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Russia 091207Basic Political Developments

· Reuters: PRESS DIGEST - Russia - Dec 7

· RIA: Medvedev, Singh begin talks in Moscow

· RIA: Russian, Indian leaders to discuss energy, trade in Moscow

· Itar-Tass: Medvedev, Indian prime minister to sign cooperation declaration

· Business Standard: Indo-Russian defence coop key to bilateral ties: PM

· Dawn.com: India asks Russia to influence Pakistan’s policy

· Reuters: PM arrives in Russia for arms, nuclear deals

· Russia Today: Indian PM in Moscow for contracts and counterterrorism

· Thaindian News: A big day for India-Russia nuclear cooperation

· RTT News: Indian Prime Minister In Moscow On Three-Day Visit

· DefenseNews: Indian Panel OKs Joint Aircraft Effort With Russia

· Itar-Tass: Climate Conference to seek to agree on greenhouse emissions cuts

· The Moscow Times: Trutnev Sees ‘Political’ Deal at Summit

· RIA: Climate change no good for any country, even Russia — expert

· The Independent: Was Russian secret service behind leak of climate-change emails?

· The First Post: UN chief claims Russia is behind Climategate

· INN: Russian Minister: Iran's Busher Nuke Plant Almost Ready

· Israel Today: Advanced Russian-made missiles fired at Israel from Gaza

· Xinhua: Israel rejects Russian request to give PNA armored vehicles: report

· Interfax: EU Council to address Ukraine-Russia relations in gas sector on Monday

· The Georgian Times: Russia accuses Georgia of ignoring ceasefire agreement terms

· Interfax: Georgia criticizes Russia for mounting Abkhazia’s military potential

· Interfax: Chinese drug users, traffickers will be barred from traveling to Russia

· Itar-Tass: Russia mourns over Perm nightclub fire victims

· Bloomberg: Death Toll in Perm Fire Reaches 112, Russian Ministry Says

· Itar-Tass: Perm nightclub fire death toll rises to 112

· FT.com: Blaze casts fresh doubt on Russian fire safety

· RIA: Police investigate Siberian chemical plant blast

· RIA: No harmful emissions to follow Angarsk plant blast

· RIA: Russian police probe collapse of hockey rink roof

· The Moscow Times: Proposal Would Cut Governors’ Salaries

· Itar-Tass: 1st Russian Economic Congress opens in Moscow

· Citibank: Severstal - Mordashov Meets Putin

· ISRIA: Russia - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin met with Alexei Mordashov, Severstal board chairman and Severstal Group general director

· Interfax: Russian Church wants "concrete steps" from Vatican to make Patriarch-Pope meeting possible

· Axisglobe: Clashes reportedly took place between Interior Ministry members and FSB officers in Russia's Vladivostok

· NPR.org: Russia Quietly Creates Leaner, More Modern Military

· Strategypage.com: The Ten Chechen Rule - Young men from the Caucasus (Dagestan in particular) have been complaining to the government that the army won't accept them as conscripts

· Reuters: Ex-Chechen Activist Vanishes - Zarema Gaisanova, 40, a native Chechen who worked for the Danish Refugee Council in Grozny, was taken from her home Oct. 31, human rights groups say.

· Itar-Tass: One policeman dies, one hurt in clash with militants in Makhachkala

· RFERL: Who Will Be Daghestan's Next President?

· The Jamestown Foundation: Local Court Rules Against United Russia Electoral Victory in Dagestani City

· The Jamestown Foundation: The Security Situation in Dagestan Continues to Deteriorate

· Prague Watchdog: The war without a name - Dagestan’s leaders have so far been unable to explain the causes of the bloody chaos to the general public, who are sceptical about the superficial explanations they are offered.

· RIA: The de-Russification of the Baltics serves a geopolitical purpose - By John Laughland

National Economic Trends

· Citibank: Russia Fiscal stimulus to be scaled back in 2010

· Interfax: Banks have 461.5 bln rbs on CBR correspondent accounts on December 7

· Bloomberg: Central Bank Said to Buy More Gold

Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions

· Russian markets – Factors to watch on Dec 7

· Bloomberg: Lukoil, Novolipetsk, Rosneft, Sberbank: Russian Equity Preview

· Barentsobserver: Norilsk Nickel best Russian company

· Citibank: Inter RAO - Electricity exports from Russia fell 20.2%yoy

· Bloomberg: Sberbank Net Tumbles 82% to 4.25 Billion Rubles (Update1)

· Reuters: UPDATE 1-Russia Sberbank's net misses forecast, provisions up

· Interfax: Sberbank net profit plunges to 10.3 bln rubles in 9 mths

· Interfax: Sberbank loan reserves total 9.8% of portfolio – Gref

· Itar-Tass: Mitsubishi UFJ, Vnesheconombank sign cooperation agreement

· Your Industry News: Vnesheconombank, SIBUR Holding, SACE, and Technimont sign Memorandum of Understanding for construction of the largest polypropylene complex in Russia

· UralSib: AFK Sistema, Comstar-UTS: Final terms of the Svyazinvest deal reportedly agreed

· Bloomberg: Mail.ru Seeks Switch to Google Search Engine, Vedomosti Says

· Searchcowboys.com: Google in competition with Yandex: taking over Mail.ru

· Interfax: ***PRESS-RELEASE: SMW GOLD announces assay results for gold deposits in Egypt

Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)

· Reuters: UPDATE 1-Blast at Russian refinery kills one, output continues

· Upstreamonline: Mulva vows to keep Lukoil stake

· Reuters: Russian court overturns TNK-BP's $144 million fine

· RIA: Azerbaijan's oil exports via Russian pipeline up 110% in Nov.

· Bloomberg: Novatek Creates LNG Body

Gazprom

· Citibank: Inter RAO - considers asset swaps with Gazprom

· Tehran Times: Iran, Pakistan, Russia to talk Gazprom's entry to IPI

· Dow Jones: Iran To Talk With Russia On Gazprom's Pakistan Pipeline Entry

· iStockAnalyst.com: Govt Approves Transfer of Chechengaz, Chechengazprom to Gazprom

· Businessneweurope: COMMENT: Gazprom's changing fortunes - more worryingly for Gazprom is the fact that the natural gas market is changing in a number of ways – by Roderick Kefferpuetz of Centre for European Policy Studies

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Full Text ArticlesBasic Political DevelopmentsReuters: PRESS DIGEST - Russia - Dec 7

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKGEE5B601P20091207

Mon Dec 7, 2009 7:00am GMT

MOSCOW, Dec 7 (Reuters) - The following are some of the leading stories in Russia's newspapers on Monday Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

KOMMERSANT

www.kommersant.ru

- Four people were arrested following President Dmitry Medvedev's demand to find and punish those responsible for the blaze at a night club in Perm which killed 112 people on Friday.

- People living in Sochi protested on Sunday against their forceful removal from homes, in connection with the construction of Olympic sites in the region.

- The Bank of Moscow is planning to attract up to 20 billion roubles next year through an additional share issue.

VEDOMOSTI

www.vedomosti.ru

- Russia's largest hydroelectric power producer Rushydro (HYDR.MM: Quote, Profile, Research) wants to raise 32 billion roubles through an additional share issue and spend it repairing a damaged Siberian dam, where a turbine room flood killed 75 people in August.

GAZETA

www.gzt.ru

- Russia's Gazprom (GAZP.MM: Quote, Profile, Research) is planning to take part in the construction of a pipeline taking natural gas from Iran to India via Pakistan, the daily says citing sources.

IZVESTIA

www.izvestia.ru

- Russia could cut its imports of meat, grain and diary products in 2010 and offer secure state support to local food producers and exporters.

- Moscow city authorities have decided to raise payment for municipal services by at least 23 percent in 2010.

NEZAVISISMAYA GAZETA

www.ng.ru

- The number of victims from the night club in Perm could rise as 76 people taken to hospitals with seriuos burns are in a very serious condition, the daily says.

- Russia's state anti-crisis programme cost 2.7 trillion roubles and has proved to be a success, the head of Audit Chamber Sergei Stepashin said on Friday. THe daily is quoting local experts as saying the results could have been better.

RIA: Medvedev, Singh begin talks in Moscow

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20091207/157138179.html

11:4707/12/2009

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have started talks in the Kremlin.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Kremlin aide Sergei Prikhodko are also taking part in the closed-door meeting.

Ahead of his visit to the Russian capital, Singh told Russian media that India is interested in diversifying bilateral relations with Russia and proposes to seek new areas for cooperation, such as in the pharmaceutical and diamond industries, and in bio-, nano- and information technology.

Russia and India have a long history of cooperation in the nuclear and military spheres, and Singh said the two sides should build on that.

