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Russia 110328Basic Political Developments

· Russia open for talks with Talibs - special envoy (Part 2) - "We have no direct contacts with the Taliban. But Russia supports national reconciliation in Afghanistan, which is of crucial importance," Russia's Kremlin envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov told Interfax.

· Gil Kerlikowske: Alternative crops in Afghanistan can lead to significant reduction in drug production - U.S. National Drug Control Policy Director Gil Kerlikowske has visited Moscow for talks with Russian Federal Drug Control Service (FSKN) Director Viktor Ivanov within the framework of Russian-U.S. presidential anti-drug working group and has given an interview to Interfax in the wake of the meeting.

· Russian-American commission on START implementation meets in Geneva

· Moldovan foreign minister to visit Moscow - Moldovan Foreign Minister Yury Lyanke will pay a working visit to Moscow on Monday, the Foreign Ministry reported. Lyanke will meet with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to discuss bilateral relations and the Transdnestr settlement.

· Russia, Kyrgyzstan FMs to focus on bilateral agreements - Ministers of Russia and Kyrgyzstan Sergei Lavrov and Ruslan Kazakbayev will meet here on Monday to sign a bilateral cooperation program for this year, the press service of the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry told Itar-Tass on Sunday. The Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry reported that a forthcoming visit of the country’s foreign minister in Moscow is official and will be made at the invitation of his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

· Karabakh mediators present fact-finding mission's report

· SF: Russia must stop violation of the sovereignty of Libya. - The Federation Council believes that Russia should take a restrained but firm stand in dealing with the events in Libya, to hinder the process of violating the sovereignty, the erosion of state borders.

· Poll: One third of Russians believe Gaddafi will be overthrown

· Radiation level not exceed norm in Primorsky territory

· Medvedev meets with rescue workers back from Japan

· Sergei Kiriyenko: "Fukushima-1” no threat to Russians

· Russia will lose nuclear shield if nuclear energy industry curtailed – Kiriyenko

· Energy Ministry expects no changes to Russia's energy balance following possible nuclear reassessment – Shmatko

· Russia’s Primorye territory toughens control over seafood imports

· Russian activists discussing Chernobyl at USC

· Norway welcomes Russian Duma vote

· Pravda: Russia and Norway share Arctic waters

· Russia insists on tough conditions for Belarus bail out - Russia told Belarus on Friday that it must draw up a plan of specific economic reforms within 10 - 12 days before it will begin negotiations on offering the ailing economy loans, reports BelaPAN.

· Serbia's export to Russia could get hit by EU accession

· Russians offer USD 3 billion credit for purchase of their jets

· Russia arms exports at record level till 2014 –report : Contract portfolio $45 billion end 2010; India tops list of Russian arms importers

· Russian Navy plans to reassign cruiser Marshal Ustinov to Pacific Fleet

· Medvedev to hold online conference - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is due to hold an online videoconference today to hear out progress reports by several Governors and Government Agency Chiefs.

· Vladimir Putin to visit Sheremetyevo

· Government to consider merger of Moscow airports today

· Prosecutors blame controller for Krasnoyarsk midair incident

· Ingush opposition protests continue

· Law enforcement officials clash with rebels in Sunzhen region of Ingushetia

· Interior troops serviceman killed in attack in Dagestan

· Contract serviceman killed in Dagestan

· Police boost Moscow subway security ahead of bombing anniversary

· Vladimir Churov re-elected as CEC chairman

· Moscow disctrict court secretary resigns - Press secretary of Moscow's Khamovniki court Natalia Vasilyeva, who claimed pressure on a judge during the trial of the Yukos case, tended her resignation on Monday, which was accepted, chairman of the human rights organization AGORA Pavel Chikov told Itar-Tass.

· Reuters PRESS DIGEST - Russia - Mar 28

· RIA Russian Press at a Glance, Monday, March 28, 2011

· NYT: Russian Site Smokes Out Corruption - Aleksei N. Navalny has managed to attract a vast audience with his Web site for investors, Navalny.ru, even as he takes on big state-owned energy companies in his crusade against graft, kickbacks and bribery.

· BBC: The secrets of Anna Chapman

· N.H.L. Puts Freeze on Games in Russia

National Economic Trends

· Ruble Yields Tumble to Record as Bank Holds Rate: Russia Credit

· Russian population dwindles since 2002 - statistics

· Government approves development strategy for banking sector

· Russia gets competitive - The change is particularly noticeable in the banking sector, which was one of the first to be reformed. By Ben Aris in Moscow

Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions

· Rosneft, Polymetal, Lukoil, Cherkizovo: Russian Equity Preview

· Summa Capital takes over Czech port builder

· Federal Grid Company gains LSE listing

· Russia's Mosenergo posts higher 2010 profit, revenue

· Shenhua Says Russia Talks Going Smoothly; Sees Coal Opportunity

· Russia's RusAl aluminum giant says may set up JV for Asia-Pacific projects

· Norilsk Nickel May Buy TKB Capital from VTB, Vedomosti Reports

· Sberbank Asks BNP as Partner on Express Credits, Kommersant Says

· Troika Not to Invest Client Money in Two Funds, Kommersant Says

· RusHydro set to place 15 bln rubles worth of bonds soon

· Rusagro sets IPO price range at $14.5-18.25 per GDR

· Boeing To Study Titanium Valley Investment Potential

· Rice Endorses Skolkovo

· Russian retailer Dixy Jan-Feb revenues up 21 pct

· Cherkizovo meat 2010 net profit up 21% to $144 mln

· Nanotech Signs Accord with Russian Company for Manufacture and Distribution of Green Polyurethane

· Waterstone could link with Russian billionaire to buy back firm

Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)

· Russia to raise oil export duty on April 1 - Russia will raise its oil export duty from 365 dollars to 423.7 dollars per tonne as of April 1, 2011.

· Russian Oils - Decision on unification of oil product export duties to be made this summer

· Russian Energy Ministry expects that the deal BP and Rosneft will be realized

· BP May Need $15 Billion to Settle Russian Dispute, Times Says

· Foreign Office 'backed BP in Rosneft talks'

· Stalled Oil Deal Hits Income, Image - By Howard Amos

· Transneft to Spend $5.7 Billion on Links in 2011, Vedomosti Says

· Russia's Transneft to invest 161.59 bln rbls in new facilities in '11

· Russia-China Oil Payment Spat Escalates

· Russia-China Oil Price Dispute Valued at $100M

Gazprom

· TNK BP Gazprom and SeverEnergia to form unified development chain

· Russia expands gas pipeline network - Russian energy giant Gazprom is expanding its gas pipeline network to service the country’s northwestern regions and supply the Nord Stream Pipeline. Pipelines International brings you construction updates on the Gryazovets – Vyborg, Pochinki – Gryazovets, and Ukhta – Torzhok gas pipelines.

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Full Text Articles

Basic Political Developments

March 28, 2011 11:21

Russia open for talks with Talibs - special envoy (Part 2)

http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=231925

MOSCOW. March 28 (Interfax) - Russia is prepared for dialogue with Talibs, although no such contacts have been established for now.

"We have no direct contacts with the Taliban. But Russia supports national reconciliation in Afghanistan, which is of crucial importance," Russia's Kremlin envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov told Interfax.

Russia does not think force alone can solve the Afghan problem, he said.

"Therefore we think Talibs could return to peaceful life and become reintegrated with society. But there are terms, laid down in UN Security Council resolutions, which must be observed: those who are prepared for reconciliation must stop their armed struggle against the government, recognize the constitution and steer clear of Al Qaeda and other extremist groups. If there are people among the Talibs, who can make this step - there are such people we are sure - we will be open for dialogue with them," he said.

Moscow is concerned about the threats of terrorism, extremism and drugs coming from Afghanistan, he said.

"We want them to now that a government that will seek ways of solving these problems would be acceptable for us," the Russian diplomat said.

Russia does care what Afghanistan will be like as a result of further national reconciliation, he added.

"We want Afghanistan to be an independent and peaceful state aspiring for prosperity. We are prepared for talks with such people," Kabulov said.

March 26, 2011

Gil Kerlikowske: Alternative crops in Afghanistan can lead to significant reduction in drug production

http://www.interfax.com/interview.asp?id=231833

U.S. National Drug Control Policy Director Gil Kerlikowske has visited Moscow for talks with Russian Federal Drug Control Service (FSKN) Director Viktor Ivanov within the framework of Russian-U.S. presidential anti-drug working group and has given an interview to Interfax in the wake of the meeting.

Question: Mr. Kerlikowske, has the working group that you co-chair together with Mr. Ivanov brought any practical result?

Answer: I mean in a year and a half, and I look it at all the commissions, we’re put together, when President Obama was getting ready to come over here, we were the first ones to meet, the first ones to put tangible ideas on the table. I think Afghanistan is at least one kind of results: the increases in the number of FSKN personnel there, the training opportunities that FSKN has offered to Afghanis at Domodedovo and trilateral operations that the Afghan counter narcotics police, FSKN, and the DEA carried out.

