Russia's ruling elite will justifiably despise the press until the press regains its self-respect.

Without a strong opposition, the only expression of popular discontent is a vote for ""none of the above.""

If only Heidar Aliyev knew that the people of Baku were too busy shopping to take note of his birthday.

A brief look at the stories making headlines in the Russian-language press

Years of talk about the need for affordable international-standard lodging in Russia may be giving way to plans to establish chains of such hotels across the country.

Flying in the face of a global economic downturn, Moscow hotels had their best year since the 1998 crisis last year.

Agricole, NRB Settle PARIS (Reuters) -- The investment banking arm of French bank Credit Agricole and National Reserve Bank of Moscow have settled their long-standing dispute over currency contracts, the banks said Monday. Credit Agricole Indosuez and NRB said in a brief statement they had ""entered into an agreement to settle their disputes relating to non-deliverable forward currency contracts."" ""The parties look forward to mutual collaboration in the Russian Federation,"" the statement added. The dispute between the banks dates back to the Russian financial crisis of 1998. NRB refused to honor about $110 million in ruble-dollar currency contracts concluded with Indosuez in the months leading up to the crisis, claiming they were fraudulent. While many foreign banks wrote off similar losses after the collapse of the Russian financial system, Agricole was one of a number of western institutions that launched legal action to seek compensation. NRB responded with its own legal action.

Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov on Monday finally set the date and rate of nationwide mandatory automobile liability insurance.