Russia 110630

Basic Political Developments ITAR-TASS news digest of June 30: 1.

o VLADIVOSTOK - - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday will chair a conference in Russia’s Far Eastern city of Vladivostok on preparations for an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit that Russia is to play host to in 2012, presidential press secretary Natalia Timakova said.

o MOSCOW - - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday will take part in a closed session of the international committee of the Russian State Duma lower parliament house that will be dedicated to Russia’s foreign policy priorities.

o MOSCOW - - Russian Minister of Health and Social Development Tatiana Golikova on Wednesday ordered to send Russian medics to Turkey to assess the condition of a Russian woman who is still kept at a Turkish hospital following a mass outbreak of poisoning among guides believed to have drunk counterfeit alcohol on a yachting trip.

o MOSCOW - - Regular railway service between Russia and Abkhazia opens on Wednesday.

o YEKATERINBURG - - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has arrived in the city of Yekaterinburg in Russia’s Urals federal district, where later on Thursday he will attend a plenary

o KAZAN - - Alumni of Russian higher educational establishments who work abroad will gather on Thursday for their second congress in the capital city of Russia’s republic of Tatarstan.

o CHISINAU - - Six persons, members of an international criminal group dealing in the sales of uranium for making ‘dirty bombs,’ have been detained in Moldova, a top-ranking official from the Mongolian interior ministry said on Wednesday.

o ULAN UDE - - All forest fires have been put out in Russia’s republic of Buryatia, a spokesman for the republican forestry authority told Itar-Tass on Thursday. Since the beginning of this year’s fire season, more that 1,100 wildfires were reported in Buryatia. More than 59,000 hectares of taiga were either damaged or destroyed.

o BARNAUL - - World’s best anthropologists, archaeologists, paleontologists and paleogeneticists will gather for an international symposium on July 5 through 9 at the Denisova Cave, a rockshelter in Russia’s Siberian Altai territory, with evidence for hominid occupation beginning 175000 years ago.

o VLADIVOSTOK - - The legislature of Russia’s Far Eastern Sakhalin region, will consider the candidature of incumbent governor Alexander Khoroshavin, who was nominated for a second gubernatorial term, within ten days, the Sakhalin Regional Duma press service said on Thursday.

o ST. PETERSBURG - - Russia’s Nissan facility will routinely suspend car production from July 11 through 24 for summer vacations, the company’s press service told Itar-Tass.

o VLADIVOSTOK - - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who arrived here on Wednesday, began his visit to the city with a tour of the local airport's air terminal which is being built wiithin the framework of the city's preparation for the 2012 summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

o MOSCOW - - Russian power deliveries to Belarus have not been resumed as of this morning, Itar-Tass learnt from a representative of the Inter RAO EES Company.

o VLADIVOSTOK - - Rostelecom has expanded the carrying capacity of the trunk communications channel in the Far East by 50 percent.

Palestinian delegation to meet with Russian FM on July 5 - "The delegation will be led by the member of the Central Committee of Fatah movement in charge of international issues, Nabil Shaath," Ambassador Fayed Mustafa was quoted by Itar-Tass news agency as saying.

Moscow's expects tighter EU relations during Poland's EU presidency - Vladimir Voronkov, head of the Russian foreign ministry's department of European cooperation said on Wednesday that Moscow's expectations include concluding the process of Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organization, dropping visa requirements by both sides and preparing an agreement on strategic cooperation.

Russia’s 3rd EU Centre appears in Tomsk. Bulgaria, Russia Agree on Nuclear Project Delay - Bulgaria and Russia have

agreed to extend the negotiations over Belene nuclear project by another three months as of July.

Algeria May Pay $700 Mln for Russian Warships, Vedomosti Sayso Russia to build two Tiger corvettes for Algerian navy - "We have

signed two agreements together with Rosoboronexport to sell two corvettes to Algeria and three light [Molniya missile] corvettes to a former Soviet republic," said Roman Trotsenko, head of the shipbuilding corporation.

Russia to build nuclear aircraft carrier by 2023 Kim cancelled Russia trip on security worry – report

o Kim Jong-il's Train Stops Short of Russian Border - An armored train believed to be carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong-il was spotted heading to the Russian border on Tuesday evening. Diplomatic sources in Seoul said U.S. and South Korean intelligence officials confirmed that the armored train left Pyongyang and headed toward Hamgyong Province, and Kim was expected to meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Vladivostok. But the train never crossed the border, according to a source.

o No meeting at the meeting place - Kim Jong Il has cancelled talks with the Russian president out of security concerns Vladimir Solovyev, Aleksandr Gabuyev

China cuts oil payments to Russia again - Russia and China are still bickering about the cost of oil exports to the Asian country, in a sign that deepening the

energy trade between the two is still fraught with challenges. A Transneft spokesperson told Prime on Wednesday that China has unilaterally reduced its payments for oil imports once more.

APEC summit important for Russia as jab in the arm for Far East. - The president stressed that the volume of housing under construction in Vladivostok would amount to nearly one million square metres – “this is ten percent of the city”. “The push to be given by the summit, should be converted later into Vladivostok’s investment appeal, into additional jobs, construction of new housing and social facilities,” he underlined.

o Medvedev to hold APEC summit preparation meeting in Far East o Medvedev tours Vladivostok airport's building air terminal.

Medvedev signs law on more efficient measures against terrorism. - The federal law should make the measures targeted against terrorism and extremism more efficient and to avoid overcrowded cells at the penitentiaries, primarily in the regions with a tense crime situation.

Putin arrives in Yekaterinburg to attend United Russia conference o Putin arrive in Yekaterinburg to attend United Russia regional conference.

Russian FM to discuss rights protection with parliament deputies BELARUS-RUSSIA

o BELARUS EXPECTS TO PREPARE AGREEMENT ON MERGING ITS MAZ TRUCK MANUFACTURER WITH RUSSIA'S KAMAZ BY END OF 2011 - FIRST DEPUTY PM SEMASHKO

o BELARUS TO FULLY REPAY DEBTS TO INTER RAO UES FOR ELECTRICITY IMPORTS FROM RUSSIA "TODAY OR TOMORROW" - FIRST DEPUTY PM SEMASHKO

o Belarus in negotiations with Russia for infrastructural loan for NPP development

o Belarus hopes to draw $1 bln loan against fertilizer export proceeds, or Belaruskali assets

o Belarus waiting for resumption of Russian electric power supplyo Belarus negotiating freezing of gas prices in 2011 with Gazprom - first

deputy PMo Russian power deliveries to Belarus not resumed as of this morning. - It

was planned that deliveries will be resumed in full on Thursday last midnight after the Russian company received on Wednesday 600 million roubles from the Belarussian side as payment of arrears for electricity (second tranche). Incidentally, there were no obstacles for this.

o Russian electricity supplies to Belarus "not resumed" UN adopts Georgian resolution on Abkhazian and South Ossetian refugees Referendum to define status of Russian language in S Ossetia on Sep 11. Regular train link between Russia and Abkhazia - The trains will start to observe

a regular schedule from Friday, July 1. At the first stage the train will leave Sukhumi bound for “Veseloye” in the morning, and return in the evening.

Most of Armenian migrant workers prefer Russia Russian subject extradited from Austria after serving term there. 2 militants killed in Dagestan

Bomb defused under cable car in Kabardino-Balkaria Sakhalin MPs to vote on governor candidature within 10 days. Five wildfires extinguished in Russia’s Far East.

o 21 wildfire in Russia’s Siberian regions put out in past 24 hours. o All forest fires put out in Russia’s republic of Buryatia.

Man injured in HPP fire died at hospital in Surgut. URGENT – Moscow senior official detained for suspected flat fraud. RIA Russian Press at a Glance, Thursday, June 30, 2011 ITAR-TASS Russian press review. 'Modern' Medvedev portrayed in Brussels - Professor Igor Yurgens, a close

advisor to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, was in Brussels to show the face of a new Russia and said his boss supported the participation in upcoming elections of a banned party and called various opposition leaders "friends". Yurgens also said that Medvedev had made efforts to secure the acquittal of jailed former oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky. EurActiv

The country may slip on a banana - Extremist antics of football fans is a phenomenon that is not unique to Russia - and there is a global experience to counter it Ivan Rodin, Yan Gordeyev

The Nenets herders, last nomads of the north - Russia’s nomadic reindeer hunters now coexist with roads, rail, pipes and drilling towers. By Anna Nemtsova

National Economic Trends CB board of directors to look into refinancing rate today The Russian Central Bank rate decision is expected today Ruble Gains for Third Day as Greece Vote Spurs Crude Rally

Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions Russia Sberbank ADRs to trade on LSE, Deutsche Borse Sberbank ADRs to start LSE trading Friday Bank of Moscow to Get $5.4 Bln Central Bank Loan, Vedomosti Says Diners Club International Ltd. and Russian Standard Bank Partner to Form New

Franchise in Russia Russian agro firm set for $200-300m WSE IPO Polyus Gold shares excluded from RTS following KazakhGold reserve takeover RusAl repays $119 mln debt in June UPDATE 1-Rostelecom Q1 net profit rises 6 pct Rostelecom expands Far East trunk channel carrying capacity. Shareholders in ALROSA approve split, shares' face value to decrease by 96% Russia’s Mechel to launch Elga coal deposit in Yakutia in August GE signs preliminary deal on Skolkovo research center Indian apparel industry to increase exports to Russia Timchenko and Vorobiev looking to acquire Arkhangelsk fishing fleet

Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory) Russian-Kazakhstan-Belarus Customs Union Zero-Rates Crude

Russia, Kazakhstan Flaring Less Associated Petroleum Gas Tax Burden on Russian Gas Sector Continues to Grow Paolo Scaroni: Supplies of Russian Gas to China, India Threaten Europe's Energy

Future Novatek Expands Presence in Russia's Arctic Itera eyes Turkmen well next year Rosneft Said to Sell August, September ESPO Oil to SK, JX-Nippon Surgutneftegas Said to Sell ESPO Crude Oil for August to Shell Bashneft: Getting Better All the Time

Gazprom Russia’s Gazprom plans to boost exports to Europe, set new high in export

earnings Gazprom seeks India deals, says Europe share to fall Gazprom vows steady Europe volumes as it look east Gazprom Jumps as CFO Says Ebitda Expected to Rise 25 Percent Gazprom Neft Sells Gazpromneft-Noyabrskneftegazgeofizika for $65mn RMJM architect plays down locals' Gazprom 'protest'

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Full Text Articles

Basic Political Developments

11:20 30/06/2011ALL NEWS

ITAR-TASS news digest of June 30: 1.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/176479.html

30/6 Tass 148

VLADIVOSTOK - - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday will chair a conference in Russia’s Far Eastern city of Vladivostok on preparations for an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit that Russia is to play host to in 2012, presidential press secretary Natalia Timakova said.

Medvedev will begin his working day in Vladivostok with a visit to the city airport complex that is currently under construction. Later, he will have a helicopter tour of other summit facilities under construction, including the bridge that connects the mainland to the Russky Island, and the Far Eastern University campus that is to accommodate the summit delegates.

MOSCOW - - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday will take part in a closed session of the international committee of the Russian State Duma lower parliament house that will be dedicated to Russia’s foreign policy priorities.

However, the head of the committee, Konstantin Kosachev, told journalists major attention will be focused on the protection of Russian citizens who have problems in foreign countries. The subject was proposed at a round table meeting at the State Duma, which discussed the Russian-U.S. relations in the context of cases of Viktor Bout and Konstantin Yaroshenko arrested and kept in custody in the United States.

MOSCOW - - Russian Minister of Health and Social Development Tatiana Golikova on Wednesday ordered to send Russian medics to Turkey to assess the condition of a Russian woman who is still kept at a Turkish hospital following a mass outbreak of poisoning among guides believed to have drunk counterfeit alcohol on a yachting trip.

MOSCOW - - Regular railway service between Russia and Abkhazia opens on Wednesday.

At an initial stage, a commuter train will be launched between the station of Veseloye located in Russia’s border area and Abkhazia’s capital city of Sukhum. Later, the geography of Russian destinations will be expanded, a source in the Russian Railways (RZD) company said. “Direct railway service will be launched between Abkhazia and Russia’s cities of Voronezh, Lipetsk, Rostov-on-Don and others cities,” the source said.

It took Russian railway men about six months to build the Veseloye-Sukhum railway section.

YEKATERINBURG - - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has arrived in the city of Yekaterinburg in Russia’s Urals federal district, where later on Thursday he will attend a plenary session of the United Russia party interregional conference.

The conference of United Russian branches operating in the Urals federal district will focus on a strategy for the socio-economic development of the Ural area within a period ending in 2020, and a program for 2011-2012.

KAZAN - - Alumni of Russian higher educational establishments who work abroad will gather on Thursday for their second congress in the capital city of Russia’s republic of Tatarstan.

According to the organizers, the congress is aimed to work out specific mechanisms to attract Russian-speaking scientists residing abroad to cooperation with their Russian colleagues. The congress is expected to promote contacts with Russian scientists who live and work abroad.

CHISINAU - - Six persons, members of an international criminal group dealing in the sales of uranium for making ‘dirty bombs,’ have been detained in Moldova, a top-ranking official from the Mongolian interior ministry said on Wednesday.

ULAN UDE - - All forest fires have been put out in Russia’s republic of Buryatia, a spokesman for the republican forestry authority told Itar-Tass on Thursday.

Since the beginning of this year’s fire season, more that 1,100 wildfires were reported in Buryatia. More than 59,000 hectares of taiga were either damaged or destroyed.

BARNAUL - - World’s best anthropologists, archaeologists, paleontologists and paleogeneticists will gather for an international symposium on July 5 through 9 at the Denisova Cave, a rockshelter in Russia’s Siberian Altai territory, with evidence for hominid occupation beginning 175000 years ago.

VLADIVOSTOK - - The legislature of Russia’s Far Eastern Sakhalin region, will consider the candidature of incumbent governor Alexander Khoroshavin, who was nominated for a second gubernatorial term, within ten days, the Sakhalin Regional Duma press service said on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev nominated Alexander Khoroshavin for a second term of the governor in the Sakhalin Region.

ST. PETERSBURG - - Russia’s Nissan facility will routinely suspend car production from July 11 through 24 for summer vacations, the company’s press service told Itar-Tass.

While production lines are idle, the plant will carry out routine equipment maintenance operations, the press ervice said. On July 25, the plant’s operation will be resumed.

