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Estonia Launches New Channel to Win Over Its Russians

On Monday, ethnic Russians in Estonia will wake up to a new television channel created expressly for them, a move by the Estonian government to reach out...

DreamWorks Battles NBCUniversal for Theme-Park Title

DreamWorks Animation is challenging fellow U.S. media company NBCUniversal for the title of first major theme park operator in Russia, just as the overall...

Mobile Operators Look to Scartel for 4G Help

Established 4G wireless provider Scartel is talking with the big three mobile operators — MegaFon, VimpelCom and Mobile TeleSystems — about forming...

Q&A: Venture Fund Chief Investing in Human Capital

He has had long discussions with Microsoft founder Bill Gates, sits on the Skolkovo Foundation’s board of trustees with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev...

Real Estate Tax Changes in the Works

Properties with multiple owners could be taxed multiple times, as the state seeks to fill its coffers on thanks to real estate.

Progress Being Made On Space Launch Pad

The government will complete infrastructure construction this year for the Vostochny space launch facility, an alternative to Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome...

MegaFon Said to Weigh Tele2 Buy-Up Plan

Garsdale, the parent company of mobile operator MegaFon, has made a proposal to VimpelCom and Mobile TeleSystems under which Garsdale would buy up...

Russian Post Delays Drag On

More delays lie ahead for consumers who did their holiday shopping through online retailers based abroad, as Russian Post announced Wednesday that it...

MTS' Uzbek Division Files for Bankruptcy

With the Uzbek division of Mobile TeleSystems filing for bankruptcy in the face of a $600 million government fine, the mobile giant is facing a struggle...

State Wants Bidders' Owners Unveiled

The government is drafting measures to force bidders in the sales of state companies to reveal their beneficiaries, giving information about who will...

Commercial Property Investment Plateaus

The commercial property market is poised to notch another multibillion-dollar figure this year as economic factors support the purchases of malls,...

Chart: What to Expect in the Telecommunications Industry Next Year

Mobile services are developing at a fast clip, more Russians are using the Internet and online retailers are carving up the market — all trends this...

Sauer Says Onexim Isn't Bidding For Vedomosti

Derk Sauer, chairman of Sanoma Independent Media's supervisory board and president of Onexim media division RBC, denied a newspaper report Tuesday...

Election Webcams Lead Yandex Searches

Bigger than the releases of an Apple iPad computer and the Star Wars version of "Angry Birds," the live videos of ballot boxes and bundled-up voters...

Customs Officials Tout Corruption Battle

The Federal Customs Service said Thursday that since it started its anti-corruption division it has opened more than 100 criminal cases related to bribery...

Small-Business Association Defends Foreign Cooperation

The head of Opora vowed Wednesday to continue the small-business association's cooperation with a U.S.-Russian business group that he said was maligned...

Medvedev Announces Housing Strategy

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Monday put forth a finalized version of the government's plan for improving the country's dilapidated housing stock...

Russia Tests Global Internet Rules

Although Russian proposals on Internet regulation ahead of Monday's opening of the International Telecommunication Union conference in Dubai have worried...

Alekperov's Social Enterprise Invests $4.8M Over 5 Years

An organization set up and financed by LUKoil chief Vagit Alekperov has provided interest-free loans totaling $4.8 million over the past five years...

Companies Hunt for Offices Outside Center

The construction of brand-new office buildings and the demand for existing office space are most pronounced in Moscow's outskirts and suburbs, real...

YouTube Pages 'Mistakenly' Put on Blacklist

In an incident that led to confusion and anger on the Russian-speaking Internet, a handful of YouTube webpages appeared on the government's Internet...

Officials Consider St. Pete's Merger With Suburbs

The authorities of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region, which spreads out from its city limits, are playing up a newfound level of cooperation...

Putin Misses Business Group's Forum

At Wednesday's congress of a major business lobbying group, the president of the country pulled a no-show, the first deputy prime minister told the group...

Physical Threats Mark Construction Fight

Construction of a restaurant in Moscow's Lefortovo neighborhood has led to physical threats and written complaints after a handful of local residents...

Ballmer Touts New Windows and Local R&D

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer breezed into Moscow on Tuesday to hype mobile devices using the newest version of the U.S. software giant’s operating...

