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Russia 091123Basic Political Developments

Prime-Tass: Federation Council Speaker Sergei Mironov to start visit to North Korea, until Nov 25

Yonhap: Russian parliamentary speaker to visit N. Korea: report

Prime-Tass: Nov 2627: Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to visit France

Prime-Tass: Nov 27: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to take part in Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) summit

Prime-Tass: Nov 27: Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Sobyanin to take part in Russia-Thailand intergovernmental commission in Bangkok

Xinhua: DM: Iran pursues delivery of S-300 missiles from Russia- Iran's Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said Sunday that the country is still pursuing Russia's commitment on delivering S-300 anti-aircraft missiles, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported.

Inerfax: Tymoshenko says Russian gas price for Ukraine in 2010 won't change much - "I am confident that the gas price for Ukraine in 2010 will be virtually the same as in 2009," she said in an exclusive interview with the ICTV channel on Sunday.

APA.az: Chief of Russian presidential administration Sergei Narishkin arrives in Baku

Aysor.am: CIS Informational Council to sit in session in Minsk

Itar-Tass: CIS Information Council to prepare for 65th victory anniversary

The Moscow Times: Medvedev Reprimands United Russia - By Nikolaus von Twickel

FT.com: Medvedev ire puts party consensus in focus - By Charles Clover in Moscow

The Moscow Times: Putin Thanks Party, Sets Priorities for 2010 - By Irina Filatova

Politics.hu: Orbn meets Putin at congress of Russia's ruling party in St. Petersburg

Saigon: CPV seeks enhanced ties with United Russia party

Russia Today: Next EU-Russia summits will take place according to the new rules - President Medvedevs Press Attache Natalia Timakovas RT interview

The Moscow Times: KamAZ Head Named As AvtoVAZ Director

The Moscow Times: GM Russia Plant Fires Head of Union

WND.com: Aaron Klein to debate pro-Iran commentator - Program airs live on globally broadcast Russian television - WND Jerusalem bureau chief Aaron Klein will debate a commentator from Iran today live on Russia's all-news network.

Itar-Tass: First ever road connecting Russias west to east to be ready in 2010 Ivanov

Xinhua: First Russian brigade with Iskander missiles to be formed in 2010

Itar-Tass: French helicopter carrier to call in St Petersburg

AP: French ship Russia wants docks in St.Petersburg

RIA: Russian submarine towed to port after engine malfunction

RIA: Launch of Proton rocket carrying European satellite delayed

RIA: Russia set to launch Eutelsat satellite from Baikonur

Itar-Tass: French telecom satellite to be launched from Baikonur space center

Axisglobe: Russian security services already preparing to defend Kremlin against "extremists"

Interfax: Patriarch Kirill plans to visit Ukraine next summer

Itar-Tass: Patriarch Kirill to attend funeral of priest killed last Thursday

RFERL: Patriarch Kirill To Take Part In Funeral For Slain Priest

The Moscow Times: Controversial Priest Gunned Down in Church

Itar-Tass: Over 40 people trapped in snow on Chechen-Dagestani road

RIA: Suspected militant killed in Chechnya

The Moscow Times: Militant Killed in Dagestan

Reuters: FACTBOX-Five facts on Ingush president Yevkurov

Reuters: FACTBOX-Key facts about Russia's region of Ingushetia

Reuters: RPT-INTERVIEW-Ingushetia boss admits corruption fuels rebellion

The other Russia: Letter to Medvedev: Stop this Mad Conveyor of Death - The brother of a murdered Chechen rebel has appealed to Russian President Dmitri Medvedev for help and protection in an open letter published by the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper, reports Gazeta.ru on November 19.

The Moscow Times: 2010 Work Permit Cuts Planned - The Federal Migration Service said Friday that it would cut the number of job permits available to foreigners next year to just less than 2 million people, down from an initial 3.8 million at the start of 2009, after the economic crisis severely cut demand for foreign labor.

The Moscow Times: A Strong Nation of Lawyers - Last month, the president gave lawyers a special boost, signing an executive order to create an annual Lawyer of the Year prize. It will be awarded on the legal professions national day, Dec. 3.

The Moscow Times: The Promising Continent - By Ruben Vardanian: Last month I visited the 13th Africa Forum in Cape Town, organized by Troika Dialogs strategic partner Standard Bank. Talking with delegates, I was struck once again by the sheer scale of opportunity that exists in Africa for Russian business, just as Russia becomes an increasingly attractive market for African products.

Russia Today: Litvinenko case unsolved three years on

BBC: Russia 'is now a criminal state' - Bill Browder of Hermitage Capital was reacting to the news that his lawyer had died in prison in Russia after being held for a year without charge

The Washington Times: Corruption drags down Russian economy

LA Times: Hungary zigzags when it comes to Russia - Some in the former Soviet satellite now part of NATO and the EU warn that Moscow is intent on reasserting influence, but others see Russia as a useful investor and lucrative market.

Newsweek: How Medvedev plans to reform the militaryand why Obama should not be worried.

Chel.kp.ru: The killer who shot the head of FOMC Chelyabinsk region, had an accomplice

National Economic Trends

EasyBourse: Putin Raises 2009 Inflation Forecast To 9.6% From 8%

Russia Today: Putins United Russia address puts economy in focus

Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions

Reuters: REFILE-Russian markets -- Factors to Watch on Nov 23

Stock Markets Review: Russian stock market daily morning report (November 23, 2009, Monday)

Bloomberg: PIK, Gazprom, AvtoVAZ, MTS, RusHydro: Russian Equity Preview

Atomenergoprom intends to place the bonds

Reuters: Deripaska seen buying back Strabag stake paper

The Moscow Times: Sberbank, VTB May Face Large Loan Losses

Reuters: Russia chief says Renault won't up Avtovaz stake now

RBC: MTS secures long-term loan from foreign banks

RIA: Chetra to present tractor equipment in India

Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)

iStockAnalyst: South Kurils Shelf Rich in Oil, Gas Scientists

Gazprom

Steel Guru: Gazprom and Inter RAO to swap electricity assets

The Moscow Times: Gazprom May Double Stake in Germanys VNG

AFP: Schalke's relief at sponsorship extension - Schalke 04 have signed a five-year extension to their sponsorship deal with Russian firm Gazprom worth 100 million euros which looks to have eased the German club's cash problems, it was reported Saturday.

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Full Text ArticlesBasic Political Developments

Prime-Tass: Federation Council Speaker Sergei Mironov to start visit to North Korea, until Nov 25

http://www.prime-tass.com/news/show.asp?topicid=0&id=468550

Yonhap: Russian parliamentary speaker to visit N. Korea: report

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/northkorea/2009/11/22/26/0401000000AEN20091122000200315F.HTML

SEOUL, Nov. 22 (Yonhap) -- Sergei Mironov, chairman of the Federation Council of Russia, was set to visit North Korea in the near future, the North's state media reported Sunday.

The speaker of the upper house of the Russian parliament will "soon visit" North Korea at the invitation of the North's Supreme People's Assembly, said a brief dispatch from the North's Korea Central News Agency, monitored in Seoul.

The report did not specify when the Russian politician will make the trip or who he was set to meet during his stay in the North.

Prime-Tass: Nov 2627: Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to visit France


Prime-Tass: Nov 27: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to take part in Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) summit


Prime-Tass: Nov 27: Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Sobyanin to take part in Russia-Thailand intergovernmental commission in Bangkok


Xinhua: DM: Iran pursues delivery of S-300 missiles from Russia

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-11/22/content_12521640.htm

TEHRAN, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said Sunday that the country is still pursuing Russia's commitment on delivering S-300 anti-aircraft missiles, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported.

Vahidi had said earlier on Tuesday that there was no official news over the cancellation of delivery from Russia of S-300 missiles.

The S-300 anti-aircraft missile system, which is to be delivered to Iran according to a 2007 agreement, was developed as a system against aircraft and cruise missiles for Soviet Union's anti-air defense branch, but later variations were also developed to intercept ballistic missiles.

Russia has said that technical causes were the main reason for the delay in delivery, according to earlier reports of the official IRNA news agency.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Vahidi referred to the presence of NATO and U.S. troops in the region, saying that "lasting security will become a reality when cross-regional troops withdraw and do not interfere in domestic issues of other countries."

"We believe that regional security is closely related to collective security of regional states," ISNA quoted him as saying.

Inerfax: Tymoshenko says Russian gas price for Ukraine in 2010 won't change much

http://www.interfax.com.ua/eng/main/25745

23.11.2009

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko forecasts that the average yearly price of Russian natural gas in 2010 for Ukraine will be almost the same as in 2009.

"I am confident that the gas price for Ukraine in 2010 will be virtually the same as in 2009," she said in an exclusive interview with the ICTV channel on Sunday.

Taking into account the current international situation, we can predict that the Russian gas transit through Ukraine's territory in 2010 will be charged 60% more than in the previous year, she said.

"That is why I want to calm industrialists, and all consumers of the natural gas. This is how we view the next year," Tymoshenko added.