I think the other results from two police law enforcement executives, who head this commission, is this focus on public health and education.

Q.: Talking about the joint group what are the nearest aims?

A.: Improvement of financial tracing, these criminal enterprises and developed systems to deal with changes in money, how money is transferred moved, accounted for etc, and we have to have enforcement mechanisms and tracing mechanisms. It’s important that you arrest kingpins, it is important that you seize drugs, but it is also very that you choke off the money. That’s I think is a great step forward. The other steps are, as we were talking to the students today, our making sure that young people do not become involved in drugs to the best of our ability, will pay huge dividends to both countries.

Q.: In general, what are the purposes Russia is pursuing in combating drug trafficking? Probably, you could advise something.

A.: Actually, I think we’ve learnt a lot from each other, and I don’t think there is in my career a meeting with a lot of executives over a long time before this traveling was made, I actually don’t think there is anyone that I met that is more I guess what we would say in America right now is more forward-leaning or more thinking-broadly about the drug problem than Director Ivanov. You know, you read his book, he talks about there is no police solution to our problem, the same kind of quotes that President Medvedev has made. I don’t think people would have just naturally assume that one would be in a position of the head of FSKN. So, I think it is healthy for both of us.

Q.: Many experts say that threats concerning drug trafficking for the U.S. and for Russia are quite different, for instance for the U.S. it’s cocaine from Latin America and for Russia it is first of all heroin from Afghanistan. How can our countries cooperate with all those different threats?

A.: You know, the threat has changed or continues to change on a fairly rapid basis. Because if we were to go back and look at our threat just within the last few years about cocaine, it would have been from Latin America, through Mexico into the U.S., now the cocaine issue is across the Caribbean, the Atlantic into West Africa, into Europe, the UK and certainly Russia. That changes pretty dramatically. I think that the fact that Mexican cartels are, it’s been well-documented, it certainly not in confidential sources, that those cartels have tentacles in Spain, in Europe, certainly in North America – Canada and the U.S. So, looking at the treat from a world perspective rather than our individual problems I think makes sense.

Q.: You mentioned the problem of drug-trafficking through the Mexican border, in case of Russia, do you think it is possible to combat drug-trafficking given that Russia has visa-free regimes with the Central Asian countries?

A.: I think the work that we have been doing with the Quad - the four countries - in trying to better share information and work with [] probably are important steps, they need of course to mature, they need to become more robust, and I think it’s everyone’s intention. And of course customs and borders security issues: whether our south-west border is almost 2,000 miles that Russia’s border is. We all recognize that reducing the demands for use within our own countries, if we can do it, will have a greater impact than all of the border improvements. Not that they are not important, but still we have to reduce our own demand. And so does Russia.

Q.: In your opinion what are the possible ways to decrease demand for drugs in both of countries?

A.: We’ve seen success in our what we call drug-free coalitions, so for a very small amount of money we fund 700 of these around the country, and they are organized by oftentimes someone in the school system, and it is a coalition of law enforcement faith-based groups, neighborhood groups and etc. They work very hard to reduce underage drinking and drug-use in a preventive atmosphere. The research and evaluation of these drug-free coalitions is very positive. The second positive thing that we do, we have a media campaign, we call it Youth Anti-drug Media Campaign, and the initial evaluations of that campaign, which is often spread through social media not as much in the old traditional media, show that young people who have been exposed to those ads about being about being in control of their lives, not about do not do marijuana, do not do this, do not do that, but being in control of their lives, the evaluation shows that they are more resistant to using drugs that young people who have not been exposed to those ads. And that is only a short-term, and you know we do not know how, what the long-term effect of those is. I would at least take it as a positive step.

Q.: Russia has repeatedly claimed that the U.S. and other coalition countries do not do enough to combat poppy fields in Afghanistan, why is it so?

A.: Well, I think there are two things. One I think that often times what happened over now 15 years in Columbia is seen as the model or template for every other country, including Mexico. And all those countries are very different. The countries have their own sovereignty, so we don’t impose things like eradication. It has to be led and developed by any individual country. And clearly President Karzai has chosen not to do widespread eradication, but they still of course have got led their own eradication which has been successful, and there’re poppy-free provinces. There’s still an awful lot of work being done by a number of coalition groups on developing alternative crops, which in turn can have a significant reduction. And if the eradication decisions change in the future [] the coalition would support what the government of Afghanistan would wish to do.

Q.: You mentioned social media are those social media, social network s are used by drug dealers? How can this be combated that?

A.: Well, in the U.S. particularly, with the First Amendment and free speech issues, if they are not engaged in some illegal conduct and there are not involved in messages in which drugs are glorified, there is nothing legally can be done about those. If technology is being used for instance to sell pharmaceuticals or synthetic drugs that are illegal, those technologies can be seized and people can be charged with crimes.

Russian-American commission on START implementation meets in Geneva

http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/03/28/48058532.html

Mar 28, 2011 06:30 Moscow Time

The first meeting of the Russian-American commission on implementation of the START Treaty will be held on Monday in Geneva. The sides will discuss technical matters, it was specified at Russia’s UN headquarters.

On March 22, Moscow and Washington have begun to exchange data on strategic forces.

As reported by the U.S. Assistant Secretary Rose Gottemoeller, the Americans regard the Treaty as a bridge to further reduce nuclear arsenals of both countries.

The document was signed by Presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama on April 8th last year. It entered into force on February 5th after ratification by the parliaments of Russia and the United States.

Moldovan foreign minister to visit Moscow

http://en.rian.ru/world/20110328/163240455.html

Topic: Transdnestr conflict settlement

07:58 28/03/2011

Moldovan Foreign Minister Yury Lyanke will pay a working visit to Moscow on Monday, the Foreign Ministry reported.

Lyanke will meet with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to discuss bilateral relations and the Transdnestr settlement.

The talks on the future of Moldova's breakaway republic of Transdnestr in the "five-plus-two" format, involving Russia, Ukraine, the OSCE, Moldova, Transdnestr, with the United States and the EU as observers, have been frozen since February 2006.

The Moldovan minister will also meet with a number of other officials and political scientists.

Lyanke last visited Russia in May 2010.

CHISINAU, March 28 (RIA Novosti)

Russia, Kyrgyzstan FMs to focus on bilateral agreements

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=16092807&PageNum=0

28.03.2011, 01.22

BISHKEK, March 28 (Itar-Tass) -- Foreign Ministers of Russia and Kyrgyzstan Sergei Lavrov and Ruslan Kazakbayev will meet here on Monday to sign a bilateral cooperation program for this year, the press service of the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry told Itar-Tass on Sunday. The Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry reported that a forthcoming visit of the country’s foreign minister in Moscow is official and will be made at the invitation of his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

“During the consultations the foreign ministers of Kyrgyzstan and Russia will discuss bilateral cooperation and interaction in international and regional organizations,” the press service reported. Kazakbayev and Lavrov will focus on “the implementation of the agreements,” which were reached during the recent working visits of Kyrgyz Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev and an official visit of Kyrgyz Parliament Speaker Akhmatbek Keldibekov in Russia.

On March 17-18, Atambayev reached several agreements for the development of bilateral trade and economic cooperation at the negotiations with Russian governmental officials. The Bishkek authorities stated they are ready to sell the Kyrgyzgaz controlling stake to Gazprom and a considerable stake in the Dastan joint stock company. This enterprise was earlier incorporated in the Soviet military and industrial complex. Meanwhile, Russia did not rule out the country’s participation in the construction of a Kambar-Ata-1 hydropower plant in Kyrgyzstan. This project is estimated at more than two billion dollars.

Alongside, Kyrgyzstan refused from the claims, which the previous Kyrgyz authorities had made over a higher rental fee for Russia’s operation of the Kant military base. Atambayev recalled that the republican authorities asked Russia to create this military base to ensure Kyrgyz security. “Those who forgot it have no memory and conscience,” the Kyrgyz prime minister believes. Alongside, Russia decided to cancel the export duties for the fuels and lubricants in this Central Asian country.

“I believe that the economic integration of our countries should be continued and interregional ties between the regions in Kyrgyzstan and Russia are an efficient mechanism in this process,” Atambayev said at the Kyrgyz-Russian economic forum in Bishkek several days ago. “In this respect, I pin high hopes on our republic to join the Customs Union and on Russia to enter the World Trade Organization,” Atambayev noted. Meanwhile, he believes that Kyrgyzstan’s admission in the Customs Union “has some shortcomings.” However, the republican government is already “minimizing the losses and risks related to this step.” “All of us could make sure that Russia is ready to support us in this issue. This shows once again that Russia is our long-standing partner and the main strategic partner for our country,” he pointed out.

According to preliminary reports, the Kyrgyz-Russian trade exceeded one billion dollars in the previous year.

Karabakh mediators present fact-finding mission's report

http://www.news.az/articles/politics/33303

Mon 28 March 2011 04:51 GMT | 6:51 Local Time

Karabakh mediators were in Vienna.

