Major Events of the Month
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Another gas conflict and supply disruptions freeze Europe at the peak of winterThe collapse in the negotiations on a new gas contract between Gazprom and Naftogaz in December 2008 prompted disruptions in gas supplies by Russia via Ukraine to its European consumers, thus putting the continent on the brink of fatal freezing in January 2009... |
Kremlin sacks governors over poor crisis management expertiseExplaining his motive, President Medvedev noted that the increasing negative effects of the global crisis demand a new level of management from regional leaders... |
New Patriarch calls for tying salaries to actual performancesPatriarch Kirill calls for placing remunerations in strict dependence on people’s real contributions, saying the current crisis only underscores the urgent need for the adoption of such principle... |
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New deadline set for the second wave of the ‘toxic bank loans and assets’ crisisDeposit Insurance Agency CEO Alexander Turbanov says the probability of a second wave of ‘toxic assets’-related banking crisis is very high, and thus call for CEOs to put emergency plans in place... |
Russia confirms end of the worst phase of the global economic recessionFirst Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov officially says that Russia has exited the worst phase of crisis as greenshoots of recovery take deeper roots in the local economy, attributing the heroic feat to the government’s anti-crisis measures... |
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Russia passes anticrisis deficit budgets for 2010 and 2011-12Commenting on the adopted financial plans for 2010-12, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin calls the deficits in the budgets the maximally acceptable levels, noting that any changes to the adopted parameters will be done not by inflating the budgets, but via redistribution of expenditures... |
President Medvedev plans to make Russia a leader on the global nanotechnologies industrySpecifically, the Russian president noted that his government has already made a series of vital systematic decisions aimed at achieving the set objectives in the near future... |
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Moscow and Brussels finalizing the New Partnership Agreement termsSergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, says the process is evolving in a constructive manner, as the negotiators are now working on the concrete wording of the agreement... |
Government outlines its privatization plans and programs for 2010-12Commenting on these decisions, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin noted that privatization is one of the key tools for executing structural reforms in the real economy... |
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Taxes, demand slump and other negative factors strangling the SMEsExpert says that the SMEs have been plagued by a number of problems since the beginning of the year, with the most stringent being high tax rates and cutthroat competition... |
Officially confirmed swine flu cases cross a critical thresholdGennady Onishchenko, the state’s chief sanitary medical officer, noted that seasonal outburst of the traditional flu has exacerbated the situation with the new infection... |
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CEC chairman says there are no legal grounds for his resignationIn response to opposition parties discontented with the October 11 elections results, Vladimir Churov, chairman of the Central Election Commission, said there were no legal basis for his resignation... |
Russia highlights its healthy financial adequacy in crisisExperts have attributed the decision not to take the IMF loans to Russian leaders' unwillingness to return to the ‘wild 1990s,’ when the country became dependent on ‘handouts’ from international financial organizations... |
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Punishment for a lackadaisical approach to country’s monetary policyCommenting on his expulsion, Aksakov called the decision to substitute an economic discussion with demagoguery testifies to “some politicians’ financial illiteracy”... |
Recent dam tragedy underscores the need for dangerous objects insurance lawOne of the components of this policy is the urgent need for the acceleration of the adoption of a law on insuring potentially dangerous industrial objects and their liabilities to third parties... |
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New Moscow Police chief outlines an encouraging plan of policy actionsThe new Moscow Police chief promises to reward all worthy employees and unceremoniously dismiss all ‘rascals’ that will continue to spoil the police reputation... |
Russia confirms passage of the worst phase of the global economic recessionRussia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said the local economy had overcome the ‘most shocking’ phase of the global economic recession, thanks to the government’s anti-crisis measures... |
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Russia remains the least foreign-indebted country among the G20 statesFinance Ministry Alexei Kudrin noted that the volume of Russia’s foreign debts, even in a worst case scenario, will up till the end 2012 still be the smallest in the G20... |
Kremlin calls for liquidation of terrorists without emotionsPresident Medvedev has called on the law-enforcement agencies to intensify their fight against terrorists in the country, giving them a full ‘carte-blanche’ to liquate all diehard extremists ‘without emotions and hesitations’... |
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Federal Assembly to find haven near the Kremlin wallsIt seems a decision on the relocation of the Federal Assembly, State Duma and Federation Council, currently housed in several buildings throughout the Russian capital, is on the horizon as officials favor a site nearer to the Kremlin... |
