As Alexander Litvinenko lay dying in a London hospital, a strategy meeting was convened in the offices of Boris Berezovsky. The oligarch was adamant to get the word out that Litvinenko was poisoned on orders of President Vladimir Putin.

In the twilight years of communism, I took an American friend around Moscow. On our prolonged excursion, she was struck less by the beauty of its historical sites than by the city's frightening chaos, by the mindless mixture of residential buildings, fumes-spewing factories, building sites, 19th-century mansions, metal-working shops inside old churches and grass-covered vacant lots.

Japan's Mitsui is in talks with Russian Railways to launch a trans-Siberian freight service for Japanese car and electronics makers.

Diamond giant De Beers is likely to snub an opportunity to market more gems from Alrosa as it distances itself from its former role as cartel operator to focus on high-margin business.

Turbine maker Power Machines will close the books for its secondary share offering for Russian and foreign investors Wednesday, a source close to the placement said.

IBS Group Holding, the country's leading provider of information technology services, will delay an initial public offering of its IT-services unit until the middle of next year because it needs to digest an acquisition, CEO Anatoly Karachinsky said.

FESCO, the country's top container shipping firm, said Friday that it aimed to raise about $200 million issuing new shares worth 15 percent of its capital, which will be used to fund investment and reduce debt.

State utility Unified Energy System on Friday reported a rise in 2006 sales and profits due to increased electricity sales and prices and one-off gains.

Seven years ago, the Armenal plant was on the brink of ruin. Now its exports go to Europe, Africa and North America.

The Federal Anti-Monopoly Service plans to begin a probe of Russky Standart bank's offices this week at the request of prosecutors, the service's deputy head said Friday.