APA.az: Chief of Russian presidential administration Sergei Narishkin arrives in Baku

http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=111471

23 Nov 2009 11:19] Baku. Lachin Sultanova APA. Chief of the Russian presidential administration Sergei Narishkin arrived in Baku on Monday for a short-term visit.

He will attend the opening of Russkaya Kniga book store and branch of Vneshtorgbank of Russia in Baku, APA reports. Narishkin will present Medal of Honor to the chairman of the Caucasian Muslims Office Sheikh-al-Islam Allahshukur Pashazadeh. Narishkin is expected to be received by President Ilham Aliyev.

Aysor.am: CIS Informational Council to sit in session in Minsk

http://www.aysor.am/en/news/2009/11/23/cis-belorussia/

Today CIS Informational Council will sit in session in Minsk to hold its 10th meeting on planning of celebrations in connection with 65th anniversary of Victory Day.

CIS Informational Council is chaired by Director General of ITAR-TASS, Vitaly Ignatenko, and involves state agencies of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, and Tajikistan.

Celebrations Plan includes, in particular, issue of publishing of a commemorative calendar, as well as holding of a joint Internet project, and launching of a special photo contest. Participants will also discuss celebrations on 2010 Veteran Year announced to be marked in CIS countries. Media will pay particular attention to covering war history to prevent weaken of significance of the Victory as some politicians try to. The participants will also focus on item of training courses for journalists which led to necessity to cooperate with universities, as well as on item of creating of a new joint informational product.

Itar-Tass: CIS Information Council to prepare for 65th victory anniversary

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=14559134&PageNum=0

23.11.2009,11.50

MINSK, November 23 (Itar-Tass) -- The Tenth meeting of the Council of Heads of State of Information Agencies of CIS Member Countries (CIS Information Council) opens here on Monday to discuss joint preparations for the celebration of the 65th anniversary of the Victory in the Second World War.

The plan of preparing the celebration of the remarkable date in the history of the peoples of the Commonwealth includes, among other measures, the publication of a commemorative calendar, the holding of a photography competition in the CIS countries and a joint Internet project. The Information Council will also consider functions to devote to the World War II Veterans Year to be observed in 2010. Special attention will be given to the responsibility of the mass media to war veterans and their descendants for true presentation of the history of the fight against fascism and for exposing attempts of certain politicians to play down the importance of the Victory and whitewash accomplices of the Nazis.

The meeting will also discuss the training of journalists for news agencies and possibilities of interacting in this area with the leading educational establishments of the CIS countries. It will also discuss prospects for development of cooperation in a joint information project.

The CIS Information Council comprises the news agencies of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, and Tajikistan. Vitaly Ignatenko, Itar-Tass Director-General, is the head of the Council.

The Moscow Times: Medvedev Reprimands United Russia

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/medvedev-reprimands-united-russia/390148.html

23 November 2009

By Nikolaus von Twickel

United Russia got a new program, membership of the countrys most prominent female politician and broad praise from its leaders at the partys 11th congress this weekend. And it got a dressing down from the president.

The party, which dominates Russian politics and counts Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as its chairman, replaced the long-standing cornerstone of its policy, known as Putins Plan, with the less personalized Russian Conservatism.

But the platform of socially oriented conservatism United Russias first ideologically coherent program since its creation a decade ago appears to run counter to Dmitry Medvedevs stated desire to modernize the countrys economy and political system.

Those contradictions appeared on full display Saturday, when Medvedev subjected United Russia to his strongest criticism yet, indirectly accusing the party of election manipulation and broadly painting its members as bureaucrats intent on keeping power.

The speech was Medvedevs second major one this month. In his Nov. 13 state-of-the-nation address, he set out a broad path for the countrys modernization, primarily in the economy. In St. Petersburg, Medvedev followed up on his calls for political modernization, saying United Russia needs to step up and reform itself and put a halt to administrative excesses within.

United Russia can only achieve change if it changes itself I believe that is obvious, he told the more than 600 delegates and 2,000 guests.

In his clearest reference yet to the massive allegations of fraud in last months regional elections, Medvedev said the party must learn to win fairly.

The party must learn to win, in fact we all need to learn how to win in an open contest, he said.

The opposition cried foul after the Oct. 11 elections brought massive gains for United Russia, and in a step unprecedented this decade, the Dumas three opposition parties boycotted the lower house of parliament for several days.

But the protests soon collapsed and party leaders expressed satisfaction after Medvedev promised election law reforms in his state of the nation, which critics called window dressing.

Medvedev suggested that the misconduct came from regions where party officials were confusing democratic procedures with administrative ones.

Sadly, some regional divisions of United Russia show signs of backwardness and concentrate their political activity on intrigues and games within the apparatus, he said. He demanded that those responsible be fired, saying such people need to go, as do some other political customs.

He also suggested that party officials needed a lesson in democracy, arguing that democracy does not exist for the party be it the governing or opposition. It exists for the people.

Renewing his warning that United Russias position as the ruling party was not a lifetime privilege, Medvedev directed party officials to not lose touch with voters.

United Russia controls a large enough majority in the Duma to change the Constitution, and it also controls most of the countrys regional assemblies and the Federation Council, the upper house of parliament.

Putin, who is not a party member, despite being party chairman, used his speech to focus on the partys role in formulating economic policy. He did, however, warn members against seeing the party as an elite, prestige club for furthering careers rather than the publics interests.

The remarks were reminiscent of what he told party delegates last year: that United Russia should be debureaucratized and cleansed of unqualified people pursuing selfish goals.

Medvedev has also refused to join the party, saying the president should not pledge allegiance to any party, and he has had a noticeably smaller role in its decision making than Putin, who has also refrained from officially joining.

While speaking at the convention, Medvedev addressed delegates as dear colleagues but made it clear that he was an outsider by using you instead of we when he referred to the party.

St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko said Saturday that she officially joined the party and its Supreme Council six years after being elected as an independent governor.

In this case, I did the honest thing. I legally declared my feelings about the party, with which I, as governor, have long had a constructive relationship, she said in a statement released by her press office. She stressed that she only declined to join earlier because of her election as an independent, and that she never saw the party as an elite club.

State Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov, who heads United Russias Supreme Council, proudly told delegates that the party was the unifying force for all branches of government.

He lashed out at those who call United Russia a party of bureaucrats, arguing that while it had respect for members working in state agencies, that was not its defining principle.

What unites our 2 million members is not proximity to the state but common values and a common ideology, he said.

Gryzlov said the new program contained elements both from Putins Plan and from Medvedevs Go, Russia! article, published in September, and his state-of-the-nation speech. We are shaping the new, while keeping the best, he said, referring to United Russias formulation of conservatism.

Sergei Markov, a United Russia Duma deputy and Kremlin-connected analyst, said that while Medvedevs criticism was justified, it would be wrong to take it as proof of a rift between the president, the party and Putin.

Yes, he said those things, and I fully agree with him, but he also made it clear that hes siding with the party when he praised its support for the Kremlin anti-crisis program, Markov said Sunday.

He admitted that there was potential for conflict between Medvedev and Putin and United Russia, but that the St. Petersburg convention had shown that the party agreed with both.

Markov compared Medvedevs criticism to an argument between husband and wife. If you criticize your spouse, you do not do that to leave her but to improve your marriage, he said.

Oleg Shein, a Duma deputy for the Just Russia party, said there was a real danger that United Russia was becoming too powerful. Today the party has effectively as much influence as the Kremlin, he told The Moscow Times.

As an example, he named a new rule for nominating governors, introduced by Medvedev. The system gives the biggest local party, invariably United Russia, the right to put forward a list of candidates to the president.

Important personnel decisions are now made in Banny Pereulok, he said, referring to the partys headquarters. This is a very dangerous trend toward party dictatorship.

Shein, who lost a bid to become mayor of Astrakhan in the October elections, argued that the strongest opposition to Medvedevs modernization campaign came from the conservative bureaucracy, which is heavily represented in United Russia, especially on a regional level.

FT.com: Medvedev ire puts party consensus in focus

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/185bcdf0-d6ad-11de-8647-00144feabdc0.html

By Charles Clover in Moscow

Published: November 21 2009 15:35 | Last updated: November 22 2009 19:42

The annual congress of the ruling United Russia party is usually a predictable affair, full of self-congratulations and long-winded speeches punctuated by polite clapping.

This years congress, held in St Petersburg on Saturday, was no less polite and carefully staged but the smiles seemed unusually forced after blistering criticism by Dmitry Medvedev, the president, scolding Russias hegemonic party for its authoritarian ways and bad political habits.

Speaking after the congress, analysts said the event demonstrated the lack of a consensus within Russias political elite, which the party is supposed to represent: Our political class is not ready for modernisation, does not want it and look at it as a campaign which will go away. But it will not go away, hence we will be facing a conflict, said Gleb Pavlovsky, a top political consultant who has worked for several presidential administrations.