VLADIVOSTOK - - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who arrived here on Wednesday, began his visit to the city with a tour of the local airport's air terminal which is being built wiithin the framework of the city's preparation for the 2012 summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

MOSCOW - - Russian power deliveries to Belarus have not been resumed as of this morning, Itar-Tass learnt from a representative of the Inter RAO EES Company.

“Power deliveries have not been resumed,” he said according to data on 05.30, but the representative did not specify reasons.

It was planned that deliveries will be resumed in full on Thursday last midnight after the Russian company received on Wednesday 600 million roubles from the Belarussian side as payment of arrears for electricity (second tranche). Incidentally, there were no obstacles for this.

VLADIVOSTOK - - Rostelecom has expanded the carrying capacity of the trunk communications channel in the Far East by 50 percent.

Users in Khabarovsk Territory and in the Jewish Autonomous Region will be able to enjoy a greater speed of traffic in the Internet, an official in the press service of the Rostelecom-Far East Company told Itar-Tass on Thursday.

The need to expand the channel's carrying capacity has been prompted by the mounting usage of Internet traffic in those areas of the Far East.

Palestinian delegation to meet with Russian FM on July 5 http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90853/7425686.html

15:46, June 30, 2011 A Palestinian delegation will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow to discuss the situation in the Middle East, the Palestinian ambassador to Russia said Wednesday.

"The delegation will be led by the member of the Central Committee of Fatah movement in charge of international issues, Nabil Shaath," Ambassador Fayed Mustafa was quoted by Itar-Tass news agency as saying.

Mustafa said that the two sides would discuss the current situation in the Middle East during the July 5 meeting, "particularly ahead of a meeting of the Middle East Quartet."

However, he didn't reveal the exact date of the next Middle East Quartet meeting.

Source: Xinhua

Moscow's expects tighter EU relations during Poland's EU presidencyhttp://www.thenews.pl/9/7/Artykul/46766,Moscows-expects-tighter-EU-relations-during-Polands-EU-presidency

30.06.2011 08:19 Russia has voiced ambitious expectations for the next six months of Poland's EU presidency, starting 1 July.

Vladimir Voronkov, head of the Russian foreign ministry's department of European cooperation said on Wednesday that Moscow's expectations include concluding the

process of Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organization, dropping visa requirements by both sides and preparing an agreement on strategic cooperation.

Moscow’s expectations regarding the Polish EU presidency were the subject of a video-conference with the participation of Polish and Russian politicians and experts.

The Russian diplomat said that if Poland holds ambitions to play a meaningful role in tightening relations between the EU and Russia it must eliminate from political dialogue all ambiguities in bilateral contacts between Moscow and Warsaw. (ss/pg)

11:18 30/06/2011ALL NEWS

Russia’s 3rd EU Centre appears in Tomsk.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/176478.html

30/6 Tass 124

TOMSK, June 30 (Itar-Tass) —— A Centre of the European Union - - the third one in Russia - - has appeared in Tomsk. This project is carried out with financial support of the European Union and the Tomsk State University, ITAR-TASS learnt at the press service of the region’s administration on Thursday.

The Centre of the European Union will be officially presented in Tomsk on July 4. Deputy head of the EU mission in Russia Michael Webb will take part in the opening ceremony.

The Tomsk Centre of the European Union is one of 32 similar centres set up all over the world - - in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, the United States, Russia, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan. In Russia, there are analogous centres in Kaliningrad and St. Petersburg. According to the administration of the Tomsk Region, “the centre’s mission is to develop closer relations between Russia and the European Union through the joint educational and research activity.”

Within the framework of its activities, the centre will also work on the improvement and state accreditation of the programmes of training of specialists in the European direction at universities – partners, the raising of training methods and scientific qualification of teachers, further development of cooperation of universities with local bodies of power, business, educational institutions and civil society on spreading knowledge on the European Union in Siberia. Annual summer schools for students of the region and scientific conferences for teaches, which will be held in different cities of Siberia, are to be organized.

Bulgaria, Russia Agree on Nuclear Project Delayhttp://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=129778

Energy | June 30, 2011, Thursday

Bulgaria and Russia have agreed to extend the negotiations over Belene nuclear project by another three months as of July.

"This will be envisaged in the 13th annex to the main contract between Bulgaria and Russia on the construction of two 1,000 megawatt nuclear reactors at Belene," Economy and Energy Minister Traicho Traikov told Dnevnik daily.

"The texts in this annex are similar to that of the 11th Annex, which was signed at the end of last year. It will steer clear of binding deadlines on certain activities, such as those set out in the 12th annex," the minister explained.

The document is expected to be signed this week.

The 12th annex to the main contract between Bulgaria and Russia on the construction of two 1,000 megawatt nuclear reactors at Belene, in the north, expires at the end of June.

As time ticked away, Bulgaria faced an ever greater risk of being taken to arbitration by Russia's Rosatom and forced to pay EUR 1 B in damages.

The 12th annex triggered a huge scandal at the beginning of April after the head of the national utility company NEK Krasimir Parvanov signed an agreement with Rosatom's subsidiary Atomstroyexport that potentially threatens Bulgaria's national interests by obliging the Bulgarian government to reach a final agreement with the Russians on Belene by July 1, 2001.

Traikov slammed Parvanov and announced he is going to be fired, but the dismissal was later overturned by Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.

Borisov harshly criticized the Energy Minister's hasty and emotional reaction and threatened him with being kicked out of office.

It turned out that Parvanov has coordinated his actions with Deputy Prime Minister, Simeon Djankov, who oversees finance and economy.

The signed document stirred heated debates in Bulgaria as it came before the two sides agree on the price of the project and conduct safety checks.

Bulgaria and Russia are unable to agree on the major bone of contention - the price for the construction of the 2000-MW Belene NPP.

Russia says the project construction price should be EUR 6.3 B. The Borisov government wants to set the price at as little as EUR 5 B.

After it was first started in the 1980s, the construction of Bulgaria's second nuclear power plant at Belene on the Danube was stopped in the early 1990s over lack of money and environmental protests.

After selecting the Russian company Atomstroyexport, a subsidiary of Rosatom, to build a two 1000-MW reactors at Belene and signing a deal for the construction, allegedly for the price of EUR 3.997 B, with the Russians during Putin's visit to Sofia in January 2008, in September 2008, former Prime Minister Stanishev gave a formal restart of the building of Belene. At the end of 2008, German energy giant RWE was selected as a strategic foreign investor for the plant.

The Belene NPP was de facto frozen in the fall of 2009 when the previously selected strategic investor, the German company RWE, which was supposed to provide EUR 2 B in exchange for a 49% stake, pulled out.

Algeria May Pay $700 Mln for Russian Warships, Vedomosti Sayshttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-30/algeria-may-pay-700-mln-for-russian-warships-vedomosti-says.html

By Yuliya Fedorinova - Jun 30, 2011 7:20 AM GMT+0200

Algeria is negotiating with Russia’s state-owned arms-trader OAO Rosoboronexport to buy new warships for $700 million, Vedomosti reported today, citing an unidentified person familiar with the talks.

Rosoboronextport will provide three Tiger corvettes from the Yantar Shipyard in Kaliningrad, newspaper said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Yuliya Fedorinova in Moscow at yfedorinova@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Torrey Clark at tclark8@bloomberg.net

Russia to build two Tiger corvettes for Algerian navyhttp://en.rian.ru/russia/20110630/164924783.html

11:35 30/06/2011

ST. PETERSBURG, June 30 (RIA Novosti)

Russia's United Shipbuiding Corporation and state arms exporter Rosoboronexport have signed a deal with Algeria to build two new Tiger class corvettes, the corporation said on Thursday.

The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the ongoing International Maritime Defense Show, IMDS-2011, in St. Petersburg. The biennial naval show offers exhibits from 300 companies, including 30 foreign ones.

"We have signed two agreements together with Rosoboronexport to sell two corvettes to Algeria and three light [Molniya missile] corvettes to a former Soviet republic," said Roman Trotsenko, head of the shipbuilding corporation.

He said the contracts signed at the show so far were worth $1.3 billion and more contracts were expected before the show closes on July 3.

Russia is exhibiting for the first time its newest Steregushchy class (Project 20380) corvette, the Soobrazitelny, at the show. The corvette can be deployed to destroy enemy surface ships, submarines and aircraft, and to provide artillery support for beach landings.

The demonstration part of the show involves 15 combat ships of the Russian Navy and three foreign warships: German frigate FGS Hamburg, Dutch frigate HMS Van Amstel and U.S. Navy frigate USS Carr.

The program of the show includes exhibition firing from 10 ship artillery mounts and demonstration flights of aerobatic teams, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles.

Russia to build nuclear aircraft carrier by 2023http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20110630/164924604.html

11:20 30/06/2011

ST PETERSBURG, June 30 (RIA Novosti)

Russia will complete construction of its first nuclear powered aircraft carrier by 2023, the head of Russia’s United Shipbuilding Corporation said on Thursday.

“We will start designing the Russian aircraft carrier in 2016, so that by 2018 we can start construction,” company head Roman Trotsenko said.

He also said that as the construction period was likely to be five years, the carrier would be put into service in 2023.

The Russian navy has one conventionally powered aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, construction of which began during the Soviet era and finished in the early 1990s.

President Dmitry Medvedev said in 2008 that Russia would build new carriers for the navy but did not specify how they would be powered.

Kim cancelled Russia trip on security worry – reporthttp://in.reuters.com/article/2011/06/30/idINIndia-58003020110630

12:01pm IST

REUTERS - MOSCOW (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-il cancelled a visit to Russia this week because of worries about security following media reports about the trip, Russia's Kommersant newspaper reported on Thursday.

Russian authorities in the Far Eastern city of Vladivostok, 130 km (80 miles) from the North Korean border, had been making preparations for a possible visit by the secretive North Korean leader, a local official said this week.

But the unannounced plans for a summit between Kim and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev were abandoned at the last minute and the Kremlin said on Wednesday that Medvedev had no meetings scheduled with Kim.

Kommersant cited unidentified Kremlin sources as saying that Pyongyang had asked for a meeting but that Kim had cancelled because the North Korean authorities were worried about security after media reports appeared about the trip.

"We were prepared for it (a meeting) because we use every opportunity for contact," a Kremlin source was quoted as saying.

"The media reports that a summit could take place played a significant part in the change of mind by the North Korean authorities," the source was quoted as saying.

Russia is a member of the long-stalled six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear programme, though diplomats say Moscow has less influence with Kim than China.

Kim has made no public visit to Russia since 2002, when he met with then-President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok. The North Korean leader has made several trips to China, Pyongyang's closest big power ally, in recent years.

(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

Kim Jong-il's Train Stops Short of Russian Border http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/06/30/2011063001230.html

An armored train believed to be carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong-il was spotted heading to the Russian border on Tuesday evening. Diplomatic sources in Seoul said U.S. and South Korean intelligence officials confirmed that the armored train left Pyongyang and headed toward Hamgyong Province, and Kim was expected to meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Vladivostok. But the train never crossed the border, according to a source.

Kremlin spokeswoman Natalya Timakova Wednesday told reporters Medvedev would attend several events during his trip to Vladivostok but no summit was scheduled with Kim. "President Medvedev will preside over a meeting covering the preparations for the APEC Summit in 2012 and tour facilities and a bridge on Ruski Island [off Vladivostok] that are being built for the summit," Timakova said.

Japan's NHK TV had quoted Russian officials as saying authorities in the Siberian port were preparing to welcome Kim and his entourage. South Korean government officials believed Kim is seeking to normalize ties with Russia amid frisson with China and icy relations with Seoul.

When Russia denied a summit was scheduled, Japan's Kyodo news agency said Kim's ailing health caused the trip to be cancelled. But South Korean officials believe the reason was disagreements over the agenda. "If North Korea decided not to hold a summit, it must have been due to disagreements with Russia," said one South Korean official. "North Korea is seeking to gain concessions, but Russia may have demurred."

South Korean and U.S. intelligence officials believe there is still a chance that Kim could visit Russia during Medvedev's trip to Vladivostok. "The Russian spokeswoman said no summit was scheduled, but she didn't say there would be no summit," said one.

The last time Kim met a Russian leader was at a summit with then-president Vladimir Putin in August 2002.

englishnews@chosun.com / Jun. 30, 2011 13:40 KST

No meeting at the meeting placehttp://rt.com/politics/press/kommersant/meeting-vladivostok-medvedev-kim/en/

Published: 30 June, 2011, 05:34Edited: 30 June, 2011, 05:38

Kim Jong Il has cancelled talks with the Russian president out of security concerns Vladimir Solovyev, Aleksandr Gabuyev

The intrigue around the scheduled meeting between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in Vladivostok was resolved yesterday – the meeting will not be taking place. Kommersant learned that the talks were, indeed, scheduled and the Kremlin was ready. The reason for the disruption of plans was the leakage of information about the North Korean leader’s plans to travel to Vladivostok in the media, due to which, concerned about his safety, Kim Jong Il cancelled his trip to Russia.   

Information about the upcoming talks between Moscow and Pyongyang appeared on Tuesday. South Korean news agency Yonhap and Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun reported that, at the end of the week, Kim Jong Il planned to arrive in Vladivostok, where Dmitry Medvedev would be present at the same time in order to discuss the preparations for the APEC summit in 2012. However, reports that the countries are preparing the first Russian-North Korean summit since 2002 were denied by the Kremlin yesterday. According to the presidential press secretary, Natalia Timakova, during his working trip to the Far East, Dmitry Medvedev will not be engaged in any international events or meetings. Whether or not the meeting had been scheduled earlier, the press secretary did not say.   

Meanwhile, according to Kommersant’s sources in the Kremlin, the possibility of a meeting between the two leaders was, indeed, considered. And it was done so at the request of Pyongyang. “No meetings were being scheduled to specially coincide with the Russian president’s trip to Vladivostok. However, North Korea was interested in the meeting,” said Kommersant’s interlocutor. “We were ready, as we would use any opportunity to make contact, if it arises and if Pyongyang is ready for talks.”

According to Kommersant’s source, the reason for the disruption of plans was the North Korean leader’s safety concerns. “The Japanese and South Korean media reports that this summit may take place have played a significant role in the fact that the North Korean authorities changed their mind,” he said.  

The fact that the idea of the summit was at least discussed was indirectly confirmed by presidential aide, Sergey Prikhodko, who said that Moscow remains in contact with Pyongyang and Seoul regarding the North Korean nuclear program. “These communications are ongoing and will continue in the future,” noted Mr. Prikhodko.

According to Kommersant’s sources, in addition to the settlement of the North Korean nuclear problem, Dmitry Medvedev and Kim Jong Il had another important topic to discuss, namely bilateral economic projects. Their implementation could promote reconciliation between North and South Korea.