The two leaders are also expected to address regional and global issues, particularly the situation in Afghanistan, terrorism, climate change and measures to revive the global economy.

Singh is also expected to hold talks with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

MOSCOW, December 7 (RIA Novosti)

RIA: Russian, Indian leaders to discuss energy, trade in Moscow


10:4307/12/2009

Bilateral discussions between Russia's president and India's prime minister on Monday are expected to focus on cooperation in energy and civil and military technology, as well as pharmaceuticals and the diamond industry.

Dmitry Medvedev welcomed Manmohan Singh to Moscow on Sunday as the two met for informal talks. The full-fledged discussions on Monday will be held in the Kremlin.

Singh told Russian media before his visit that India is interested in diversifying bilateral relations with Russia and proposes to seek new areas for cooperation, such as in the pharmaceutical and diamond industries, and in bio-, nano- and information technology.

"We need to widen our trade basket, and promote greater investments in each other's countries. Pharmaceuticals, information technology and diamonds can become areas of future growth," Singh said.

Russia and India have a long history of cooperation in the nuclear and military spheres, and Singh said the two sides should build on that and expand energy cooperation.

"We would in particular like to see further progress in the hydrocarbon sector, which has been under discussion for some time," he said. "We would like to see greater Russian participation in our nuclear energy expansion program."

Singh also called for greater technical and scientific cooperation both in civil and in the defense sector.

"We must revitalize our cooperation in the cutting edges of science and technology, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and transfer of high technologies," he said. "Defense cooperation is a key pillar of our relations. We would like to strengthen it, and move towards joint design, research, development and manufacture."

India already has a license for the production of T-90 tanks and produces BrahMos missiles. The two countries agreed in October on the joint development of helicopters, infantry fighting vehicles and a fifth-generation fighter, with formal agreements expected to be signed during Singh's current visit.

The two leaders will also address regional and global issues, particularly the situation in Afghanistan, terrorism, climate change and measures to revive the global economy.

Singh will also hold talks with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.


Itar-Tass: Medvedev, Indian prime minister to sign cooperation declaration

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=14612469&PageNum=0

06.12.2009, 20.20

MOSCOW, December 6 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held unofficial negotiations at Medvedev’s countryside residence on Sunday.

Any Russian visit of the Indian prime minister “is a major event, and that is why I wanted to meet you in both official and unofficial formats,” Medvedev said.

Singh said the unofficial meeting was a privilege, and India-Russia relations were boosted in the office of President Medvedev.

He also said that relations with Russia were the most important for India.

The brief conversation developed into an informal dinner.

Russian and Indian delegations will hold official negotiations at the Kremlin on Monday.

Medvedev and Singh will sign a joint declaration, the Kremlin told Itar-Tass.

“This document will evaluate the significance of Russian-Indian strategic partnership and common vision of the formation of a poly-centric international system in the 21st century,” the Kremlin said.

Besides, the delegations will sign a number of intergovernmental and interdepartmental agreements.

Singh will meet with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and businessmen from the Russian-Indian Council. A ceremony marking the end of the Indian Year in Russia will take place on the new stage of the Bolshoi Theater on Monday night.

The Kremlin welcomes positive dynamics of bilateral relations. “Stronger relations with India are a priority of the Russian foreign policy,” the Kremlin said. “Similar views of topical world and regional affairs and identical long-term national interests lay down a reliable foundation for further interaction.”

“Despite negative effects of the world crisis, bilateral trade has been growing steadily,” the Kremlin said. Trade neared $7 billion in 2008, and grew almost 8% in the first nine months of this year. “If the tempo persists, the sides can enlarge bilateral trade to $10 billion by the end of 2010,” the Kremlin said.

Russia and India are implementing a number of joint projects. The Kudankulam nuclear power plant in southern India and India’s participation in the development of the Sakhalin 1 oil and gas field are the most significant ones. Besides, the sides are designing a multifunctional cargo plane.

Scientific and technical cooperation is also successful. More than 400 projects are over, and another 120 are in progress with the emphasis on applied studies.

Russia and India are actively cooperating in space exploration. “We work together in satellite navigation, manned vehicles and lunar research. The Coronas-Photon spacecraft was launched in January 2009 under the agreement of the Federal Space Agency and the Indian Space Research Organization. The agreement was signed in 2005 to develop cooperation in solar physics and sun-earth interaction,” the Kremlin said.

Another satellite will be launched in the end of this year for joint studies of the ionosphere and upper layers of the atmosphere.

Russia and India highlight cultural relations. The Russian Year in India in 2008 and the Indian Year in Russia in 2009 were part of the cultural program.

Russia and India have annual summits. The previous summit took place in December 2008, during Medvedev’s official visit to India.

This is the third meeting of Medvedev and Singh in 2009. They met at the Yekaterinburg summits of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) in June and the G-20 Pittsburgh summit in September.

Business Standard: Indo-Russian defence coop key to bilateral ties: PM

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/indo-russian-defence-coop-key-to-bilateral-ties-pm/80121/on

Press Trust of India / Moscow December 07, 2009, 12:56 IST

As he prepared to meet President Dmitry Medvedev for the annual summit-level talks, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said defence cooperation has been a "very important aspect" in Indo-Russian ties.

Singh arrived here yesterday on a three-day visit, his sixth trip to Russia since 2004, that will see the inking of three agreements in the field of defence, including one for ending ad-hocism in servicing Russian military equipment.

The two sides are also expected to sign a landmark framework agreement on civil nuclear cooperation.

"Cooperation in the field of defense has been a very important aspect of our cooperation with Russia," Singh told the Russia Today television channel.

"We have been able to get equipment and technologies from Russia which were not available to us from any other countries," he noted.

Reflecting the warmth in the bilateral ties, the Russian President hosted a private dinner last night for Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur at his countryside residence in Barvikha outside Moscow, an honour so far accorded only to US President Barack Obama.

Over dinner, Medvedev and Singh held informal discussions on a wide range of issues including nuclear cooperation and conventional energy.

Dawn.com: India asks Russia to influence Pakistan’s policy

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/world/09-india-asks-russia-to-influence-pakistans-policy--szh-03

By Jawed Naqvi Monday, 07 Dec, 2009

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has asked Russia to use its influence with Pakistan to rein in terror groups it says are operating from across the border against New Delhi.

In remarks released before his departure on Sunday for Moscow for a bilateral meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Dr Singh told Russian journalists that Moscow had helped Delhi in all possible ways in improving its defence capabilities, which he hoped it would continue to do.

‘Russia has been a great friend of our country,’ the prime minister said in response to a question about Pakistan and terrorism. ‘It has stood by us through very difficult times. We face in the subcontinent the onset of terrorism aided, inspired and instigated by our neighbour. Russia and India can work together to devise effective counter-terror strategies through coordinating our intelligence and information system.’

India and Russia were both victims of terrorism, Dr Singh said. ‘We also believe that Russia being a great power can influence the conduct of Pakistan. Our hope is that Russia’s influence will be utilised to convince Pakistan that the strategy of using terror as an instrument of state policy is counter-productive; it runs counter to a policy of good neighbourliness.

‘On our part, if Pakistan territory ceases to be used by terrorists, we see immense opportunities for our two countries to work together in cooperation. There are immense opportunities of expanding trade, investment and technology flow between our two countries,’ Dr Singh said.

Reuters: PM arrives in Russia for arms, nuclear deals

http://in.reuters.com/article/topNews/idINIndia-44515520091207

Mon Dec 7, 2009 8:46am IST

By Guy Faulconbridge

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived in Moscow on Sunday to ink billions of dollars of weapons deals and for talks on a landmark nuclear deal that could significantly widen atomic fuel imports from Russia.

India, along with China, is one of Russia's biggest clients for arms sales but New Delhi has been upset in recent years by long delays in the delivery of a refurbished Soviet-era aircraft carrier under a $1.6 billion contract.

The signing of arms deals and talks on a civilian nuclear deal to widen uranium fuel deliveries are set to take centre stage in the three-day visit, officials said.

Singh met Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for an informal dinner after arrival on Sunday and is also set to meet Russia's powerful prime minister, Vladimir Putin.

"Cooperation in the field of defense has been a very important aspect of our cooperation with Russia," Singh told the Russia Today English-language television channel. "We have been able to get equipment and technologies from Russia which were not available to us from any other countries."

Russia and India, which in October agreed the outlines of a 10-year weapons deal that could be worth at least $10 billion, are building a modern supersonic fighter aircraft invisible to radars like the U.S. F-22 Raptor stealth fighter.

Singh may sign weapons orders including a $1 billion deal for 80 Russian Mi-17 helicopters and contracts for fitting Brahmos missiles onto Russian-made Sukhoi fighter planes, Indian officials have said.