Web Agency Fields 5,000 Ban Requests

The Communications and Press Ministry was inundated with more than 5,000 requests to ban various websites on the day a new Internet restriction law took...

IBM to Share Technology With Reiman's Firm

International Business Machines has struck a deal to provide designs for chipset production to domestic chipmaker Angstrem, a step by the global...

Internet Restriction Law Comes On Line

The law giving government agencies the power to order Internet companies to block material the state deems illegal came into force Thursday.

Medvedev Pledges Support for High Tech

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev pledged Wednesday to give "maximum support" to the country's fledgling next-generation technology ventures, while Moscow...

Mail.Ru Aims For Global Expansion

Internet giant Mail.Ru announced Tuesday that it is ramping up its overseas business, a move that comes as it tries to keep pace with competitors.

Officials Step Up Fight Against Housing Fraud

Officials ranging from local investigators to the president have been talking up their measures to combat widespread fraud in residential real estate...

Business Group Pushes Its Own Pension Reform

As the government looks to announce another proposal next month to change the country's pension system, business lobbying group Delovaya Rossia is...

Belousov Updates Cabinet on Privatization

Officials spelled out more specifics of the planned sales of government assets and said Rosneft's planned $61 billion acquisition of TNK-BP won't halt...

Outsourcing Business Faces Bumpy Road

When consumer electronics company M.Video was transforming itself into a nationwide chain, it had to make a choice: set up the information-technology systems...

Medvedev Urges Copyright Enforcement

With counterfeits making up perhaps as much as a quarter of manufactured goods sold in Russia, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev called Monday for the...

Burger King Aims to Grab Market Share

Burger King is looking to catch up to its Western fast-food rivals in Russia and increase its market share, arming itself with an ambitious plan for opening...

Government Move to Expanded Moscow in Doubt

In what might be the death knell for Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's plan to relocate federal ministries to Moscow's newly adjoined land, Kremlin...

Q&A: For McDonald's Khasbulatov, It's All About People

Of all the places you might look for a person who once ran state-owned restaurants in the Soviet Union, the echelons of top executives at McDonald’s...

Rostelecom Could Issue New Debt

Investment banks are advising Rostelecom to sell convertible bonds, but the move might not be in line with the government's plan to wind up as the majority...

Skartel to Open Network to More Operators

Wireless Internet provider Skartel is reportedly preparing to open its network to more operators, increasing its clout in the market.

Sobyanin Vows to Keep 'New Moscow' Green

Mayor Sergei Sobyanin is promising that the piece of the Moscow region appended to the capital earlier this year won’t be covered with new construction...

Towns Face Budget Battles They Can't Win

In a recent comedy sketch show, a police officer forks over the pay raise that he hid from his wife after she hears President Vladimir Putin announce...

Education Deficiencies Limit Startups

Shortcomings in technical education, early-stage funding and government support make launching a startup even more daunting here than in other countries...

Internet Business Expands While Restrictions Grow

Internet businesses are demonstrating strong sales across the board, in areas ranging from website development to online marketing, executives and researchers...

Working Group Supports Closing Entire Websites

The working group responsible for defining the rules to accompany the law restricting Internet content that goes into effect next month decided last week...

Small Mobile Players Pursue 4G Alternatives

With the government’s broadband wireless spectrum now in the hands of Rostelecom and the Big Three mobile operators, the losers in this year’s 4G-spectrum...

City Hall Eyes $29Bln Transportation Program

Moscow City Hall is seeking tens of billions of dollars to fund a gargantuan metro expansion, gigantic road projects and almost 2 million square meters...

Warehouse Space Selling Out Before It's Built

The demand for warehouse space in Moscow is breaking records as the increasing number of malls and chain stores ups the need for high-tech storage...

MTS Contract With Yevroset at Risk

Mobile TeleSystems could face an uphill battle to keep selling service plans through Yevroset because of possible ownership changes at the mobile...

Church to Keep Using State Land for Free

The Russian Orthodox Church is prevailing in a dispute over its free use of government land on which its buildings are located, potentially avoiding...

Sochi and Soccer Drive Hotel Boom

With multinational hotel companies gearing up for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games and 2018 FIFA World Cup, as well as trying to cash in on rising domestic...