United Russia dominates Russias political system, controlling parliament and virtually all provincial and local elected governments. It is known informally as the party of bureaucrats which has no real ideology other than preservation of political power and the status quo.

Mr Pavlovsky said three speeches by three figures: Mr Medvedev, Vladimir Putin, the prime minister, and Boris Gryzlov, the parliamentary speaker, contained very little in common.

They didnt correlate well, as Mr Pavlovsky put it. For example, Mr Medvedev made modernisation the core focus of his speech, scolding the party for being backwards, while Mr Gryzlov somewhat incongruously introduced the partys new ideology of Russian conservatism which in a later TV interview he insisted was fully in line with Mr Medvedevs modernising manifesto entitled Forward Russia!.

Mr Gryzlov told Vesti-24 television channel: It means we shall go forward with Russian conservatism.

Mr Medvedevs speech contained some of the most direct criticism yet of Russias authoritarian political system, taking United Russia to task for iron-fisted tactics it routinely uses to win elections. Unfortunately some regional departments of United Russia and other parties ... show signs of backwardness, reducing political activity to bureaucratic intrigues, to games, he said.

Elections, which are supposed to be the expression of the national will, the competition of ideas and programmes, as a result sometimes turn into stories where democratic procedures are confused with administrative ones. It is necessary to get rid of such people, as well as of such bad political habits.

Local elections across Russia last month were widely criticised for dirty campaign practices, which kept opposition parties from being represented and sparked a brief walkout by opposition deputies from Russias parliament.

Mr Putin, who is chairman of United Russia in addition to being prime minister, took scant notice of Mr Medvedevs remarks and announced measures to widen anti-crisis aid to the economy.

Old friends from St Petersburg, Mr Putin handpicked Mr Medvedev as his successor last year, after serving his limit of two presidential terms, and their relationship appears cordial.

But recently, Mr Medvedev appears to want to establish a separate political identity as a liberal, and his public political positions seem increasingly at odds with those of the authoritarian Mr Putin. The prime minister is widely expected to return to the presidency in 2012, though Mr Medvedev clearly wants a second presidential term himself, according to Kremlin insiders.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. You may share using our article tools. Please don't cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.

The Moscow Times: Putin Thanks Party, Sets Priorities for 2010

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/putin-thanks-party-sets-priorities-for-2010/390149.html

23 November 2009

By Irina Filatova

Minister Vladimir Putin addressed United Russias 11th party congress Saturday in St. Petersburg, where he congratulated his government for averting economic disaster and rehashed a set of policy ideas for the coming year.

Putin offered mild praise to the governing party, which had just met with a harsh rebuke from President Dmitry Medvedev, and promoted government programs in his first major domestic policy speech since the presidents state-of-the-nation address.

Russias economy is showing the first signs of recovery. However, its too early to speak about the end of the crisis. There are serious hurdles in a number of industries, Putin said in comments posted on the government web site.

The prime minister outlined a range of policy areas where he said the government would focus next year, including: modernizing strategically important companies, developing the countrys high-tech sector, stimulating housing construction, boosting domestic demand and dealing with unemployment, especially in single-industry towns.

Putin pointed to the struggling automotive industry as one where the government has a particularly urgent role to play, singling out AvtoVAZ, the countrys biggest carmaker, for support. (Story, Page 6.)

Car production has contracted by 60 percent. Thats why anti-crisis measures in this industry should be not only preserved but also increased, he said.

Putin pledged to launch a controversial cash-for-clunkers program, in which the government would give 50,000 rubles ($1,274) to car owners who trade in cars more 10 years old for newer, domestically made vehicles.

He also proposed a pilot program to develop single-industry towns, which would start in AvtoVAZs hometown, Tolyatti.

Were talking about new infrastructure, roads, modern production facilities, techno-parks and business incubators, he said.

Modernizing Russias economy and industrial base has been a goal pushed hard by Medvedev, who emphasized the topic again in his speech to United Russia.

He said United Russia would preserve its dominance in Russias political system only if it could help modernize the countrys economy.

United Russia will be able to preserve its dominating position in the political system under the only condition, if it is able not only to stabilize the situation in the country but also modernize the economy thats the main task today, he said.

Putin referred back to Medvedevs state-of-the-nation address, saying Medvedevs calls for modernization reflect the mood of the entire Russian society.

Today, a very difficult goal stands before us, but one that can absolutely be realized and fulfilled, he said.

As evidence of the success of his governments policies, Putin pointed to a less-than-expected decline in gross domestic product and lowered inflation.

The decline in GDP by the end of the year will not be as big as we thought. Our calculation was at 10 percent or maybe even more, he said, adding that Russias economy would return to the precrisis level not earlier than in two to three years.

The government is now projecting an 8 percent to 8.5 percent drop for the year.

Putin also said the inflation rate would fall substantially from 13.3 percent in 2008 to 9.6 percent in 2009, which was one of the lowest indicators since 1992.

Nevertheless, 9 percent, not to mention 10 percent, is intolerably high and the government will continue implementing its anti-inflation program, he said.

Putin also called for the extension of several government programs, some because they had been successful and others because they hadnt worked out yet.

The governments 300 billion ruble ($10.3 billion) program for loan guarantees has not been effective enough and must be corrected, he said. He vowed that the state guarantees program would be implemented in full by the end of 2009 as planned initially. Well continue this program in 2010. Enterprises will be able to raise more than 500 billion rubles in loans, he said.

Critics have knocked the program of state guarantees, saying the bureaucratic hoops that banks and other enterprises had to jump through in order to qualify made them all but unattainable.

Putin also pushed a new mortgage program announced last week. The government plans to use 250 billion rubles from the Pension Fund to buy mortgage bonds, with the aim of pushing down interest rates on mortgages.

In order for mortgages to become cheaper, rates should fall to 10 to 11 percent, he said. We have two sources for that purpose the National Welfare Fund and pension savings being managed by Vneshekonombank.

Putin said Thursday that the average mortgage rate of 14.5 was too much.

The prime minister also repeated pledges to provide support for the labor market, as the situation there was very strained.

The government will give 36 billion rubles in 2010 in order to support employment, Putin said, adding that it was less than in 2009, but was nonetheless a significant sum.

The countrys jobless rate was 7.7 percent in October, up from the September figure of 7.6 percent, the State Statistic Service said Friday.

In January, the government presented a 43 billion ruble employment stimulus package to fund region-specific job retraining programs, relocation assistance, small business development and job creation.

November 23, 2009, 8:58 CET

news

Politics.hu: Orbn meets Putin at congress of Russia's ruling party in St. Petersburg

http://www.politics.hu/20091123/orban-meets-putin-at-congress-of-russias-ruling-party-in-st-petersburg

By MTI

Main opposition Fidesz party leader Viktor Orban held talks with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on the future of Russian-Hungarian relations in St. Petersburg on Saturday, a senior Fidesz official told MTI.

Orban and Putin met on the sidelines of the 11th congress of the ruling United Russia party, staff leader Peter Szijjarto said.

Orban told news channel Hir TV after the meeting that "I clearly informed the prime minister that we would like to settle Hungarian-Russian relations and place them on new gound."

"We would like to develop a partnership for the 21st century in order to ensure that our future relations differ from the past, so that we should never shift back into the Hungarian-Russian system of relations that we lived in during the 20th century," Orban said.

Saigon: CPV seeks enhanced ties with United Russia party

http://www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn/National/Politics/2009/11/76283/

Monday ,Nov 23,2009, Posted at: 09:50(GMT+7)

The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) maintains a policy of enhancing its ties with the United Russia (ER) party to help strengthen and further develop traditional friendship and all-sided, trustful and mutually beneficial cooperation between Vietnam and Russia, a CPV senior official said at the ERs 11 th congress.

Addressing the congress on Nov. 21, Mr. Truong Tan Sang, who is Permanent Secretary of the CPV Central Committees Secretariat, reaffirmed that in its foreign policy, Vietnam always places importance and gives high priority to the development of relationship with Russia .

He told the ER members that Vietnam is satisfactory with new developments in the two countries ties in every field in the spirit of strategic partnership adopted by senior leaders of both countries.

The secretary said that the Vietnamese communists and people have keenly followed the operation, role and position of the ER, and felt happy for immense achievements Russia has gained under the leadership of President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

The Vietnamese communists and people have lauded Russias positive stance as well as its important role in maintaining peace and stability and in promoting cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region and the world for the establishment of a new world order of justice and equality, he noted.

He expressed belief that by implementing a resolution to be adopted at this congress, the ER would continue to reaffirm its position and leading role in Russia s socio-political life, contributing to realising strategic tasks of modernising Russia and turning the country into a prosperous and powerful one which plays an important role in international relations.

Earlier on the day, Mr. Truong Tan Sang handed over the CPV Central Committees greetings to the Chairman of the ER Supreme Council, Boris Gryzlov.

On the occasion, he signed with the ER Chairman an agreement on cooperation between the CPV and the ER, following which the two parties will regularly hold consultancy and exchange of information regarding outstanding events in the two countries, and in bilateral and international relations.