During last year’s September meeting of the Russian-Korean Committee for Partnership in Siberia and the Far East, held in Irkutsk, Moscow had given South Korean investors a list of 312 projects. A source in South Korea’s Foreign Affairs Ministry told Kommersant that by April Seoul had chosen 105 projects, many of which involve Pyongyang. This was confirmed by a high-ranking source in the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry: “South Koreans want a majority of joint projects to involve North Korea, so as to interest northerners in integration. We don’t oppose. This topic will most likely be discussed at the upcoming talks.”

Seoul is particularly interested in the construction of a pipeline from Russia with an annual capacity of 10 billion cubic meters of gas. “Implementation of the pipeline project could improve our relations with North Korea. We would prefer to have the pipeline running through North Korea to any other option,” South Korean Ambassador in Moscow, Lee Yun-ho, told Kommersant in a recent interview. In Seoul it is believed that a pipeline stretching through North Korea would bring Pyongyang profits from the transit and make northerners interested in supporting stability. “We would have a guarantee against a possible outbreak of war more reliable than the US military presence,” says Kommersant’s source in the South Korean Foreign Affairs Ministry.        

Gazprom representatives, however, are skeptical of Seoul’s proposal. “The political risks in North Korea are too high. It is much more reliable to send these volumes there in the form of liquefied gas, rather than through a pipeline,” Kommersant was told by the gas monopoly. “A pipeline can be constructed only with concrete guarantees from Pyongyang.”

It is quite possible that Dmitry Medvedev may have tried obtaining such guarantees from Kim Jong Il if the meeting in Vladivostok had taken place.

China cuts oil payments to Russia again

http://www.bne.eu/dispatch_text16036

bneJune 30, 2011

Russia and China are still bickering about the cost of oil exports to the Asian country, in a sign that deepening the energy trade between the two is still fraught with challenges. A Transneft spokesperson told Prime on Wednesday that China has unilaterally reduced its payments for oil imports once more.

Russia opened its first energy pipeline to China - a spur of the ESPO oil route - amidst great fanfare in January, with the evident hope that it would help kick off a large scale program between the world's hungriest energy consumer and largest energy producer. However, problems arose within three months, with China refusing to pay the agreed

price for the oil.

Complaining that the cost of the oil it buys should be cheaper than prices at Russia's pacific coast terminals because of the shorter distance it has to travel, China began trimming $13 per tonne from its payments in March. However, with the June summit between President's Hu and Medvedev approaching - and a threat from Russia to take the issue to arbitration also in the air - Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin announced on May 31 that China had paid its amassed debts of $78m to Transneft and $117m to Rosneft, and agreed to retain the current price formula.

However, not long after, a source said that disagreement had already appeared, although China now apparently suggests a cut of $3 per tonne. Now Beijing has again unilaterally applied its demands to its payments.

The pair has been trying to agree gas prices for over a decade, and both trumpeted that a deal would finally be signed during the presidential summit. Amidst reports that they are still $100 per 1,000 cubic meters away from one another in pricing demands however, they had to admit that no deal would be forthcoming - but insisted that things should now be wrapped up by the end of the year.

11:53 30/06/2011ALL NEWS

APEC summit important for Russia as jab in the arm for Far East.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/176510.html

30/6 Tass 125

RUSSKY ISLAND, June 30 (Itar-Tass) — The APEC summit in Vladivostok is important for Russia not as it is, but as a jab in the arm for improving quality of life in all Far East, said President Dmitry Medvedev.

“This summit is important, of course, for our country in the diplomatic respect, as recognition of Russia as a substantial element of Asian Pacific economic cooperation. The summit will last for a couple of days, but what we are creating, will stand, I hope, for decades and centuries,” Medvedev said at a meeting on preparing for the summit, which he held on Russky Island.

The president called attention to the fact that all the projects are being built virtually from scratch. “As a result of the summit, we should create a new Vladivostok, convenient for citizens and the entire Primorye Territory. To my mind, the task of staging the summit at a high quality level is important, but not the main,” the head of state emphasised.

He said that funds, appropriated by the state and investors for this construction, top 600 billion roubles, including from the federal budget – 205 billion roubles, from the regional – 33 billion and from the Vladivostok budget – 44 million.

“This is the only construction development in our country over the past few years where planned outlays have not topped actual ones. As for other major projects, you know their names: higher outlays needed; developers approach the country’s leadership and the government leadership with proposals to give more and more money,” the president complained, noting that this is not the case with projects for the APEC summit.

“This is not a bad sign, and I hope that we shall round off approximately at this level,” he underlined, noting that 96 projects had been planned to build.

The president stressed that the volume of housing under construction in Vladivostok would amount to nearly one million square metres – “this is ten percent of the city”. “The push to be given by the summit, should be converted later into Vladivostok’s investment appeal, into additional jobs, construction of new housing and social facilities,” he underlined.

Speaking of the choice of Russky Island as a place for holding the summit, the president emphasised that on picking up this place, the government had to make a difficult choice. “That was a difficult task from the start. All understand what was this territory like. It did not meet a single requirement, needed for such projects. There was nothing here,” the president noted.

Medvedev also noted that apart from erecting the summit projects on Russky Island, the task is “to think of the island’s future with its unique nature”. “This nature should not disappear as a result of holding the summit and the ongoing construction development.

On the contrary, possibilities to be created by additional infrastructure, should be used for good of the island’s development and consequently for all Vladivostok,” the president stressed.

Medvedev to hold APEC summit preparation meeting in Far Easthttp://en.rian.ru/world/20110630/164920934.html

03:55 30/06/2011

MOSCOW, June 30 (RIA Novosti)

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will on Thursday hold a meeting to discuss preparation for an APEC summit in the Russian Far Eastern city of Vladivostok, presidential spokeswoman Natalya Timakova said.

Timakova said the president will inspect facilities being built for the summit, including a bridge to the Russky Island and a campus of the Far Eastern Federal University.

The summit preparation program also includes the construction of an international air terminal and two five-star hotels, wastewater purification facilities, as well as modernization of the water supply system and the power grid.

Vladivostok will host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 2012.

08:23 30/06/2011ALL NEWS

Medvedev tours Vladivostok airport's building air terminal.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/176332.html

30/6 Tass 74

VLADIVOSTOK, June 30 (Itar-Tass) — Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who arrived here on Wednesday, began his visit to the city with a tour of the local airport's air terminal which is being built wiithin the framework of the city's preparation for the 2012 summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

Airport Director-General Maxim Chetverikov has shown the air terminal's scale model to the President. After that, Medvedev visited an observation deck that affords a view of the construction site. Chetverikov told the President about the first and second phases of the air terminal construction process. Later on, Medvedev visited the building terminal proper where Chetverikov described plans for the development of the air terminal. The President enquired whether all his assignments concerning the construction of the air terminal, including those about the provision of anti-terrorist safety of the airport would be carried out. The Director-General assured the President that all the guidelines would be followed.

"I feel that you will get through with all the needed work within the planned timeframe," the Head of State said.

Medvedev also expressed satisfaction with the fact that the air terminal is being built in accordance with new standards and that there is a possibility to enlarge it subsequently.

The President then proceeded to make a helicopter trip to inspect the building bridge leading to the Russkiy (Russian) Island and see a panorama of facilities of the Far Eastern federal univeristy which are are being built there.

Igor Shuvalov, First Vice-Premier, Viktor Basargin, Minister of Regional Development, and Igor Levitin, Minister of Transport, have also arrived in Vladivostok together with the President. They were accompanied by Viktor Ishayev, presidential plenipotentiary representative in the Far Eastern Federal District, and Primorsky Territory Governor Sergei Darkin.

10:39 30/06/2011ALL NEWS

Medvedev signs law on more efficient measures against terrorism.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/176435.html

30/6 Tass 87

MOSCOW, June 30 (Itar-Tass) —— Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the federal law, which introduces the amendments in Articles 73 and 81 of the Russian Criminal Penitentiary Code. The State Duma approved the law on June 17, 2011, and the Federation Council approved on June 22, the Russian presidential press service reported on Thursday.

The federal law should make the measures targeted against terrorism and extremism more efficient and to avoid overcrowded cells at the penitentiaries, primarily in the regions with a tense crime situation.

Article 73 Part 4 of the Russian Criminal Penitentiary Code envisages the list of the most dangerous crimes specified in the Criminal Code, including terrorism crimes.

The federal law stipulates several more crimes added to the foresaid list, namely the participation in an armed unit not authorized by the federal law; the organization of an extremist group; the forming of an extremist organization (Article 208 Part 2, Articles 2821 and 2822 of the Criminal Code).

Meanwhile, Article 81 Part 2 of the Criminal Penitentiary Code has one more provision, under which a federal penitentiary agency can decide to transfer the convicts, who are put into prison for the crimes, which are stipulated in Article 73 Part 4 of the Criminal Penitentiary Code, to the same penitentiary to serve a term in custody there.

Putin arrives in Yekaterinburg to attend United Russia conferencehttp://en.rian.ru/russia/20110630/164921981.html

06:25 30/06/2011

YEKATERINBURG, June 30 (RIA Novosti)

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has arrived in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, where he is expected to attend a regional conference of the ruling United Russia party.

The forum that opened on Wednesday is dedicated to working out a development strategy for the Urals Federal District for the next ten years.

The event will for the first time also gather members of the All-Russia People's Front, a new association that analysts say Putin created in a bid to head off a potentially damaging poor showing by United Russia at the December elections.

Putin announced the formation of the People's Front in early May, saying it would broaden United Russia's electoral base with "non-party people," including trade unions, NGOs, business associations and youth groups.

03:51 30/06/2011ALL NEWS

Putin arrive in Yekaterinburg to attend United Russia regional conference.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/176264.html

30/6 Tass 41

YEKATERINBURG, June 30 (Itar-Tass) —— Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has arrived in the city of Yekaterinburg in Russia’s Urals federal district, where later on Thursday he will attend a plenary session of the United Russia party interregional conference.

The conference of United Russian branches operating in the Urals federal district will focus on a strategy for the socio-economic development of the Ural area within a period ending in 2020, and a program for 2011-2012.

“The conference in Yekaterinburg is a seventh one of this kind. It will be dedicated to top-priority directions of the development of the Urals federal district. Such forums have already been held in Siberia, North Caucasus, in the Volga region, in the Far East, and in the Central federal district,” the russian government’s press service said.

The current conference will be held in two stages. On Wednesday, the first day of the conference, participants worked in the following five panels: "Innovative Production Plants", "Agri-Industrial Sector", "Infrastructure and Construction", "Social Welfare

Sector", and "Culture, Sports, and Tourism". Participants chose the most promising projects, some of them will be discussed at today’ s plenary session.

“It is expected that apart from discussing projects, participants in the conference will exchange their views on all aspects of the socio-economic situation in the Urals region. It will yield basic approaches to the problems facing the Urals district’s regions, and will outline priorities for the implementation of the development program for the coming years,” the press service said.

The forum has drawn the largest numebr of delegates and guests -- about 1,000 people. Representatives of the All-Russia Popular Front (APF), which was in May on the initiative of URP leader Vladimir Putin, will take part in a URP conference for the first time. Among participants are heads of constituent entities of the Urals federal district, United Russia leaders, people of science, businessmen, and representatives from local media.

Russian FM to discuss rights protection with parliament deputieshttp://en.rian.ru/russia/20110630/164922552.html

08:00 30/06/2011

MOSCOW, June 30 (RIA Novosti)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will on Thursday attend a meeting of the State Duma international committee to discuss protection of Russian nationals' rights abroad, committee head Konstantin Kosachyov said.

A bill banning entry to Russia for foreign officials who have violated the rights of Russian citizens was introduced to the lower house of parliament on Tuesday. Under the bill, the officials' accounts in Russian banks, both domestic and foreign branches, would also be frozen.

The initiative came as the United States is considering sanctions on Russian officials implicated in the prison death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in line with the so-called Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2011.

Kosachyov said earlier this week that Russian legislation lacks an effective tool to protect Russian citizens abroad.

The arrests of suspected arms dealer Viktor Bout and Konstantin Yaroshenko - a pilot found guilty of smuggling drugs into the United States - by U.S. police in third countries with subsequent extradition to Washington were held up as examples of the violation of Russians' rights abroad.

BELARUS-RUSSIA

06/30 12:38   BELARUS EXPECTS TO PREPARE AGREEMENT ON MERGING ITS MAZ TRUCK MANUFACTURER WITH RUSSIA'S KAMAZ BY END OF 2011 - FIRST DEPUTY PM SEMASHKO

http://www.interfax.com/

 12:06BELARUS TO FULLY REPAY DEBTS TO INTER RAO UES FOR ELECTRICITY IMPORTS FROM RUSSIA "TODAY OR TOMORROW" - FIRST DEPUTY PM SEMASHKOhttp://www.interfax.com/news.asp

 12:06Belarus in negotiations with Russia for infrastructural loan for NPP developmenthttp://www.interfax.com/news.asp

 12:04Belarus hopes to draw $1 bln loan against fertilizer export proceeds, or Belaruskali assetshttp://www.interfax.com/news.asp

 12:02Belarus waiting for resumption of Russian electric power supplyhttp://www.interfax.com/news.asp

June 30, 2011 11:57

Belarus negotiating freezing of gas prices in 2011 with Gazprom - first deputy PMhttp://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=255727

MINSK. June 30 (Interfax) - Belarus is negotiating the possibility of freezing the prices for natural gas in 2011 with Gazprom, Belarusian First Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Semashko said at the Belarusian parliament on Thursday.

"We are holding negotiations on freezing the gas prices for this year," Semashko said in commenting on the prospects for increasing the prices for housing and utilities in Belarus in 2011.

va jv

(Our editorial staff can be reached at eng.editors@interfax.ru)

09:13 30/06/2011ALL NEWS

Russian power deliveries to Belarus not resumed as of this morning.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/176361.html

30/6 Tass 75

MOSCOW, June 30 (Itar-Tass) — Russian power deliveries to Belarus have not been resumed as of this morning, Itar-Tass learnt from a representative of the Inter RAO EES Company.

“Power deliveries have not been resumed,” he said according to data on 05.30, but the representative did not specify reasons.

It was planned that deliveries will be resumed in full on Thursday last midnight after the Russian company received on Wednesday 600 million roubles from the Belarussian side as payment of arrears for electricity (second tranche). Incidentally, there were no obstacles for this.

