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

Like Kremlin-watchers during the Cold War, students of Chinese politics are often tempted to attach too much significance to minor changes in the behavior of the Communist Party.

No self-respecting political pundit can get by without offering his take on Sunday's presidential election.

Metro Goes to Rostov MOSCOW (Bloomberg) -- Metro Group, Europe's third-largest retailer, plans to spend 18.6 million euros ($23 million) to build a Cash & Carry wholesale store in Rostov, Kommersant reported. D?sseldorf, Germany-based Metro plans to open the store in September, the newspaper said, citing Yulia Belova, a spokeswoman for Metro Cash & Carry's unit in Russia. The company has two stores in Moscow and St. Petersburg and plans to open two new outlets in the cities of Yaroslavl and Kazan by September, the paper said. LUKoil, Iran Swap Oil GENEVA (Bloomberg) -- LUKoil is negotiating the extension of an oil swap contract with Iran that gives it an outlet for oil across the landlocked Caspian Sea, the director of LUKoil's Swiss trading company said. LUKoil in June became the first Russian oil company to sign a swap agreement with Iran.

Yukos plans to more than double rail deliveries of crude to China to at least 300,000 barrels per day by 2006, amid continued uncertainty over Moscow’s final decision on a pipeline to Asia, the oil major said Wednesday.

Russia has suspended poultry and poultry product imports from the Netherlands to prevent the spread of bird flu, the Agriculture Ministry said Wednesday.

Yulia Latynina's column is very inaccurate in its analysis of what led to the results of the general election in Spain last Sunday.

Jamison Firestone's first impression of Russia when he visited the Soviet Union on a student program in the summer of 1982 was: ""Thank God I don't live here!"" More than 20 years later he now calls Moscow home.

Renaissance Capital has appointed Oleg Jelezko, a former director at Credit Suisse First Boston, to develop its new equity finance and structured products department.

Roman Abramovich has done it again. Less than a year after turning the English soccer world on its head, he's done the same back home.