Russian nanoindustry under the premier’s patronagePrime Minister Putin says further development of nanoindustry is fundamental to the government’s plans of fully diversifying the economy and achievement of a competitive edge on the international markets for high-tech products and services... |
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Russian Militia given order to abolish corruption among staff in 30 daysThe Russian Militia has been given a tall order, which is almost tantamount to “a mission impossible’ operation, as the Internal Affairs Minister demanded that the law-enforcement agency eradicate corruption among staff within a month... |
No replenishments for Russia’s strategic funds in 2011-12The Russian strategic funds, the so-called Reserve Fund and National Welfare Fund, the pride of the Finance Ministry’s prudent fiscal policy in the years of abundance, are fast drying up due to the serious financial drought caused by the global crisis... |
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Corporate ‘raiding’ to come under tougher special organ scrutinyCorporate raiding, a major thorn in the flesh of Russian businesses of late, has finally earned the attention of the nation’s top law-enforcement official, who has now mapped multi-pronged programs to rein in the evil practice in the country... |
Key CIS leaders grace the Russian President's annual Cup Horserace eventThe presidents of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Moldavia and Tajikistan as well as heads of South Ossetia and Abkhazia join Dmitry Medvedev at this year’s Russian President's Horserace Cup event... |
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Russia is counting on U.S. real support in its WTO bidFirst Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov says Russia is counting on the Obama administration to facilitate Russia’s entrance into the WTO via concrete steps, rather than just declarations... |
Commemoration of the centenary anniversary of the legendary diplomat ‘Mister No’Colleagues and ‘fans’ of ex-Soviet Foreign Affairs Minister Andrei Gromyko, more popularly known in the Western diplomatic circles as “Mr. No,” commemorate the legendary diplomat’s centenary birthday... |
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Russia will not sacrifice its economy for ecologyArkady Dvorkovich, the adviser to the Russian president on economic issues, says the Kremlin is ready to join the global efforts to address the greenhouse gas issue, but not at the expense of its economy... |
Quality of spoken Russian getting worse nationwideCulture Minister Alexander Avdeyev says the overall level of quality and proficiency of spoken Russian and the general literacy level among Russians have significantly deteriorated in recent years... |
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Raising liability for violation of the free medical services lawHealth Minister Tatyana Golikova outlines drastic measures against medical staffs’ rampant practices of soliciting for unauthorized fees for providing free medical services to patients in the country... |
Russia has more than sufficient reserves to overcome current crisisRussia First Deputy Premier Igor Shuvalov tries to boost leading domestic and foreign investors’ faith in the local economy, as lingering global economic crisis continues to dampen CEOs’ moods... |
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Skeptical attitude to forecasts on ends of crisisRosnano CEO Anatoly Chubais has advised investors and laymen not to trust experts, who claim they know when the present crisis will end, as it is difficult to correctly predict the exact termination dates of global crises... |
The Russian political system attains maturityAddressing young State Duma legislators in June, Vladislav Surkov, first deputy head of Presidential Administration, noted the maturity of the Russian political system, evident in its ability to express the whole spectrum of opinions in society... |
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Kudrin calls on Russians to diversify savings in crisisFinance Minister Alexei Kudrin has advised Russians to refrain from keeping all their savings in one currency, but rather spread them across several currencies so as to boost their security during crisis... |
Russian State Duma speaker stars as ‘political Batman’ in comicsAnother side of State Duma speaker was presented to the Russian society in June, when he was depicted as a superhero in a comics titled, ‘Gryzlov the Man,’ who indulges in ‘Batman-like heroics,’ saving people and cities from harm... |
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Moscow advertisement market nosedives 45% since JanuaryVladimir Makarov, chairman of the City Hall’s Advertisement Committee, has blamed the global economic crisis for the 45% decline of activities on the Moscow advertisement market since January... |
Hockey players again in the Kremlin with the World Championship titleFollowing the existing victory traditions, President Medvedev invited the triumphant national hockey team to the Kremlin for official congratuations... |
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State Duma plans to make the work of court marshals financially self-sufficientThe amendment stems from the fact that court marshals currently receive just 7% of the collected debts, which is often too small to compensate the collection efforts... |
Government attaches a price tag to a square meter in its ‘affordable’ housing projectsSuch housing projects are to meet a number of criteria, including having all modern facilities and being built with the most advanced energy-saving technologies... |
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New deadline set for the dawn of the second wave of the ‘toxic bank loans’ crisisThe director of the nation's Deposit Insurance Agency has called on Russian banks to make emergency plans to deal with the looming second wave of ‘bad loans’ crisis... |
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