The two parties will share experiences in the Party building work, organisational affairs, inspection and supervision, personnel training, publication, and other areas of interests.

Furthermore, the two parties will frequently exchange visits at all levels, and organise expert-level meetings, bilateral and multilateral seminars, conferences and round-table talks to discuss emergency issues in the Vietnam-Russia relationship and international ties of mutual concern.

In the agreement, the two parties pledge to further support the relationship between youths organisations, womens unions, educational and humanitarian organizations and other social organizations.

Later on the day, Mr. Truong Tan Sang and his entourage attended a symposium debating political parties social responsibility in global crisis.

On Nov. 19, the Vietnamese communists laid a wreath at a monument dedicated to President Ho Chi Minh at the Ho Chi Minh Square in Moscow, and met with the Vietnamese embassy staff and representatives of Vietnamese communities in Russia .

They met with Vice Secretary of the Saint Petersburg ER Committee, Konstantin Serov and held talks with St. Petersburg Mayor Valentina Matvienko on ways to step up the wide-ranging strategic partnership between St. Petersburg and Vietnamese cities.

Mr. Truong Tan Sang and his entourage arrived in Russia on November 18 and will stay there until November 23.

Source: VNA

Russia Today: Next EU-Russia summits will take place according to the new rules

http://russiatoday.com/Politics/2009-11-22/medvedev-apec-eu-wto.html/print

22 November, 2009, 11:47

Disregarding who will rule Europe and how, its absolutely obvious that Europe needs Russia as a partner and vice versa, believes President Medvedevs Press Attache Natalia Timakova. She shared her views with RT.

RT: In his address during this years APEC summit in Singapore, President Medvedev said that Russia has serious plans for becoming a global financial center. Does this mean that the countrys leadership has fully adopted the world crisis and has real and effective ways of coming out of it?

Natalia Timakova: The idea that Moscow, St Petersburg, or some other large city in Russia would become a new financial center, came into being awhile ago, before the world financial crisis. Of course, this year the idea has not been very popular, because it was hard enough to keep the old financial centers going, let alone create new ones. Now, when the leaders of APEC countries got together and stated the fact that there are different signs of improvement in the economic situation signs of coming out of the financial crisis the questions are how we are going to live after the crisis, what lessons should be learned.

Most importantly, we need to figure out what new things could be done for our economy, which is part of the global economy, so that this will not happen again. That is why the idea of having a financial center in Russia is being revived, because, first of all, the President has mentioned it a number of times. The financial crisis showed us that one currency, even if it is as strong as the American dollar, cannot keep the global economy stable. The more strong currencies we have, like the euro for example, or maybe the yuan or the ruble, the more stable the situation is going to be.

In this sense, our suggestion to make the ruble one such currency has been seriously discussed not only at the recent APEC summit, but also at the BRIC and SCO summits. This idea is supported by many leaders, and I think that now, looking at the positive trends in the economy, it is time to go back to the idea, there is potential there.

RT: This years APEC summit in Singapore was mainly concentrated on tackling the global financial crisis. Doesnt that mean that this summit was more important for economically than it was politically?

NT: Well, all the summits that took place this year, not just the APEC summit, but also the G-20 summit and even the G-8 summit, which has always been a political event, focused on finding ways out of the financial crisis. This agenda overshadowed all other agendas.

Nevertheless, the Asia-Pacific region has a lot of its own problems, including political ones. Russia could play a very important role in solving them. So I would say that the main focus was the economy, finding ways out of the financial crisis, dealing with consequences of the crisis, restoration of economy, consumer growth and finding new markets, including among APEC countries. But I think the political aspect was very significant as well, because it is a unique region with its own leaders, political problems that needed to be solved. So economy dominated, but politics were just as important.

RT: On the sidelines of the APEC summit President Medvedev met with Barack Obama and there has been talk that relations are improving between Russia and the US and we have seen evidence of this. However, what are the remaining stumbling blocks between the two countries?

NT: The situation is quite unique at the moment. If you look at the last 10 years in the relations between Russia and America, every meeting between the two Presidents I will remind you, this was their fourth meeting this year has marked serious advances in Russian-American relations. So far the agenda is limited, since the main topic remains the new START treaty. Nevertheless, the Presidents are faced with more and more new topics, new issues in the bilateral relations and international problems.

First of all, the Iranian problem. The presidents talked a lot about it at their meeting in New York and again in Singapore. The Iranian problem concerns all countries, including Russia. Russia, along with its Western partners, took a strong stand Iran should disclose all the details of its nuclear program, especially because of the construction of the new plant.

So I wouldn't talk about problems that are still there, because of course there are disagreements. Both Presidents talked about it after the meeting. Disagreements do not mean stalling of relations. The important thing is that we have a dialogue, the Presidents are open with each other, they discuss existing problems in detail, looking for solutions together.

So I think now Russian-American relations had a good jump start, we have every reason to think that, first of all, work on the Treaty will be successful. At least both Presidents said after the meeting that they are ready to agree on the main points of the Treaty by the end of the year.

Besides, I hope our co-operation in such difficult areas as the Iranian nuclear dossier, the North Korean nuclear problem, the Middle East settlements all the problems the solution of which depends on the two countries will be addressed.

RT: Lets talk a little bit about the recent Russia-EU summit in Stockholm. During the summit, the EU said it fully supports Russias bid to join WTO. What is it really going to take to get Russia in to the World Trade Organization?

NT: This is up to our partners at the WTO, because not only did we voice our readiness many years ago, but have done a lot to comply with the rules the WTO requires from its members. We have been regularly performing more than half of the rules.

We have to admit that the common idea, as President Dmitry Medvedev told a news conference of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia, that ascension to the WTO by the Customs Union, boosted interest among our Western partners to Russias joining the WTO. It seems like they themselves are expecting this.

We have expressed our stance more than once we want to join the WTO and are waiting for an adequate understanding from our partners on whom this decision really

RT: President Medvedev said that the next EU-Russia summits will take place according to the new rules. How will the relationships between Russia and the EU change under the Lisbon Treaty?

NT: Its a question of changing the form of contact first of all. Now that the EU has its first president and foreign minister, this will change the format but not the contents of the relationship. Recent summits have been characterized by a positive atmosphere and aspirations to jointly solve the existing problems, first of all to conclude an agreement on interaction between Russia and the EU.

We do hope the new EU leadership and new officials will help develop Russia-EU relations at least the president said so at the concluding news conference: disregarding who and how they will rule in Europe, its absolutely obvious that Europe needs Russia as a partner, so does Russia. In any case we really hope this positive progress will continue, no matter what the posts of officials we talk to are called.

RT: About domestic policies. In his recent address to Russias Federal Assembly, Dmitry Medvedev offered a number of solutions in the countrys grassroots problems. Do you think that Russians are ready for the kind of modernization the President was talking about?

NT: No doubt the president is aware of all the complexities of the problem, not only with the economy being not ready for modernization, the bureaucracy not ready to accept the goals of modernization, as well as business not ready to join the process. Youre right by saying there is also a psychological aspect in that.

However, as the president presented these ideas in detail, also in his Go, Russia! article and his recent State-of-Nation Address without changing psychology and ones own concept about ways the economy should develop life in Russia, well not be able to occupy the place we deserve in the new global world. Its absolutely obvious. And it was the chief theme of his Address, that in order to preserve the leading positions Russia [still] has as it is indispensable not only to preserve them, but also to improve them all of us must change, become more active, more competitive and be more aware of our personal responsibility and initiatives of us, the citizens of this country.

The Moscow Times: KamAZ Head Named As AvtoVAZ Director

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/kamaz-head-named-as-avtovaz-director/390113.html

23 November 2009

Reuters

Heavily indebted carmaker AvtoVAZ appointed Sergei Kogogin, head of truck maker KamAZ, to its board of directors, increasing the prospect for the creation of a state-controlled autos giant.

Kogogin agreed earlier this year to head a proposed holding company for government stakes in both KamAZ and AvtoVAZ, controlled by Russian Technologies a huge state conglomerate with interests in aviation and defense as well as autos.

The move is seen as part of a long-term Russian effort to revive the countrys embattled car industry, struggling under falling demand, high debt, outdated technology and a bloated work force.

This appointment will be connected to Russian Technologies plans to create an autos holding company for its stakes in these companies, VTB analyst Vladimir Bespalov said.

A new company may make it easier to secure new loans for AvtoVAZ, which is finding it extremely difficult to attract money. Other stakes could be used as collateral, he added.

AvtoVAZ, which also said Friday that car sales would rise 11 percent in 2010, needs to restructure a $2 billion debt pile and reverse heavy losses to continue as a going concern.

State development bank Vneshekonombank said it was prepared to finance an investment program in AvtoVAZ after its debt restructuring is completed.

Russian Technologies has a 37.8 percent holding in KamAZ, but sources said earlier this year that it was talking to Moscow investment bank Troika Dialog about acquiring its 13 percent stake in the truck maker.