Long delays to the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier have soured ties with some of India's military top brass. In July Medvedev took the rare step of publicly scolding the Russian shipbuilder for the delays.

COLD WAR ALLY

Russia sees India, a Cold War ally, as an important partner whose influence will expand in Asia, though trade lags far behind Moscow's economic ties with the European Union and China.

Trade rose to $5.1 billion in the first nine months of 2009, though that accounts for just 1.6 percent of Russia's external trade, according to Russian state figures.

Indian energy companies including state-run company ONGC have been trying to boost their position in Russia, the world's biggest energy producer, though it was unclear if any deals would be reached during Singh's trip.

Russia is seeking to strengthen its foothold on the Indian nuclear market before a deal with Washington gives major U.S. companies access to the Indian market.

The 2005 civil nuclear deal that Singh signed with former U.S. President George W. Bush, ended the long nuclear isolation imposed on India after it tested an atom bomb in 1974.

But several issues need to be cleared up before U.S. businesses including General Electric Co and Westinghouse Electric Co, a subsidiary of Japan's Toshiba Corp, can compete for billions of dollars in new reactor agreements.

Press Trust of India said India and Russia were set to sign a new civilian nuclear pact that could ensure uninterrupted uranium supplies from Moscow, but gave no further details.

Russia is building nuclear reactors at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu and plans to build additional plants.

(Editing by Angus MacSwan)

Russia Today: Indian PM in Moscow for contracts and counterterrorism

http://rt.com/Politics/2009-12-07/indian-pm-moscow-contracts.html/print

07 December, 2009, 09:36

Further co-operation on energy and defense – that is what India and Russia hope to secure during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's special three-day visit to Moscow.

He has already had an unofficial meeting with Dmitry Medvedev in the President’s countryside residence, and an official meeting with Medvedev in the Kremlin is scheduled for later on Monday. Large delegations from both sides will meet to sign agreements and discuss plans for the future.

The tone for the talks was set by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday, when he said that relations with Russia are the most important for India. Both India and Russia are part of the BRIC economic bloc of fast developing countries, the others being Brazil and China. These four countries combined represent 40% of the world’s population and a quarter of the planet’s landmass.

The trade turnover between Russia and India alone is expected to be some US$10 billion in 2010. Thus, trade is going to top the agenda of the leaders’ meeting.

Moscow is going to deliver something more concrete to the Indians than just goodwill talks, such as access to Russian oil and diamond deposits, as well as nuclear technology. Today, the leaders are set to discuss building aircraft, constructing pipelines and working together in space.

Ahead of the visit to Russia, the Indian Prime Minister also said that oil and gas co-operation would be at the top of the list of negotiations. The Indian state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is successfully developing Sakhalin-1 gas deposit, an ambitious project on Sakhalin Island in the Pacific in Russia’s Far East. A subsidiary of this Indian corporation owns Imperial Energy, which is working in western Siberia.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will also meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and hold a meeting with businessmen from the Russian-Indian Council.

A high point of today’s unofficial program will be attending the Bolshoi Theater in the evening, where the end of the Indian New Year will be celebrated especially for the high-ranking guest.

As time has proven, Russia-India relations are not about buying and selling. The two had a strategic partnership during the Soviet period, and the war in Afghanistan in 1979-1989 in particular. India is a good example for Russia in many terms. Being a country with a population of over 1 billion people, India is the most consistent democracy with such a population. Like Russia, India has a significant Muslim population – the second largest in the world – but neither Al-Qaeda nor Taliban have managed to establish a foundation on Indian territory. Experience in counteracting terrorism will be discussed today in Kremlin, too.

Speaking ahead of the visit to Russia with the Russian press, the Indian PM said that “Russia is a great friend of our country. It stood by us at the most difficult times. Russia and India can work together to devise effective counter-terrorist strategies. We can help each other.”

Manmohan Singh reminded those present that both Russia and India are victims of terrorism.

It is expected that, as a result of today’s meeting, combating terrorism together will be sealed on paper.

Thaindian News: A big day for India-Russia nuclear cooperation

December 7th, 2009 - 12:07 pm ICT by ANI

Read more: http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/a-big-day-for-india-russia-nuclear-cooperation_100285298.html#ixzz0Yz1SRIiQ

By Naveen Kapoor

Moscow, Dec.7 (ANI): Officials here are calling it as a big day for the India-Russia strategic relationship.

After several rounds of discussions and hectic negotiations, both sides have finalized a forward-looking broad-based civil nuclear agreement.

The agreement will be formally inked later in the day following summit-level talks between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

The new nuclear agreement is viewed here as a big takeaway and a path-breaking document. According to officials, it will go far beyond the 123 civil nuclear agreement that India sealed with the United States last year.

Under the new pact, Russia has ensured fuel supply guarantee even in the event of India conducting a nuclear test, whereas the 123 agreement with the United States clearly specifies that all kinds of nuclear cooperation will be terminated in case India goes ahead with a nuclear test.

There is, however, a clause which says the reasons and circumstances will be viewed before the termination and compensation will be paid.

The new nuclear pact between India and Russia also promises enrichment and reprocessing rights and access to high end technology (light weight reactors).

Before the Moscow visit, the Prime Minister had said that Washington had assured him that the issue of reprocessing fuel under a safeguarded plant would be sorted out soon, but delegation-level discussion are still trying to forge a consensus on the issue.

Russian Officials are viewing the new nuclear arrangement as a breakthrough.

Another factor that gives an additional edge to the Indo-Russian civil nuclear pact is the issue of liability insurance. In the case of the United States, private companies like Westinghouse and GE are asking India to comply, whereas in the case of Russia’s state-run nuclear power corporation Rosatom, there is no request for liability or insurance cover. (ANI)

RTT News: Indian Prime Minister In Moscow On Three-Day Visit

http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1148726&SMap=1

12/7/2009 12:09 AM ET

(RTTNews) - Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived in the Russian capital Moscow Sunday on a three-day official visit. The two countries are expected to sign a new civil nuclear pact, ensuring uninterrupted supply of Russian uranium fuel to India.

Besides expanding the civil nuclear co-operation deal, three key defense pacts are expected to be signed, including that for ending adhocism in servicing Russian military equipment.

During Singh's meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, terrorism, the volatile situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan, recovery of the global economy, energy-security, climate-change, nuclear disarmament and reforming of international institutions will be discussed.

He will also meet with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during whose presidency the strategic partnership between India and Russia got a boost in 2000. The two leaders will meet with members of the India-Russia CEOs' Council to boost trade ties between the two countries.

Before emplaning for Moscow in New Delhi, Singh described India-Russia relations as "a factor of peace and stability" in a changing world. He was confident that his visit would be one more step forward in consolidating India's co-operation with Russia.

"This is a partnership based on the solid foundation of long-standing friendship, deep mutual trust and strong convergence of interests," he said.

Singh stressed that "the multi-faceted co-operation" between the countries acquired "greater depth and maturity" through joint efforts over the years. "We seek to strengthen these ties further," he added.

He would review with President Medvedev the status of "bilateral co-operation, including the key areas of defense, civil nuclear energy, space, science and technology and hydrocarbons."

"I will also exchange views with the president on key regional and global issues, such as terrorism, recovery of the global economy, energy-security, climate-change, nuclear disarmament and reform of international institutions," he said.

Russia actively supported India in the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) last year and was one of the earliest backers for India re-joining the global nuclear trade. More than a month ago, India identified two sites for new Russian atomic reactors.

Price Dispute Over Aircraft Carrier Resolved

Ending a prolonged standoff over a key defense deal, India and Russia are reported to have finalized a price "satisfactory" to them for the refitting and delivery of the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier.

"We are close to finalizing the agreement (on the aircraft carrier)," an official said in New Delhi.

Confirming this development, officials traveling with the prime minister to Moscow said the two sides had decided to "heal up the festering wound" (over the price issue of the aircraft carrier). The two countries had finalized a mutually- satisfactory price tag, an official, privy to the development, said.

However, the official did not disclose what that "satisfactory price" was but said it was "between what the two countries were negotiating over". (Some reports put the figure at $ 2.75 billion).

He said the deal "will be inked in the next few months."

Indian and Russian defense officials have been re-negotiating the price for the purchase of the refurbished $2.2-billion aircraft carrier for over a decade. Moscow is demanding $2.9 billion for the aircraft carrier, nearly thrice the price that was originally agreed upon between the two sides in 2004. New Delhi wanted the price to be scaled back to $2.1 billion.

First Batch Of MiG-29Ks Arrives

Ending a year-long wait, the first batch of MiG-29K naval fighter jets, purchased from Russia for the Admiral Gorshkov, arrived in the western Indian coastal state of Goa Saturday evening, three years ahead of the warship.