The company representative said on Wednesday evening that quick resumption of deliveries was to take place “thanks to tuned-up work of system operators” of the two countries; deliveries were planned to start in the volume of 400 megawatts. However, it was said earlier that resumption of deliveries would take place within two days over difficulty of the process.

Inter RAO EES suspended electricity deliveries on June 29 at midnight, since it did not receive money due to be paid by Belarus for power. Inter RAO EES limited power deliveries to Belarus earlier, on June 9 over the areas of 1.5 billion Russian roubles for the period from February. Then the export was fully resumed.

Under the schedule, the Belarussian side was to pay the arrears for March, April and May with three tranches by July 5. On June 15 the Belenergo Company transferred the first tranche of payments, totalling 600 million Russian roubles.

In the meantime, the second tranche was not made in time in compliance with the schedule, signed by the sides.

Russian electricity supplies to Belarus "not resumed"http://en.rian.ru/business/20110630/164920015.html

01:31 30/06/2011

MOSCOW, June 30 (RIA Novosti)

Russian electricity supplies to Belarus, due to be resumed at midnight after Minsk paid off its 600 million ruble ($21.2mn) debt to Inter RAO, have not started, the Russian electricity export company reported.

"Electricity supplies to Belarus have not been resumed," an Inter RAO spokesman said without elaborating.

The company said the reasons for the failure to resume supplies are being specified.

Belarus has been struggling to pay for electricity from Russia amid an economic crisis in the former Soviet republic that has left hard currency in short supply. Russia cut off deliveries on Tuesday evening after repeatedly extending the payment deadline.

UN adopts Georgian resolution on Abkhazian and South Ossetian refugeeshttp://rt.com/news/line/2011-06-30/#id13333

05:41

The UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution on refugees from Abkhazia and South Ossetia proposed by Georgian officials, despite Russia’s calls to throw out the document as ‘politicized’. 57 countries voted for the resolution “On internally displaced persons and refugees from Abkhazia and South Ossetia,” introduced by Georgia in June 2011, while 13 voted against and 74 abstained. Russia claims the resolution is politicized and says by this act Tbilisi is trying to claim that Abkhazia and South Ossetia form part of its territory. Both countries have proclaimed themselves independent from Georgia and

are recognized by Russia as such. According to Russian officials, the resolution impedes the peace talks in the region.

10:36 30/06/2011ALL NEWS

Referendum to define status of Russian language in S Ossetia on Sep 11.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/176433.html

30/6 Tass 106

TSKHINVAL, June 30 (Itar-Tass) —— A referendum, which will determine the status of the Russian language in South Ossetia, will be held in the republic on September 11, 2011. An ordinance on its holding was signed by President Eduard Kokoity.

The government of South Ossetia and the local bodies of state power are entrusted with “working out measures to ensure financing, material, technical and organizational support of the referendum” on the issue “Do You agree to the Ossetian and Russian languages to be state languages in South Ossetia?”

In accordance with the present Constitution, the Ossetian is the state language in the republic; the Russian language has the status of official one.

Regular train link between Russia and Abkhazia http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/06/30/52582728.html

Jun 30, 2011 06:38 Moscow Time

Regular train service is opening between Russia and Abkhazia. The two states will be linked by a train that will shuttle between the Russian border station of "Veseloye" and the capital of Abkhazia - Sukhumi.

By the end of July the route will include stopovers in Voronezh, Lipetsk, Rostov-on-Don, and several other cities.

The trains will start to observe a regular schedule from Friday, July 1. At the first stage the train will leave Sukhumi bound for “Veseloye” in the morning, and return in the evening.

The journey one way will take about 5 hours, taking into account the lay-over on the borders.

Most of Armenian migrant workers prefer Russiahttp://www.aysor.am/en/news/2011/06/30/migration/

Thursday, June 30

There are many problems related to migration in Armenia, head of the State Migration Service of Armenia, Irina Davtyan told reporters.

According to the official, the main migration problems regard Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan and Armenian migrant workers.

“So far, we have not completely resolved the housing problem of refugees from Azerbaijan,” I. Davtyan said.

She noted that 94 percent of Armenian migrant workers prefer Russia, with no language barrier and better working conditions. Besides Russia, our migrant workers also prefer Ukraine, Belarus, European countries, and the United States. Our compatriots from Georgia and Iran often come to Armenia to earn a living, the migration official said.

TODAY, 12:40

06:30 30/06/2011ALL NEWS

Russian subject extradited from Austria after serving term there.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/176298.html

30/6 Tass 270a

MOSCOW, June 30 (Itar-Tass) —— Austria has extradited a Russian subject wanted in Russia for fraud after he served a sentence on sexual assault charges in that country, a source in the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office told Itar-Tass.

According to the source, the man, Mikail Akhmedov, 46, registered a fake company in the Caucasian city of Khasavyurt in 2002. He collected 150,000 roubles for assisting in obtaining Schengen visas and fled. In December 2002, he was put on the federal wanted list.

In 2006, Austria’s Interpol bureau informed that the man was sentenced to 8.5 years in prison on rape charges.

In June 2008, Russia put Akhmedov on the international wanted list. A month later, the Russian Prosecutor General’ s Office officially requested Austria to extradite the man. The request was satisfied in November 2009.

Akhmedov was temporarily extradited in April 2010, and was sentence to 2.5 years in colony by the Khasavyurt city court in July. In September 2010, after the Russian verdict came into force, Akhmedov was brought back to Austria to continue serving the term in that country. In May 2011, his Austrian prison term expired.

As many as 33 criminals wanted in Russia have been extradited to Russia, according to the Russia Interpol bureau.

2 militants killed in Dagestanhttp://english.ruvr.ru/2011/06/30/52586371.html

Jun 30, 2011 09:59 Moscow Time

Two suspected militants have been killed in a security operation in the town of Kizil-Yurt in Dagestan, the Russian North Caucasus. Police surrounded a house in which the militants – a man and a woman – were hiding.

After rejecting an offer to surrender, they opened fire on policemen and were killed by return fire. Both have been identified but their names have not been disclosed.  

Bomb defused under cable car in Kabardino-Balkariahttp://english.ruvr.ru/2011/06/30/52581104.html

Jun 30, 2011 02:32 Moscow Time

A powerful bomb was defused near power lines feeding the cable car in the village Terskol in Kabardino-Balkaria.

The explosive device, packed with metal subprojectiles, was found under the power transmission pole, which feeds the cable car. Its capacity was 10 kilos of TNT – enough to cause serious damage to energy supply of the piste. Also, the explosion may have injured the resort staff.

06:09 30/06/2011ALL NEWS

Sakhalin MPs to vote on governor candidature within 10 days.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/176295.html

30/6 Tass 59

VLADIVOSTOK, June 30 (Itar-Tass) —— The legislature of Russia’s Far Eastern Sakhalin region, will consider the candidature of incumbent governor Alexander Khoroshavin, who was nominated for a second gubernatorial term, within ten days, the Sakhalin Regional Duma press service said on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev nominated Alexander Khoroshavin for a second term of the governor in the Sakhalin Region.

A source in the regional administration told Itar-Tass that under a provisional agreement with the Duma, the issue will be considered on July 7. But if the Kremlin submits no official documents to the region by that day, the Sakhalin Duma will vote on Khoroshavin’s candidacy later.

05:59 30/06/2011ALL NEWS

Five wildfires extinguished in Russia’s Far East.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/176285.html

30/6 Tass 56

KHABAROVSK, June 30 (Itar-Tass) —— Five wildfires on an area of 579 hectares have been put out in Russia’s Far East in the past 24 hours, a spokesman for the Far Eastern forestry department told Itar-Tass on Thursday.

“As many as 110 forest rangers are involved in fire fighting operations in the Amur region, the republic of Yakutia, and in Chukotka. The current fire area is 339.6 hectares,” the spokesman said.

The only fire that threatened the settlement of Torom in the Khabarovsk territory, has finally been extinguished.

Fire alert regimen was imposed in 26 municipalities in Yakutia, the Khabarovsk and Primorsky territories, in the Amur region, the Kamchatka and Chukotka autonomous areas.

05:50 30/06/2011ALL NEWS

21 wildfire in Russia’s Siberian regions put out in past 24 hours.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/176282.html

30/6 Tass 55

KRASNOYARSK, June 30 (Itar-Tass) —— A total of 21 wildfires on an area of 3,357.4 hectares have been put out in Russia’s Siberian regions in the past 24 hours, a spokesman for the regional emergencies centre said on Thursday.

By Thursday morning, there were 22 wildfires on an area of 923.2 hectares, of which 12 wildfire on 766.2 hectares have been contained, the spokesman said and added that there were no threat to settlements.

However, the fire situation in the Krasnoyarsk territory has deteriorated, with 13 forest fires raging on 252 hectares. As many as 122 mobile and stationary posts have been installed to restrict access to forests.

Fire fighting operations in Siberia involve 589 men and 62 units of hardware.

04:47 30/06/2011ALL NEWS

All forest fires put out in Russia’s republic of Buryatia.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/176273.html

30/6 Tass 47

ULAN UDE, June 30 (Itar-Tass) —— All forest fires have been put out in Russia’s republic of Buryatia, a spokesman for the republican forestry authority told Itar-Tass on Thursday.

“As of today, there is not a single fire in taiga,” the spokesman said.

“By Wednesday afternoon, big fires were extinguished in the Dzherginsky nature reserve, where fire had destroyed about 1,800 hectares of forests, as were wildfires in the Zabaikalsky nature park, where more than 560 hectares of taiga had been destroyed.

Moreover, a big fire on an area of 5,800 hectares in the Pribaikalsky district in the vicinity of Lake Baikal,” the spokesman noted.

In all, eight forest fires on a total area of more than 8,600 hectares were extinguished on Wednesday. The rainy weather helped to put out the fires.

Since the beginning of this year’s fire season, more that 1,100 wildfires were reported in Buryatia. More than 59,000 hectares of taiga were either damaged or destroyed.

10:16 30/06/2011ALL NEWS

Man injured in HPP fire died at hospital in Surgut.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/176413.html

30/6 Tass 86

TYUMEN, June 30 (Itar-Tass) —— A 52-year-old worker from the hydropower plant number one Vladimir Balashov, who was injured in a blast and a fire at the hydropower plant number one on June 28, died at the intensive therapy ward of the Surgut hospital on Thursday.

The doctors noted that along with sweeping burns he received breast injuries and his head was broken.

On Tuesday morning the gas exploded at the gas distributing plant number two that triggered a fire at the hydropower plant number one in Surgut. The windows were broken in the building and the equipment was damaged. Some 12 people were injured. Four people remain in critical condition at the intensive therapy ward on Thursday.

A criminal case was opened over the blast and fire case.

09:59 30/06/2011ALL NEWS

URGENT – Moscow senior official detained for suspected flat fraud.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/176393.html

30/6 Tass 105

MOSCOW, June 30 (Itar-Tass) —— The economic security department of the Russian Interior Ministry and the economic security department of the Moscow chief police

department detained a deputy chief of the Moscow Health Department Sergei Volkov, who earlier occupied the post of the first deputy chief of the Moscow construction investment programs, the press service of the economic security department of the Interior Ministry told Itar-Tass on Thursday. “The official is suspected of illegal actions targeted at acquiring an elite flat in the central administrative district of Moscow,” the press service said.

“The detectives found out that at the post of the first deputy chief of the Moscow construction investment programs Volkov failed to fulfill a barter commitment contract for the foresaid flat that was intended for the family of a Muscovite to improve his housing conditions,” the press service said. “Without severing the foresaid contract the official instructed his subordinates not to fulfill this contract and concluded a purchase and sale contract for the foresaid flat with his relative – mother-in-law. Then, the flat, which was allocated at the price below the market price to execute the barter contract, was sold at the market price,” the press service said.

A criminal case was opened under Articles 285 and 292 of the Criminal Code for office abuse and fraud.

Russian Press at a Glance, Thursday, June 30, 2011http://en.rian.ru/papers/20110630/164922978.html

08:57 30/06/2011

POLITICS

The Yabloko opposition party proposed that all registered parties sign a memorandum on joint election monitoring.

(Kommersant)

Schools in Bashkortostan voiced plans to join Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s new movement, the All-Russia People’s Front; an entire street joined the association in Vladimir. All new members say they made the decision to join on their own but experts doubt their words.

(Kommersant)

A media leak about Kim Jong-il’s plans to arrive in the Far Eastern Russian city of Vladivostok for a meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev caused the North Korean leader, concerned about his security, to change his mind.

(Kommersant)

 

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

A long-anticipated deal signed Wednesday finalized the merger of Moscow's two stock exchanges, MICEX and RTS, with the two entities expected to begin operating as a single unit by September.

(Moscow Times, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)

President Dmitry Medvedev's decision to reduce Russia's payroll tax will cost the budget 400 billion rubles ($14.3 billion), which may be offset by asset sales and energy income, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said Wednesday.

(Moscow Times)

The Russian Central Bank will provide a 150-billion-ruble ($5.4 billion) loan to VTB to save the embattled Bank of Moscow.

(Vedomosti)

The State Duma adopted on a first reading a bill opening access to companies’ confidential information for minority shareholders.

(Vedomosti)

Russian energy giant Gazprom may raise dividends by 50% due to a record profit in 2011.

(Vedomosti)

Russia’s budget policy in the next three years should be aimed at forming a model of economic growth based on private initiative, President Dmitry Medvedev said, adding that the budget should also be based on utilizing innovation and high-quality financial and production infrastructure.

(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)

 

SOCIETY

A video caught President Dmitry Medvedev narrowly avoiding an incident that would have seen his car drive into a crowd of people in the city of Kazan.

(Moscow Times)

 

IT

Police forced Russian IT providers to block access to websites with pirated content without a court ruling.

(Vedomosti)

12:40 30/06/2011ALL NEWS

Russian press review.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/176562.html

(Itar-Tass World Service)

30/6 Tass 88

The Russian president delivered a budgetary message

On Wednesday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev delivered a budgetary message at a meeting with the prime minister and the government. He set 12 guidelines in the development of the budgetary policy that requires “systemic actions”. He offered nothing revolutionary and set new priorities in economic development.

The president set 12 guidelines in the budgetary policy that require “systemic actions”, Novye Izvestia writes. These guidelines include a lower state role in economic management, the decentralization of budgetary relations, a higher role of taxes, which are levied from the companies in the oil and gas sector and the funding of all social liabilities. The budgetary message turned out to be modernistic, intended for the mass audience and targeted more at upcoming elections than mapping out concrete ways to solve economic problems, which Russia is facing.