McDonald's Schedules Siberian Expansion

After serving more than 2 billion fast-food meals and opening more than 300 locations here, McDonald's has committed to opening its first restaurants...

Putin to Choose State Company Executives

President Vladimir Putin has issued directives giving his administration the right to choose top executives at a slew of state corporations, including...

Shoigu Promotes Transparency, Elections Coverage

With the Moscow region struggling to make land transactions less opaque and attract more corporate investment, Governor Sergei Shoigu has been ramping...

Outlet Mall Boom Under Way in Moscow

Moscow is getting a spate of outlet malls, with U.S. real estate developer and investor Hines and local developer Belaya Dacha opening the first of them...

Analyst Questions Kremlin's Threats Against Iran

With Iran suing Rosoboronexport for as much as $4 billion over the arms exporter's refusal to deliver S-300 missile systems, the Kremlin's recent diplomatic...

Sistema Weighs Next Steps in India Mobile Market

AFK Sistema is redoubling efforts to find mobile service provider partners in India as it deals with drawn-out uncertainty over its revoked wireless...

MTS to Protest Uzbek Arrests, Raiding

A Tashkent court has upheld an Uzbek government decision to revoke the telecommunications licenses of a Mobile TeleSystems subsidiary in Uzbekistan...

Putin Backs Moscow Expansion

More than a year after the federal government said it would extend Moscow's boundaries to the southwest — and more than a month after the capital's...

Skolkovo Construction as Challenging as Innovation

In the summer of 2014, the Skolkovo Innovation Center at Moscow's western edge is supposed to welcome eight world leaders and thousands of other...

Armenian Airline to Drop Superjet 100

Armenian national airline Armavia, the first buyer of the Sukhoi Superjet 100, says it wants to return the midrange aircraft to the manufacturer because...

Online Advertising Firm Gets $10M

Venture investment firm iTech Capital has placed $10 million into SeoPult, a company offering Internet marketing tools to small online businesses, to assist...

Spanish Fuss Poses Olympic-Sized Test for Bosco

As Spain's leading athletes go in and out of the Olympic Village during this summer's games, they probably have a whole raft of questions on their minds...

Medvedev Makes It Big on Twitter

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is one of the most engaged users of Twitter among heads of government, while President Vladimir Putin ranks among the least...

Clean Sources of Tap Water in Short Supply

When Moscow officials recently banned swimming in half of the city's outdoor bathing spots, the news underlined a perpetual worry: that the water...

Web Providers Brace for Restriction Bill

Internet service providers are adding and expanding their systems for scrutinizing online content as they prepare for the onset of the new Internet...

Internet Bill Could Raise Costs

Internet service providers and website-hosting companies might need to buy extra equipment to meet the website-blocking requirements in the government's...

Family Feud Hits Idyllic Gated Community

Just beyond the northwestern edge of the capital, the Rosinka townhouse development offers a slice of Western suburbia in the Moscow region, with...

4G Winners to Spend $1.8Bln a Year

The Big 3 mobile operators and state-owned telecommunications giant Rostelecom have won licenses to operate 4G mobile high-speed networks and will...

Internet Restriction Bill Flies Through Duma

Legislation creating a “website blacklist” sailed through the State Duma on Wednesday, though not before deputies amended the bill amid continued protest...

Gazprom Flops in Transparency Ranking

Gazprom fared poorly in a corporate anti-corruption report published Tuesday by global watchdog Transparency International, though it did tie for the...

Megadeals Mark Commercial Real Estate Market in H1

Buyers continue to show eagerness to snap up fancy offices, hotels and malls in Russia, and though commercial real estate investment won't reach last...

Sistema Considers NVision Joint Venture

Business conglomerate Sistema might be forming a joint venture between its communications technology subsidiary, RTI, and an information-technology developer...

Duma to Hear Internet Restriction Bill

Both web companies and human-rights activists are trying to liberalize a bill that could force websites, hosting companies and Internet providers to...

There Will Be Many More Muscovites on Sunday

On July 1, Moscow will expand to become 2.5 times its current size, and hundreds of thousands of Moscow region residents will become residents of the...