The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Ambassadors Bernard Fassier of France, Robert Bradtke of the United States, and Igor Popov of the Russian Federation) were in Vienna, where they briefed the Minsk Group and Secretary General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut on their recent and upcoming activities as mediators of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The Co-Chairs also presented the 'Report of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs' Field Assessment Mission to the Occupied Territories of Azerbaijan Surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh,' the Executive Summary of which is posted on the OSCE website: http://www.osce.org/mg/76209.

The harsh reality of the situation in these territories has reinforced the view of the Co-Chairs that the status quo is unacceptable, and that only a peaceful, negotiated settlement can bring the prospect of a better, more certain future to the people who used to live in the territories and those who live there now. The Co-Chairs intend this report to be forward-looking -- offering all parties a vision of how these areas could contribute to peace and prosperity, rather than being a source of tension and conflict. The Co-Chairs will travel again to the region in the near future to continue discussions on the Basic Principles, building on the positive momentum of the March 5 Sochi summit. They also will develop with their interlocutors concrete measures to fulfill the commitments made at Sochi regarding investigations – with the participation of all sides – of ceasefire violations.

Noting the continuing importance of restraint by the sides both on the ground and in public statements, the Co-Chairs consider unacceptable any use or threat of force, including against civil aircraft. In that respect, they strongly condemn the senseless cycle of killings and retaliations along the front lines. They reiterated their long-standing position that all sides should prepare their populations for peace, not war.

News.Az

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SF: Russia must stop violation of the sovereignty of Libya.

http://www.rbc.ru/rbcfreenews/20110328120516.shtml

28.03.2011, Moscow 12:05:16 The Federation Council believes that Russia should take a restrained but firm in dealing with the events in Libya, to hinder the process of violating the sovereignty, the erosion of state borders. "We need, on the one hand, self-restraint, but on the other hand - and the strength, perseverance in carrying out a peaceful settlement," - says the senator, Colonel-General, Doctor of Military Sciences, Vladimir Kulakov.He related the events in Lebanon and the region at large with too long a stay in power, the leaders of these states. "For too long duration of the reign of individual state officials could not stimulate further socio-economic development of nations", - believes Kulakov. He recalled that the events that began with Tunisia and Egypt, caused a chain reaction among many countries in North Africa and the Middle East. Similar events are taking place today in Jordan, Libya, Syria and many other countries, the press service of the Federation Council. According to the senator, "this situation benefited the Western countries, primarily the U.S., as well as France and Britain, are now transferred to NATO command of the operation.""The decision of the Security Council was due to the closure of the sky over Libya. But the next step was the decision of the Libyan air strikes, - said Vladimir Kulakov, describing the military operation in the region. - After the air phase should be above ground, completing the operation. At the same time as ground-based opposition groups used, and the role of the Air Force - a coalition aircraft. " "This development is threatening the sovereignty of States," - he said, recalling that the U.S. has repeatedly been implementing a similar scenario during the bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999., The Gulf War in 1991., The invasion of Iraq in 2003. "The American forces are present today in many countries - stated V. Kulakov. - It is not accidental and may lead to an escalation of tensions around the globe.""Today, when Western politicians are often made careless statements about our country, for it can be seen to intervene in the sovereign affairs of Russia, - the senator said. - In the same way the West can announce support for the opposition, which may be armed and to exploit .

Poll: One third of Russians believe Gaddafi will be overthrown

Today at 10:16 | Interfax-Ukraine

Moscow, March 28 (Interfax) - While 41% of Russians prefer to refrain from forecasts about how the situation surrounding Libya could develop, 33% think Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi will be overthrown, and only 11% believe Gaddafi could retain power, a poll the Public Opinion Foundation conducted in 43 regions of Russia on March 19-20 has shown.

As many as 85% of Russians are aware of the events in Libya, where the opposition has attempted to overthrow Gaddafi, who has ruled the country for more than 40 years.

As many as 46% are inclined to hold a neutral position toward the conflicting parties, 18% support the opposition and only 7% Gaddafi.

The supporters of the Libyan opposition explain their position by low living standards in Libya, the dictatorial regime, and the people's exhaustion from Gaddafi's long-standing rule, or say simply that "the people are always right."

Those who support the Libyan leader suggest that the unrest had been provoked by Western countries eying Libyan oil and call Gaddafi a worthy ruler who has done a lot for his country.

Read more: http://www.kyivpost.com/news/russia/detail/100987/#ixzz1HsQiTlmg

Radiation level not exceed norm in Primorsky territory


28.03.2011, 03.48

VLADIVOSTOK, March 28 (Itar-Tass) -- The radiation level in the Primorsky Territory makes 14 micro-roentgens per hour and does not exceed the normal level on Monday, the press service of the Primorsky emergencies department told Itar-Tass.

The reinforced radiation monitoring continues in Primorsky Territory. Some 193 planted and mobile radiation measuring posts are involved in the radiation monitoring. The specialists from the Russian weather forecasting agency, the Far Eastern customs department, the Ministry of Health and Social Development, the Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom, the Interior Ministry, the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Defence Ministry are engaged in the radiation monitoring. The radiation measurements are made every hour not only on the land, but also by aircraft and vessels. All radiation measuring results are passed to the Primorsky territorial emergency management center.

Medvedev meets with rescue workers back from Japan



Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday meets with workers of Russia’s Emergencies’ Ministry who participated in rescue operations in Japan.

In the course of a week they managed to find more than a hundred dead victims under the debris. The work was done in inclement weather and conditions of radiation leaks. Russian rescuers, though, were not exposed to radiation.

As a result of a magnitude 9 earthquake and ensuing tsunami over 10,000 people died in Japan, with some 17 thousand missing.

The natural disasters resulted in several breakdowns at “Fukushima-1” nuclear power plant, after which there was a leak of radiation.

Sergei Kiriyenko: "Fukushima-1” no threat to Russians



The consequences of the accident at the “Fukushima-1” nuclear power plant in Japan do not pose any threat to Russians, says Rosatom head Sergei Kiriyenko.

According to him, even if events unfold according to the worst-case scenario, there is no immediate threat to the Far East and the rest of the country.

Kiriyenko specified that his office had begun work on forecasting the situation on the following day after the accident at the Japanese plant.

Rosatom experts conclude that the danger zone is confined to the territory around "Fukushima-1". The radiation level on site is 100 thousand times above norm.

March 28, 2011 11:39

Russia will lose nuclear shield if nuclear energy industry curtailed – Kiriyenko


MOSCOW. March 28 (Interfax) - Russia will not curtail nuclear power generation following the nuclear disaster in Japan, or it will lose not only its competitiveness, but also its nuclear shield.

"Nuclear energy implies not only electric power plants, but also the country's entire nuclear shield," chief of the federal nuclear energy corporation (Rosatom) Sergei Kiriyenko said in the "Pozner"program on Channel One on Sunday evening.

"If the country curtails nuclear power generation, we will lose a competitive nuclear weapons complex in 10, 15, or, with a piece of luck, 20 years," Kiriyenko said.

The construction of nuclear submarines "which today guarantee the strategic balance" directly depends on the development of the nuclear power industry," he said.

"The same is true about future development in general. Space exploration is unthinkable without nuclear power as a source of energy," he added.

"If we are discussing the energy of the future, which will emerge one day, whether thermonuclear or hydrogen, progress towards it, in terms of technology, knowledge and skills, will proceed through the development of nuclear power, which is absolutely clear," Kiriyenko said.

"What matters is a correct energy balance," he said.

March 28, 2011 12:22

Energy Ministry expects no changes to Russia's energy balance following possible nuclear reassessment – Shmatko


MOSCOW. March 28 (Interfax) - Russia's Energy Minsiter believes that the country's energy balance will not change following events at Fukushima-1 Nuclear Power Plant in Japan, Energy Minsiter Sergei Shmatko told journalists during the exhibition Russia Power in Moscow.

"It seems to me that no substantial changes will take place in Russia [for the energy balance]," he said.

He said that Russia would stick to its strategy for developing the nuclear sector. However, he added the safety of its fast development would be analyzed. "We will, of course, analyze the issue of nuclear energy's sped-up development," he said, adding that the analysis should be carried jointly with Russia's foreign partners.

"I believe that we will stick to the course already underway for develop nuclear power," Shmatko said. He added that the sector's development vector could be different since it is necessary to wait a bit and see the consequences of the accident at the Japanese NPP.

However, Shmatko noted that a positive attitude should be supported in regards to nuclear energy in the world. "I think that all effort should be applied to maintain a healthy attitude towards the possibilities of developing nuclear power," he said.

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Russia’s Primorye territory toughness control over seafood imports

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=16093115

28.03.2011, 08.19

VLADIVOSTOK, March 28 (Itar-Tass) - Russia’s Primorye Territory has toughened control over the imports of seafood and fish, the press service of the regional agricultural watchdog told Itar-Tass on Monday.

