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Articles by Lena Smirnova
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Regions Hope Foreign Tourists Float in Their Direction
31 May 12
Regional officials have plans to lure foreign tourists from the Moscow-St. Petersburg route by developing water tourism, particularly cruise tours on the Volga River.
Pulkovo On Track for Expansion
31 May 12
St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport will meet a milestone next week when it completes the carcass of its new passenger terminal.
Fine Increase Proposed to Ensure Transportation Safety
30 May 12
Transit safety watchdog Rostransnadzor is considering raising fines and imposing pre-emptive criminal charges for transportation operators who shirk safety regulations.
Groups Propose Path for Bike Tours
28 May 12
Need to get to St. Petersburg but don't like the Sapsan or Russian airlines? Try a bike.
Sberbank Crowned Most Valuable Russian Brand Globally
23 May 12
Sberbank whizzed past Mobile TeleSystems to become the strongest Russian brand in the world, according to an annual global brands ranking. The nation's largest bank was among the fastest risers on the list, jumping 25 spots to 74th place.
Billionaires Gain Power in Deal for Hotels
21 May 12
The $982.5 million sale of four development properties, including two luxury hotels, is moving Bidzina Ivanishvili a step closer to becoming a presidential candidate in Georgia and the Gutseriyev-Shishkhanov family closer to seizing the luxury hotel market in Moscow.
WTO to Heat Up Competition on Ice Cream Market
17 May 12
Sokolniki Park is gearing up to welcome up to 400,000 guests to its annual ice cream festival next weekend, and among them several new guests — foreign companies.
Russia Abroad: Matchmakers Help Emigres Find Happiness
11 March 12
Professionals and blue-collar workers, young and old, male and female — there is no standard profile of people looking for their soul mate. But those who are wary of the online approach are finding Russian emigres like Fatima Milano give a personal touch learned in the old country, and sometimes a little bit more.
Russia Abroad: Banya Finds an Appreciative New Audience
10 January 12
Well muscled and menacing at first glance, former Soviet soldier Pavel Dukhin might be the last person you'd want to have beat you with tree branches, although that is exactly what his job is.
Seeking Lost Treasure After 94 Years
07 November 11
It's been nearly 100 years since a jewel case containing family and imperial jewelry crashed through the ice to the bottom of Lake Baikal. The last hands it touched before disappearing into the watery depths were those of a Russian woman fleeing the country to save her life.
Russian Ballet Shoes Leave Their Footprint in the West
27 October 11
Nikolay Grishko couldn't afford to get distracted. Gorbachev's perestroika was shattering the political and economic fabric around him. As the Soviet Union collapsed, the economics professor raced around Moscow hunting for ballet shoes.
Retail Heads to the Regions, Gets More Specific in Moscow
04 October 11
Retailers see their future in smaller cities, despite their current underdevelopment, as a complex market forces Moscow malls to specialize and find their niche.
Sleepbox to Succor Weary Air Travelers
16 September 11
The Moscow-based Arch Group Architectural Bureau is offering travelers the first glance at the Sleepbox — a soundproof capsule with a bed, ventilation system, luggage space and manager standing by to hand out clean bedsheets.
Chubais Wants Retailers to Implement Nanotechnology
09 September 11
Russian retailers got a glance at an unlikely special guest Thursday as Anatoly Chubais, chief executive of Rusnano, climbed to the stage at the country's largest retail summit.
Yandex Figures Out How to Get Paid for Music Service
09 September 11
Yandex has found a way to make its legal music service profitable and bring greater returns to copyright owners, the company said. Yandex.Music, which holds over 2.3 million tracks, will now be monetized by placing a multimedia ad on the service's site.
Elite Hotel Concierges Far Cry From Surly Babushkas
30 August 11
Pavel Nikolayev received a phone call one day. A guest at a Moscow hotel wanted lilac roses to give to his wife for her birthday. The birthday was in three days. Could it be arranged? "Of course, why not?" Nikolayev said.
Electricity Thieves Caught in the Act
26 August 11
A vendor watched quietly as an electrician participating in an "energy raid" scaled the electrical pole across from her kiosk and chopped off the wires that connected it to the main power supply. Just as quietly, the kiosk plunged into darkness.
Batman Counts on Technology From Tula
24 August 11
They have sped on a boat alongside James Bond, chased the Dark Knight around the streets of Gotham City, watched Mr. Smith pelt golf balls at would-be assassins on a New York highway and followed John MacLane in his quest to take down a terrorist organization. And film experts say they're miraculous.
Beavers Confirm Best Place for Moscow Living
16 August 11
Strogino residents have much to be happy about. The area boasts prime views of the Moscow River, large parks, modern sports and recreation facilities, and now the title of the best place to live in the Moscow area.
Deere Faces Corruption Probe
12 August 11
Deere & Co., the world's largest farm equipment maker, is under investigation for possible violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in its dealings with Russian officials.
Number of Hostels Soars 30%
09 August 11
The number of hostels in the capital increased 30 percent in two months, which translates into 700 more low-cost beds for tourists, and there are now 59 hostels in Moscow, said the city's tourism committee chairman.
London Redesigned for Moscow
09 August 11
The mansions that line Cornwall Terrace in London look like traditional British homes on the outside, but their interiors are getting a Slavic feel thanks to elite Russian clients.
Warehouses Fill New High-Tech Niche
02 August 11
They've been transformed into fitness centers and dance clubs, but Moscow warehouses are smarting up these days with a different type of investment as data center developers convert the sites into high-tech facilities.
Snickers Takes on Soviet Chocolate
02 August 11
Roman Talalin prefers to sip his tea with a Snickers bar. The 21-year-old and his ex-girlfriend got acquainted during their daily tea drinking sessions. Talalin liked the ritual so much that he decided to create a social networking group in honor of Snickers, the chocolate bar that the couple always ate with their tea.
Factory Preserves Traditional Art
27 July 11
Viktor Zubritsky, head artist at the Pavlovoposad Scarf Manufacturer, holds up a large red shawl with printed swirls that join together to enclose a vase with delicate pink roses. The shawl is distinctly Russian and fittingly bears the name Rus.
Foreign Architects Build Up Cachet
26 July 11
Foreign architects have become a profitable marketing brand in Russia, and their domestic counterparts are raising concerns about preferential treatment and poor quality of some design work.
Customs Raise Prices for Imported Wines
21 July 11
Cheap European wines could disappear from local shelves next month, industry experts warned, with the price for a bottle of wine from France, Italy, Spain or Germany set to rise 150 to 200 rubles ($5 to $7) because of new customs regulations.
Moscow River Real Estate in an Upsurge
19 July 11
Captain Vinogradov has watched his life and his country transform as he stood at the helm of his ship. And for the past 20 years, he has watched the Moscow River change from a passageway for aging Soviet ships to a burgeoning real estate market.
Officials Lacking in Skills to Run Tenders
14 July 11
Buffets and excursions around Moscow won't make government workers better at placing state orders. Two-thirds of the tenders for state orders are made by unqualified workers, according to an International Center of Financial-Economic Development study.
Discounts in Elite Housing Rentals Disappearing
12 July 11
Demand for elite housing rentals in Moscow continued to climb in the first half of 2011, according to real estate agencies. Experts expect the market to reach pre-crisis levels by the end of the year.
