ Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362749 Power generator OGK-4 said Wednesday that it selected Turkey's biggest construction company, Enka, to build a generating unit in the Perm region. Business/ Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362750 Former electricity monopoly Unified Energy System will sell the state's 29 percent stake in power producer TGK-11 to engineering firm E4 Group, sources close to the sale said Wednesday. Business/ Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362751 The Central Bank said Wednesday that it would buy and sell on the foreign exchange market like any other trader to deter speculators from trying to push up the value of the ruble. Business/ Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362764 Trolleybus Plows Into 9Rabbi's Grave Desecrated'Russian Consulate Targeted'EU-Russia Talks in DoubtMedvedev Signs Visa Law2 Killed in Nazran FightSpacecraft to Fly in 2018Astronaut Out of Hospital News/News in Brief/ Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400 http://www.moscowtimes.ru/articles/detail.php?ID=362758 Rosneft Buys Into ExchangeRusHydro Cuts InvestmentSistema Q4 Profit SoarsRosinter Profits on GrowthTNK-BP's Services UnitConsumer Prices ForecastFor the Record Business/Business in Brief/ Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 +0400