Border checkpoints inspect cargoes for quality, safety and content of radionuclides and toxic elements.

From the beginning of March Rosselkhoznadzro’s labs examined eleven samples taken from the batch of seafood and fish from Japan after the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, mainly saury, trout, shrimps and squids. No radioactive components were found in the batch.

The region takes samples not only of fish, but also water and bottom sediments.

At present, four research vessels are staying at sea – The Professor Kizevetter and The Professor Levanidov are taking samples in the Sea of Okhotsk off the western coast of Kamchatka, the TINRO – in the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean and The Pofessor Kaganovsky – off the Southern Kuriles. At present, boats are fishing Alaska pollock and herring in the area.

The levels of the radiation background in the air range between 6-10 microroentgen per hour and in Allaska pollock – within 5-10 microroentgen per hour that are within the norm.

Russian activists discussing Chernobyl at USC

http://www.wbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=14331692

Associated Press - March 28, 2011 4:15 AM ET

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Two women from Russia are traveling to the University of South Carolina to mark the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident and discuss their firsthand experience with disaster cleanup efforts.

The university says it's hosting Natalia Manzurova and Natalia Mironova on Monday at the school's Green Quad in Columbia.

Manzurova is a survivor who now advocates for the rights of victims of radiation exposure internationally.

Mironova, an opponent of nuclear power in Russia, is speaking about lessons learned from Chernobyl and how those can be applied to environmental, human rights and peace advocacy.

Mironova founded the Movement for Nuclear Safety and has written extensively on the role of nongovernmental organizations in abolishing nuclear weapons.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Norway welcomes Russian Duma vote

http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article250032.ece

Norway welcomed a Russian State Duma vote ratifying a treaty to divide the Barents Sea into clear Norwegian and Russian zones, bringing Norway closer to a new oil and gas drive in the Arctic.

News wires 28 March 2011 02:13 GMT

"The action in the Duma is gratifying, and is a big step toward implementing the agreement," Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Kjetil Elsebutangen said on Saturday, a day after Russia's lower house of parliament ratified the deal.

Earlier this month, Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said Norway would begin a formal study into offshore oil and gas exploration along the newly delineated boundary in the Barents Sea soon after Russia ratifies the treaty.

Approval by Russia's upper house, or Federation Council, is considered a formality as it regularly rubber stamps initiatives from President Dmitry Medvedev, who helped negotiate the Barents treaty in Oslo and signed off on its terms last September.

Norway's parliament ratified it on 8 February.

Elsebutangen told Reuters the line, running between Norwegian and Russian archipelagos most of the way to the North Pole, would become law 30 days after Medvedev signs it and the two countries formally "exchange documents".

"We hope that won't take long," he said, adding that the deal "will open the way for new rules on new opportunities to exploit resources."

The area to be divided after 40 years of dispute is about half the size of Germany.

Seabed scans conducted by the former Soviet Union reportedly indicated significant oil and gas deposits. Norwegian companies led by Statoil have said finds there could help revive national production that has been declining for a decade.

In the Duma the majority United Russia Party supported the treaty with Norway while the Communist Party objected on grounds that it could hurt Russian fisheries interests, Itar-Tass reported. The final vote count in the Duma was not given.

Published: 28 March 2011 02:13 GMT | Last updated: 28 March 2011 02:13 GMT

Russia and Norway share Arctic waters

http://english.pravda.ru/russia/economics/28-03-2011/117352-russia_norway_arctic-0/

28.03.2011

Last week, the State Duma put an end to the dispute between Russia and Norway that had been ongoing for a few decades. The members of the Russian Parliament ratified the Russian-Norwegian agreement on maritime delimitation in the Barents Sea, signed in September of last year.

The process of signing the agreement was long and complicated. For many years the two countries could not agree on the division of a large sea water area of 175 thousand square kilometers. The area has large reserves of hydrocarbons and fish; therefore it is not surprising that nobody wanted to concede. Negotiations have commenced in 1970, but for a long time they have yielded no results. The issue was inherited by Russia from the Soviet Union.

The lack of the agreement on the delimitation has tangibly harmed both sides. For example, since 1980 no exploration was conducted in the disputed area. In many ways, the lack of progress in the negotiations was due to the fact that Norway, a member of NATO, for a long time had people in office who were not inclined to compromise with the seemingly weakened Russia. Things began to change in 2005 when Jens Stoltenberg became the country's Prime Minister.

In 2007, Norway and Russia have managed to agree on the 120-km southern section of the disputed waters located between the Russian peninsula Rybachiy and Norwegian Varanger peninsula. The northern section and a portion of the high seas still remained disputed. In late April of last year Dmitry Medvedev visited Oslo. Following the visit, the Russian President and the Norwegian Prime Minister gave instructions to prepare a draft treaty on the delimitation of the remaining disputed land. Jens Stoltenberg, commenting on it, noted that the disputed territory would be divided into two equal parts.

On September 15, 2010, the Russian-Norwegian dispute was resolved. On that day, foreign ministers of both countries in the presence of Medvedev and Stoltenberg signed a long-awaited agreement. Under the agreement, Russia has acquired 860,000 square kilometers of the disputed area, Norway - 510 000. In addition, the signing of the agreement allowed removing the moratorium on exploration that had lasted for years.

The resolution of the dispute with the Norwegians opens great perspectives in the development of the Arctic resources for Russia. The northerners have unique equipment for deep drilling in the polar latitudes. Without it, it would be very difficult for Russia to develop the Shtokman and many other fields. The Norwegians are winning in this situation as well, as their companies are admitted to Russia's wealth.

It is difficult to overestimate the international significance of the signed document. Russia, Norway, Denmark, the United States and Canada are arguing hard about the Arctic shelf. All except Russia have joined NATO and theoretically are able to unite against Russia as one front. Americans, Canadians and Danes have repeatedly said that they would not give Russia an inch of the Arctic. Fortunately, the Norwegians were able to negotiate, and the potential anti-Russian block could be somewhat weakened.

Some people in Russia consider the treaty an unacceptable concession to the Scandinavians. The opponents of the document also refer to the unsettled Russian-Norwegian dispute over Svalbard that has been ongoing since 1920. Although the archipelago belongs to Norway, Russia has the exclusive right to conduct economic activities there.

However, contrary to international norms, the Norwegians have established a 200-mile fisheries conservation zone, and Russian fishermen keep getting caught by the Norwegian fishery protection agency. In 2005, a Russian fishing trawler "Elektron" with two Norwegian inspectors on board tried to escape from the agency. However, this is a topic for another set of negotiations. In the meantime, the parties have resolved the issue of the disputed section of the area.

At the same time the current ratification of the document by the State Duma (the Norwegian Storrting did it back in February) is unlikely to automatically lead to the end of the debate about whether Russia had another way out. Did Russia win by signing the document, or did it lose? Nikita Zagladin, head of the Center for Comparative Socio-Economic and Socio-Political research of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations shared his thoughts in an interview with Pravda.ru:

"This agreement is beneficial for Russia. First, let's imagine that we suddenly received everything we wanted, giving nothing to the Norwegians. Russia has poorly developed technology even for the production of hydrocarbons in shallow waters, not to mention anything deeper. The Norwegians, however, have successfully begun drilling even at great depths.

If the Norwegians do not help us develop the Arctic wealth, who will? There are very few countries in the world that could compare with Norway in this respect. Moreover, I cannot even say when we will obtain such technologies. That said, we simply have no choice but to make friends with the Norwegians.

Second, in negotiations Norway shows itself as a flexible partner in contrast to all other contenders for the division of the riches of the Arctic (especially Canada). Norway has proven it by signing a contract with Russia regarding the division of the contested areas. The terms of the agreement were fair enough. Oslo did not claim they was pressure from Moscow, preferring to divide everything nearly equally.

Third, such an agreement is also a starting point for further improvement of the relations between Russia and Norway in an environment where other Arctic countries are trying to divide oil and gas, pushing each other away. Uniting together, supporting each other, we could better defend our positions."

Sergei BalmasovVadim TrukhachevPravda.Ru

Russia insists on tough conditions for Belarus bail out

http://www.bne.eu/dispatch_text14575

bneMarch 28, 2010

Russia told Belarus on Friday that it must draw up a plan of specific economic reforms within 10 - 12 days before it will begin negotiations on offering the ailing economy loans, reports BelaPAN.

Facing a frightening slide in its international reserves, Belarus needs to find cash to avoid a devaluation of the Belarusian ruble. Since making its debut on the international debt markets in July, it has borrowed $2.35bn in total, with much of that total going to service outstanding borrowings, analysts suggest.

However, the country is facing isolation from international institutions such as the IMF following the vicious crackdown on protests in the wake of the re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko in December. The fiscal crisis that has emerged this year, as a trade deficit of around 16% of GDP bites into the current account, has meanwhile provoked downgrades of the country's sovereign debt.

That has sent Minsk to Moscow, where it is hoping to get a $1bn loan from Russia, as well as another $1.7bn from Eurasian Development Bank's crisis fund - which was set up by a number of CIS states in 2009.