The MiG-29Ks are a part of the 16 ordered for USD 526 million in 2004 along with the Gorshkov, which is expected to be delivered to the Indian Navy by 2012-end. They would be test- flown from Goa by Russian pilots before being formally inducted into the Naval aviation wing. These aircraft recently completed carrier-flight deck-testing and weapon- trials in Russia.

by RTT Staff Writer

DefenseNews: Indian Panel OKs Joint Aircraft Effort With Russia

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4405450&c=AIR&s=TOP

By Vivek Raghuvanshi Published: 4 Dec 2009 12:16

NEW DELHI - India's highest decision-making body on security matters gave its approval Dec. 3 to the joint development with Russia of a multirole transport aircraft (MTA).

The clearance by the Cabinet Committee on Security here will pave the way for a formal agreement to be signed during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Russia, beginning Dec. 6.

The plan calls for India and Russia to jointly build 210 MTAs, with Russia buying 100 and India buying the rest. The agreement will include an option for India to buy 100 more MTAs for its Army and other security forces.

Despite a 2002 memorandum of understanding to forge a joint venture to build the aircraft in India, no headway has been made on the project. The formal agreement likely will be inked during Singh's Moscow visit, an Indian Defence Ministry official said.

Russia's Irkutsk Aviation and Industrial Association, llyushin Aviation Complex and Rosoboronexport have decided to participate in the MTA program with India's state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) on an equity-sharing basis.

The Russians will finance nearly $300 million of the aircraft's development costs, the Defence Ministry official said. HAL also will supply $300 million for the effort after getting firm orders for the 15-ton MTA from the Indian Air Force, the ministry official added.

The MTA is intended to replace the Air Force's transport aircraft, most of which were bought from Russia. India has about 100 medium-lift An-32s and about 20 heavy-lift Il-76s.

In 2008, India signed a contract for the purchase of six C-130 Hercules transport planes from the U.S.

Itar-Tass: Climate Conference to seek to agree on greenhouse emissions cuts


07.12.2009, 05.26

COPENHAGEN, December 7 (Itar-Tass) -- The 15th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the 5th Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol will open in the Danish capital on Monday.

About 15,000 people – official representatives, experts and journalists – from 192 UN member-countries arrived for the forum. The heads of state and government from over 100 countries will participate in the final stage of the forum on December 17-18. The participants will attempt at coming to a new international agreement on greenhouse gas emissions cuts instead of the Kyoto Protocol, which will expire in 2012.

According to scientific reports, these greenhouse gas emissions, which are caused by the burning of coal, oil and gas, are the major reason for climate change. The scientists affirm that in order to prevent such devastating climate change disasters as droughts, floods and hurricanes it is necessary to keep the temperature from rising by more than 2 degrees Celsius. This will require a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 25-40% by 2020 and by 50% by 2050, with 1990 being the starting point.

Meanwhile, during the preliminary negotiations the Kyoto Protocol parties failed to agree on the scale of emissions cuts and on the assistance to developing countries for the climate change struggle. No country is willing to put at stake the economic development for the sake of some ecological goals; moreover, developing countries are inclined to shoulder ‘historic responsibility’ for the global warning on highly industrialized countries.

“The Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen is a really historical stage in the negotiating process,” the chief of the department of global environmental problems in the department of international organizations of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Oleg Shamanov, who was the first member of the Russian delegation to arrive in the Danish capital, told Itar-Tass. “It was planned that a new international legal document, which should replace the Kyoto Protocol, will have been drafted by the Conference. However, the positions of the negotiating nations are so opposite that the text of the document had not been coordinated at all,” Shamanov said. “Therefore, we believe the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference should make a political breakthrough. For this purpose at the initiative of the Danish side a summit will be held at the final stage of the Conference in order to find solutions on the key problems with the assistance of the heads of state and government. We hope that the political will be demonstrated and we will succeed to agree on political decisions in Copenhagen,” Shamanov said.

As for the concrete volumes of greenhouse gas emissions cuts, the Russian diplomat believes that “it is useless to speak about some figures, until we formulate a common architecture of a future regime.” “Currently with due account of the lessons of the Kyoto Protocol it is important for us to decide how we will be able to cooperate efficiently and on the global scale in order to take some measures to curb global climate changes,” Shamanov remarked. “We are convinced that to make this regime efficient it should be universal, should embrace all spheres and thematic blocks and should be all-embracing in terms of its participants. In other words, the regime should embrace all countries, including the major emitters (of greenhouse gases) among developed and developing countries,” the Russian diplomat said. “If these questions are settled, then it will be possible to say that we have some prospects for the future,” Shamanov said.

The Moscow Times: Trutnev Sees ‘Political’ Deal at Summit

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/trutnev-sees-political-deal-at-summit/390982.html

07 December 2009

Combined Reports

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Yury Trutnev said Friday that any agreement reached by a climate change summit in Copenhagen this week was likely to be political and have few details.

“To name a figure [for cutting greenhouse gases] is not really possible. It depends on what we agree on,” he said. “Unfortunately, most experts think that the Copenhagen talks will only be able to reach a political agreement, in which a general framework will be depicted,” he said.

Trutnev said the world must approach the process of regulating technology and economic development “gradually, step by step” to attain the proper balance.

In the Danish capital, delegates from 190 nations were gathering for the start of the Dec. 7-18 meeting. The biggest UN climate talks in history are aimed at working out a new pact to curb global warming, replacing the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.

China, India, Brazil and South Africa this week rejected a Danish suggestion to set a goal of halving world emissions by 2050, saying rich nations which have burnt fossil fuels since the Industrial Revolution must first slash their own emissions.

Many developing nations at preliminary meetings in Copenhagen on Saturday were lining up with the four in opposing the Danish proposals, delegation sources said. China is the top world emitter ahead of the United States, Russia and India.

Russia has not indicated who will be representing the country at the talks, but a diplomatic source told Interfax last week that the Russian delegation will be represented on a “high level.”

(MT, Reuters)

RIA: Climate change no good for any country, even Russia — expert

http://en.rian.ru/Environment/20091206/157121609.html

06:0606/12/2009

Climate change which the planet is likely to face in the 21st century would provide direct benefits to no country, although producers of energy efficient equipment could benefit from it, a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences said.

"I am completely sure that climate change itself would be beneficial for no country, including Russia," Victor Danilov-Danilyan said during an online conference organized by RIA Novosti ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference due in Copenhagen on December 7-18.

"That is why for us, as well as for everybody, the meeting in Copenhagen is very important," the expert said.

He said, however, climate change could be beneficial for companies, which would address changing market requirements by producing energy efficient equipment.

The climate talks in the Danish capital are widely expected to see the singing of a new international document to replace the Kyodo Protocol on climate change, some elements of which expire in 2012.

However, Danilov-Danilyan said a legally binding agreement on the reduction of carbon emissions is unlikely to be reached during the conference, adding "summit participants are more likely to just outline principles and directions for a post-Kyodo framework."

Alexei Kokorin, who heads WWF Russia's Climate and Energy program, said that if the countries - participants of the Copenhagen summit - reach an agreement, which does not require ratification, such an agreement will be ineffective as "nobody will implement it."

Olga Murashko from the International Working Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) said the agenda of the Copenhagen talks includes the issue of negative impact of global warming on Northern indigenous peoples' traditional economy.

"Northern indigenous peoples, their traditional economy have suffered from climate change," she said. "The most dangerous thing for deer farming is ice-crusted ground. It has become common for some Northern areas, resulting in deaths of thousands of deer," she said.

The expert said Northern indigenous peoples, who had successfully adapted to periodic climate variations for centuries, now lost such an opportunity.

"We know from the history of archeology that during periods of warming indigenous peoples used to move from deer farming to sea hunting and inshore fishery," she said, adding oil and gas extraction, which is now held along the Arctic coastline, impede local inhabitants' traditional occupations.

Participants of the online conference also discussed the issue of rising global sea level and the coastal flooding threat.

"I consider the predictions about the 1.4-meter (4.6-feet) rise in [global] sea level by the end of the [21st] century quite truthful," Danilov-Danilyan said, adding other negative effects of climate change are also "enormous."

"That is why I consider expenses on fighting [climate] change proposed by even the boldest analysts insufficient if compared to possible damage from climate... change," he said.

Alexei Kokorin said even a one-meter rise in global sea level would be significant for many seaside localities and would cause frequent storms.

He also said global temperature increase of more than two degrees Celcius above pre-industrial levels would have catastrophic effects.

"Two degrees is a limit, after which water deficit grows dramatically," he said, adding "if the two-degree average global temperature increase means water deficit for half a billion people, the increase of 3.5 degrees would affect 3.5 billion people of those 9 billion expected to inhabit the Earth in the middle of the 21st century."