Dmitry Medvedev has made the situation more pressing over the budget in a budgetary message for 2012-2014, the Kommersant believes. The president shouldered again on the government a solution to the main problem – how and who will compensate for lower social payments from 34% to 30%. The government already stated that big business will pay partially for tax benefits.

The budgetary message should theoretically settle the most debated problem in the budget for 2012-2014: where to take the money to cover the Pension Fund deficit, which is growing over Dmitry Medvedev’s decision in June 2011 to reduce insurance premiums from 34% to 30% (the ordinary percentage for 2012-2013) and to 20% down (for

production and innovative small businesses and non-profit organizations). On June 23, Vladimir Putin acknowledged that the government does not have a solution and decided to give a choice from several variants to Dmitry Medvedev as an initiator of “tax benefits”. He has made the choice in the budgetary message on Wednesday.

“We have some sources to compensate for the shortfall in incomes. We can earn some more funds as a result of the federal property management that can be done through the privatization, there are oil and gas revenues, some reserves, finally other sources are probable. The government should decide in what proportion to use these sources in the budgetary process. This is my instruction,” Dmitry Medvedev shouldered again all responsibility on the government for his decision.

Presidential aide Arkady Dvorkovich told reporters that the current budgetary message “was not seeking at any revolutions,” the RBC daily writes. “It contains absolutely no new ideas, but some priorities and solutions on some issues,” he elaborated. Meanwhile, the prime minister confirmed that the government is already working on the main instructions.

“The key task for 2012-2014 will be a solution to the problem of the federal budget deficit and bringing it down to zero. The macroeconomic dynamics is quite favorable now. However, we realized that the budget deficit will remain in the near future and we cannot refuse from a tough budgetary policy and a retained growth of incomes,” the newspaper quoted chairman of the State Duma Committee for Budgetary Policy and Taxes Yuri Vasilyev. Therefore, the deputy noted that clear priorities should be set and the key projects should be prioritized.

The presidential budgetary message can hardly be called a breakthrough, the Vedomosti noted. The author warned that much should not be expected from it. He is going to sum up the instructions, which were already passed in the agencies. The logic of the budgetary process was disrupted in the previous year either, as the Budgetary Code stipulates to make public a presidential budgetary message back in March to set the pace for budget drafting. But when the budgetary message is made public in the heat of summer, when the debates over tax novelties and the amounts of expenditures and revenues are already behind it can hardly be imagined that the president exerts a real influence on the budgetary process. In fact, he dwells on the issues, which were already settled. And it was not the president who settled them, the newspaper noted.

Kim Jong Il cancelled negotiations with the Russian president

It was reported on Wednesday that Dmitry Medvedev will not meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in Vladivostok. According to some reports, the negotiations were cancelled over the North Korean leader’s concerns for his security. However, the experts noted that it is a canard launched in other countries to destabilize the relations between the countries.

The negotiations were really scheduled and the Kremlin was ready for them, Kommersant elaborated. The negotiations were disrupted over a media leakage about the North Korean leader’s plans to visit Vladivostok. Therefore, Kim Jong Il, who was concerned over his security, cancelled a visit to Russia. The South Korean news agency Yonhap and the Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun noted that Kim Jong Il intends to visit Vladivostok at the end of the week. Dmitry Medvedev is on a working trip in Vladivostok to hold a meeting for the run-up to an APEC summit in 2012. However, the Kremlin rejected the reports that the countries are getting ready for a first Russian-North Korean summit since 2002.

Meanwhile, a source in the Kremlin told the newspaper that possible negotiations between the leaders of the countries were really considered and at the request of North Korea. The source noted that North Korean security concerns are the reason for the cancelled summit. “Japanese and South Korean reports that this summit may be held played some role in the fact that the North Korean authorities had changed their decision,” he noted.

Russian experts believe that that a canard launched in other countries is the problem, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes. For instance, influential circles in Japan are very discontent that Russia and China support North Korea to some extent. “They would like to drive a wedge between them,” the newspaper quoted a leading scientific employee from the Institute of Far East of the Russian Academy of Sciences Konstantin Asmolov. “Unreliable reports are spread that Kim Jong Il allegedly balances between Moscow and Beijing. A Japanese source has earlier made a report that China had allegedly brought the troops to North Korea. China called this report false,” Asmolov underlined.

Unauthorized protest actions continue in Belarus

On Wednesday, an unauthorized protest action was held in Minsk and other big Belarusian cities within the campaign under the motto for the revolution through the social networks. The Belarusian state authorities, rather than the protesters were getting ready for the actions on Wednesday.

This time not only the oppositionists, but also the authorities have prepared thoroughly to the protest action, Kommersant writes. The Minsk city center was cordoned, and the Minsk authorities arranged a disco for voluntary guards and members from the pro-governmental youth organization at an expected venue of the protest action. The measures, which the Belarusian authorities have taken, show that they are really concerned over a public protest upsurge in the social networks. The organizers estimated the Wednesday protest action as a rehearsal. The main protest action is scheduled for July 3, when Belarus will celebrate Independence Day.

The protest actions within the campaign under the appeals for a revolution through the social networks are called ‘silent’, the newspaper noted. People are just meeting on the central squares of the cities and are standing in silence. Some of them are stamping their feet and are clapping. The opposition Movement of the Future organizes the protest

actions. Vyacheslav Dianov, 24, is the movement leader, who is also a coordinator of the Citizen campaign and a proxy of the former Belarusian presidential candidate Yaroslav Romanchuk. Being afraid of reprisals from the authorities he went to Poland after the December 19, 2010 presidential elections and helps to coordinate the protest actions from the country.

Two previous Wednesdays ended in massive detentions of the protesters (about 200 people), trials and fines and several young people of the recruitment age were drafted in the army, Nezavisimaya Gazeta recalled. President Alexander Lukashenko warned Interior Minister Anatoly Kuleshov on Wednesday that he can be fired for such actions and the authorities have taken a more active position. Massive events, which are to be held at the places, where the protesters traditionally meet, were scheduled in Minsk and all regional cities on Wednesday evening.

Despite the statements from the authorities the opposition is behind the protests of silence, no political force was seeking to head this movement, the newspaper noted. Moreover, the politicians said in the comments to journalists about their skepticism over the efficiency of such measures.

The materials from the websites Zagolovki.ru and Yandex.ru were cited.

'Modern' Medvedev portrayed in Brussels http://www.euractiv.com/en/enlargement/modern-medvedev-portrayed-brussels-news-506079

Published: 30 June 2011

Professor Igor Yurgens, a close advisor to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, was in Brussels to show the face of a new Russia and said his boss supported the participation in upcoming elections of a banned party and called various opposition leaders "friends". Yurgens also said that Medvedev had made efforts to secure the acquittal of jailed former oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

Background

Russia elects a president and the 450-member Duma, one of the chambers of the Federal Assembly. The Federal Council (178 members) has two members for each region, but they are not elected.

Since the fall of the USSR, there have been five elections for both president and parliament. Since Vladimir Putin became president of Russia in 1999, criticism of the conduct of Russian elections has grown.

The last presidential election took place in 2008 and was won by Dmitry Medvedev with 71.25% against 17.96% for Gennady Zyuganov, the candidate of the Communist Party, and 9.48% for Vladimir Zhirinovski of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia.

Sergei Magnitsky was a Russian attorney working for a UK firm, accused of tax evasion and tax fraud. He died in police custody in 2009. His death attracted international media attention. Independent investigations uncovered what appeared to be a premeditated murder.

In November 2009 President Medvedev ordered an official investigation into the circumstances of Marnitsky's death. Several prison officials were fired and Medvedev signed a law forbidding the jailing of individuals who are suspected of tax crimes.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky is a former Russian oligarch and was the wealthiest man in Russia at the helm of petrol company Yukos before his arrest on charges of tax fraud in October 2003. Prior to his arrest, Khodorkovsky funded several opposition parties and was openly critical of what he called "managed democracy" in Russia.

On 30 May 2005, Khodorkovsky was sentenced to nine years in jail. A recent second sentence put him in jail until 2017. Khodorkovsky commented on a Davos speech by Medvedev on modernisation by saying: "I call on people to believe in the sincerity of President Medvedev's attempts, but not to accept desires and simulations in the place of clearly defined obligations and working institutions."

Speaking at a public event organised by the EU-Russia Centre, attended by high-level European Commission officials and several MEPs, Yurgens - who is also president of the Institute for Contemporary Development in Moscow - chose the topic of modernisation in Russia, a flagship initiative of President Medvedev, to deliver several messages on behalf of the Russian president.

In fact, Yurgens took good care to speak positively about Vladimir Putin, the country's prime minister, perceived abroad as Russia's authoritarian strong man and compared to whom Medvedev is seen as more open to Western-type democracy.

Yurgens said that on the eve of parliamentary elections to be held in December and presidential elections next year, bets were ongoing both on Putin coming back as president or Medvedev carrying on for a second mandate.

"No matter who wins, Putin with his Stability Party or Medvedev with his Progress Party, the agenda of change and modernisation will be taken by any president," he said.

Yurgens said that if Putin were to make a comeback, he would also commit to an agenda of modernisation, "simply because there is no other way of safeguarding Russia's place in the G8 and even in the G20".

"We will modernise: the question is the tempo, the speed, the depth, the resistance of the interest groups, the level of the popular suppor," he said.

'Breeze of change'

Yurgens implied that even under Putin's patronage, Medvedev had made his mark.

"I would say some timid and cautious steps have been made by the president. He promised and delivered some changes to the legal structure. He reinforced his message on regional self-government and the change in the budget codes, which would promote financial independence of cities and dwellings," the professor said. 

"Now he lowered again the ceiling for the parties to become parliamentary parties. He supports the idea of the creation of the Liberal Party by one of our tycoons [the Right Cause party of multibillionaire Mikhail Prokhorov] which was announced a week ago. And so and so forth," he added.

Obviously alluding to the 'winds of change' of the Gorbachev era, Yurgens spoke of "a breeze of change" blowing from the Kremlin these days.

"We feel the breeze, the light wind, not the storm, not the tornado yet, not even a strong wind, we feel a slight but pleasant wind and breeze of political change and freedom. For some it's more than enough, for most – I mean most 'thinking' – it's not enough at all, it will not produce new wind energy or solar energy for our political life," Yurgens said.

But significantly, the top Medvedev advisor said that it would be "much better" if Parnas, an opposition party established last December that the Russian authorities have denied registration, were given the chance to run in the poll. He named several Parnas leaders - Mikhail Kasyanov, Boris Nemtsov and Vladimir Ryzhkov - and called them "friends".

"It would be much better if Parnas is registered and receives at least a couple of seats in parliament. It becomes a much more lively and constructive situation," he said, confirming that he was not speaking in a private capacity but in agreement with the president.

Torshin bill 'total nonsense'

Yurgens described as "total nonsense" a bill to be debated in the Russian Parliament aimed at giving Russian law precedence over the European Convention on Human Rights.The bill is named after Alexander Torshin - a member of the ruling United Russia party and acting speaker of the upper house of parliament - who drafted the bill.

Yurgens said Torshin used to be a sensible person, adding wittily that he may have been overwhelmed by his ambition to become parliamentary speaker. "We shouldn't adopt that package," he warned.

The Medvedev aide said that his boss had also shown his style in dealing with high-profile court trials, such as those investigating the mysterious death in prison of Russian attorney Sergei Magnitsky and the imprisonment of former oligarch Mikahil Khodorkovsky (see 'Background').

"If not for Medvedev, nobody in the Magnistky case would be in jail: they are. We are fighting around the Khodorkovsky case," he said.

However, Khodorkovsky has been sentenced to prison until 2017. Russia analysts had argued that an acquittal would show that Medvedev had prevailed, while a conviction would confirm that Putin remains Russia's real power. Reportedly, Medvedev is trying to obtain Khodorkovky's pardon.

Asked whether by EurActiv if he had spoken in a private capacity or on behalf of Medvedev, he said:

"He [Medvedev] is very much behind it. Believe me that he has his own restrictions and limitations. Believe me he works in an environment which is not very favourable to liberalism, democracy and stuff like that. Our new generations wants more than what we are saying, and he is reflecting that will, at the tempo which is I think compatible and adequate to the situation. He can be an iconoclast like Yeltsin, and then we will have all the consequences of this. Or he can be like Gorbachev in his prime, or Deng Xiao Ping. It's in the making, we will let you know."

Georgi Gotev

The country may slip on a bananahttp://rt.com/politics/press/nezavisimaya/russia-football-extremism-championship/en/

Published: 30 June, 2011, 04:53Edited: 30 June, 2011, 05:00

Extremist antics of football fans is a phenomenon that is not unique to Russia - and there is a global experience to counter it Ivan Rodin, Yan Gordeyev

Yesterday, the Investigation Committee of Russia declared that the case of the rioting football fans on Manezh Square has not been submitted to the court, but is at the final stages of investigation. On the same day, a State Duma statement stated that a battle will unfold against racism and xenophobia at sports stadiums.     

Sports fans’ extremism has led deputies to the idea that playing fields should be declared “zones of increased risk.” However Russia, itself, could very well turn into such a zone.

The country was just recently given the right to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup, but in this situation may possibly lose it. This means that the country’s prestige is at stake, and so is that of the head of the Government, Vladimir Putin. The football industry, which is finally turning into a serious business, could also suffer. 

Yesterday the Investigation Committee of Russia announced that work on the case of the riots on the Manezh Square remains incomplete, despite assurances provided by the lawyers of certain individuals accused of organizing the December 11, 2010 mass riots. However, it is, indeed, at the final procedural stage. And the two main defendants, Igor Berezyuk and Ilya Kubrakov, are already becoming familiar with the case. The case of the death of football fan Yegor Sviridov, whose death became the official reason for public outrage, is also being prepared for court hearings. Xenophobia, meanwhile, has become a relevant topic in the sports field after the recent scandal involving one of the players of the Anzhi club, Roberto Carlos.   

Recently, during a Premier League game in Samara, a banana was thrown at a dark-skinned player. Roberto Carlos left the stadium in tears. All the football players, playing in that match found the banana throwing to be offensive and extremist – especially considering the fact that the player had become the object of racist attacks a number of times.

The shockingly high level of extremism at stadiums has attracted the attention of all global news agencies, which showed details of the unpleasant episode. And only then did the problem attract the attention of the State Duma deputies. After all, in seven years’ time, in 2018, Russia will host the FIFA World Cup. Meanwhile, the country may be stripped of this right due to these types of scandalous actions, especially considering that there will be those in global football circles who will want to do that. 