However, Russia, with which Lukashenko has had strained relations over the last few years as he attempted to play Moscow and the west off against one another, is clearly in no mood to bail Belarus out for free, and is ready to insist on tough conditions, just as the IMF would.

Speaking in Minsk on March 25, Russian Ambassador Aleksandr Surikov told reporters that an agreement to that effect had been reached during talks held by the finance ministers of Belarus and Russia in Moscow earlier last week.

Belarusian Minister Andrey Kharkavets and his Russian counterpart, Aleksei Kudrin, discussed what the Belarusian government could do to reform the economy, including budget spending cuts and steps to stabilize the monetary sphere, Surikov said.

He warned that "specific" talks would begin only after the Belarusian government presented a plan of economic reforms. "As far as I know, the Belarusian side is satisfied with the results of the first meeting with Kudrin," the ambassador said.

On top of economic reforms, it is assumed that Russia will hope to gain favorable conditions for the privatization of Belarusian companies. Russian companies have been eyeing enterprises such as potash producer Belaruskali and truck maker MAZ.

An extensive privatization and FDI program is essential to keep the Belarusian economy's head above water over the next few years. Lukashenko offered to sell Russian telecoms operator MTS the government stake in its Belarusian subsidiary for $1bn last week, although there has been little enthusiasm from Moscow in response thus far, with analysts suggesting the price is too high.

On top of an agreement reached at the March 22 meeting for further talks on a budget support loan, the pair agreed on an export loan for the construction of a nuclear power plant, the Russian finance ministry`s press office said.

"Favorable decisions on the loan requests will depend on compliance with a series of conditions concerning structural reforms," Kudrin said, noting that Russia`s conditions for providing loans were similar to those of the International Monetary Fund. Pyotr Prakapovich, chairman of the National Bank of Belarus, said earlier this month that he expected the loans to be provided before July.

Serbia's export to Russia could get hit by EU accession

http://www.emg.rs/en/news/serbia/151007.html

28. March 2011. | 07:09

Source: Tanjug

Russian Ambassador to Serbia Alexander Konuzin said Friday that Russia was interested in what Serbia had to export, especially its agricultural produce, but also wondered whether that export would be compromised by Serbia's EU accession.

Russian Ambassador to Serbia Alexander Konuzin said Friday that Russia was interested in what Serbia had to export, especially its agricultural produce, but also wondered whether that export would be compromised by Serbia's EU accession.

The free trade agreement between the two countries will be void once Serbia joins the EU, which could hurt Serbia's export to Russia, the ambassador explained speaking at a meeting on Serbia's export potential.

Russia has nothing against Serbia's EU integration, says Konuzin, adding that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has confirmed that by saying that whatever is good for Serbia is good for Russia as well. However, he asked if anyone had come up with projections about the effects of becoming a member of the EU.

The free trade agreement with Russia allows Serbia to be more competitive on the Russian market, but will such competitiveness exist on the EU market also, he wondered.

Serbia's export to Russia went up by around 50 percent in 2010, while agricultural export rocketed up by 250 percent, Konuzin pointed out. This January, the export was up by 200 percent, he added.

Serbian Chamber of Commerce President Milos Bugarin said it was in Serbia's interest to boost its export to Russia because of a large trade deficit with that country.

"Around 75 percent of import from Russia is oil and natural gas," Bugarin noted, adding that the deficit was over USD 2.5 billion until 2010, but that economic diplomacy, the free trade agreement and agricultural production reduced that significantly.

Bugarin says he is among those who believe the EU integration will not harm Serbia's economic cooperation with Russia.

According to Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Adriano Martins, the EU has donated around EUR 2 billion to Serbia over the past ten years to help it prepare for accession and there are many active projects in the country that are related to that.

Martins is optimistic about Serbia's ability to cope with the pressure of the EU market, but agrees that Serbia is still not ready for it. However, there is enough time to prepare, he added.

Russians offer USD 3 billion credit for purchase of their jets

http://english.blic.rs/In-Focus/7504/Russians-offer-USD-3-billion-credit-for-purchase-of-their-jets

NIKOLA M. JOVANOVIĆ NEMANJA VLAČO | 28. 03. 2011. - 00:02h

In a package of USD 10 billions that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin offered to Serbian authorities, three billions are meant for the defense. The credit is meant for purchase of military equipment - mainly jets and anti-missile protection, ‘Blic’ learns.

Military analyst Aleksandar Radic says for ‘Blic’ that since that is a credit, the choice to Serbia shall be narrowed to one or two items in the same category only. That is not in line with the idea that modernization of the army is made on open market. Also such purchase would tie Serbia to Russia politically, military and economically on long-term basis.

Serbia Army has over a long period of time a problem with the Air Force since majority of jets are older than 20 years. The jets are mainly of MiG-21 type but there are also of MiG-29 type. At the beginning of 2010 Serbian Ministry of Defense sent to the USA requests for information for F-16 and F-18 jets, to Sweden for ‘Gripen’, France for ‘Rafal’, European Consortium for ‘Eurofighter’ and Russia for MiG-29M and Sukhoi 30.

There was also an option that the existing jets are sent to Israel for overhaul and introduction of the NATO standards, however, that idea was given up. After Putin’s visit, the alternative of purchase in Russia has got concrete details. Apart from MiG-29M and Sukhoi 30 jets, the system of anti-missile defense of S300 range is also being mentioned.

‘For some time already the ‘MiG’ does not have production and does not have any special reputation any more. Sukhoi, however, is in a different position. Those are exceptional jets but with obsolete electronic equipment. With this credit Serbia could buy a strong escadrilla of 18 jets as well as several divisions of anti-missile defense. For me it is more important what Russia’s motif to make such offer is than what the offered package contains’, Radic says.

Aleksandar Dragisic of the International Institute for Security says for ‘Blic’ that our Air Force has been until so far based on Russian arms. ‘From that aspect such purchase would be more suitable for us, but from political aspect it has disadvantages. This purchase needs not necessarily mean definite going away from the NATO since considerable number of the NATO members have Russian armament’, Dragisic pointed out.

Russia arms exports at record level till 2014 –report

http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/russia-arms-exports-at-record-level-till-2014--report/

28 Mar 2011 07:21

Source: reuters // Reuters

* Contract portfolio $45 billion end 2010

* India tops list of Russian arms importers

By Thomas Grove

MOSCOW, March 28 (Reuters) - Russian arms exports are expected to stay at record levels of about $10 billion a year until at least 2014 as top customer India continues to beef up its armaments, leading military think tank CAST said on Monday. Peddling missiles, submarines and fighter planes, Russia is feeding a hungry market of Asian countries warily eyeing China's growing military might and African nations preparing for the worst in potential regional conflicts.

As the world's second top arms exporter, Russia ended last year with a record $45 billion contract portfolio. Arms exporters signed $15 billion in contracts during the year, CAST estimated.

"The existing portfolio of contracts will be enough to keep Russian arms exports at the current level for another four years or more," CAST said in the report, obtained by Reuters ahead of publication.

Rosoboronexport, Russia's weapons export monopoly delivered $8.6 billion in arms last year. Nearly 20 independent firms make up the difference with sales of spare parts and upgrades. Rosoboronexport generally makes up 80 percent of all arms exports in a given year.

India is carefully watching the growing economic and military prowess of regional rival China, the world's second largest defence spender. New Delhi boosted military spending by more than 10 percent in its 2011-12 budget to more than $36 billion.

By comparison the United States spent $530 billion on core defence spending, while China set defence spending at $78 billion.

Last year Russia delivered 10 Su-30MKI fighter planes to India as part of a broader contract worth a total of $1.6 billion as well as a shipment of 20 T-90 tanks in a $1.24 billion contract, CAST said. India and Russia, whose defence ties date back to Soviet times, also concluded an agreement last year for the design and development of an expected 250-300 supersonic fighter aircraft over 10 years, reported to be worth up to $35 billion.

Orders from China, which has been a big buyer of Russian arms in the past, is expected to stagnate in part due to the country's own defence industry, which analysts say has come into its own in part by copying aspects of Russian technology.

MISSILE DELIVERY TO SYRIA

Uganda became a large importer last year with an order of eight fighter planes worth $350 million. The African nation is nervously watching troubled negotiations between north and south Sudan ahead of the south's formal secession on July 9 as well as violence which it fears could spill over into the region.

South Sudanese politicians walked out of negotiations with the north this month, accusing Khartoum of arming militias in the contested Abyei border region and provoking other fighting.

"Given the growing tensions in southern Sudan, new Ugandan arms contracts can be expected any time now," the report said.

Moscow also delivered Bastion anti-ship missiles to Syria despite protests from Israel in 2010, in a deal previously quoted at $300 million.

Israel fears the sale of the rockets, capable of hitting ships 300 km (190 miles) off Syria's coast, could end up in the hands of Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah.

