The Moscow Times

Market Matters : Oil and Metals Shine as RTS Breaks 2,100
The RTS, the country's benchmark stock index, breached the 2,100 barrier for the first time this year, as oil and metal stocks pulled away from the field.

Putin's Legacy : How the State Got a Grip on Energy
It was early March 2000 when Vladimir Putin landed in Surgut, one stop on a long campaign trail that would help take the acting president to the official seat in the Kremlin.

News

Last Dance in Sochi for Outgoing Presidents
By Anna Smolchenko / Staff Writer President George W. Bush and his host, President Vladimir Putin, didn't allow what have been strained relations and a host of unresolved issues between their countries to put a damper on their last dinner together.

Putin and Bush Find Nothing to Sign
By Anna Smolchenko / Staff Writer Presidents Vladimir Putin and George W. Bush didn't resolve their differences on missile defense but agreed to deepen cooperation, speaking warmly, almost nostalgically of each other during their farewell meeting on Sunday.

Putin Tries Surprise NATO Offensive
By Nabi Abdullaev / Staff Writer President Vladimir Putin warned NATO against further expansion toward Russia's borders and criticized a NATO plan for joint missile defense as inferior to a deal Russia has proposed to the United States.

Poland Faces Pressure Over Missile Defense
Reuters NATO's blessing of U.S. plans for a missile-defense system in Europe and signs it will get the tacit consent of Russia has put pressure on Poland to wrap up talks with Washington on hosting the hardware.

Bush Meets Turkmenistan's Leader
Reuters U.S. President George W. Bush held talks with Turkmenistan's president on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Bucharest -- their first official meeting since the Turkmen leader came to power in 2006.

NATO Deal Built on Ambiguity
By Paul Taylor / Reuters The Americans are delighted, the Georgians and Ukrainians elated, the French and Germans happy, and the Russians not too angry.

Several Newspapers Taunt Tbilisi, Kiev
By David Nowak / Staff Writer Several national newspapers on Friday taunted Ukraine and Georgia over NATO's decision to postpone bringing them into the alliance.

Ex-KGB Officer Claims Poisoning
The Moscow Times British police are investigating claims by former KGB officer Oleg Gordievsky that he was poisoned in an attempt on his life.

Ukraine's Ex-Premier Fined $20M
Reuters A U.S. judge ordered a former Ukrainian prime minister on Friday to pay nearly $19.5 million to a Ukrainian businessman who said the politician demanded cash and half ownership of his firm in exchange for favored treatment.

Lukashenko Hopes for Better Relations With U.S.
Reuters Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko said Friday that he hoped ties with the United States, beset by a dispute over sanctions and human rights, could soon be improved.

Rocket Readied Amid Rust and Stray Dogs
By Douglas Birch / The Associated Press The rocket scheduled to carry the first Korean citizen into space rolled to the launch pad Sunday, hauled across the scrubland of the Central Asian steppes by a locomotive at dawn.

Investigators Reopen Probe of Shchekochikhin's Death
The Moscow Times The Investigative Committee has formally opened a criminal investigation into the mysterious 2003 death of Yury Shchekochikhin, a liberal State Duma deputy and Novaya Gazeta journalist, Interfax reported Friday.

Opposition Agrees to Unity Talks
AP, Reuters, MT Representatives of the liberal opposition signed a resolution Saturday aimed at uniting their forces.

Protesters Hijack a Red Square Wedding
Reuters, MT Police detained at least 25 people on Saturday who demonstrated on Red Square after they used a wedding procession to reach the restricted area.

Referendum Restrictions Clear Duma
AP, Reuters The State Duma on Friday imposed new restrictions on national referendums, ignoring vehement opposition from Communists.

UN Chief to Visit
Bloomberg United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will arrive in Moscow on Wednesday for talks with President Vladimir Putin and his successor, Dmitry Medvedev, the UN said.

Explosion That Killed 3 Blamed on Students and a Blow Torch
The Moscow Times An explosion Friday evening that killed three people in northern Moscow is being blamed on a welding torch used by students to make medieval weaponry.

Bus Tours to Britain Canceled
By Anna Malpas / Staff Writer Russia's biggest bus tour operator acts after more than half of a group is denied British visas.