The nationalists’ outrageous behavior at the stadiums threatens both the security of sporting events and the country’s global image – which is already not the best. 

Deputy Valery Draganov, former vice president of the Russian Football Union, suggested tightening control over football matches through legislation. He put forward the idea of declaring football fields “zones of increased risk”, and believes it is necessary to equip sporting arenas with video cameras, which will not only record the players on the field but also fans in the stands and within the stadium facilities. 

The deputy’s ideas are criticized in the Sova Center for Information and Analysis, which deals with problems of extremism. Control and video cameras are already present at sporting arenas. But practice shows that these measures are ineffective, especially because, until recently, the fight against racist behavior during football games was formal. “Law enforcers were mostly concerned that fans did not throw chairs at one-another. That’s all,” says Sova expert Vera Alperovich. 

The expert notes that today football clubs are imposing fines on fans for displays of xenophobia: “Before the selection of the country to host the World Cup, the Russian

Football Union had adopted the rather strict rule. But that was done in order to show that we are, allegedly, addressing these problems.”

However, the expert draws attention to the originality of the struggle against football fans’ extremism: “When in the summer of last year, Spartak fan Yury Volkov was killed, fans held major protests. But that was the time the election for the right to host the World Cup was ongoing, and groups of fans had very actively expelled those instigators who wanted to turn Volkov’s death into a politically-motivated act from the stands.”  

Vice president of the Center for Political Technologies, Aleksey Makarkin, believes football fans are a political problem: “Extremism at the stadiums is one of the most challenging aspects of general extremism in the country. If xenophobic sentiments rise in the country, it will be reflected in sports.”  He is confident that legislative measures against extremism in sporting arenas are one of the components of a comprehensive fight against the problem: “We need to conduct preventative measures, including with the fans themselves. But we also need to be engaged in a struggle against xenophobia in general.” At the same time, the expert acknowledges that these efforts could simply alleviate the problem, but not eliminate it altogether.

Member of the Public Chamber, Oleg Zykov, agrees: “It is not a question of legislative documents, but a mental revolution.” In his opinion, “today, we are observing sporadic activity caused by some resonant incidents.” Nezavisimaya Gazeta’s interlocutor considers incidents occurring at football stadiums to be a private manifestation of national problems: “It is impossible to overcome inter-ethnic conflicts, while fighting against xenophobia at football stadiums alone.”  

Meanwhile, the situation is not unique to Russia. About 20 years ago, fans in Great Britain were getting out of control. As a result, the great English football began to suffer. Authorities struggled against the fans’ extremism. Not against all of the fans, but against individuals. They were all identified, and it turned out that there were no more than 500 of these people in the entire country.

Now, their photos are displayed at every stadium, and they are not allowed to enter. Neither do they have the right to leave the country for international matches. Our police ought to learn by this example, and not put pressure on all football fans indiscriminately, but identify extremists, even if they do so with the help of video cameras and fans, who value their favorite team more than ethnic preferences.

The Nenets herders, last nomads of the northhttp://rbth.ru/articles/2011/06/29/the_nenets_herders_last_nomads_of_the_north_13098.html

June 29, 2011Anna Nemtsova, special for Russia Beyond the Headlines

Russia’s nomadic reindeer hunters now coexist with roads, rail, pipes and drilling towers.

Lena Sarteto’s puffy, rough-skinned hands are a flurry of activity. As water boils over the fire in the center of her teepee, Sarteto, a nomad with the Nenets indigenous people of western Siberia, is cooking a feast for her guests and her family of five. She chops up dark red pieces of jerked deer meat, peels a huge silver fish and places pieces of dry bread and cookies on plates that she stores in a wooden sled. Her floor is the grass beneath her feet; fish bones and scales litter the room around the fire. The fish bones will stay there when they move on.

Sarteto is in a hurry. In a few hours, her small nomadic group of about 10 families — still called Brigade No. 5, their official name from Soviet times - will push further n orth. It is early Polar summer, and taking advantage of the almost continuous light, they herd their 3,000 reindeer to the shores of the Kara Sea, reaching that part of the Arctic Circle in August. And then they turn around, fleeing the biting frost and returning their reindeer to grass and moss of the warmer tundra.

It is an age-old cycle, but one that these families know is increasingly under threat.

The Yamal Peninsula is also home to Gazprom, the huge Russian energy company that supplies natural gas to much of Western Europe. And as Gazprom pushes into the peninsula, it has brought the kind of development — road, rail and pipelines — that is transforming the tundra. The Nenets have been introduced to asphalt highways, rusty metal, wire and drilling towers. Russia’s wealth appears to be cut out of the tundra they once called their own.

“The fish tastes dead; we feel sick after drinking water out of the lakes; our reindeers get stuck in wire loops or trip over pipes, break their legs and die,” Sarteto said. She repeats this line as if it is a mantra: “We are the last generation to lead a nomadic life; our children will live in towns, without tundra.”

The Yamal Peninsula contains the Bavanenkovo gas field, a vast tract containing about 4.9 trillion cubic meters of natural gas that Gazprom expects to begin pumping next year. Drilling towers have begun to dot the horizon. And to help exploit the gas resource, a new 325-mile long railroad opened last year.

Many of the 13,000 nomads left on Yamal Peninsula fear they will be forced into permanent settlements — a lifestyle change the government is encouraging, but which is dreaded by a people who have long forged their identity as travelers across the tundra’s expanse.

No one knows exactly how many hundreds of years the Nenets have kept the same yearly rhythm herding the reindeer one step ahead of the biting frost.

“Our research shows that the biggest fear nomads have is not global climate change, but the fear of being pushed out of the tundra,” said Vladimir Tchouprov, a spokesman for Greenpeace Russia.

During a recent camp break, men exercised by lassoing deer while women put up the teepees, or mya, as the Nenets call their homes. The reindeer provide the skins for the teepees, fabric for clothes and food.

Energy extraction and development is not the first assault on their way of life. The Soviet Union attempted to force the Nenets into a form of collective farming. They split various Nenets tribes into “kolkhoz” brigades, and obliged them to pay reindeer meat as taxes. Thousands moved into towns in Siberia, and the indigenous people struggled to maintain their traditions.

Today, Nenet activists see government efforts encouraging them to move into towns as a renewed assault.

“We are little people,” said Yezingi Hatyako, a 61-year-old elder. “We have no deputies to speak out for us in parliament, no oligarchs to give us money for our legal defense.”

As Lena Sarteto’s Brigade No. 5 moved north, they had to cross two paved highways, a struggle for the reindeer — 300 per family - and young families with nearly 100 wooden sleds. A team of Gazprom workers had covered the tarmac with a slippery insulation material, a goodwill gesture to ease the migration route to pasture. Traditionally, different Nenets groups moved across the Yamal Peninsula along defined corridors. But Sarteto’s normal route leads into the heart of the gas field.

A frustrated spokesman for Gazprom said the company is attempting to share the land with the tribes and act as a benevolent neighbor, but gets little thanks.

“No matter how hard we try to help them - provide them with transportation, pay them salaries for what they historically did for free, build bridges over the pipes, or build schools and kindergartens for their children, Nenets still complain,” said Andrei Teplyakov, a spokesman for Gazprom’s Yamal operation.

Indeed, there is a long list of Gazprom efforts that could be read as improvements for the nomads in what is called the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Area. The company pays salaries directly to the Nenets tribesmen for herding or to Nenets women for their caregiving. Lena and her husband, for instance, receive about $2,500 a month, a very decent income in this part of Russia. Every summer, Gazprom helicopters fly to the nomads’ camps to pick up over 2,000 Nenets children and take them to boarding schools in Yar-sale, the tundra people’s capital.

But Lena Sarteto, her family around her, said she would live without the cash in return for an untouched tundra. She turns to the family’s wooden idol, resting on a piece of fur; she places the statue outside; the divinity it represents is not supposed to share the house with strangers, a promise increasingly difficult to fulfill. Sarteto repeats her prayer, as futile as it seems: “Let Gazprom leave soon, and Yamal become only ours again.”

 

Anna Nemtsova is a Moscow correspondent for Newsweek. 

National Economic Trends

June 30, 2011 10:01

CB board of directors to look into refinancing rate todayhttp://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=255667

ST. PETERSBURG. June 30 (Interfax) - The board of directors at Russia's Central Bank will look into interest rates on June 30, including the refinancing rate.

The CB's First Deputy Chairman, Alexei Ulyukayev, earlier told journalists that the board would look at this issue on June 30, adding that the refinancing rate would be a topic for discussion.

The current refinancing rate stands at 8.25%.

Ih

(Our editorial staff can be reached at eng.editors@interfax.ru)

The Russian Central Bank rate decision is expected today

http://mediaserver.fxstreet.com/Reports/c13a0c46-a1e6-432a-b989-8a5055b01e89/873740d0-655c-4acd-b579-f578f99268b0.pdf

The Russian Central Bank rate decision is expected today. Although we expect therates to remain unchanged, monetary policy tightening might continue with increasesin reserve requirements. We believe that the current actions of the CBR do not reflectthe latest inflation readings, but rather expectations of future credit growth. Webelieve strong, yet stable nominal bank lending growth of around 20% y/y is in theCBR’s interests and that faster growth could cause economic overheating. As bank

lending growth has continued to accelerate and now stands at 23% and 17% y/y forhouseholds and firms respectively, we expect a 25bp rate hike to all key interest ratesat the end of July meeting.

Ruble Gains for Third Day as Greece Vote Spurs Crude Rallyhttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-30/ruble-gains-for-third-day-as-greece-vote-spurs-crude-rally.html

By Jack Jordan - Jun 30, 2011 8:59 AM GMT+0200

The ruble climbed for a third day, poised for the strongest closing level in more than two weeks as Greece’s vote to impose new austerity measures spurred a rally in oil, Russia’s chief export earner.

Russia’s currency gained 0.3 percent to 27.8849 per dollar as of 10:29 a.m. in Moscow, extending its advance this quarter to 1.9 percent. The ruble was little changed against the euro at 40.40, leaving it steady at 33.5167 versus the central bank’s target dollar-euro basket.

Oil rose for a third day after the Greek parliament passed Prime Minister George Papandreou’s 78 billion-euro ($112 billion) austerity plan, boosting confidence the country’s debt crisis won’t derail an economic recovery. Crude for August delivery jumped as much as 67 cents a barrel, and last traded up 0.2 percent at $94.95 a barrel.

Russian government bonds were little changed, leaving the yield on dollar debt due in 2015 steady at 2.919 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The yield on the country’s ruble Eurobond was little changed at 6.979 percent.

Non-deliverable forwards, which allow companies to hedge against currency movements, show the ruble at 28.1571 per dollar in three months, compared with 28.2082 yesterday.

-- Editors: Alex Nicholson, Ana Monteiro

To contact the reporter on this story: Jack Jordan in Moscow at jjordan22@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Gavin Serkin at gserkin@bloomberg.net

Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions

Russia Sberbank ADRs to trade on LSE, Deutsche Borsehttp://in.reuters.com/article/2011/06/30/sberbank-adr-idINLDE75T06I20110630

12:05pm IST

MOSCOW, June 30 (Reuters) - Russia's top lender Sberbank (SBER03.MM: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Thursday London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Borse approved trading of its American Depository Receipts (ADRs).

Sberbank's long-awaited ADR programme was launched on Monday. Its ADRs will start trading on the International Order Book (IOB) platform on LSE on July 1.

ADRs were also approved for trading on the Entry Standard platform on Deutsche Borse, Sberbank said in a statement. (Reporting by Katya Golubkova; editing by Maria Kiselyova)

Sberbank ADRs to start LSE trading Fridayhttp://en.rian.ru/business/20110630/164925421.html

12:25 30/06/2011

MOSCOW, June 30 (RIA Novosti)

Sberbank's American Depositary Receipts will begin trading on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) on Friday, Russia's top lender said on Thursday.

"Trading is expected to start on July 1, 2011. ADRs have been assigned the SBER ticker on the London Stock Exchange," Sberbank said in a statement.

Sberbank's ADRs have been admitted to trading on the International Order Book platform, which handles transactions with the most liquid foreign securities.

Sberbank launched its long-awaited Level 1 depositary receipts program on June 27.

Sberbank selected BoNY Mellon as the depositary bank for its American Depositary Receipts program in April and filed an application in May to transfer up to 25 percent of its shares into depositary receipts.

One ADR represents four Sberbank shares.

Sberbank's depositary receipts program comes ahead of the lender's 7.6 percent stake sale scheduled for fall, part of a broader state privatization campaign worth 1 trillion rubles over three years. The listing on foreign stocks exchanges allows the bank to expand its investor base ahead of the share sale.

Sberbank follows in the footsteps of Russia's second-largest lender VTB, which sold a 10 percent stake in February worth $3.3 billion.

Bank of Moscow to Get $5.4 Bln Central Bank Loan, Vedomosti Sayshttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-30/bank-of-moscow-to-get-5-4-bln-central-bank-loan-vedomosti-says.html

By Yuliya Fedorinova - Jun 30, 2011 6:09 AM GMT+0200

OAO Bank of Moscow, a troubled unit of state owned VTB Group, will receive a 150 billion-ruble ($5.4 billion) 10-year loan from Russia’s central bank, Vedomosti reported today, citing people familiar with situation.

VTB may later give the bank a further loan of as much 100 billion rubles, the newspaper said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Yuliya Fedorinova in Moscow at yfedorinova@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Torrey Clark at tclark8@bloomberg.net

Diners Club International Ltd. and Russian Standard Bank Partner to Form New Franchise in Russia

http://www.bne.eu/dispatch_text16036

Press releaseJune 30, 2011

Diners Club International(R) Ltd., a business unit of Discover Financial Services, and Russian Standard Bank (RSB), a leading consumer lender in Russia, today announced an agreement to form a new Diners Club International franchise in Russia. RSB will assume all responsibility for the Diners Club brand and business in Russia and Ukraine in issuing and acquiring.

Russian Standard Bank is the largest credit card issuer in Russia with over 150 branches,

30 million customers and a strong reputation for innovation.

"This is the start of a great partnership and we are excited to be able to bring Diners Club to Russian customers. Our relationship with Diners Club International provides a unique offer to our merchant partners in our acquiring business. We look forward to working with our merchant partners to build the brand in the region," said Dmitry Levin, Chairman of RSB.

As a globally recognized brand, Diners Club International is accepted in more than 185 countries and territories, millions of merchant locations and provides access to over 800,000 ATMs. The company offers best-in-class features and benefits and a network of unique customer and merchant services.