While New Delhi accounted for 41 percent of arms deliveries, Algeria took 12 percent of exports and Syria represented 7 percent of deliveries. (Editing by Matthew Jones)

Russian Navy plans to reassign cruiser Marshal Ustinov to Pacific Fleet

http://www.brahmand.com/news/Russian-Navy-plans-to-reassign-cruiser-Marshal-Ustinov-to-Pacific-Fleet/6657/3/13.html

MOSCOW (BNS): Russian Navy is planning to reassign its missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov from Northern Fleet to Pacific Fleet, a media report said.

Currently, the cruiser is preparing for medium repairs in Northern fleet.

"In two years, the cruiser may be transferred from Severomorsk to Vladivostok to reinforce the grouping of the Pacific Fleet's surface ships," RIA Novosti quoted a Russian Navy admiral as saying.

"Navy's main headquarters was considering this possibility, although a final decision had not yet been made," he added.

The RFS Marshal Ustinov is a Slava-class cruiser of the Russian Navy. The ship was launched in 1982 and in 1986 it was commissioned with Russian Northern Fleet.

The Marshal Ustinov cruiser has been designed as a surface strike ship with some anti-air and ASW capability and it is fitted with sixteen SS-N-12 Sandbox nuclear-capable supersonic anti-ship missiles, which are mounted in four pairs on either side of the superstructure.

In addition, the cruiser reportedly carries 64 SA-N-6 Grumble long-range surface-to-air missiles (SAM) and 40 SA-N-4 Gecko short-range SAMs, it said

Medvedev to hold online conference



Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is due to hold an online videoconference today to hear out progress reports by several Governors and Government Agency Chiefs.

The Russian leader traditionally resorts to this kind of format, since he sees it as dynamic and effective. Last year he chaired this kind of conference on three occasions.

Today’s agenda features housing and utilities infrastructure and children’s summer holidays.

Vladimir Putin to visit Sheremetyevo



On March 28th at "Sheremetyevo” airport Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin holds a meeting on the development of the Moscow aviation hub.

According to the government press service, up for discussion will be measures of improving safety and quality of passenger service.

The Moscow aviation hub includes the airports Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo.

In the last 10 years - from 2000 to 2010 - they have tripled the passenger flow.

Government to consider merger of Moscow airports today


Renaissance CapitalMarch 28, 2011

Event: Vedomosti reported that today (28 March) a government meeting led by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will consider the merger of Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo and Vnukovo airports. Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov and the Ministry of Transport reportedly differ on this issue: Shuvalov favours the merger, whereas the Ministry of Transport wants to preserve competition among the airports. According to the newspaper, Putin is also to decide on whether a third runway will be built at Sheremetyevo or at Domodedovo first.

Action: Neutral for Aeroflot, in our view.

Rationale: Merging the airports would be difficult; one of the main stumbling blocks is that they are currently under the control of different owners. According to Vedomosti, citing Troika Dialog and Credit Suisse estimates, Domodedovo would likely get control of the potential merged entity and, therefore, the government would have to purchase an additional stake to get control. Aeroflot, which will get only a minority stake in Sheremetyevo airport once its terminals are merged, would have an even smaller share of the potential merged airport entity. In our view, the effect of the potential merger on the airline will depend mainly on the way Sheremetyevo is managed and how airport traffic and operations are coordinated. We do not think a merger of the airports is likely. Aeroflot would benefit from a third runway at Sheremetyevo, in our view.

Ivan Kim

Prosecutors blame controller for Krasnoyarsk midair incident


28.03.2011, 10.23

NOVOSIBIRSK, March 28 (Itar-Tass) - The Yenisei transport prosecutor's office blamed a traffic controller for a dangerous incident in which two planes flew close to each other over Krasnoyarsk on March 14.

The prosecutors announced their findings after a check, saying that "the traffic controller, despite the indications of the crossing of the planes' courses, failed to inform the crews about their locations and the situation, and took no measures to ensure safe distances between the aircraft."

The traffic controller's untimely and "imprecise" actions resulted in the activation of the collision warning system on the Airbus-320 en route Moscow-Irkutsk. Its sensors registered vertical distance to a Bombardier-200 plane belonging to the Rusline airline at 330 meters and lateral distance at 1,800 meters.

"The guilty traffic control officer has been relieved of his duties," senior aide to the West Siberian transport prosecutor Natalia Krinitskaya told Itar-Tass.

Following the check, the transport prosecutor ordered the administration of the branch of the Central Siberia Aeronavigation company to eliminate the exposed violations and discipline the guilty persons.

GOOGLE TRANSLATION

Ingush opposition protests continue

http://vestikavkaza.ru/news/politika/Ingushetia/34831.html

One of the leaders of the Ingush opposition Magomed Khazbiev, released yesterday, March 26, from custody, is not going to refuse to participate in street actions, "Interfax".

Recall, March 23, about 100 people with placards in their hands blocked the street in Nazran, demanding the return of abducted persons. Participants of the rally - relatives of abducted persons in Ingushetia - unfurled a banner "We are against terror" and "Bring our sons."

Interior Ministry officers have detained 10 people for organizing and participating in riots. Among those detained was suspected of organizing a meeting of active opposition and human rights activist Mikhail Khazbiev.

The decision of the magistrate, he was subject to administrative proceedings and was arrested for 10 days for disorderly conduct.

Yesterday, 26 March, it became known that Khazbiev released from prison on personal resheniiyu Yunus-Bek Evkurova.

"Three years we pursue. We live, as if walking on a knife blade. Kill companions. But we do not fear anyone, and refuse to participate in events I'm not going," - said today, 27 March, M. Khazbiev, adding that he did not going to leave the republic. 27.03.2011

11:55

Law enforcement officials clash with rebels in Sunzhen region of Ingushetia

http://www.interfax.com/news.asp

March 28, 2011 09:12

Interior troops serviceman killed in attack in Dagestan


ROSTOV-ON-DON. March 28 (Interfax) - A contract serviceman of the Interior Troops has been killed in his home in the Kizlyar district of Dagestan, a district police spokesman told Interfax.

"Two unidentified men entered the courtyard of the house, where the serviceman lived with his family at about 1 a.m. on Monday. They asked him out of the house and opend rifle and pistol fire at him, killing him on the spot," he said.

Investigators found about 30 used cartridges from a Kalashnikov rifle at the scene. The killing was on the eve of the 200th anniversary of Russia's Interior Troops. An operation is on to hunt down the assailants.

Sd

Contract serviceman killed in Dagestan


28.03.2011, 09.09

MAKHACHKALA, March 28 (Itar-Tass) -- A contract serviceman of the Interior Troops of the Russian Interior Ministry was killed in Dagestan’s Kizlyar region.

According to the information of the Interior Ministry, “unidentified people shot a serviceman in the yard of his own house at about 23.45 Moscow time on Sunday. He died from bullet wounds on the spot.”

Thirty cartridge-cases of 7.62 mm calibre and nine cartridge-cases of 9 mm calibre were found at the site of the incident. According to the preliminary information, two criminals were involved in the attack. A search for them is being held. Criminal proceedings were instituted.

Police boost Moscow subway security ahead of bombing anniversary

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20110328/163242328.html

11:02 28/03/2011

Security has been stepped up on the Moscow rapid transit system ahead of the anniversary of the March 29, 2010, twin suicide bombings in which 40 people died.

A police spokesman said there has been increased police and security presence on the subway.

Police have been warned of a possible terror attack by two Islamist female suicide bombers on Tuesday and have their Photofits.

Chechen warlord Doku Umarov claimed responsibility for the suicide bombings on two Moscow subway stations on March 29 last year. He is also said to have ordered a deadly bomb attack on Moscow's Domodedovo International Airport in January of this year that claimed 37 lives.

MOSCOW, March 28 (RIA Novosti)

Vladimir Churov re-elected as CEC chairman

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=16093648

28.03.2011, 11.32

MOSCOW, March 28 (Itar-Tass) - Vladimir Churov, 58, has again been elected Chairman of the Russian Central Election Commission (CEC). A total of 14 of 15 members of the commission voted for him and one CEC member - against, CEC member Nina Kulyasova said.

Churov will occupy this post for a second term. He was for the first time elected CEC chairman on March 27, 2007. Then he got the support of 13 of 15 commission members. This time the term of CEC mandate has been extended from four to five years.

Moscow disctrict court secretary resigns


28.03.2011, 10.56

MOSCOW, March 28 (Itar-Tass) - Press secretary of Moscow's Khamovniki court Natalia Vasilyeva, who claimed pressure on a judge during the trial of the Yukos case, tended her resignation on Monday, which was accepted, chairman of the human rights organization AGORA Pavel Chikov told Itar-Tass.

AGORA represents Vasilyeva's interests.

"After a holiday, she wished to see the attitude toward her of the court's personnel, but she realized she would not be able to work with these people after her statement," Chikov said.

Russia's labor legislation provides for not working another two weeks after resignation, but sever labor relations upon the parties' consent on the day of writing the resignation statement.