It also has a 25 percent stake in AvtoVAZ.

Germanys Daimler, a 10 percent stakeholder in KamAZ, has first refusal on the Troika stake, but the head of its trucks division said last month it was happy with the level of the stake for the foreseeable future.

Russian plans to shake up the industry were dealt a blow earlier this month when General Motors decided not to sell its European arm to a consortium including Russian lender Sberbank.

The Moscow Times: GM Russia Plant Fires Head of Union

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/gm-russia-plant-fires-head-of-union/390114.html

23 November 2009

Vedomosti

The management of General Motors St. Petersburg plant fired two workers for carrying out a slowdown strike union leader Yevgeny Ivanov and member Olga Shafikova.

Ivanov received his pink slip on Friday, the day after the union met with the management of the plant and was denied all of its requests, Ivanov said. Shafikova found out about her layoff the day before, when she failed a routine medical checkup, he said, adding that the management was happy with her health the year before.

Shafikova declined to comment.

According to his discharge documents, Ivanov was fired for absence from work for more than four hours without a legitimate excuse.

Ivanov said he requested on Oct. 21 that the management give him safety instructions for working with load-lifting machinery and copies of documents certifying that he took the safety lessons and passed examinations permitting him to work.

After a day, they didnt show me the documents, and throughout this time I was at work but wasnt working, because I consider the layoff illegal, which I will prove in court, he said.

We will get them to restore those laid off to their jobs and are going to appeal to the prosecutors office with a complaint, said Stanislav Tokarev, Ivanovs deputy.

GM spokesman Sergei Lepnukhov confirmed that Ivanov was laid off, but declined to reveal the reasons for his firing. If an employee thinks that his rights are violated then he can appeal to the courts, he said.

If in the course of a medical checkup a worker is found to be unfit to carry out his duties, he is offered another position if there is one. At the moment, there are no open positions at the factory, factory representative Yulia Boicharova said.

Ivanov said the layoffs were a response to union activity. Two weeks ago, the workers began a slowdown strike, in which production, according to Ivanov, was cut 30 percent, from 90 to 60 automobiles per day.

Workers want a guaranteed yearly raise of 8 percent, a 40-hour work week and two weeks of discretionary vacation instead of one week.

A union leader cannot be fired for fulfilling his union responsibilities during work time, but there should be some evidence confirming Ivanovs rightness, said Natalya Neverovskaya, a partner at Unicomlegal. She added that courts often side with workers in order to avoid a dominance of unemployment.

WND ON THE AIR WND.com: Aaron Klein to debate pro-Iran commentatorProgram airs live on globally broadcast Russian television

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=116849

Posted: November 23, 200912:04 am Eastern

2009WorldNetDaily

WND Jerusalem bureau chief Aaron Klein will debate a commentator from Iran today live on Russia's all-news network.

The debate will begin at 11 a.m. Eastern on Russia Today, a globally broadcast English-language news channel from Russia and the first all-digital Russian television network.

Just yesterday, Iranian media reported the country began large-scale air defense war drills aimed at "protecting" the country's nuclear facilities from attacks.

One day before, a senior Iranian cleric warned on the Islamic Republic will strike Tel Aviv if attacked.

"If the enemy should want to test its bad luck in Iran, before the dust from its missiles settles in this country, Iran's ballistic missiles would land in the heart of Tel Aviv," said cleric Mojtaba Zolnour, the IRNA news agency reported.

Itar-Tass: First ever road connecting Russias west to east to be ready in 2010 Ivanov


22.11.2009,22.21

MOSCOW, November 22 (Itar-Tass) -- The first ever road to connect Russias west with the east will be built in 2010, Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said.

We plan to build about 6,000 kilometers of federal roads next year. The construction of the Chita-Khabarovsk road started in 1967, with approval of the Soviet Communist Party Central Committee. That road, of 2,000 kilometers, will be ready next year. For the first time in the history of the Russian empire, the Soviet Union and modern Russia we will have a road stretching out from the west to the east, Ivanov said.

Seventeen bridges and one supplementary bridge across the Oka River in Murom will be commissioned this year, Ivanov said.

The construction of the majority of these bridges started in the Soviet period. The projects were abandoned in the 1990s. Vladimir Putin made the political decision to finish the projects in 2004, and the funding began in 2005. These are huge bridges. The last of them will be commissioned in Ulyanovsk next week. That bridge, of 24 kilometers, had been under construction since 1987. There was a ten-year pause in the project, Ivanov said.

He promised to build any new bridges in Russia within 18-24 months. The rapid construction will reduce project costs. It is very unprofitable to drag out construction projects. We intend to commission about 6,000 meters of bridges on federal roads next year. The bridge to the Russky Island will be the longest cable stayed bridge in the world, and the Ulyanovsk bridge will be the longest in Europe. It is not that Russia wants to beat a record. It is just that this country is vast, and our rivers are wide, he said.

The construction of two toll roads will begin next year, Ivanov said. It is possible to collect money wherever traffic is very busy, so we will organize concessions and build toll bridges. The toll will be five or six times smaller than in Europe, about 5 rubles per kilometer [the current exchange rate is 28.85 rubles to the dollar], Ivanov said.

Xinhua: First Russian brigade with Iskander missiles to be formed in 2010

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-11/21/content_12517635.htm

2009-11-21 22:25:25

MOSCOW, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Russian armed forces will form its first brigade fully equipped with short-range Iskander missile systems, said Russian Missile Forces and Artillery Commander Sergei Bogatinov here Saturday.

"We will form the first missile brigade armed with 12 Iskander missile systems by the end of 2010," Bogatinov told Echo Moskvy radio.

"Such a brigade will be formed by the end of 2010, and then we will consistently form one more missile brigade each year," he added.

Five Iskander missile systems will be bought next year, he said.

A battalion armed with Iskander missile systems has already been set up in the Russian armed forces. It has successfully conducted exercises at the Kapustin Yar, a Russian rocket launch and development site, from Nov. 2 to Nov. 7, said Bogatinov.

The high-precision tactical Iskander missile systems with a range between 300 to 500 kilometers are to replace the 120-kilometer Tochka missile system, he said.

Itar-Tass: French helicopter carrier to call in St Petersburg


23.11.2009,06.35

St PETERSBURG, November 23 (Itar-Tass) French helicopter carrier Mistral, which the Russian Navy has taken an interest in as a possible object of purchasing, is due to make a technical visit to St Petersburg Monday.

Spokespeople for the French embassy in Russia told Itar-Tass the ship will moor to the Lieutenant Schmidt embankment or to the wharfs of the Maritime Faade the citys new commercial port being built on Vassilyevsky Island. The site of mooring will depend on the whether.

The time of arrival will depend on the speed at which Mistral is able to proceed through a navigable pass near Kronstadt.

The problem is the Mistral is a big enough and heavy ship and the weather is quite unstable and this may complicate the passage along a narrow corridor, an embassy source said.

During its stay St Petersburg, Russian Navy and shipbuilding industry experts will be able to examine the ship and to assess its characteristics.

The Mistral, a universal helicopter carrier, has a water displacement of 21 tons, the maximum length of 210 meters, the speed of over 18 knots, and the maximum distance of up to 20,000 nautical miles.

The ship has a standard crew of 160 members but it can host aboard an additional 450 people or even 900 people for a brief period of time.

The Mistrals cargo deck has room for up to 40 tanks or 70 cars.

Russian Navy officials showed interest in the characteristics of the helicopter carrier at an international naval show in St Petersburg in June. Two months later, sources at the Navys Main Staff confirmed that ship might be purchased for the Russian naval forces.

Naval experts believe the Mistral can be used for peacekeeping and rescue operations.

AP: French ship Russia wants docks in St.Petersburg

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?feed=AP&date=20091123&id=10756868

November 23, 2009 3:36 AM ET

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) - A French navy ship of the type that Russia hopes to buy has arrived for a visit to St. Petersburg.

The Mistral amphibious assault ship docked Monday on the Neva River downtown, close to the Hermitage museum.

Russian officials are considering buying a Mistral ship and a license to build several others. It would mark the first such purchase from a NATO country.

The rumors of the deal have fueled concern in Georgia and other ex-Soviet nations that Russia may use the ship to strong-arm its neighbors.

The Mistral, which is capable of carrying more than a dozen helicopters along with dozens of tanks and other armored vehicles, is fit for missions intended to project Russian power.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

RIA: Russian submarine towed to port after engine malfunction

http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20091123/156944882.html

01:4223/11/2009

MOSCOW, November 23 (RIA Novosti) - A Russian diesel-electric submarine from the Black Sea Fleet is being towed to the port of Novorossiisk after suffering an engine malfunction during sea drills, a Black Sea Fleet official said.

The Alrosa, a Kilo class diesel submarine, was on a training exercise in the Black Sea on Saturday when it reportedly experienced some problems with its jet propulsion system.

"The submarine is being towed in a surfaced position to the port of Novorossiisk. Its arrival is expected on Monday. Experts will establish the cause of the malfunction there," the source said.