The Independent: Was Russian secret service behind leak of climate-change emails?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/was-russian-secret-service-behind-leak-of-climatechange-emails-1835502.html

FSB accused of paying hackers to discredit scientists after stolen correspondence traced to server in Siberia

By Shaun Walker

Monday, 7 December 2009

The news that a leaked set of emails appeared to show senior climate scientists had manipulated data was shocking enough. Now the story has become more remarkable still.

The computer hack, said a senior member of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, was not an amateur job, but a highly sophisticated, politically motivated operation. And others went further. The guiding hand behind the leaks, the allegation went, was that of the Russian secret services.

The leaked emails, which claimed to provide evidence that the unit's head, Professor Phil Jones, colluded with colleagues to manipulate data and hide "unhelpful" research from critics of climate change science, were originally posted on a server in the Siberian city of Tomsk, at a firm called Tomcity, an internet security business.

The FSB security services, descendants of the KGB, are believed to invest significant resources in hackers, and the Tomsk office has a record of issuing statements congratulating local students on hacks aimed at anti-Russian voices, deeming them "an expression of their position as citizens, and one worthy of respect". The Kremlin has also been accused of running co-ordinated cyber attacks against websites in neighbouring countries such as Estonia, with which the Kremlin has frosty relations, although the allegations were never proved.

"It's very common for hackers in Russia to be paid for their services," Professor Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, the vice chairman of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, said in Copenhagen at the weekend. "It's a carefully made selection of emails and documents that's not random. This is 13 years of data, and it's not a job of amateurs."

The leaked emails, Professor van Ypersele said, will fuel scepticism about climate change and may make agreement harder at Copenhagen. So the mutterings have prompted the question: why would Russia have an interest in scuppering the Copenhagen talks?

This time, if it was indeed the FSB behind the leak, it could be part of a ploy to delay negotiations or win further concessions for Moscow. Russia, along with the United States, was accused of delaying Kyoto, and the signals coming from Moscow recently have continued to dismay environmental activists.

When Ed Miliband, the Secreatary of State for Climate Change, visited Moscow this year, he had meetings with high-level Russian officials and pronounced them constructive. But others doubt that Russia has much desire to go green.

Up in the far northern reaches of Russia, there are stretches of hundreds of miles of boggy tundra; human settlements are few and far between. Often, the only inhabitants are indigenous reindeer herders, who in recent years have reported that their cyclical lifestyle is being affected by the climate: they have to wait until later in the year to migrate to winter camps, because the rivers do not freeze as early as they used to. In spring, the snow melts quickly and it becomes harder for reindeer to pull sleds.

Much of Russia's vast oil and gas reserves lie in difficult-to-access areas of the far North. One school of thought is that Russia, unlike most countries, would have little to fear from global warming, because these deposits would suddenly become much easier and cheaper to access.

It is this, goes the theory, that underlies the Kremlin's ambivalent attitudes towards global warming; they remain lukewarm on the science underpinning climate change, knowing full well that if global warming does change the world's climate, billions of dollars of natural resources will become accessible. Another motivating factor could be that Russia simply does not want to spend the vast sums of money that would be required to modernise and "greenify" Russia's ageing factories.

But global warming also brings with it a terrifying threat for Russia, the melting of permafrost, which covers so much of the country's territory. Cities in the Siberian north such as Yakutsk are built entirely on permafrost, and if this melts, are in danger of collapsing, along with railways and all other infrastructure.

But many in Russia's scientific community are deeply sceptical of the threat from global warming. And only 40 per cent of Russians believe climate change is a serious threat, a survey shows

Russia's commitments ahead of Copenhagen have been modest. In June, the President, Dmitry Medvedev, said Russia would reduce emission levels by 10 to 15 percent from 1990 levels by 2020. But what this actually means is a whopping 30 per cent rise from the present levels. Using the 1990 figures as a benchmark is a way to gain extra leeway, because emissions in Russia have tumbled since the Soviet Union collapsed and much of its polluting industrial complex went down with it.

Of course, Russia is not alone in falling short on climate commitments. But nor does it have a track record for openness for dismissal of the claims against the FSB to be straightforward. The Tomsk hackers in the message along with their leak, wrote of their hopes that the release would "give some insight into the science and the people behind it". Similar insights into the hackers themselves look extremely unlikely.

The First Post: UN chief claims Russia is behind Climategate

http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/57046,news-comment,news-politics,united-nations-chief-claims-russia-is-behind-climategate-climate-change-sceptics

On the eve of Copenhagen, senior scientist raises the stakes over stolen emails

By Jack Bremer

LAST UPDATED DECEMBER 7, 2009

Are the Russians behind the leaked 'Climategate' emails, the awkward series of messages from scientists at the University of East Anglia's world famous Climatic Research Unit (CRU) which threaten to undermine the already precarious global warming summit opening in Copenhagen today? That's the theory put forward by the UN's deputy climate chief, Professor Jean-Pascal van Ypersele.

The emails, which were leaked in late November, appear to suggest that the respected CRU director Professor Phil Jones and his colleagues at East Anglia were manipulating data to prove their case that climate change is man-made. With the divide between 'green' politicians and what Gordon Brown calls the 'Flat Earth climate sceptics' already wide enough, the resulting scandal threatens to make it even more difficult to reach an agreement on carbon emissions at the summit.

The emails, sent to and from fellow scientists around the world, date back as far as 1996. The most damaging one, from 1999, appears to refer to Prof Jones's wish to "hide the decline" shown in a record of temperatures obtained by studying tree-ring growth since 1960. The temperatures recorded this way were not the same as the actual recorded air temperatures.

As a result of the ensuing controversy, Prof Jones has stepped aside from his post while the emails are investigated. He continues to deny that the emails provide any evidence that data was manipulated.

Prof van Ypersele believes it was Russians who hacked into the CRU emails and leaked them, carefully timed to disrupt Copenhagen. "It's a scandal," he said. Supporting his theory, the Mail on Sunday reported yesterday that it was very likely a web server called Tomcity that was used to start the process of diseminating the emails online.

The server, located in the Siberian city of Tomsk, is used mainly by Tomsk State University and other scientific institutes. According to the Mail, computer hackers in Tomsk have been used in the past by the Russian secret service - the FSB - to close down websites which promote views not approved by the Kremlin.

As one of the world's largest producers and users of gas and oil, Russia has a vested interest in opposing any agreement reached in Copenhagen to reduce emissions.

INN: Russian Minister: Iran's Busher Nuke Plant Almost Ready

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/176003

Reported: 10:15 AM - Dec/07/09

(IsraelNN.com) According to the Iranian FNA news agency, Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko said on Saturday that the final stage of construction of Iran's Busher nuclear power plant is moving forward at a good pace. Shmatko made the remark in a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

In the meeting, Shmatko briefed Putin on his recent visit to Iran, where he visited the Busher facility and participated in a meeting of the Russian-Iranian intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation. Russia has resisted calls for sanctions against Iran despite its disregard for UN calls to reign in its illegal nuclear program.

Monday, December 07, 2009 Israel Today Staff

Israel Today: Advanced Russian-made missiles fired at Israel from Gaza

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=178&nid=20115

Palestinian terrorists operating out of the Gaza Strip fired advanced Russian-made anti-tank missiles into southern Israel on Sunday. The missiles landed in an open area between two Israeli villages, causing no injuries or damage.

The S5K air-to-ground anti-tank missiles are usually launched from helicopters, though are commonly used from the ground by terrorist forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sunday's attack was the first time the missiles have been used by Palestinian terrorists.

The use of S5Ks against southern Israel is evidence for Israeli military assertions that Hamas has been smuggling advanced arms into Gaza with little or no resistance from Egypt and the European monitors that were supposed to be preventing such activity along the Gaza-Egypt border.

Xinhua: Israel rejects Russian request to give PNA armored vehicles: report

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/06/content_12599491.htm

2009-12-06 17:45:19

JERUSALEM, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Israel has turned down a Russian request to allow the transfer of 25 armored personnel carriers (APCs) to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) in the West Bank, local daily Ha'aretz reported Sunday.

During his Thursday meeting with visiting Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, who raised the request, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that his country does not necessarily oppose the measure, but this is not the right time for the transfer.

Israel looked favorably on boosting the PNA security forces, the report quoted the minister as saying.

Patrushev headed a Russian delegation that came to Israel for the biannual meeting with Israel's National Security Council, chaired by Professor Uzi Arad. Patrushev also met Thursday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The APC deliveries, which aim to help the PNA fight terrorism, have been on the table since 2005, but successive Israeli governments have managed to evade the Russian requests, mostly due to defense establishment opposition.