"The Russian and Ukrainian markets represent a great opportunity for a premium global payments brand like Diners Club," said Rajive Chadha, President of Diners Club International. "We feel strongly that partnering with a reputable financial institution such as Russian Standard Bank, with their wealth of experience in both issuing and acquiring, will help us meet our aggressive growth goals in Russia."

Russian agro firm set for $200-300m WSE IPO

http://www.wbj.pl/article-55187-russian-agro-firm-set-for-200-300m-wse-ipo.html?typ=ise

30th June 2011

Russian farming company Valinor said this week that it plans an initial public offering of $200-$300 million on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, Reuters reported. The money it gains will be used for land acquisitions and investment in production.

Valinor controls some 358,000 hectares of land in the fertile “black earth” regions of Russia and Ukraine, mostly cultivating grains and oilseeds. Last year its harvest totaled 1.2 million metric tons.

The offer will reportedly include new shares and existing shares being sold by Valinor's parent company, Valers Management Ltd. Alexander Lavrienko, the head of Valers' Ukrainian subsidiary, said the listing would amount to 40% of the company's shares.

Reuters reported that pricing is set to begin in the second half of July, and that Valinor's net debt was more than $220 million, more than twice 2010 EBITDA. AK

June 30, 2011 10:38

Polyus Gold shares excluded from RTS following KazakhGold reserve takeoverhttp://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=255682

MOSCOW. June 30 (Interfax) - Common shares in OJSC Polyus Gold (RTS: PLZL) will be excluded from the RTS Index, RTS Standard and RTS Metals and Production on Thursday following the close of evening clearing session in accordance with a decision from the RTS index committee.

OJSC Polyus Gold shares are being removed from the RTS Index following a planned reserve takeover, which will make the majority of shareholders in Polyus Gold holders of shares in KazakhGold, which should be renamed Polyus Gold International.

Ih

(Our editorial staff can be reached at eng.editors@interfax.ru)

RusAl repays $119 mln debt in Junehttp://en.rian.ru/business/20110630/164924195.html

10:51 30/06/2011

MOSCOW, June 30 (RIA Novosti)

The world's largest aluminum producer RusAl said on Thursday it had repaid $119 million of debt to foreign and local lenders.

The aluminum giant said it had repaid $119 million on June 29 and $1.7 billion since the beginning of the year, including refinancing from the proceeds of a recent ruble bond issue.

The total amount repaid by the company to the lenders since the start of RusAl's debt restructuring agreement totaled $4.3 billion, excluding repayments under a refinancing scheme for a loan granted by state-run Vnesheconombank, the firm said.

"The solid position of the company allows us to anticipate full refinancing of existing debt by September this year, which will lower the interest expenses, improve debt structure and let the company consider the possibility of paying dividends," RusAl Financial Markets Director Oleg Mukhamedshin said in the statement.

RusAl's net debt amounted to $11.382 billion as of March 31 this year. Last week RusAl approved the terms of a $4.75 billion pre-export finance facility with international lenders intended to refinance the debt.

UPDATE 1-Rostelecom Q1 net profit rises 6 pcthttp://in.reuters.com/article/2011/06/30/rostelecom-idINLDE75T07F20110630

12:20pm IST

* Merged company posts net profit at 10.6 bln roubles

* Sales rise 8 pct year-on-year to 72.4 bln roubles

* OIBDA falls 2 pct to 27.2 bln roubles

(Adds details, background)

MOSCOW, June 30 (Reuters) - Russian enlarged state telecoms giant Rostelecom (RTKM.MM: Quote, Profile, Research) posted on Thursday a 6 percent increase in first-quarter net profit helped by higher sales and a foreign exchange gain.

Net profit rose to 10.6 billion roubles ($377.3 million) compared with 10 billion roubles in the first quarter of 2010, Rostelecom said in a statement. Revenues rose 8 percent to stand at 72.4 billion roubles, driven by Internet and Pay-TV services, while sales in its core local fixed-line calling segment were flat.

Operating income before depreciation and amortisation (OIBDA) slid 2 percent to 27.2 billion roubles, and the OIBDA margin decreased to 37.6 percent from 41.3 percent a year ago.

The net profit result was helped by a 669 million rouble foreign exchange gain and 1.3 billion roubles in profits from associated companies.

Rostelecom has been recently enlarged through a merger with seven regional operators, also controlled by the state, aimed at boosting scale and efficiency at the long-distance operator.

The company, with a near $20 billion market capitalisation, plans a secondary listing in London before the end of this year and the government has said its privatisation would be a logical step. [ID:nLDE7341DK] [ID:nLDE75G1HE] (Reporting by Maria Kiselyova; Editing by Lidia Kelly)

09:17 30/06/2011ALL NEWS

Rostelecom expands Far East trunk channel carrying capacity.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/176363.html

30/6 Tass 42

VLADIVOSTOK, June 30 (Itar-Tass) — Rostelecom has expanded the carrying capacity of the trunk communications channel in the Far East by 50 percent.

Users in Khabarovsk Territory and in the Jewish Autonomous Region will be able to enjoy a greater speed of traffic in the Internet, an official in the press service of the Rostelecom-Far East Company told Itar-Tass on Thursday.

The need to expand the channel's carrying capacity has been prompted by the mounting usage of Internet traffic in those areas of the Far East.

According to the Company, only a year ago, the number of users operating in the network simultaneously was not more than 24 percent of the general number of clients; about 28 percent three months ago, and over 40 percent now. In the process, traffic passing via the Rostelecom network has increased by almost 90 percent over the past year.

At the same time the Company is busy laying new communications channels in the Far East. A new optic-fiber trunk line, over 700 km long, is being brought into being between Khabarovsk Territory and Sakhalin Island. Its aggregate carrying capacity will be 50 Gb/sec to transmit the traditional telephone, Internet, and interactive television traffic. Populated areas will be connected up to the network at a rate of 3.5 Gb/sec. The construction of the new line will enable the inhabitants of Khabarovsk Territory and Sakhalin Region to receive not only a more reliable and qualitative communication but also a full spectrum of modern telecommunication services.

June 30, 2011 10:59

Shareholders in ALROSA approve split, shares' face value to decrease by 96%http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=255695

MOSCOW. June 30 (Interfax) - Shareholders in OSJC ALROSA (RTS: ALRS), at their annual meeting on Thursday, approved an additional issue through a share-split, during which the face value for common shares will be reduced by 96%, the diamond producer said in a statement.

One ALROSA common share at a face value of 13,502.5 rubles will be converted into 27,500 common shares at a value of 0.5 rubles each. The issue will have 7,364,965,630 common shares.

"The positive effect of the share-split for shareholders and the company includes an increase in liquidity and, consequently, a boost in the investment attractiveness for shares, which would boost their market value," ALROSA.

The company's charter capital, which stands at 3,682,482,815 rubles, will not change but total stock will be divided into 7,364,965,630 common shares.

Furthermore, the shareholders also approved the option for placing an additional 2,062,155,810 common shares.

Ih

(Our editorial staff can be reached at eng.editors@interfax.ru)

Russia’s Mechel to launch Elga coal deposit in Yakutia in Augusthttp://www.prime-tass.com/news/_Russias_Mechel_to_launch_Elga_coal_deposit_in_Yakutia_in_August/0/%7BDE53733F-62E1-4304-A9B6-F461A0838D40%7D.uif

MOSCOW, Jun 30 (PRIME) -- Russian metals and mining group Mechel plans to launch coal mining operations at the Elga deposit in the constituent republic of Sakha (Yakutia) in August, the company’s management said in a conference call late Wednesday.

The company plans to produce about 300,000 tonnes of coal at the deposit this year and 2 million tonnes in 2012.

Mechel plans to complete construction of a coal washery with an annual production capacity of 9 million–10 million tonnes of coking coal concentrate by the end of 2013.

Coal reserves of the Elga deposit are estimated at over 2.1 billion tonnes. Mechel plans to produce up to 30 million tonnes of coal at the deposit annually, the company said earlier.

Mechel comprises producers of steel, rolled products, hardware, coal, iron ore concentrate, and nickel. Mechel’s products are marketed both domestically and internationally.

End

30.06.2011 12:24

GE signs preliminary deal on Skolkovo research centerhttp://en.rian.ru/business/20110630/164923845.html

10:31 30/06/2011

MOSCOW, June 30 (RIA Novosti)

General Electric (GE) signed on Thursday a preliminary agreement to establish a research center at the Skolkovo hi-tech hub being created near Moscow.

Viktor Vekselberg, the president of the Skolkovo Foundation, said at the signing ceremony that a final agreement on the project should be in place by the end of the year.

"We welcome the decision by GE to implement such a significant project," the billionaire businessman is quoted as saying in a foundation press release. "The specific size and format of this involvement will, I hope, be agreed before the end of the year."

The plans currently provide for the U.S. corporation to establish a center for around 50 scientists to conduct research primarily focusing on energy efficiency, health and information technology.

GE chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt hailed the agreement as "a vivid example" of the company's long-term commitment to Russia.

"We are confident that GE's new research center in Skolkovo will become a universal platform for the application of Russian scientific potential in specific business projects, as well as for the introduction of advanced GE technologies in Russia," he is quoted as saying in the press release.

Seen as a key part of President Dmitry Medvedev's drive to modernize Russia's commodity-dependent economy, Skolkovo is intended to be an ultra-modern science community for the development and commercialization of new technologies.

The hub, being set up just outside Moscow, will focus on research in five priority spheres: energy, information technology, communication, biomedical research and nuclear technology.

Indian apparel industry to increase exports to Russiahttp://www.indiainfoline.com/Markets/News/Indian-apparel-industry-to-increase-exports-to-Russia/5187507864

India Infoline News Service / 12:00 , Jun 30, 2011

The seven -member delegation from AEPC was currently on its visit to Russia to explore trade avenues with the Russian Textile Industry.Indian apparel industry is expanding its global business boundaries. Taking the initiative forward, the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) of India recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Russian Union of Entrepreneurs of Textiles and Light Industry at the Embassy of India in Moscow.  Mr Premal Udani, Chairman of AEPC signed the MoU with Mr Boris Fomin, President of the Russian Union of Entrepreneurs of Textiles and Light Industry in Moscow. Also present on the occasion was H.E Ajai Malhotra, Indian Ambassador to Russia.  The seven -member delegation from AEPC was currently on its visit to Russia to explore trade avenues with the Russian Textile Industry. This MoU with Russian textile entrepreneurs is a step towards developing bilateral cooperation in the textile and clothing industries. It is further expected to boost up textile and clothing trade between India and Russia.

The bilateral cooperation will seek investment generation to promote textile manufacturing in India and Russia. The MoU will also aim at promoting textile trade, transfer of technology & know-how in textile manufacturing and processing. The cooperation pact will also allow both the counterparts of Indian and Russian textile industry to participate in each other’s fairs and exhibitions. A four-member Textile Communication Committee has been set up to monitor and follow-up on the decisions.  Speaking on the occasion, said H.E Ajai Malhotra, Indian Ambassador to Russia, “This MoU formalizes a mutual desire between Indian and Russian business partners to boost trade and investment cooperation in apparel and textiles”. He further pointed out that the Indian apparel industry was well-known worldwide for the high quality and price competitiveness of its products.  The Indian companies, in 2010, exported about USD 120 million worth of garments to Russia, which constituted about 2 per cent of Russia’s garment imports. The export opportunity to Russia is quite visible from the fact that India registered about USD 11 billion worth of exports to the developed world in 2010.  

Expressing deep satisfaction over the signing of the MoU, Premal Udani, Chairman of AEPC said, “This MoU will start a new era of mutual partnership between the garment manufacturers of India and Russia. We want to become a prime exporter of garments to Russia and AEPC will encourage its members to consider Russian market as the premier market for garment exports.”  As a result of the MoU, many Russian textile/apparel companies will participate in the India International Garments Fair to be held in New Delhi from 12 – 14 July, 2011. Also, major Indian apparel exporters will attend the CPM (Collection Premier Moscow) Garments Fair in Moscow during September 5-8, 2011.  The seven member APEC delegation from India was in Russia from June 19-24, 2011 were Premal Udani, Chairman of AEPC, Ashok G Rajani, Chairman (Export Promotion Committee) and Vimal Kirti Singh, Secretary General of AEPC, H.K.L Maggu (EC Member), Virender Uppal (EC Member), Ashok Gulati (EC Member) and Mr Lalit Gulati (EC Member).

Timchenko and Vorobiev looking to acquire Arkhangelsk fishing fleet

http://www.bne.eu/dispatch_text16036

VTB CapitalJune 30, 2011

News: Kommersant reports today that Gennady Timchenko and Maxim Vorobiev are considering acquiring Arkhangelsk Fishing Fleet (AFF). AFF is reportedly to be acquired by the same joint venture between Volga Resources (controlled by Timchenko) and Maxim Vorobiev (the main shareholder of the Russian Sea Group) which owns 61% of Russian Sea Group. The fleet has 21 ships and in 2009 supplied 30% of Russian Sea's local procurement. It is one of the state- owned companies which are to be privatised, while the valuation is reportedly to be completed within a month. The article also speculates that an entity close to Timchenko acquired the Murmansk Fishing Fleet at the beginning of the year.

Our View: The development might point to the fact that, after the strong cost inflation which hit Russian Sea's profitability in 2010, the company is looking for downstream integration to secure procurement. Meanwhile, we note that the state fishing fleets are in a poor state in Russia and that this business is very capex intensive. Thus, the rationale of integrating AFF within RSG is not obvious in our view. The fact that Timchenko might be consolidating fishing fleets in Russia points to his strategic interest in the industry, which might go beyond acquiring 30% in RSG.

Ivan Kushch

Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)

30.06.2011

Russian-Kazakhstan-Belarus Customs Union Zero-Rates Crudehttp://www.oilandgaseurasia.com/news/p/0/news/11869

The duty for supplying crude within the Russian-Kazakh-Belarusian Customs Union has been lowered from 5 percent to zero precent. The decision was made at the 28th meeting of the Customs Union commission and published on the organisation's website.

Representatives at the meeting also included a list of goods which can be temporarily imported free of customs duties and taxes. These include floating or underwater drilling platforms for conducting geological surveys.

Copyright 2011, Vslukh. All rights reserved.

30.06.2011

Russia, Kazakhstan Flaring Less Associated Petroleum Gashttp://www.oilandgaseurasia.com/news/p/0/news/11870

According to a report from the World Bank, Kazakhstan and Russia are the world's leaders in flaring associated petroleum gas. The report was calculated using data from satellite  surveys. At the same time, the two countries also lead the list of nations working to reduce greenhouse gasses in 2010 by reducing the flaring of APG, Neft Rossii reports.