A Russian Navy spokesman earlier said the situation on the submarine was under control and there was no danger to the crew.

He also said the submarine would continue the drills after the problem is fixed.

Alrosa, commissioned in 1990, is the only submarine in active service with the Black Sea Fleet. It is based at a Russian naval base in Sevastopol on Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.

RIA: Launch of Proton rocket carrying European satellite delayed

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20091123/156949029.html

11:4023/11/2009

The launch of a Proton-M carrier rocket bearing the European Eutelsat W7 satellite has been delayed, the Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos said on Monday.

The launch was scheduled for Monday from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan.

"The launch of the European space vehicle has been postponed by the Kazakh side for an indefinite period," Roscosmos said.

The agency also said that the reason for the delay was unclear, as the areas in which the rocket's spent parts would fall into had already been agreed on with Kazakh authorities.

"This is not the first time the launch of a spacecraft has been threatened with failure for reasons that do not depend on Russia," Roscosmos said.

According to unofficial data, however, the launch could take place on Tuesday, at 17:19 p.m. Moscow time (14:19 p.m. GMT).

Russian-American joint venture International Launch Services (ILS) had signed a contract with the Eutelsat satellite operator to launch the Eutelsat W7 to upgrade its existing satellite grouping.

The launch was expected to be the eighth Proton launch in 2009 and the 349th overall for the famed Russian carrier rocket.

Eutelsat W7 was manufactured by Thales Alenia Space on a Spacebus 4000C4 platform.

The 5.5-ton satellite features up to 74 Ku-band transponders (12 kW) and has a lifetime of about 15 years (up to 2024).

It will provide digital broadcasting for customers in Europe, including Russia, Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East.

Eutelsat W7 is designed to replace the SESAT 1 satellite, which has been in orbit since 2000.

MOSCOW, November 23 (RIA Novosti)

RIA: Russia set to launch Eutelsat satellite from Baikonur


05:3323/11/2009

MOSCOW, November 23 (RIA Novosti) - A Proton-M carrier rocket with the European Eutelsat W7 satellite will be launched on Monday from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan, the Russian Federal Space Agency said.

Russian-American joint venture International Launch Services (ILS) has signed a contract with the Eutelsat satellite operator to launch the Eutelsat W7 to upgrade its existing satellite grouping.

It will be the eighth Proton launch in 2009 and the 349th overall for the famed Russian carrier rocket.

Eutelsat W7 has been manufactured by Thales Alenia Space on a Spacebus 4000C4 platform.

The 5.5-ton satellite features up to 74 Ku-band transponders (12 kW) and has a lifetime of about 15 years (up to 2024).

It will provide digital broadcasting for customers in Europe, including Russia, Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East.

Eutelsat W7 will replace the SESAT 1 satellite, which has been in orbit since 2000.

Itar-Tass: French telecom satellite to be launched from Baikonur space center

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=14558374

23.11.2009,05.13

MOSCOW, November 23 (Itar-Tass) A Russian carrier rocket of the Proton-M family is due to lift off from the Baikonur Space Center at 14:19 GMT Monday and to take into orbit the W-7 telecommunications satellite of the French company Eutelsat, Alexander Borbrenyov, the press secretary of the Khrunichev State Aerospace Corporation said.

Total trip into orbit from the liftoff of the carrier rocket to the satellites separation from the booster block will last 9 hours 12 minutes, a source at the Russian Space Agency Roskosmos said.

He indicated that the burned-out first stage of the carrier rocket is expected to fall in the Karaganda region of Kazakhstan, the second stage in the Republic of Altai in the south of Siberia, and the third stage in the Pacific Ocean.

The W-7 satellite has been produced by the French company Thales Alenia Aspace to ensure telecommunications and television broadcasting in Europe, Central Asia and Africa. It will stay in operation for fifteen years.

Launches of Proton-M three-stage liquid-propellant missiles are effectuated by the company International Launch Services /ILS/, in which the Khrunichev corporation has the controlling stake.

This is the sixth launch of the Proton-M missiles this year and the 55th launch since their commissioning for commercial operations in 1996.

Axisglobe: Russian security services already preparing to defend Kremlin against "extremists"

http://www.axisglobe.com/article.asp?article=1952

22.11.2009In October the Russian Federal Protection Service (FSO) held a large-scale exercises in the territory of Moscow, online paper Forum.msk.ru reports. The Federal Security Service (FSB), the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Emergency Situations were involved in the exercises, too. First the special equipment, including heavy equipment, was pulled together in the Moscow centre. All of it was concentrated around the Kremlin. The insulation and delimitation of the area operated round the clock. According to the caption of the exercises, a vehicles filled by explosives was revealed at the Red Square. It was the first time when such significant scale of the exercises were carried out, online paper marks.According to Forum.msk.ru, the collateral aim of the exercises was training of defensive measures of the subject of the Kremlin in case of its blocking by crowds of extremists. The danger of such succession of events were realized back in 1993 when the officials in the Kremlin were expecting storm of supporters of the then Vice-President Alexander Rutskoy and parliamentary speaker Ruslan Khasbulatov. Late October similar exercises were held by the Ministry of Interior in the Moscow oblast. According to the caption of exercises, police forces were deallocating the federal lane from the pensioners who have blocked it; the old age people were demanding increased social support from the government, online paper expands.It is clear that similar exercises have been carried out from fears that the economic situation of the population can sharply worsen, Forum.msk.ru points out. The online paper considers that in the further one can expect certain preventive actions by the Ministry of Interior, the FSB, and the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Federal Protection Service (FSO).

23 November 2009, 11:23

Interfax: Patriarch Kirill plans to visit Ukraine next summer

http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=6657

Moscow, November 23, Interfax - Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia plans to visit Ukraine again next summer.

"I am deeply convinced that, as Patriarch, I should visit all parts of my Church. I intend to visit Ukraine next summer," Kirill said on Rossiya TV.

Patriarch's previous visit to Ukraine in his current capacity took place in summer 2009.

Itar-Tass: Patriarch Kirill to attend funeral of priest killed last Thursday


23.11.2009,08.57 MOSCOW, November 23 (Itar-Tass) - Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Kirill /Cyril/ is expected to attend the funeral of the Reverend Daniil Sysoyev, the father superior of St Thomass Church in southern Moscow who was killed by an unknown masked gunman right inside his church in the late hours of Thursday.

His Holiness Kirill is due to come to the St Peter and Pauls Church in the district of Yasenevo at around noon.

A remembrance service will be chanted prior to his arrival there. It will be conducted by the Patriarchs aide, Archbishop Arsenius of Istra.

The slain Reverend Sysoyevs father, priest Alexy Sysoyev is one of the clergymen in St Peter and Pauls Church

The Reverend Daniil Sysoyev will then be buried at Moscows Kuntsevskoye cemetery.

Father Daniil was 35 years old, and he has left a wife and three children.

The raising of money to help his children and the family has begun in the St Peter and Pauls Church, St Thomass Church and some other parishes we he had did his service.

For three days after the murder, Muscovites came to St Thomas to bid final farewell to the Reverend Sysoyev Jr. Public admittance to the coffin with his body that was placed in the church he supervised was open for the past day and a half.

Mournful people brought literally tons of flowers with them, practically covering all the approaches to the building with petals.

The Rev Sysoyev Jr. was known as a Russian Orthodox missionary and a specialist on Islam who took part in numerous disputes and discussions with representatives of that religion.

Some of the followers of Islam who participated in those discussions would convert to the Orthodox Christian faith later.

As the remembrance prayers were read in the St Thomass Church during the weekend, one could see many representative of Caucasian peoples among the believers.

The Rev Sysoyev Jr.s death gave a surprising push to the Russians religious feelings, as Moscow priests reported a sharp increase in the numbers of laymen who attended services over the weekend.

Priests believe Thursdays tragedy impelled the people to recall their Orthodox Christian identity.

The Rev Sysoyev Jr. was shot and killed at around 23:00 hours Thursday and the choirmaster of his church, Vladimir Strelbitsky, was severely wounded. The latter man is still staying in hospital.

Moscow Citys best detectives have been drawn into the effort to investigate the case.

Investigators say religious hatred was the most probable motive behind the murder.

RFERL: Patriarch Kirill To Take Part In Funeral For Slain Priest

http://www.rferl.org/content/Patriarch_Kirill_To_Take_Part_In_Funeral_For_Slain_Priest/1885137.html

November 23, 2009

Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Orthodox Church in Russia, will take part in the funeral of slain priest Daniil Sysoyev today at St. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Yasenevo, Moscow.

Archbishop Arseny of Istra will lead the service, which starts this morning, and Patriarch Kirill is scheduled to arrive later to pay his last respects to Sysoyev.

Sysoyev was a known critic of Islam and said he had received death threats for converting Muslims to Christianity.