Malls to Add Space for 600 Retailers

Construction of two more gleaming shopping centers will begin in the next few months, with one of the malls to boast 7,000 parking spots, more than...

Avilon Dropped by Daimler For Anti-Corruption 'Issues'

Daimler will sever ties with one of the country’s biggest dealerships for Mercedes-Benz cars because the German automaker has “issues” with the dealer’s...

IT Sector Holding Steady

The country's appetite for high-technology gadgets, software and services has been robust over the first half of this year.

City Land Agency Added to Bureaucracy

The mayor's office has created a new agency to inventory land, potentially giving developers an easier time of buying and building up plots in those...

Truck Traffic Could Be Further Restricted

The number of commercial trucks on Moscow's roads could be reduced dramatically if the city's Transportation Department wins approval for its plan...

Governor Shoigu Battling Man-Made Disasters

After facing down natural disasters for two decades as emergency situations minister, Sergei Shoigu is dealing with a man-made crisis in his new role...

As 4G News Nears, Rostelecom, State Prepare

State-owned Rostelecom is making big plans for the mobile market in Moscow and other regions, while the government is weighing how much to bill the companies...

Apartment Repair Costs Could Pass to Owners

The cost of replacing a leaking roof, installing new pipes and making other major repairs could be transferred from the municipal companies managing...

Rally Defies Threat of Fines, Rain

Tens of thousands of people braved a thunderstorm and the threat of staggering fines Tuesday to march through the city in the first sanctioned protest...

Agency Challenges Counterpart's Phone Proposal

The Federal Tariff Service is coming out swinging against a Federal Anti-Monopoly Service proposal to let landline service providers set their own rates...

Anti-Corruption Gains Support, But Not Popularity

A legal and cultural framework for combating corruption is evolving, though components are still missing in Russia's transparency framework, anti-corruption...

Shoigu Offers Help to Swindled Homebuyers

A case of alleged real estate fraud in the Moscow region heated up Monday as local authorities, including Moscow region Governor Sergei Shoigu, cracked...

Newsmaker: Telecoms Minister Has Youth and Experience

Having served as the chief telecommunications policy expert in Tatarstan and now heading Russia’s Communications and Press Ministry, Nikolai Nikiforov...

Land Sale by Defense Ministry Brings Court Case

A firm with ties to the Defense Ministry has landed in hot water over the sale of real estate in a prime neighborhood in the southern city of Samara, with...

Residents Band Together at Elite Village

At an elite gated community in the Moscow region called Angelovo, some residents believe that they are overcharged, some want to form a committee and three...

Activists Score Victories in Preservation War, But More Battles Ahead

Giving with one hand and taking with the other, Moscow authorities have given historic preservationists both a court decision and a new restoration...

Wave of the Future: MTS Turning Phones Into Credit Card

Mobile TeleSystems is rolling out a service that will let its customers make purchases and check bank balances with a wave of their phones.

O1 Properties Pulls IPO, Blames Instability on World Bourses

Just three weeks after announcing its long-awaited initial public offering plans, O1 Properties, an owner of high-end office complexes in Moscow, is...

City Hall Ponders Privatizing Metro

City Hall is considering privatizing the Moscow metro system as a step toward developing the capital's infrastructure, the Moscow government said in a...

Ministry Begins 4G Frequency Tender

The Communications and Press Ministry has opened a much-anticipated competition for 4G wireless frequencies, with winning telecoms operators to be...

Avito.ru Gets $75M in Additional Funding

Buying and selling coats, car parts and pets through classifieds website Avito.ru could happen in more cities and regions now that the company has...

Medvedev Wants to End 'Mobile Slavery'

Outgoing President Dmitry Medvedev wants to force mobile providers to let customers keep their cell-phone numbers while switching providers.

Q1 Revenue Rises 45% at Mail.Ru

The increased popularity of Mail.Ru Group's online games, social networks, applications and advertising pushed up revenue 45 percent in the first quarter...

Rostelecom Dials Up Broadband, TV

Rostelecom posted a 7 percent increase in revenue and a 47 percent increase in net income for 2011, ramping up television and Internet services as...