Senior Israeli officials who have dealt with the issue say the Russians are very frustrated by Israel's essentially blocking of the deliveries despite promises from former prime ministers Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert to allow them to go through.

"I don't understand why you are not giving authorization for importing the APCs," Patrushev was quoted by Ha'aretz as telling Barak and Arad, "These are unarmed vehicles, so what is the problem?"

A compromise solution was raised during the talks, according to which the vehicles would be sent to Jordan, assuming that Amman would agree, said the report.

Senior Israeli officials say that would enable the rapid transfer of the APCs to the PNA in case they are needed. Meanwhile, the vehicles might be made available in Jordanian training camps, where PNA security forces are being prepared, under U.S. supervision, for service in the West Bank.

Interfax: EU Council to address Ukraine-Russia relations in gas sector on Monday

http://www.interfax.com.ua/eng/main/27032

07.12.2009

The EU Council for Transport, Telecommunications and Energy will focus on the security of energy supply at its Monday meeting and will address Ukraine-Russia relations in gas sector in this context.

The meeting's agenda in the issue of the international relations in the field of energy includes the following items: status on gas relations between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, Energy Community Treaty, Eastern Partnership, EU-US Energy Council and other international events.

Swedish Minister for Energy Maud Olofsson will chair the Council meeting.

The Georgian Times: Russia accuses Georgia of ignoring ceasefire agreement terms

http://www.geotimes.ge/index.php?m=home&newsid=19469

Russia tries to mislead international society by accusing Georgia of ignoring the terms of the ceasefire agreement signed by Sarkozy-Medvedev-Saakashvili in the days of the August War 2008. Russian Foreign Ministry has released the script of the speech delivered by Lavrov at the NATO-Russia council. Lavrov asserted that Russia had met all terms of the ceasefire agreement, while Georgia had not.`Georgian side took a responsibility to sign the agreement about the nonuse of force against the people of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, however, they are not fulfilling them,` Lavrov said and added that the West continued to supply offensive weapons to Georgia and that the military potential of Georgia was already resumed.Lavrov ruled out the denouncement of the recognition of Georgia`s breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia, because it was the people of the two `republics` who declared independence and that these people withstood much from Georgian regimes. Rustavi2 2009.12.07 12:20

Interfax: Georgia criticizes Russia for mounting Abkhazia’s military potential

http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=134267

TBILISI. Dec 7 (Interfax) - The Georgian Foreign Ministry has accused Russia of enlarging the military potential of Abkhazia.

The ministry posted the statement on Saturday, following the announcement by head of the Russian Border Service's force in Abkhazia, Oleg Frolov, that three Russian border cutters would start to patrol the Abkhaz territorial waters on December 7.

"The presence of Russian military cutters in the Georgian territorial waters offshore Abkhazia is an act of piracy aimed to enlarge the military contingent on occupied lands of the sovereign state," the ministry said

Interfax: Chinese drug users, traffickers will be barred from traveling to Russia

http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=134282

VLADIVOSTOK. Dec 7 (Interfax) - Starting from 2010, the Chinese province of Heilongjiang will tighten rules of travel for Chinese nationals involved in drugs to the neighboring Primorye territory of Russia.

Drug addicts and traffickers will be barred from traveling, head of the Primorye drug police Alexander Rolik was told by representatives from Heilongjiang's Public Security Department who had come to Russia for a working visit, the press service of Primorye drug control authority said in a report.

"All individuals registered as drug users or identified as involved in trafficking will be denied entry into Russia," the report says.

The step is taken in the framework of preparations for the APEC-2012 summit in Vladivostok.

Itar-Tass: Russia mourns over Perm nightclub fire victims


07.12.2009, 03.42

MOSCOW, December 7 (Itar-Tass) -- A day of mourning was declared in Russia on Monday. The Perm nightclub fire killed 111 young people aged from 20 to 45 years overnight to Saturday. The death toll may grow, as tens of severely injured people are undergoing treatment at the hospitals of Perm, Moscow, St. Petersburg and Chelyabinsk. The medics are doing their best, but refrain from forecasts so far.

The national flags will fly at half-mast, and when the design of the flagstaffs makes it impossible the flags will be decorated with black mourning ribbons. Cultural organizations and television and radio broadcasting companies were offered to cancel entertainment events and programs.

The federal television channels and radio stations cancelled entertainment programs last weekend. Entertainment events and commercials will be also cancelled on Monday.

The Russian television and radio information and analytical programs will tell the whole world about the tragedy. “We will place an emphasis on the international support and condolences that the leaders of foreign countries offered,” Voice of Russia Radio spokeswoman Yekaterina Yagunova noted.

As for private cafeterias, restaurants, nightclubs and discos, their owners can decide on their night shows up to their moral principles. The specific Moscow department gave recommendations to the owners of the foresaid entertainment organizations “to take into account ethical aspects carefully,” the Moscow Mayor’s Office said.

Perm will hold the third mourning day and the first massive funerals of the tragedy victims. The identification of the fire victims was over on Sunday, the sorrowful list of 66 women and 45 men was posted. It is not ruled out that the number of funerals will grow, because the mortuaries began to give the bodies of the fire victims on Sunday, and the relatives of those dead will decide for themselves when to hold a funeral ceremony, the regional administration added.

The territorial and municipal authorities decided to allocate 100,000 roubles for the funeral of each fire victim. The Perm and territorial budgets allocated 12 million roubles for funeral expenses, the Perm gubernatorial administration told Itar-Tass.

Some 103 injured people were airlifted to the hospitals in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Chelyabinsk on Saturday and Sunday. The medical specialists believe the fact that the patients endured the transportation is surely a positive factor. However, the first few days after being wounded are very important for patients with sweeping burns, as complications may develop.

Apart from the percentage of the burnt skin, the burn depth is very important. It depends from these two factors whether it will be possible to save the life and health of the patient.

The Ministry of Health and Social Development assured that the injured people are provided with the necessary medical care, medicines, medical equipment and the donor blood.

According to the ministry, 30 people are undergoing treatment at the Perm hospitals. Minister of Health Tatiana Golikova noted no more injured people will be evacuated from Perm.

Russia has lost more than 100 people neither in the hostilities, nor in a terrorist act, nor in a natural disaster and even nor in a man-made catastrophe. The unprecedented death toll resulted in criminal negligence and the violation of the ordinary fire safety rules.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the tragedy resulted from the absence of “brain and conscience.”

The unauthorized use of firecrackers, the non-fulfillment of the requirements of the fire services resulted in the death of tens of young people aged from 20 to 45 years.

The president declared mourning for the fire victims, ordered to pool all efforts to render assistance to the injured people and demanded to punish without any leniency those guilty. “All that happened cannot be qualified, but as a crime. Not a premeditated crime, but its consequences do not become less severe. A great number of people died,” Medvedev said.

The Perm territorial investigation department of the Prosecutor General’s Office Investigation Committee (SKP) instituted a criminal case under Article 219 Part 3 of the Criminal Code (violation of the fire safety rules that caused death of two and more people through negligence). Four suspects were already arrested, the SKP source said. The investigators will bring official accusations against them in the next few days. It is not ruled out that more suspects may be found.

The results of the expertise are also expected on Monday to give substantial evidence of what was the reason for the fire. After that the investigators will establish all injured parties.

Bloomberg: Death Toll in Perm Fire Reaches 112, Russian Ministry Says

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=afEILXRjHG00

By Maria Ermakova

Dec. 7 (Bloomberg) -- The death toll from a fire at a nightclub in the Ural Mountains city of Perm on Dec. 4 reached 112, Russia’s Emergency Ministry said, after another person died overnight.

Another 120 people remain in hospitals in Perm, Moscow, St. Petersburg and Chelyabinsk, an official in the Perm branch of the ministry said by phone today, declining to be identified because of ministry policy.

To contact the reporter on this story: Maria Ermakova in Moscow at [email protected]

Last Updated: December 7, 2009 01:38 EST

Itar-Tass: Perm nightclub fire death toll rises to 112

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=14612695

07.12.2009, 10.25

PERM, December 7 (Itar-Tass) - Another person who was injured in a fire at Perm nightclub has died, thus the death toll of the tragedy has reached 112, the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry’s main department for the Perm Territory reported on Monday.

“Igor Borisevich, born 1967, died in Perm at 08:00 (Moscow time),” the emergencies department specified.

It said that the “total number of people who died in the fire is 112, there are 121 injured and 20 fire victims are staying at Perm hospitals, 65 people have been airlifted to Moscow, 28 – to St. Petersburg and another 7 – to Chelyabinsk for treatment.