In mid-February, Vasilyeva told a number of media outlets about violations during the trial of Khodorkovsky and Lebedev. She told them about the pressure on the court and that the verdict had been composed at the Moscow City Court and that the Khamovniki court's judge had never written it.

Danilkin said he had drawn the verdict personnel while adhering to all the norms of the law.

The Moscow City Court called Vasilyeva's statement "provocation."

The new Khamovniki court press secretary Milentina Kapustkina confirmed that Vasilyeva had resigned.

"Since Viktor Danilkin is on holiday, Vasilyeva handed in her voluntary resignation statement to his deputy; it was considered and granted," Kapustkina said.

Danilkin earlier said he would not seek criminal prosecution of Vasilyeva, although he believed that her statements were slanderous.

"I will not be seeking her criminal prosecution. She accused me of the commission of a serious crime, but before completion of the check into the legitimacy of the verdict I handed down, no measures against Vasilyeva will be taken," he told Tass.

He also denied any plans to fire Vasilyeva.

"I think she will find it hard to work in the collective after her statement; but her dismissal is not on the agenda. She may quit on her own or continue working," the judge said then.

On December 30, 2010, Moscow’s Khamovniki district court sentenced former YUKOS CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his business partner, head of the Menatep company Platon Lebedev, to 13.5 years in jail within the second criminal case, finding them guilty of oil theft and money laundering. The next day, their lawyers appealed the verdict.

In May 2005, Moscow's Meshchansky district court found Khodorkovsky and Lebedev guilty under several counts, including fraud and tax evasion and sentenced them to nine years in prison.

Later the Moscow City Court reduced the term to eight years.

The new sentence extends the jail term for Khodorkovsky and Lebedev until 2017.

PRESS DIGEST - Russia - Mar 28

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/28/press-digest-russia-mar-idUSLDE72R08K20110328

3:13am EDT

MOSCOW, Mar 28 (Reuters) - The following are some of the leading stories in Russia's newspapers on Monday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

KOMMERSANT

www.kommersant.ru

- Twenty seven percent of voters in the recent parliamentary elections believe that election results were doctored in favour of pro-Kremlin United Russia party, the daily cites an independent public opinion poll.

VEDOMOSTI

www.vedomosti.ru

- Key ministers and other state officials have to choose between meetings chaired by President Dmitry Medvedev or Prime Minister Vladimir Putin which often happen at the same time, the daily writes.

- The paper runs an interview with the chief executive of Ford Europe (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Stephen Odell, who says that sales at the Russian car market may reach 4-5 million cars in 2016 from 2.1-2.4 million in 2011

- The paper runs an interview with CEO of AvtoVAZ (AVAZ.MM: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Igor Komarov.

NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA

www.ng.ru

- Almost 3,000 people protested last Saturday in the mostly Muslim Russian region of Tatarstan against plans to introduce fees for sport fishing, the daily says.

IZVESTIA

www.izvestia.ru

- Prices for all cars, except the Chinese-made, will grow due to the disaster in Japan, the daily writes citing experts.

ROSSIISKAYA GAZETA

www.rg.ru

- Russia's population shrunk 2.2 million in 2010 compared to 2002, which is 1.6 percent, the paper cites preliminary census results.

Russian Press at a Glance, Monday, March 28, 2011

http://en.rian.ru/papers/20110328/163241454.html

09:34 28/03/2011

POLITICS

President Dmitry Medvedev has urged U.S. President Barack Obama to help prevent civilian deaths in Libya, as Russia's NATO envoy warned that the U.S.-led military alliance could be dragged into a full-scale war.

(Moscow Times)

Officials from the Kremlin and Russia's White House have long split into those who support Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev. Are there real contradictions between Putin and Medvedev?

(Vedomosti)

The European Commission will tightly control nuclear reactors even beyond its territory, for example in Russia, Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said last week.

(Nezavisimaya Gazeta)

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

Cracks have begun to appear in a $16-billion tie-up between Rosneft and BP following a court decision blocking the deal.

(Moscow Times)

Moscow City Hall is establishing its own land operator.

(Kommersant)

The Audit Chamber disliked the Bank of Moscow's credit policy.

(Vedomosti)

Japan's disaster could cut the world car production by 30%.

(Vedomosti)

SOCIETY

Hazing in the military rose more than 16% last year, with ethnic tensions increasing, the chief military prosecutor said.

(Moscow Times)

Efforts to overcome the earthquake and tsunami in Japan could become an impetus for the country's residents for a powerful economic breakthrough.

(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)

SPACE

Israel and Russia have agreed to increase cooperation on space research and exploration.

(Moscow Times)

NUCLEAR

Small amounts of radioactive material from Japan's crippled Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant have reached North America. Russian experts say there are no reasons for panic for the United States or Europe.

(Kommersant)

Russian Site Smokes Out Corruption

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/28/business/global/28investor.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1&ref=global-home

By ANDREW E. KRAMERPublished: March 27, 2011

MOSCOW — Before the Internet, a Russian dissident might have hoped to reach dozens of sympathetic readers with a mimeographed samizdat publication of forbidden material.

But in today’s Russia, Aleksei N. Navalny has managed to attract a vast audience with his Web site for investors, Navalny.ru, even as he takes on big state-owned energy companies in his crusade against graft, kickbacks and bribery.

A 34-year-old real estate lawyer by training, Mr. Navalny can reach as many as a million unique visitors in a day with his digital samizdat, as happened last fall with his scoop about embezzlement at Transneft, a state-run pipeline company.

That scheme, presented as a cautionary tale for those tempted to invest in Russian energy stocks, described executives setting up a series of shell companies to pose as contractors for Transneft’s project to build a 3,000-mile pipeline to China. One shell, for example, was registered in the name of a Siberian man who had lost his passport, according to the Nalvany report.

The post included an audit indicating that the contracting fraud had cost Transneft $4 billion. Both Transneft and the government accounting office, whose documents Mr. Navalny said he leaked on his site, have denied the corruption claim.

But Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin took the posting seriously enough to ask for an investigation, which is still pending.

Mr. Navalny, whose fame and unabashed political ambitions are surely helped by his blue-eyed good looks and acidic sense of humor, has clearly touched a nerve in Russian society. His blog appeals to Russians who wonder: if the country’s vast oil wealth is not trickling down to the public, where is it going?

“I do this because I hate these people,” Mr. Navalny said gleefully of his Web postings, which take aim at those he describes as the self-dealing managers in the oil and natural gas business.

Within Russia, Mr. Navalny’s celebrity “is growing almost as quickly as that of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange,” Nikolai Petrov, a fellow at the Carnegie Moscow Center, a political affairs research group, wrote in December. Mr. Petrov wrote that Mr. Navalny “represents a new generation of political activists, one who sees the system’s vulnerabilities and targets his blows accordingly.”

A former activist in a liberal political party, Yabloko, Mr. Navalny says he will eventually run for public office. He now calls himself an advocate of the rights of members of the Russian middle class — people who have invested in the stock market and who he says are losing money to corruption and mismanagement.

Stock ownership here is tiny by the standards of the United States. Russians have opened 726,000 brokerage accounts, representing about 0.5 percent of the population.

But that number, and Mr. Navalny’s likely audience, is growing about 12 percent a month, according to Troika Dialog, a Moscow investment bank. Just as Americans seethed at wealthy bankers after the housing bubble burst, he said, Russians have started chafing at state company mismanagement during the oil boom.

“They see that Gazprom does not pay a dividend,” he said, “but the company parking lot is full of Mercedes-Benz cars.”

While potentially valuable to the owners of stocks and mutual funds, Mr. Navalny’s disclosures are not winning him friends in the executive suites of the country’s big energy companies.

The chief executive of Transneft, Nikolai Tokarev, a veteran of the Soviet K.G.B., has suggested that Mr. Navalny is a shill for the Central Intelligence Agency, ordered to smear the reputations of important Russian companies.

Nothing has followed from these charges so far. Mr. Navalny, though, became so unnerved that he gave his wife a list of phone numbers to call if he disappeared — other lawyers, journalists and opposition politicians.

“They could arrest me at any moment,” Mr. Navalny explained.

Indeed, after the Transneft documents were published, the government opened a criminal investigation against Mr. Navalny. It nominally has nothing to do with his Transneft disclosures. Instead, it involves his supposedly giving bad investment advice to a regional government several years ago, when he worked as an adviser to a local governor. That investigation, too, is still pending.

After the pipeline audit leak, men who identified themselves as security agents contacted clients of Mr. Navalny’s law practice, warning them against doing business with him, Mr. Navalny said.

Mr. Navalny has held down his day job as a real estate lawyer alongside his prolific online writing. He got his start in 2007 by suing Russian companies to force disclosure of accounting documents, using his standing as a minority stockholder owning a few shares. He would then publish the disclosures on a LiveJournal blog, eventually building up a following. He started Navalny.ru last year.

He has fans among Moscow financial analysts and bankers, in particular.