Vekselberg Wants Medvedev in Skolkovo's Future

Perhaps tipping the government's hand for the evolution of the Skolkovo Innovation Center during the next Putin era that begins next month, the technology...

April Construction Safety Record Dismal

April is turning out to be a catastrophic and tragic month for construction in Moscow, and the spate of fatal accidents and major catastrophes...

Banks Told to Innovate for Survival

In the next few years, banks will be faced with shrinking revenue and widening competition that will make their use of mobile and social-networking...

Software Makers Seek State Support

Software developers are enjoying higher salaries than they were a year ago, but their companies' executives are continuing to feel the pain of hitting...

Yandex Electronic Payments System Adds MasterCard Plastic

Yandex.Dengi, the most popular online payment system among Russian Internet users, is now making available MasterCard-branded bank cards to all of its...

Moscow Eyed for NBCUniversal Theme Park

U.S. entertainment giant NBCUniversal is in talks to build a Hollywood-style theme park in Moscow with powerful real estate developer Sait-Salam Gutseriyev...

Skolkovo Adviser Sees Post-Medvedev Future

The coming change in presidents won’t halt the development of the Skolkovo innovation hub, a top consultant to Skolkovo’s president said Thursday,...

Location Based Services Expanding

The list of location-based services — mobile applications that can inform you what businesses are close to your smartphone location, link you to discounts...

McDonald's Looks to Expansion

When Khamzat Khasbulatov fielded a question from a reporter who complained that she can't find a free seat in a Moscow McDonald's and demanded to know...

Skolkovo to Join Moscow in July, President Says

Just days after future Moscow region Governor Sergei Shoigu said he wasn't sold on the idea of expanding Moscow's boundaries, President Dmitry Medvedev...

Logistics Improve With Customs Union

The customs union between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan that took full effect on Jan. 1 and eliminated red tape for cross-border shipments has sped...

Central Bank Pulls Licenses

The Central Bank announced Thursday that it had revoked the licenses for Siberian Energy Bank and International Investment Bank.

Danish Rockwool Responds to Tatarstan Hospitality

In this city in the Volga republic of Tatarstan, the regional government celebrated the successful courtship of yet another foreign investor when...

Tech, Industrial Zones Planned for Moscow

A Moscow city department is backing economic incentives to attract "resource-efficient and ecological" manufacturers to the capital.

Mobile Internet Use Climbing

More and more Russians are using a smartphone or unwired laptop to connect to the Internet, and competition for those customers is heating up between...

Lack of Supply Drives Housing Market Rise

While the cold continues on Moscow's snow-slicked streets, apartment prices have stayed hot in the capital as the city's construction restrictions...

France's Orange Telecoms Race Takes Stamina

Both sports and business have given Christophe Joanblanq a firsthand feel for the country's vast geography.

M&A Deal-Making Drops

The Russian mergers and acquisition market posted a drop last year against a global decline in M&A activity while foreign purchases of Russian assets...

Skolkovo Ready to Back Green Ideas

Two government agencies are linking arms with the Skolkovo Innovation Center to offer small companies and academic teams the chance to sell their energy-efficiency...

Dvorkovich Gives Skolkovo, State Asset Updates

Presidential economic adviser Arkady Dvorkovich sketched out new details for funding Skolkovo, opened another front in the battle against graft and updated...

City Keeps Infrastructure Spending Level

City Hall is planning to maintain the spending level of its annual infrastructure program for the metro, other transportation and housing.

Contract Disclosure Enforcement Starts

State-owned Federal Grid Company said it is jettisoning contracts with companies failing to disclose their owners just as news broke that the government...

Zubkov Aids Tax Haven Fight

First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov is proposing a clampdown on offshore business, putting his weight behind draft legislation to widen tax authorities'...

Tele2 Pursues 4G Inclusion Against Odds

Sweden's Tele2 is committed to taking part in the Russian government's auction of wireless spectrum that will likely be the basis for a 4G network...

Women Breaking Into Corporate Boys' Club

When Coleman Services fills a top executive position for one of its clients, the recruitment firm sometimes gets a special request: Don't give us...

Rostelecom Completes NTK Takeover

With Rostelecom planning to take full ownership of Moscow broadband operator National Telecommunications, the state-owned telecoms giant is poised to get...