It was also reported that as of 08:45, Moscow time, Monday, 39 bodies of the fire victims were handed over to their relatives.

FT.com: Blaze casts fresh doubt on Russian fire safety

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4efda678-e2d1-11de-b028-00144feab49a.html

By Catherine Belton in Moscow

Published: December 7 2009 02:00 | Last updated: December 7 2009 02:00

Anger mounted yesterday over a nightclub blaze in the Siberian city of Perm that killed at least 111 people as prosecutors accused management of criminal negligence and mourners began to bury the dead.

About 130 people were still in hospital, with many in a critical condition, after a fire that swept through the Lame Horse nightclub on Friday night when an indoor firework display set light to wicker panels covering the club's low ceiling and walls. Panic broke out as the more than 200 clubbers stampeded towards a single narrow exit as smoke filled the room. Tearful eyewitnesses told state TV of charred corpses lying across the road and of a chronic lack of ambulances for those that had survived.

Prosecutors said yesterday they had arrested four club managers, including the owner, on charges of criminal negligence. They said management had failed to comply with fire regulations and ignored fire inspectors' prescriptions to fix eight violations of fire safety regulations, including the lack of fire exits, issued a year ago. Fire inspectors had been due to check the club again for compliance today.

It was the latest and most deadly incident in a string of fires at Russian hospitals, orphanages and nursing homes in recent years, with death tolls all blamed on lax fire safety standards.

Gennady Gudkov, a senior member of Russia's parliament, told Russian news agencies that toughening criminal punishment would not solve the problem because of corruption in the fire safety inspection service, as officers take money to ignore violations.

The deadly fires have occurred even though businessmen often complain of overly active fire safety officers conducting checks as a key part of red tape strangling business, though the Kremlin has recently taken measures to cut back the number of checks.

Sergei Shoigu, emergency situations minister, said business would have to pay a price. "We have lowered the burden on business to a maximum. But . . . the time has come for you to take responsibility," he said.

"You can't say that you are being pressured the whole time. We can either go back to what it was 10 years ago and tighten everything, or bring this to its logical conclusion."

Dmitry Medvedev, Russian president, said the club's management needed to be punished: "First it seems to me they have neither brains nor a conscience. And secondly, they are completely indifferent to what happened. They must be punished with the full force of the law." He said it was "not a premeditated crime, but this does not lessen the gravity".

RIA: Police investigate Siberian chemical plant blast


06:2207/12/2009

IRKUTSK, December 7 (RIA Novosti) - Prosecutors have launched a criminal probe following an explosion at a petrochemical plant in the city of Angarsk in east Siberia, a spokesman for the regional prosecutor's office said on Monday.

The blast shook the plant, which is owned by state oil company Rosneft, at 15:04 Moscow time [12:30 GMT] on Sunday killing a 38-year-old worker.

"A criminal case has been opened on suspicion of violation of safety rules which led to a loss of human life," an investigation official said.

According to preliminary reports, the explosion was caused by a hydrogen leak at a high-pressure pump.

Local emergencies services said the blast destroyed a total of 120 square meters of the roof at the facility, but dismissed the threat of harmful emissions into the atmosphere as "there were no dangerous chemical reagents at the plant at the moment of the explosion."

The plant is one of Russia's largest petrochemicals facilities in the region.

RIA: No harmful emissions to follow Angarsk plant blast

http://en.rian.ru/crime/20091207/157132457.html

00:0807/12/2009

IRKUTSK, December 6 (RIA Novosti) - There will be no harmful emissions into the atmosphere following an explosion at a petrochemical plant in the city of Angarsk in east Siberia, emergencies officials said Sunday.

The plant is owned by state oil company Rosneft. It was not immediately clear what exactly caused the blast, which shook the plant earlier on Sunday killing one person. A total of 120 square meters of the roof collapsed.

"There were no serious chemical reagents at the plant at the moment of the explosion. No dangerous emissions to the atmosphere of Angarsk or Irkutsk will follow," an official said.

The plant is one of Russia's largest petrochemicals facilities in the region.

RIA: Russian police probe collapse of hockey rink roof


09:2107/12/2009

Police in Russia's Far Eastern city of Vladivostok on Monday stared to investigate the collapse of a public ice rink, a representative of the Primorye Territory prosecutors said.

The roof of the Polyus (Pole) ice rink collapsed on Saturday evening, apparently due to a large accumulation of snow during a winter storm in the region. No one was hurt as skaters noticed the roof begin to fail in time to leave the building.

"A police investigation will determine the cause of the collapse of the Polyus ice rink's roof," deputy prosecutor Irina Nomokonova said on Monday. "A conclusion will also be drawn on whether the roof met strength and safety standards."

Several eyewitnesses, who were on the ice or relaxing in the venue's cafe, said the roof first began to crack and then within a minute slowly sag. There was just enough time for skaters to leave the rink before part of the roof crashed down onto the ice.

The ice rink was built two years ago by a private company and was opened in February 2008. The rink operates year-round, with space for up to 150 people, and it is also used by Primorye Territory hockey teams.

Twenty-eight people died in February 2004 when the roof of an indoor water park in Moscow collapsed under the weight of snow, with dozens injured. Investigators concluded that the design of the center, which had opened in 2002, was flawed.

Enforcement of building regulations can be patchy in Russia, and checks are to be carried out on public venues across the country following a fire in a Perm nightclub on Saturday that killed more than 100 people.

VLADIVOSTOK, December 7 (RIA Novosti)

The Moscow Times: Proposal Would Cut Governors’ Salaries

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/proposal-would-cut-governors-salaries/390964.html

07 December 2009

By Maria Antonova

A Finance Ministry proposal could cut in half the salaries of some regional governors, as the federal government tightens control over the regions while trying to rein in excess spending.

The proposed legislation, which could come into force starting next year, would amend a law on the organization of political power in the regions by giving the federal government the power to set salary caps for governors. The salaries of other regional officials would be prohibited from exceeding those of the governor, who would receive the authority to set salary caps for municipal officials in the region, according to the draft of the law, which is posted on the Finance Ministry’s web site.

The law is currently “in the process of being approved,” a ministry spokeswoman said without providing details.

Governors earn up to 352,000 rubles ($11,900) per month, a figure that surpasses President Dmitry Medvedev’s salary of 244,000 rubles and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s 204,000 rubles per month, and is more than double the 164,000 ruble salary of other ministers, according to a Finance Ministry commentary on the law.

There is a “lack of correlation” between the salaries of top regional officials and “their accomplishments and the fiscal capabilities of regional budgets,” the commentary says.

The legislation falls in line with other moves made in recent years to include top regional officials into the so-called power vertical. “In essence, this measure recognizes governors as the top federal authority in the regions, rather than as representatives of the regional political elite,” said Nikolai Petrov, a regional analyst at the Carnegie Center.

And the timing for such a law couldn’t be better, as the recession has aggravated popular anger at the disproportionate earnings of government officials — ensuring that the governors don’t protest the law publicly, he said.

Federal officials’ wages often compare unfavorably with those of regional officials. Nevertheless, high salaries in rich regions are not a problem for the federal budget, said Rostislav Turovsky, an independent political analyst. “Limiting salaries would only make sense in subsidized regions,” Turovsky said, referring to regions that take more from federal coffers than they contribute.

In the first half of 2009, salaries of regional government officials were on average 40 percent higher than those of federal government officials in the same region, according to the State Statistics Service. The disparity reaches 143 percent in the Yamal-Nenets autonomous district and is also large in the Sakhalin, Tyumen, Leningrad and Krasnodar regions.

Valery Zubov, a Just Russia deputy and former governor of the Krasnoyarsk region, said the idea is “rational” and “logical,” but too late in coming. “When I was governor, the salaries in our region, which had more money than most other territories in the country, were among the lowest,” he said. “That was annoying.”

Itar-Tass: 1st Russian Economic Congress opens in Moscow


07.12.2009, 10.33

MOSCOW, December 7 (Itar-Tass) -- The Russian Economic Forum opened in Moscow on Monday. Its purpose is to consolidate the community of Russian economists. The congress has been organized by the New Economic Association and the economy section of the department of social sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Deputy Prime Minister, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, Rector of Moscow University Viktor Sadovnichy, as well as prominent economists from Russia and other countries attended the opening ceremony.

A programme of the congress, in whose work some 1,500 people are taking part, includes 24 round-table conferences, where some 1,000 reports on key problems of the Russian economy will be made.

A conference of young scientists will also be held within the framework of the congress. Its main task is to restore the prestige of the profession of an economy scientist.

The organisers of the congress mention as their main objectives the achievement of a higher level of scientific substantiation of government resolutions on key social and economic problems facing the country, as well as a search for optimal ways of the integration of scientific research made by Russian economists into the world economic science.

