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Articles by Peter Spinella
Mid-Level Ready to Take In Tourists
25 May 12
Tourism industry website TripAdvisor recently ranked Moscow fourth on its list of "15 destinations on the rise," and the Moscow government will invest $11 million into developing tourism in the city this year. The capital is also undergoing a massive beautification project to increase the total area of city parks fivefold in the next five years.
Legal Round Table: Developments in the Field
17 May 12
From sweeping new regulations in industries such as pharmaceuticals to the Civil Code revisions and migration amnesty law currently under discussion, Russia's legal environment is constantly changing. The Moscow Times posed four questions by e-mail to four Moscow-based lawyers specializing in different fields about new developments in their areas of practice.
Low State Salaries at Heart of Doctor Deficit
11 May 12
All across Russia, hospitals need doctors. Health and Social Development Minister Tatyana Golikova told a conference last month that the nation lacks almost a million medical professionals. The government is frantically developing programs to boost the numbers.
Police Accountant Eyed in Mass Embezzlement
04 April 12
A chief accountant for the Krasnoyarsk police is suspected of embezzling more than 100 million rubles ($3 million) in bonuses for local cops.
'King of Spam' Gets 20 Years for Child Sex Abuse
03 April 12
Leonid Kuvayev, whose mass e-mail exploits branded him "the king of spam," has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for "crimes against the sexual sanctity" of underage girls.
Meth Lab Found Above Courtroom
30 March 12
Police acting on a tip from local residents uncovered a methamphetamine laboratory one floor above a justice of the peace courtroom in Yekaterinburg.
Clerks Claim Hypnosis in Jewelry Store Heist
28 March 12
Two jewelry store clerks claim they were duped out of 1 million rubles ($37,000) in merchandise by a mysterious woman who hypnotized them into believing that worthless scraps of paper were actually 5,000 ruble notes.
2 Arrested in Separate Cannibal Cases
27 March 12
A man in Vladivostok has been charged with allegedly killing a drinking buddy and eating his corpse, while a second man has been arrested in the Penza region for at least six acts of cannibalism that had initially been blamed on someone else.
Ex-Stripper Jailed for Plot to Kill Husband
20 March 12
Tatarstan's top court has sentenced a former stripper to five years in prison for hiring a hit man to kill her husband and his mother for their property.
Cops Single Out Fellow Officer in Fatal Sodomy Case in Kazan
15 March 12
Four former cops suspected in a shocking fatal sodomy attack with a champagne bottle on a man detained in Kazan have all pointed the finger at a senior lieutenant as being the one responsible for the sadistic assault.
5 Kazan Cops Held in Fatal ‘Sodomy’ Attack
14 March 12
By Peter Spinella and Ezekiel Pfeifer
Five police officers have been detained in connection with the shocking death of a detainee who, according to reports, was beaten and sodomized with a champagne bottle at a Kazan police station over the weekend.
Ex-Cop Runs Bogus Drug Plant at Home
10 February 12
Investigators have uncovered a counterfeit drug factory, along with 20 million rubles ($670,000) worth of bogus pills, at the dacha of a former first deputy head of the Moscow metro police.
CFA Gives Banking Candidates Edge Over Peers
30 January 12
While recruitment firms say an increasing number of vacancies is creating a demand bubble on the job market, there is one field with more than enough candidates for positions being offered: banking.
Recruiters Say Mother Russia Seeking Talent
25 January 12
Demographics make it a candidate’s market, but foreigners have to offer something unique to find their place.
Illustrating the Gulag: Decades of Fear in Drawings
30 November 11
“Drawings From the Gulag” bears witness to some of the most horrific events to take place in Soviet prison camps, scenes that no camera was ever allowed to capture.
Old Russian Country Life on Offer in Mandrogi
03 December 10
Visitors to this small settlement on the outskirts of the Leningrad region can catch a glimpse of a time long-forgotten by immersing themselves in 19th-century rural Russian life.
Vasari Archive at Heart of $225M Dispute
20 January 10
Italian authorities and a Russian firm argue over the fate of the Vasari archive, a valuable collection of art and 16th-century letters.