Finns Mull Property Sale Restrictions

As a political bloc in Finland pushes for a federal bill to limit the purchase of real estate to Finns and other European Union citizens, Russians...

Treaty Moves Cyprus Closer to Removal From Blacklist

The Finance Ministry could be closer to removing Cyprus from an official "blacklist" of tax havens that don't meet the ministry's standards for financial...

Web Standards Body Opens in Russia

The World Wide Web Consortium, or W3C, which helps set standards for how the Internet develops, opened an office at the Higher School of Economics...

Mortgaging to Be Streamlined

The government's mortgage lender is proposing changes to a federal law related to mortgage payments as a way of easing the borrowing process for would-be...

Moskva Hotel Reopens as Mall

A slew of Moscow real estate players unveiled a reconstructed Moskva Hotel on Tuesday, relaunching the premier Soviet hotel as a commercial center...

Foreign Companies Challenging Tax System

When Sergei Pepeliaev argued a tax case for the Severny Kuzbass mining concern last year in the Supreme Arbitration Court Presidium — the highest...

Grocery Magnate Plans U.S. Supermarkets

The co-founder of the supermarket chains that became X5 Retail Group is setting up 400 discount groceries in southern Florida, a project in which...

One Year Later, Mavrodi's MMM-2011 Is Nobody's Problem

Federal officials went on radio shows and gave interviews to warn the public about Sergei Mavrodi's MMM-2011. But 12 months later, in an interview with...

Mixed Reviews for Anti-Raiding

Using bank officials and police officers to deal with business competitors is just as common as ever despite more than three years of federal initiatives...

VTB Capital Makes Profit on Lesnaya Plaza

After what it is calling a profitable sale of a Class A office building picked up during the financial crisis, VTB Capital is anticipating that it...

Court Throws Out Navalny's Lawsuit

The Moscow region's Federal Arbitration Court has backed two lower court decisions to throw out Alexei Navalny's lawsuit against a VTB Group daughter...

Real Estate to Reach $7.5Bln Record

With deals worth tens and even hundreds of millions of dollars, real estate buyers poured about $7.5 billion into the Russian market in 2011, a post-Soviet...

Storchak Predicting Caution in Debt Sales

The government will wade slowly into the international bond market in 2012, selling less than a quarter of its planned offering of ruble-denominated government...

State of the Nation Liveblog

See highlights from President Dmitry Medvedev's annual state of the nation address, which he delivered Thursday to State Duma deputies, Federation Council...

Sberbank, Others Help Small Business

"Why does a carwash need the Internet?" That was a running joke at a conference on small business and the Internet, as guests questioned how a modest brick-and-mortar...

Domodedovo Airport 'Seeks' Possible Buyer

Looking for the perfect holiday gift and willing to spend several billion dollars? Domodedovo Airport, which aborted an initial public offering attempt...

Warehouse Scarcity Spurs Demand

One of the most dynamic real estate sectors doesn't have flashy entrances, plush interiors or eye-popping architecture. Instead, its selling points include...

Gasoline Prices Drop on Market Competition

Filling up a gas tank in Moscow, St. Petersburg and many other places now costs 1 percent to 2 percent less, as LUKoil and TNK-BP have reduced prices,...

Putin Call-In Show Liveblog

Highlights of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's annual call-in show, which The Moscow Times covered on this blog Thursday. Putin discussed presidential contender...

Hotels Train in English, Manners, Motivation

As international hotel companies open more properties in Moscow and hire thousands of new employees, the training of hotel employees is set to increase...

Hotels Scrambling to Find Room for Conferences

When a hotel that hosts 600 business conferences a year has to turn down potential customers for lack of space, it's clear that Moscow's market for conference...

Sobyanin's Moscow Meshes Law, Realty

With Mayor Sergei Sobyanin halting construction projects in downtown Moscow, calling for radical revamps to parking and traffic patterns and upending...

In '11, Commercial Market Looks Up

Up, up and up. Then way, way down. And up again. In steps. That’s how Moscow’s commercial real estate market has performed over the past five years...

IT, Finance to Hire in 2011

With online jobs portal HeadHunter.ru placing five ads for information technology and telecoms in the past week, you can say the labor market is healthy...