The congress “should show that economy is a science and not guess-work,” said Ruslan Grinberg, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Director of the Institute of Economy. “We should show a variety of opinions and establish consensus zones in the evaluation of this or that phenomenon,” he stressed.

Citibank: Severstal - Mordashov Meets Putin

http://www.businessneweurope.eu/dispatch_text10696

Citibank, RussiaDecember 7, 2009

Vedomosti reports that Severstal CEO and majority owner Alexey Mordashov has met with Russian PM Putin. The newspaper quotes Mordashov as saying that Severstal will end the year with difficulties, but sees clear recovery in steel market conditions.

Our take: the news may be positive for the stock: (1) Mordashov's comments suggest stability in steel prices and demand, albeit at current low levels; and (2) highest level meetings between CEOs and the prime minister are usually positive for sentiment.

Daniel Yakub

ISRIA: Russia - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin met with Alexei Mordashov, Severstal board chairman and Severstal Group general director

http://www.isria.com/pages/4_December_2009_202.php

Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:

Vladimir Putin: Good evening, Mr Mordashov. How is your company finishing the year?

Alexei Mordashov: Overall, the situation is somewhat difficult as the company, like many others, has been affected by current events. Still, there are some positive trends. We can clearly see that the market is recovering - although it is not yet back to previous levels, a recovery has begun. This helps us look to the future with confidence and speak of a return to development rather than simply survival.

Vladimir Putin: Is demand slowly increasing?

Alexei Mordashov: It is, no doubt. The main thing is that we are raising the company's competitiveness through restructuring and optimisation, which will enable us to take a greater market share. Our exports are growing as well. So, overall I can say that we are rebounding, slowly but steadily.

Vladimir Putin: How are you going about modernising and optimisation?

Alexei Mordashov: We have obviously adjusted our production schedule to current demand. We are optimising by closing inefficient facilities and making pinpoint investments in the facilities with the best opportunities to increase our productivity. We have initiated the operation of a blast furnace this year and plan to re-fire another one now standing idle.

Unfortunately, the crisis has resulted in personnel cuts at the company. Yet, we know that the regions where we operate have not seen considerable unemployment growth, with people still able to find jobs. With assistance from government agencies, we make every effort to provide people with retraining. The overall situation is stable.

Vladimir Putin: Good. Let's go into more detail.

07 December 2009, 11:56

Interfax: Russian Church wants "concrete steps" from Vatican to make Patriarch-Pope meeting possible

http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=6712

Moscow, December 7, Interfax - The Russian Orthodox Church is not against a meeting between its head, Patriarch Kirill, and Pope Benedict XVI but expects the Vatican to "take "concrete steps to show that there is a desire to be cooperative," the Russian Church's foreign relations chief said in a television program on Saturday.

"Our position has remained unchanged for many years: we have never excluded the possibility of such a meeting. So said the late Patriarch Alexy II and so says the incumbent Patriarch, Kirill," head of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk told Rossiya television.

But such a meeting needs good preparation "so that the current tension is eliminated," he said.

"We expect the Vatican, the Roman Catholic Church, to take concrete steps to show that there is a desire to be cooperative and heal all the wounds that were inflicted in the extremely harrowing period of the early 90s," the Archbishop said.

In that period, more than 500 Orthodox churches in Ukraine "were forcibly seized by Greek Catholics and the Orthodox believes were ousted from them".

"We are suggesting concrete solutions to the problems that exist," he said.

Archbishop Hilarion also commented on a recent decision by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to seek diplomatic relations between Russia and the Vatican.

"This move on the part of the Russian state deserves nothing but being hailed," he said.

At the same time, there are problems in relations between the Russian Orthodox and Catholic Churches "that need to be solved in a completely different way and by different means, that cannot be solved merely by establishing diplomatic relations," he said.

"Above all, it is the problems of Western Ukraine, where there remains tension in relations between the Orthodox and Greek Catholics," Archbishop Hilarion said.

Axisglobe: Clashes reportedly took place between Interior Ministry members and FSB officers in Russia's Vladivostok

http://www.axisglobe.com/article.asp?article=1962

06.12.2009Because of the secrecy of information it has become known only now that in early November in Russia’s Vladivostok, a major fighting occurred between the officers of the regional directorates of the Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Interior Ministry for spheres of influence in the drug market, online site Kavkaz Center reports. Local police was willing to take away the market from security officers, who have been creating "a roof" for this sector throughout Russia. Protection racket of trade, production, export and import of drugs has been bringing the FSB officers and generals the multi-billion dollar revenues, Kavkaz Center marks.In the struggle for the retention of the drug market the security officers reportedly attacked policemen of Vladivostok. The number of deaths and injuries were not reported. The head of the „breakaway" group of policemen, Boris Akopyan, the Operations Officer of Leninsky district police department, has been declared in search by the FSB directorate, online paper expands.

NPR.org: Russia Quietly Creates Leaner, More Modern Military

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121107801

by Anne Garrels

December 7, 2009

The transformation of Russia's military may be the most successful of President Dmitry Medvedev's modernization programs, but it's not something he talks about much publicly because it is so controversial.

The huge project involves painful cuts and dismantling deep-vested interests that have thrived on bloated, Soviet-style armed forces.

Vitaly Shlykov, a 75-year-old former intelligence officer, has been fighting the military establishment for nearly 20 years, but at last he believes real change is here to stay. He is chairman of a public commission advising the defense ministry.

'Completely New Mission'

"What we have now is the creating of a completely new kind of army with a completely new mission," Shlykov says.

For centuries, Moscow's armed forces have been organized for emergency mass mobilization. Military analyst Alexander Goltz says Russia has now rejected this model in favor of a leaner, smarter force.

"All conventional forces are oriented to local or regional wars. We are not going to prepare our conventional forces to fight NATO, China. All deterrence of these big adversaries lays now on nuclear forces," Goltz says.

Pavel Zolotarev with the Russian Academy of Sciences says this radical change is not without opposition.

"Many think Russia cannot forget about the NATO threat or our huge border with China. Then there are the officers who worry about their future. For those being let go, the government is not fulfilling its promises to provide benefits and apartments," Zolotarev says.

But the reorganization of the military is well under way. The man leading the transformation is Anatoly Serdiukov, a skilled manager and the first civilian defense minister in Russian history.

That fact alone, says Shlykov, the former intelligence officer, is a stunning change.

"Until now, each new minister of defense lobbied for his own branch to the point where the military was almost destroyed," he says.

Officer Corps Trimmed

Under Serdiukov, the overall size of the armed forces is being cut by one-quarter, with the officer corps taking the biggest hit. Already, 50,000 have been forced to retire. Another 150,000 will be pushed out in the next few years.

For those left, education and salaries are to be improved dramatically. Military units are being streamlined and, finally, there will be professional sergeants — the first 250 are being trained. Until now, first-year draftees have been controlled by second-year conscripts; among the results have been brutal, often deadly hazing, poor morale and poor training.

Providing this new army with up-to-date equipment is perhaps the biggest challenge now. Last year's war in Georgia laid bare a host of problems. Russian unmanned drones could not provide instant targeting information. Lacking radios, soldiers resorted to using their personal, unsecured mobile phones.

Russia's defense industry has done little more than upgrade versions of weapons first designed 30 years ago. Goltz, the defense analyst, says the defense ministry is clearly fed up.

"For the first time, we hear generals say, 'Guys, we are here to buy good equipment. We don't want to buy the rubbish you produce,' " he says.

And the so-called rubbish is expensive. For the first time, Russia's defense ministry has gone abroad for weapons. Zolotarev with the Russian Academy of Sciences says the government has so far failed to modernize the Russian defense industry.

Until the current inefficient, corrupt system is totally changed, Zolotarev says, Russia will not have quality weapons and could well lose its position in the world as a major arms supplier.

Strategypage.com: The Ten Chechen Rule

http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htmurph/articles/20091204.aspx

December 4, 2009: Young men from the Caucasus (Dagestan in particular) have been complaining to the government that the army won't accept them as conscripts. While the army has been complaining of rampant draft dodging ever since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, they also have reasons for not wanting recruits from the Caucasus. Even before 1991, the Russian dominated army warned company (units of about a hundred troops) commanders to not allow more than ten Chechens (Chechnya is adjacent to Dagestan) in their unit. Experience had shown that ten or more Chechens (or other men from the Caucasus) would form a very tight, tough and disciplined clique that would prey on the other troops in the company, and cause all manner of discipline and crime problems. If you find yourself with more than ten Chechens, try and transfer some of them out.

While the Chechens were the worst in this respect, the other Caucasus nationalities came close. But these days, the young men want to join the army, and get a few years military experience, so they can qualify to become a "contra

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