A masked gunman shot Sysoyev outside his church in Moscow on the night of November 19.

compiled from agency reports

The Moscow Times: Controversial Priest Gunned Down in Church

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/controversial-priest-gunned-down-in-church/390092.html

23 November 2009

By Alexander Bratersky

Hundreds of mourners gathered Sunday to pay their respects to Father Daniil Sysoyev, a Russian Orthodox priest famous for his missionary work and criticism of Islam, after he was gunned down in his church last week.

Church insiders said the attack, which happened late Thursday in southern Moscow, could have been the work of radical Islamists, who had regularly threatened him for preaching to Muslims. Law enforcement officials said they believed religion was the primary motive in the killing.

The 35-year-old Sysoyev, who led the St. Thomas Church on Kantemirovskaya Ulitsa, was shot point-blank four times by an unidentified man wearing a medical face mask, police said. He was severely wounded and died in an ambulance.

Vladimir Strelbitsky, a 41-year-old regent who was nearby during the attack, was also shot and remains hospitalized in serious condition.

Citing sources with knowledge of the matter, Interfax reported that the killer called Sysoyev twice shortly before the shooting. Viktor Kupriyanchuk, the church's elder, told Kommersant that the killer burst into the church shouting, "Where's Sysoyev?" When Sysoyev stepped forward from behind the altar, the assailant shot him several times and attempted to flee.

The shooter encountered and wounded Strelbitsky on his way out of the church, Kupriyanchuk said.

Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said "witness accounts were collected indicating that Father Daniil had long received threats because of his religious activity."

In February 2008, Sysoyev said on television that he had received "10 threats via e-mail that I shall have my head cut off," unless he stopped preaching to Muslims. "As I see it, it is a sin not to preach to Muslims."

Sysoyev was a popular blogger, who also wrote against cults in his LiveJournal blog. An ethnic Tatar, he was a fervent critic of Islam, arguing that coexistence between Christians and Muslims was not possible.

"How can we create a union with people who see a territory not governed by sharia law as a land of war?" he said in the interview on Ekho Moskvy radio in 2005.

In one of his books, "Marriage to a Muslim," Sysoyev spoke against intermarriage between Muslim and Christians, saying such unions were only possible if Muslims converted. Writing in his blog about the anniversary of the Bolshevik revolution earlier this month, Sysoyev said Christians should not even sit at the same table with Communists, comments that angered many on the left.

Although in his books and speeches he tried to refrain from radical remarks often used by the Orthodox Christian right, religion experts said Sysoyev often crossed that line while clashing with his opponents.

"Many of his texts strayed far from political correctness. He often balanced on the edge," said Alexander Soldatov, a religious commentator and editor of the Credo.ru religious news service.

News of Sysoyev's death was met with cheers on Internet forums for radical Islamists, with some acknowledging that they had dreamed of knifing him to death personally.

The official leaders of the Russian Islamic community condemned the murder, and Orthodox leaders called for calm.

"We are against any extreme act or act of terror, and we consider the killing of an Orthodox priest a terrible sin," Ravil Gainutdin, chairman of the Muftis' Council of Russia, told reporters Friday.

Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, extended his condolences to Sysoyev's family and called on investigators to solve the murder.

"The killing of a priest in a church is a challenge to divine law and the desecration of a sacred place," he said in a statement.

Sysoyev's funeral will be held at 10 a.m. at the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, in Yasenevo, after which Kirill will perform the conclusion of the all-night vigil. Sysoyev will be buried at the Kuznetskoye Cemetery in western Moscow.

And while some religious experts told The Moscow Times that the patriarchate had been distancing itself from the outspoken priest, he was popular and respected among the lower-ranking clergy. Sysoyev's supporters were collecting signatures on a petition over the weekend asking Kirill to make sure that his missionary work is continued.

Father Boris, who leads an Orthodox church outside Moscow, told The Moscow Times that he admired Sysoyev's books and that he believed the priest was a victim in a war against Christianity unleashed by Muslims.

"When I was reading them, I understood that it will end like this," he said. "There is a war, and people are being shot. Then they leave the trenches to go to battle. Father Daniil has left his trench."

Itar-Tass: Over 40 people trapped in snow on Chechen-Dagestani road

http://www.itar-tass.com/level2.html?NewsID=14558968&PageNum=0

23.11.2009,11.06

MAKHACHKALA, November 23 (Itar-Tass) - Forty-three people are trapped by heavy snowfall on a mountainous road on the border of Chechnya and Dagestan, an official at the main department of the Russian Emergencies Ministry for Dagestan told Itar-Tass on Monday.

Seven vehicles, including two trucks and a bus, remain trapped on the Vedeno-Andi road for over 24 hours. There are no children among them.

Rescuers left Makhachkala for the site of the incident on Monday morning. The area of distress is situated 240 kilometers from the capital of the republic.

RIA: Suspected militant killed in Chechnya


10:2023/11/2009

A suspected militant was killed in Chechnya when police encountered a group of over 10 gunmen in the Caucasus republic's Shali district, a police official said on Monday.

The shootout occurred on Sunday in a mountainous wooded area, the police source said.

"The gunmen opened fire, one of them was killed when police returned fire, the others fled," he said, adding that no police were injured in the attack.

The gunman is being identified, the official said.

Attacks on police and other officials have been reported almost daily as fighting has resurged in Chechnya, which saw two brutal separatist conflicts in the 1990s and early 2000s. Violence has also spiraled in neighboring regions of Russia's mainly Muslim North Caucasus.

MOSCOW, November 23 (RIA Novosti)

The Moscow Times: Militant Killed in Dagestan

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/militant-killed-in-dagestan/390135.html

23 November 2009

MAKHACHKALA, Dagestan A police official said Sunday that a suspected militant was killed while trying to set up an explosive device on a highway in the Buinaksk district of Dagestan.

Regional police spokesman Mark Tolchinsky said police shot the militant late Saturday. He also said a police officer lost a hand after an explosion Sunday in the regional capital, Makhachkala.

Tolchinsky said the officer tried to remove a beer can stuffed with explosives from the hood of his car.

(AP)

Reuters: FACTBOX-Five facts on Ingush president Yevkurov

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSGEE5AL0BK

Sun Nov 22, 2009 3:25pm EST

Nov 22 (Reuters) - Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, the head of Russia's turbulent Ingushetia region, told Reuters in an interview on Sunday that corruption amongst officials was plaguing his small republic and aiding an Islamist insurgency.

In June a suicide bomb attack left him fighting for his life, but he has since recovered.

Following are key facts on the 46-year-old ex-paratrooper:

* Yevkurov, an ethnic Ingush, was born in 1963 in the neighbouring Russian republic of North Ossetia. A career soldier who rose to the rank of general, he graduated from the elite Ryazan Airborne Forces Academy. He was named a Hero of Russia for leading the audacious 1999 Russian operation to seize Pristina airport from under the noses of NATO forces advancing into Kosovo.

* Yevkurov asked senior commanders not to send him into action when the Kremlin was fighting rebels in neighbouring Chechnya, ethnically close to Ingushetia.

* Yevkurov has been trying to clamp down on official corruption and poverty, blamed for driving young people into the arms of Islamist rebels.

* In 1992, Yevkurov's home village in North Ossetia was embroiled in battles between the mainly Ingush residents and local North Ossetians, over land that Soviet dictator Josef Stalin transferred to North Ossetia in 1944. Tens of thousands of Ingush fled North Ossetia, and their demand to return home has bedevilled relations between the neighbouring republics and proven a major challenge to Yevkurov's presidency.

* Human rights groups say they have found Yevkurov to be straightforward to deal with and sincere in his efforts to rein in abuses by security forces. Yevkurov has also been widely praised for his success in reconciling dozens of local clans involved in bloody feuds. (Writing by Dmitry Solovyov and Amie Ferris-Rotman; Editing by Kevin Liffey) (( For an interview with Yevkurov, click on [ID:nGEE5AL09K]

For a factbox on Ingushetia, click on [ID:nGEE5AL0BM] (([email protected], +7 495 775 12 42, Reuters Messaging: [email protected]))

Reuters: FACTBOX-Key facts about Russia's region of Ingushetia

http://www.reuters.com/article/asiaCrisis/idUSGEE5AL0BM

Sun Nov 22, 2009 3:50pm EST

Nov 22 (Reuters) - The tiny republic of Ingushetia is at the heart of mounting violence across the North Caucasus, on Russia's southern fringe. Its leader told Reuters on Sunday that widespread state corruption was fuelling an Islamist insurgency.

Following are key facts about the region:

POVERTY

Ingushetia is the smallest and poorest region in Russia, wedged between North Ossetia and Chechnya. The unemployment rate was estimated in March 2009 at over 50 percent. Over 90 percent of Ingushetia's revenue comes in subsidies from Moscow.

Desperate poverty and widespread corruption are at the very least a factor in fuelling an insurgency that is nominally about establishing Islamic rule.

Russian and Ingush officials say publicly that corruption has reached shocking levels, opening a gulf between the region's ruling class and its population of around half a million.