Kazakhstan achieved these results mainly by project executed by Tengizchevroil. In 2010,  Tengizchevroil completed a four-year, $258 million project to recover APG. Kazakhstan Today reports that this made it possible to nearly end routine flaring at the Tengiz field.

Worldwide, flaring has been reduced in oil and gas projects. From 2005 to 2010, figures fell 22 percent from 172 billion cubic meters of gas to 134 billion cubic meters of gas,

the 134 billion cubic meters of gas which is still being flared is equivalent to almost 30 percent of Europe's annual gas consumption.

Copyright 2011, Vslukh. All rights reserved.

30.06.2011

Tax Burden on Russian Gas Sector Continues to Growhttp://www.oilandgaseurasia.com/news/p/0/news/11871

Russian President Dmitriy Medevedev has placed a priority on improving Russia's tax regime with regard to the oil and gas industry. In his address on the budget, Medvedev spoke of the need to compete drafts of the tax regimes in the industry with a goal of stimulating the development of new fields and increasing refining depths.

To raise revenue for the Russian treasury and given the good prices for hydrocarbons on world markets, Medvedev called for increasing the tax burden on the oil and gas industry, specifically subsoil rents.

Copyright 2011, Vslukh. All rights reserved.

30.06.2011

Paolo Scaroni: Supplies of Russian Gas to China, India Threaten Europe's Energy Futurehttp://www.oilandgaseurasia.com/news/p/0/news/11872

European countries will finds themselves in a difficult position if Russia begins supplying more gas to Asian countries, Eni CEO Paolo Scaroni said. He added that Europe's energy future will become even more problematic if Siberian gas is redirected to China and India.

Scaroni cited information from the website of the Italian newspaper Sole 24 Ore which reported that the east is demanding more and more Russian gas.

He said that this increased the need for Europe to import gas via the South Stream pipeline.

He said that the Nabucco pipeline is more of a pipe dream, than an alternative to Russian gas. He said Nabucco made economic sense only if it will pump Iranian as well as Azeri gas.

Copyright 2011, Oil and Gas Information Agency. All rights reserved.

30.06.2011

Novatek Expands Presence in Russia's Arctichttp://www.oilandgaseurasia.com/news/p/0/news/11854

Russia’s second biggest gas producer looks set to get licenses to four major fields in and around the Yamal Peninsula.

Rosnedra, the Russian Agency for mineral resources, now recommends the federal government to give the company the four licenses, Oilru.com reports. With the new licenses, Novatek will boost its resource base in the gas-rich region. From before, Novatek controls the license to the South Tambey field, which has proven gas reserves of more than 1,2 trillion cubic meters.

Together with Total and other companies, Novatek is planning the development of the Yamal LNG project, which will be based on the South Tambey resources. However, with the additional resources, Novatek could be able to expand the LNG potential.

One of the four fields, the North Tambey is located just north of the South Tambey.

However, the development of the fields are highly complex. Both the North Tambey and the Severo-Obskoye (North Ob) are located offshore in the Ob Bay. The two other fields, the Utrennoye and Geofizicheskoye are located on the eastern shore of the Ob Bay.

Novatek will have to pay up to seven billion RUB for the four new licenses.

Copyright 2011, Barents Observer. All rights reserved.

Itera eyes Turkmen well next yearhttp://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article264349.ece

Russian gas player Itera plans to start drilling at a large field in the Caspian Sea as soon as next year.

Eoin O'Cinneide  29 June 2011 12:51 GMT

The privately-owned company has just finished the first phase of exploration at Block 21 in Turkmenistan’s Capsian Sea territory.

Now the Moscow-based company has set its sights on drilling the first well at the prospect in 2012, Chairman Igor Makarov wrote in a statement in Russian on the company’s website.

The company hopes to drill the first well to 7300 metres which would be a record for drilling in Turkmenistan, according to a translation of the statement.

Total investment in the project, which Itera is completing in conjunction with Russian state-owned oil player Zarubezhneft, is $6 billion.

The block is thought to have recoverable oil reserves of around 200 million tonnes with about 200 billion cubic metres of natural gas.

Published: 29 June 2011 12:51 GMT  | Last updated: 29 June 2011 12:51 GMT

Rosneft Said to Sell August, September ESPO Oil to SK, JX-Nipponhttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-30/rosneft-said-to-sell-august-september-espo-oil-to-sk-jx-nippon.html

By Christian Schmollinger - Jun 30, 2011 9:29 AM GMT+0200

Rosneft Oil Co. (ROSN) sold two cargoes of East Siberian Pacific Ocean pipeline oil, or ESPO crude, for loading in August and September to SK Innovation Co. and JX- Nippon Oil & Energy Corp., according to two traders who participate in the market.

Details of the offer are as follows:

-----------------------------------------------------------Crude: East Siberian Pacific Ocean pipeline oilQuantity: 100,000 tons, or 730,000 barrels, x 2 cargoesLoading: Aug. 10-13; Aug. 31 to Sept. 3Buyers: SK Innovation and JX-NipponPort: Kozmino Bay Terminal, Russia’s Far EastPrice: Premium of $3.60 a barrel for the Aug. 10-13 cargo and premium of $3.90 for Aug. 31 to Sept. 3 cargo. Both prices are against Dubai price set by pricing service Platts.------------------------------------------------------------

To contact the reporter on this story: Christian Schmollinger in Singapore at christian.s@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alexander Kwiatkowski at akwiatkowsk2@bloomberg.net.

Surgutneftegas Said to Sell ESPO Crude Oil for August to Shellhttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-30/surgutneftegas-said-to-sell-espo-crude-oil-for-august-to-shell.html

By Christian Schmollinger - Jun 30, 2011 9:41 AM GMT+0200 OAO Surgutneftegas, a Russian oil producer, sold 400,000 metric tons of East Siberian Pacific Ocean pipeline crude for loading in August, according to three traders who participate in the market. Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA), bought all four cargoes, the traders said.

Details of the sale are as follows:

-----------------------------------------------------------Crude: East Siberian Pacific Ocean pipeline crudeQuantity: 100,000 metric tons (730,000 barrels) x 4 cargoesBuyers: Royal Dutch Shell PlcLoading: Aug. 8-11, Aug. 17-20, Aug. 22-25, Aug. 29 - Sept. 1Port: Kozmino Bay Terminal, Russia’s Far EastPrice: Premiums of $3.65 a barrel to the price of Dubai published by Platts.-------------------------------------------------------------

To contact the reporter on this story: Christian Schmollinger in Singapore at christian.s@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alexander Kwiatkowski at akwiatkowsk2@bloomberg.net

Bashneft: Getting Better All the Time

http://www.bne.eu/dispatch_text16036

AtonJune 30, 2011

We upgrade our target prices for Bashneft's common and preferred shares to $70.2 and $56.3, respectively (vs $50.8 and $29.5 previously), implying upside potential of 30% to the current price for both stocks. We have incorporated into our model our new oil price forecast (upgraded in May 2011), acquisition of the Trebs and Titov oilfields licence and Bashkirenergo's deconsolidation.

Trebs and TitovIn Feb 2011 Bashneft acquired a development licence for the Trebs and Titov oilfields. On our estimates, the acquisition adds $0.83bn to Bashneft's value (or $4.9 per share) and has not yet been incorporated into the share price.

Russneft mergerWe believe the merger between Bashneft and Russneft may take place in 2012-13. In this report we analyse the three scenarios for the deal which we believe are most realistic.

- Our first scenario assumes the transfer of 49% of Russneft from Sistema and the purchase of a similar stake from Mikhail Gutseriev. We estimate Russneft's fair value at $3.0bn at the beginning of 2012. On our estimates, this merger could add about $2.0bn to Bashneft's valuation and should therefore benefit the company's minority shareholders.

- The second scenario assumes the creation of a JV in which Sistema, Gutseriev and Sberbank contribute their shares in Bashneft and Russneft. In this case, minorities would not gain exposure to the merged companies but could benefit from increased dividends: we see dividends as the only legal way to transfer money from Bashneft to the JV.

- The final scenario implies Sistema's purchase of 2% of Russneft from Sberbank. In this case, Sistema would de-facto control the flows of both Bashneft and Russneft, but would likely have to pay a significant premium for this privilege ($600-900mn, on our estimates). We consider this scenario the least likely as it primarily benefits Sberbank.

Sensitivity to the '60-66' reformWe believe the proposed '60-66' tax reform would be harmful to Bashneft due to its excess refining capacity. Currently it has to purchase about 11mnt of oil from third parties to load its refineries. We believe the market incorporates the negative effect of the 60-66 reform in Bashneft's stock price; however in our valuation, we incorporate Bashneft losing 10% of its value due to the reform.

A possible MET triggerThe government is considering the introduction of special tax benefits for Bashneft to compensate for losses from the reform. One of the potential benefits could be a lower MET for depleted oilfields. If introduced this could become a strong trigger for the stock, in our view.

Best exposure to oil price growthBashneft's excess refining capacity makes it highly sensitive to oil price growth. On our estimates, the company receives $0.39 from every marginal dollar vs the industry average of $0.22. While our long-term forecast is for lower oil prices, we believe that Bashneft's sensitivity presents an excellent short-term opportunity, too, given the oil price's present upward tendency.

Gazprom

Russia’s Gazprom plans to boost exports to Europe, set new high in export earningshttp://www.washingtonpost.com/business/worldbusiness/russias-gazprom-plans-to-boost-exports-to-europe-set-new-high-in-export-earnings/2011/06/30/AGclsqrH_story.html

By Associated Press, Updated: Thursday, June 30, 10:00 AM

MOSCOW — Russia’s Gazprom state-controlled natural gas giant says it plans to boost exports to Europe this year and set a new record high in export earnings.

Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller told Thursday’s annual shareholders’ meeting that the company expects to export 155-158 billion cubic meters of gas to customers in Europe this year compared to last year’s 139 billion.

Miller said the company will also seek to expand the sales of liquefied natural gas to China, Japan and South Korea.

Gazprom currently accounts for 15 percent of the world’s natural gas output and 18 percent of global natural gas reserves.

Miller said that the company’s reserves currently stand at 33.1 billion cubic meters of gas.

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

Gazprom seeks India deals, says Europe share to fallhttp://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFLDE75T0BD20110630

Thu Jun 30, 2011 7:27am GMT

MOSCOW, June 30 (Reuters) - India is among the Asian countries where Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom (GAZP.MM) is seeking new buyers for its gas under long term contracts, diluting Europe's share in its sales, its CEO said.

"India, Korea and China -- these are the countries where we are working intensively on concluding new long term contracts," Chief Executive Alexei Miller told the company's annual meeting.

Miller said Europe's share of its total sales would fall but absolute volumes would remain steady as Gazprom expanded its client base in Asia.

Gas deliveries were up 26 percent in the first half of the year, Miller said.

(Reporting by Melissa Akin; editing by Alfred Kueppers)

Gazprom vows steady Europe volumes as it look easthttp://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFLDE75T0A120110630

Thu Jun 30, 2011 7:21am GMT

MOSCOW, June 30 (Reuters) - Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom (GAZP.MM) will keep gas deliveries to Europe steady even as Asian customers start taking significant volumes of its gas, Chief Executive Alexei Miller said on Thursday.

"Future deliveries (to Europe) in absolute terms will remain, but the share of the European market in Gazprom's external revenues will decline with the appearance of new clients and the growth in gas prices in Russia," Miller told Gazprom's annual meeting.

"This is a conscious element of our strategy."

(Reporting by Jessica Bachman; writing by Melissa Akin; editing by Alfred Kueppers)

Gazprom Jumps as CFO Says Ebitda Expected to Rise 25 Percenthttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-29/gazprom-jumps-after-cfo-says-ebitda-expected-to-rise-25-percent.html

By Jason Corcoran - Jun 29, 2011 5:26 PM GMT+0200

OAO Gazprom, the Russian natural gas export monopoly, gained to its highest in a week after Chief Financial Officer Andrey Kruglov said adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization are forecast to increase 25 percent this year.

The stock rallied 1.4 percent to 201.46 rubles by the 6:45 p.m. close in Moscow.

Adjusted net income to Russian accounting standards may reach 750 billion rubles ($27 billion) this year, Kruglov told reporters today in Moscow.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Corcoran at Jcorcoran13@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Gavin Serkin at gserkin@bloomberg.net

Gazprom Neft Sells Gazpromneft-Noyabrskneftegazgeofizika for $65mnhttp://www.bne.eu/dispatch_text16036

Aton

June 30, 2011

Gazprom Neft has signed an agreement to sell its oilfield service asset Gazpromneft-Noyabrskneftegazgeofizika (GN-NNGGF) to Weatherford for $65mn, RBC Daily reports today (30 June), citing sources in Gazprom Neft. Another source said the deal price is significantly higher than the company's fair value of $20-30mn. In Mar 2011, RBC Daily reported that Weatherford and Bashneftegeofizisika had offered to buy GN-NNGGF for $50mn.

The deal has yet to be approved by Russia's special commission on foreign investments.

Bottom lineThe news is positive for Gazprom Neft as it has sold the asset at a premium. We expect it to enter into a framework agreement that would allow GN-NNGGF to continue providing services, a practice that is common when oilfield service companies are spun off (which neutralises operational risk).

RMJM architect plays down locals' Gazprom 'protest'http://www.bdonline.co.uk/news/rmjm-architect-plays-down-locals-gazprom-protest/5020756.article

30 June 2011 | By David Rogers

Tony Kettle greeted with cries of ’Shame on you’ by St Petersburg residents

The RMJM architect at the centre of a protest over the firm’s plans to build the Gazprom tower in St Petersburg has played down claims he was forced to cut short a presentation on the building because he was shouted down by protestors.

International principal Tony Kettle was making the presentation at a public meeting in the city last Friday.

According to local paper, the St Petersburg Times, Kettle was heckled by opponents of the tower, set to be around 460 m high, with cries of “Shame on You” and “Time’s up!”

A local campaign against the headquarters building for the Russian energy giant claims it is too tall for a historic city like St Petersburg.

But the Scot told BD: “We were limited to speak for only a short time. The meeting lasted more than four hours and allowed views to be aired by the general public, many of which were in support of the project.”

The scheme has been mired in controversy since RMJM won the contract to design a new headquarters for the Russian energy giant back in 2006. The planned site of the building was recently switched from a central site to one on the outskirts of the city.

Kettle said those opposed to the project were a “vocal minority” and added: “Independent visual studies have shown how little it will be seen from the city centre.”