“I’ve been very successful, and I’m grateful,” said one Moscow banker, who asked to be identified only by his first name, Vladimir, given the controversy around Mr. Navalny. “Now I’d like to make this country a better place.” The banker said he discreetly volunteered to help Mr. Navalny analyze financial documents.

The Transneft controversy has only heightened interest in Mr. Navalny’s blog. He has since branched out from shareholder activism, creating RosPil.info, a new Web site about corruption in the government procurement process. It posts documents about state tenders and asks for public input on matters like the fairness of the prices or the deadlines.

It is a pioneering experiment in crowd-sourcing what had traditionally been investigative journalism, in a country where that type of journalism is repressed. The site is financed with online donations, using a Russian analogue to PayPal.

“I’m not just saying, ‘Here are the corrupt bureaucrats,’ ” Mr. Navalny said. “I offer solutions.”

Like Navalny.ru, RosPil.info makes for dense reading, but its popularity suggests a groundswell of of public anger.

“The middle class hates corruption,” Mr. Navalny said. “If you tell a grandmother in a village the state oil company stole $1 billion, she won’t understand. But somebody who owns stock in that company certainly will.”

The new site’s name means Russian Saw. It features an image of the fierce-looking two headed Russian eagle — the state symbol — absurdly grasping two carpenter saws in its talons.

Why saws? Russian slang for taking a kickback is to “saw off” a piece of the contract. Mr. Navalny has helped make the saw a symbol of this discontent — a twist on the peasant mob’s pitchfork, for a contemporary Russian audience.

The site explains why Russians should volunteer their time to read the tender documents: “Because pensioners, doctors and teachers are on the edge of survival, while scoundrels in power buy another villa, yacht or the devil knows what.”

28 March 2011 Last updated at 04:06 GMT

The secrets of Anna Chapman

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12876927

Ms Chapman is coy about the accusations she spied on the United States

Russia's Anna Chapman captured the media world's attention last year when she was deported from the US, accused of being a spy. The BBC's Moscow correspondent Steve Rosenberg investigates "Russia's most glamorous secret agent".

On the 35th floor of a Moscow skyscraper, an office is filling with smoke.

Suddenly I hear the click-click-click of high heels on parquet floor. And through the mist walks redhead Anna Chapman in a stunning blue dress.

She doesn't seem in any hurry to evacuate the building.

That's because the smoke is being pumped into the room by a machine to make her look special.

Russia's most glamorous secret agent is here to record her weekly TV show. Judging from the scripted lines she's speaking to camera, it's clearly not light entertainment.

"Why are some people marked by death, and others escape it?"

Cut.

"More than a million Russians die every year. Nearly 40,000 in road accidents."

Cut.

"This woman returned from Egypt a cripple. A shark ripped off her arm."

Cut.

Unsolved mysteries

Anna Chapman's show is called Secrets of the World. Each week on the Russian channel Ren TV, she sets about explaining the mysteries of our planet.

"The programme's for everyone," Anna says in a break. "Everyone is interested in mysteries, because they are secrets, they are unsolved."

She is less keen, however, to talk about her own secrets. I ask Anna Chapman if she really had been a spy.

"I will never deny and I will never confirm the fact," she replies coldly.

“Start Quote

All I'm going to say is I'm interested in helping other people - that's all”

End Quote Anna Chapman

The Americans had no such doubts on the matter.

Eight months ago, Anna Chapman was one of 10 alleged Russian sleeper agents deported from the United States.

At Vienna airport the agents were exchanged for four people the Russians claimed had been spying for the West.

It was the biggest spy swap since the Cold War. Back in Russia, Ms Chapman and her fellow deportees received medals from President Dmitry Medvedev and heaps of praise from Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Most secret agents, once uncovered, arrested and deported, normally adopt a low profile back home. Not Anna Chapman.

Since returning to Russia, she's hardly been out of the headlines.

ALhough I haven't confirmed this fact, she is surely the first Russian spy to have done a photo shoot for a men's magazine wearing very little and brandishing a pistol.

As well as being a model, Ms Chapman has also been an investment adviser for a bank, a charity worker and a campaigner for high-speed internet.

She's also been elected one of the leaders of the youth wing of Mr Putin's political party.

There are rumours she may even run for parliament this autumn. I ask Ms Chapman if that's true.

"All I'm going to say is I'm interested in helping other people," she replies. "That's all."

It's another secret she is keeping well away from the cameras.

3D dreams

Anna Chapman rarely gives interviews, although last December a Russian TV show declared her Woman of the Year and devoted an hour of airtime to her.

In a programme resembling This is Your Life, Ms Chapman sat on a settee as a stream of figures from her past appeared on stage.

Among them, Yegor from Volgograd - her old boyfriend from school. The audience applauded as he gave her a peck on the cheek and a bunch of flowers.

One person who wasn't there was the man Anna married when she was living in England: Alex Chapman. They divorced after four years of marriage.

Now Anna hosts her own TV show. And she's got more plans in the world of television.

"I'm planning to launch a 3D production company here in Russia," she says. "We have the Winter Olympics and other interesting events coming up that I could cover. I'm going to launch a 3D pilot project soon."

After an hour's recording on the set of her programme, Anna Chapman is flagging.

"To be honest, I wouldn't mind something to eat now," she says to the director.

It shows that, although Ms Chapman is a woman of mystery, she is only human.

She is also charming, at times giggly and clearly keen to perfect her TV skills.

But there is a steely side, too, to Anna Chapman, a determination not to let down her guard.

She is unlikely to reveal her own secrets any time soon.

March 26, 2011, 8:15 pm

N.H.L. Puts Freeze on Games in Russia

http://slapshot.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/26/n-h-l-puts-freeze-on-games-in-russia/

By JEFF Z. KLEIN and STU HACKEL

The Rangers and the Washington Capitals will not open the 2011-12 N.H.L. season in Russia, nor will any N.H.L. clubs play Kontinental Hockey League clubs in exhibition games in Russia next fall.

Talks between the N.H.L. and K.H.L. broke off last week, scuttling both plans. The leagues could not agree on financial guarantees and gate percentages.

According to Bill Daly, the N.H.L. deputy commissioner, a key reason for the lack of agreement on exhibition games was the contentious game between SKA St. Petersburg and the Carolina Hurricanes last October.

SKA won, 5-3, but the Hurricanes did not allow their captain and star, Eric Staal, off the bench for the last 25 minutes because, Coach Paul Maurice said, SKA body checkers “were getting awfully close to his knees.”

Asked Friday if the deal fell through because of what happened on or off the ice in St. Petersburg, Daly replied, “The former.”

There were several short tussles and one fight in that game, the first an N.H.L. club played on Russian ice in 20 years. Carolina’s Joni Pitkanen was ejected with a spearing major.

But English language reports and the Hurricanes focused on what they saw as low-bridge hits on Staal.

In New York last January, the K.H.L. president, Alexander Medvedev, met with Rangers General Manager Glen Sather and Ken Yaffe, the N.H.L. senior vice president for international affairs, in an effort to set up games involving the Rangers and Alex Ovechkin’s Capitals in various cities in Russia, Ovechkin’s home country. Last week, Medvedev said the loss of the games would hurt the N.H.L.

“I’m 100 percent sure that they are losing not only the possibility to get money, but the possibility to expand interest for their own game through this competition with the K.H.L,” Medvedev said.

National Economic Trends

Ruble Yields Tumble to Record as Bank Holds Rate: Russia Credit

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-28/east-europe-day-ahead-serbia-may-cancel-telekom-srbija-sale.html

By Balazs Penz - Mar 28, 2011 8:20 AM GMT+0200

Ruble bonds are rallying, pushing yields to the lowest level on record as the central bank’s decision to keep interest rates at a quarter of a percentage point above an all-time low spurs demand for Russian debt.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Balazs Penz in Budapest at [email protected]

Russian population dwindles since 2002 - statistics

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20110328/163240193.html

06:40 28/03/2011

Russia's population has dwindled by 2.2 million people since 2002 to 142,905,200 people, the Rossiiskaya Gazeta government daily reported on Monday citing preliminary results of last year's nationwide census.

The all-Russia census, the second since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, was held between October 14 and 25, 2010.

The preliminary data, made available to the newspaper by the Russian Statistics Service, show that the Central, Volga and Siberian federal districts are the most populated, with over 61% of the country's residents living there.

Compared to the 2002 census, the population number shrank in 63 and went up in 20 Russian regions.

Russia remains a highly urbanized country: the share of urban population grew to 73.7% from 73.3% back in 2002.

The share of men dropped to 46.3% from 46.6%, and the share of women rose to 53.7% from 53.4%.

The final results of the census will be published in 2011-2013.

MOSCOW, March 28 (RIA Novosti)

Government approves development strategy for banking sector


Bank of FinlandMarch 25, 2011

The strategy laid out by the government and central bank extends through 2015 and follows up earlier strategy documents released in 2001 and 2005.

The new strate

russia - wikileaks · web viewrussia 110328 basic political developments russia open for talks with...

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