PRESIDENT

Ingush president Yunus-Bek Yevkurov came to power with Moscow's support last year to replace ex-KGB general Murat Zyazikov, appointed in 2002 with the backing of Vladimir Putin, then Russia's president.

Promising to tackle corruption, Yevkurov promptly sacked his entire government. He was almost killed in a suicide bomb attack in June. After recovering, the former paratrooper promised to wage a merciless war against terrorism and appealed to militants to lay down their arms. He has also proposed a poverty reduction programme, financed by Moscow, in a bid to curb discontent.

REBELLION

Russian special forces have been fighting rebels in Ingushetia since 2002.

Around 90 people died in a rebel attack on the city of Nazran in 2004. Last August, a suicide bomber killed 25 people and wounded over 100 at a police headquarters in Nazran, the bloodiest attack to hit the North Caucasus since 2005.

NEIGHBOURS

The Soviet Union lumped ethnically close Ingushetia and Chechnya together. But after its collapse in 1991, Chechnya declared independence and Ingushetia chose to become a republic within Russia.

Relations with neighbouring North Ossetia are strained. Paramilitary groups fought a brief war in 1992 over a disputed district. Hundreds died and thousands became refugees.

Ingushetia's president from 1992 to 2001, Ruslan Aushev, steered it away from the conflict in Chechnya, where rebels fought federal forces in two wars from 1994.

During the second Chechen war, which began in 1999, Ingushetia was the destination for thousands of Chechen refugees.

STATUS

* Ingushetia is one of 21 republics within Russia and has nominal autonomy with its own president, parliament and constitution. Its main religion is Sufi Islam.

(Writing by Moscow bureau; Editing by Dominic Evans and Kevin Liffey) (( For an interview with Yevkurov, click on [ID:nGEE5AL09K]

For a FACTBOX on Yevkurov, click on [ID:nGEE5AL0BK] ((Moscow bureau, +7 495 775 1242))

Reuters: RPT-INTERVIEW-Ingushetia boss admits corruption fuels rebellion

http://uk.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUKGEE5AM0C2

Mon Nov 23, 2009 7:45am GMT

(Repeats Nov. 22 report without changes to text)

* Ingush leader says state corruption aids militants

* Pledges to punish corrupt officials more severely

By Amie Ferris-Rotman

MOSCOW, Nov 22 (Reuters) - The leader of Russia's Muslim republic of Ingushetia, who narrowly survived an assassination attempt in June, conceded on Sunday that widespread state corruption was helping an Islamist insurgency in the region.

He declined to say what proportion of officials were corrupt, but acknowledged the problem was bad enough to fuel a cycle of violence and crime that has put his impoverished region at the heart of mounting violence across the North Caucasus.

"Bandits give money to officials, knowing they can be easily paid off," Yunus-Bek Yevkurov told Reuters in an interview during a trip to the Russian capital. "This in turn means officials are (aiding) the terrorists and militants."

He added that law enforcement agencies were also behind eight kidnappings this year.

The tall, moustachioed leader, who spent two months in hospital including a fortnight in a coma after a suicide bomber blew up his car in June, said he was banking on a stabilisation programme including harsher punishment for corrupt officials.

When Yevkurov was appointed just over a year ago, he immediately sacked his entire cabinet, pledging to reduce corruption. He admitted his efforts had yet to show progress.

"We underestimated the situation before and this was a mistake ... But I believe in myself, that I will control it by punishment," he said, adding that more officials still needed to be stripped of the power they had amassed in the previous government.

FORMER PARATROOPER

The decorated paratrooper, who led Russian troops in a showdown with NATO forces at Pristina airport during the Kosovo war in 1999, was chosen by the Kremlin to replace Murat Zyazikov, whom rights groups accuse of murder and corruption.

Yevkurov is largely credited with securing an aid package from the Kremlin worth 32 billion roubles ($980 million) over the next six years.

Over half of Ingushetia's economically active population are unemployed, and 90 percent of the region's revenues are subsidies from Moscow.

He aims to use the aid package to develop the economy and create jobs, in the hope that this will reduce crime.

Armed attacks on authorities and law enforcement agencies are a near daily occurrence in the region of 470,000 people bordering Chechnya, where Moscow has gone to war with rebels twice in the past two decades.

President Dmitry Medvedev has described the North Caucasus as Russia's biggest domestic political problem, and rights groups and analysts say Ingushetia is at war with Islamist rebels.

But Yevkurov rejected the term, saying the violence stemmed from poverty and easy access to weapons, as well as abuses and corruption by law enforcement agencies.

He said his biggest challenge was to prevent "disenchanted, disappointed" young men being drawn into the insurgency by creating more jobs and establishing social programmes.

Having grown up with a surge in violence that started after the Soviet Union fell in 1991, Ingushetia's youth "know nothing but violence, terrorism, and banditry", he said. (Editing by Kevin Liffey) (( For a FACTBOX on Ingushetia, click on [ID:nGEE5AL0BM]

For a FACTBOX on Yevkurov, click on [ID:nGEE5AL0BK] (([email protected], +7 495 775 12 42, Reuters Messaging: [email protected])) ($1=32.55 Rouble)

The other Russia: Letter to Medvedev: Stop this Mad Conveyor of Death

http://www.theotherrussia.org/2009/11/20/letter-to-medvedev-stop-this-mad-conveyor-of-death/

November 20th, 2009 Related Filed Under

The brother of a murdered Chechen rebel has appealed to Russian President Dmitri Medvedev for help and protection in an open letter published by the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper, reports Gazeta.ru on November 19.

According to the report, Isa Yamadayev says in the letter that his life is in danger, and he asks for personal support from the president. One after another my brothers are killed. In 2003 militants killed Yamadayev Dzhabrail. In 2008 in Moscow they killed Ruslan Yamadayev; in the United Arab Emirates my brother Sulim Yamadayev was shot. Now the hunt is open for me, he says.

Yamadayev refers in the letter to common speculation in the press that the Kremlin has given carte blanche to Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, and therefore closes its eyes to the murders of political opponents in the region.

Is it really so that now, without analysis, all opponents of Kadyrov are declared enemies of Russia and can be killed? Human rights advocate Natalya Estemirova of Memorial, killed in 2009, Movladi Atlangeriyev, kidnapped in Moscow in 2007, and then killed in Chechnya, the president of Konvers-Group Aleksandr Antonov and his anonymous guard, killed in Moscow in 2009. They are what, also enemies of Russia? the letter asks.

Yamadayev says that he sees only one answer to this question: That President Medvedev is not informed of the true state of affairs concerning the investigation of these crimes.

At the end of his letter, Yamadayev expresses certainty that he will also be killed, and asks Medvedev to stop this mad conveyer of death.

The Yamadayev brothers were former allies of the Kadyrov family in Chechnya, but their relationship took a turn for the worse after the death of former President Akhmad Kadyrov in 2004. Relations between the clans spoiled altogether after a crash between the Kadyrov motorcade and a convoy driven by Badrudi Yamadayev.

Several months after the crash, Ruslan Yamadayev was shot and killed in Moscow. In March 2009, unknown persons shot Sulim Yamadayev; one of the suspects had close ties to President Ramzan Kadyrov. The Times newspaper in London cites Sulims killing as the sixth violent murder of Kadyrov opponent in a row. Isa Yamadayev had stated in May that he believed his life to be in danger.

The Kremlin-backed Kadyrov regime in Chechnya has recently come under fire for murdering members of opposition forces, a charge that both the Kadyrovs and the Kremlin deny. Nevertheless, the murdered Yamadayev brothers are among a number of other recently targeted opponents. Former Kadyrov bodyguard Umar Israilov was assassinated in Vienna after becoming a critic of the regime. Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, the president of a breakaway Chechen republic, was killed in exile by Russian military intelligence in 2004.

The Moscow Times: 2010 Work Permit Cuts Planned

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/2010-work-permit-cuts-planned/390116.html

23 November 2009

The Moscow Times

The Federal Migration Service said Friday that it would cut the number of job permits available to foreigners next year to just less than 2 million people, down from an initial 3.8 million at the start of 2009, after the economic crisis severely cut demand for foreign labor.

Alexei Lomkin, the services director for foreign labor migration, said the initial quota would be 1.3 million, with the rest of the permits available as a reserve, Interfax reported. The 2009 quota eventually lowered to 2 million people was only 65 percent fulfilled, he said.

Fyodor Karpovets, the services chief in Moscow, said the city would have a quota of 250,000 permits, including a reserve of 80,000. That is down from more than 392,000 permits this year, he said.(MT)

The Moscow Times: A Strong Nation of Lawyers

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/a-strong-nation-of-lawyers/390100.html

23 November 2009

By Brian L. Zimbler

Some people hate lawyers. Shakespeares Henry VI wanted to kill all the lawyers, and Vladimir Lenin advised clients to give their lawyers hell and denounce them as scoundrels. In the United States, even children recite anti-lawyer jokes like: Why wont a shark att

russia - wikileaks · web viewbut after its collapse in 1991, chechnya declared independence and...

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