Microsoft Cuts Software Prices for Some Media
By Natalya Krainova / Staff Writer Microsoft has announced that it will sell its software to less wealthy media outlets at discount prices in an effort to help them avoid pressure from the authorities based on the possession and use of pirated programs.

Montenegro Votes in Its First Presidential Election
The Associated Press Montenegrins were voting Sunday in the tiny Balkan state's first presidential election since it split from Serbia two years ago, with incumbent Filip Vujanovic favored to win.

Mugabe Demands Recount
The Associated Press Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's ruling party demanded a vote recount -- and a further delay in the release of results from Zimbabwe's presidential election, the state Sunday Mail newspaper reported, prompting outrage from the opposition party.

Actor, Activist Charlton Heston Dies
By Sandra Maler and Bill Trott / Reuters Oscar-winning U.S. actor Charlton Heston, whose chiseled features and commanding presence won him epic roles from Moses to Michelangelo, died on Saturday night at the age of 84, his family said.

Business

Business in Brief
Capital Outflow SlowsRestrictions on Federal LandNorilsk, Polyus Board VotesGlobaltrans Planning IPOCurrent Account Surplus UpRussian Technologies UnitsVolkswagen $10,000 Model

BP, Rosneft Chief Executives Held Meeting
Reuters The chief executive of oil major BP, Tony Hayward, met executives of Rosneft this week, including its chairman, Igor Sechin, a BP official said Friday.

Interregnum Delays WTO Accession
By Conor Sweeney / Reuters Political paralysis as ministers wait for their new president to take over has dashed hopes of a quick deal with the European Union on Russian entry to the World Trade Organization, a senior Western diplomat said. Negotiators from Moscow and Brussels have held an intensive round of meetings and phone calls to try to reach an agreement and remove one of the biggest obstacles to the country's WTO entry.

Miners Leave RusAl Pits, Wage Talks Set to Begin
By Nadia Popova / Staff Writer Miners at RusAl's Little Red Riding Hood mine in the Sverdlovsk region on Friday ended their 10-day occupation after senior company executives spent a night negotiating with local trade union leaders.

LUKoil Slashes 2008 Output Forecast
Reuters LUKoil, the country's second-biggest oil firm, has more than halved its oil output growth forecast for 2008, its chief executive said Friday, confirming analysts' views that the country's oil production is slowing.

Hermitage Says Raid Led to Identity Theft
By Torrey Clark and Tom Cahill / Bloomberg Hermitage Capital Management, the $3 billion hedge fund run by William Browder, says it is a victim of corporate identity theft, according to legal filings sent to prosecutors in Russia and the Channel Islands. Hermitage says the attack began with an inquiry by Moscow tax officials into a Cyprus-based account it managed. Last June, Interior Ministry investigators raided the Moscow offices of Hermitage and its lawyers at Firestone & Duncan, according to court filings by a unit of HSBC Holdings, the trustee and administrator of the fund. They took Hermitage's corporate seal, tax registration and charter, according to the filings.

French Grocer Hediard Says It May Open 7 New Outlets
Bloomberg Hediard, the French gourmet food chain that was bought last year by billionaire and Federation Council member Sergei Pugachyov, plans to open as many as seven stores in Russia.

Firm Offers BlackBerry Service
Reuters VimpelCom became the first operator to introduce the BlackBerry service to the country, selling a contract to the Russian unit of the world's second-largest cigarette maker, British American Tobacco.

Search for the Bottom Has Markets Sluggish
By Catrina Stewart / Staff Writer It was a strangely personal moment. Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin took time out at a conference on globalization last week to answer some handwritten questions.

Police Arrest Suspect in Rozhetskin Case
By Max Delany / Staff Writer Latvian police have made their first arrest in connection with the disappearance of Russian-born American businessman Leonid Rozhetskin, Latvian court and police officials said Friday.

New Users Boost MTS Sales 25% in '07
By Paul Abelsky / Bloomberg Sales at Mobile TeleSystems, the country's largest mobile-phone provider, rose about 25 percent in 2007, more than the company had previously expected, boosted by new subscribers, chief executive Leonid Melamed said Saturday.

Opinion

Lessons for Bush in the Afghan War
By Alexei Bayer War, goes a Russian joke, is a means by which Americans learn geography. Funny -- but also very much on target. Having discovered the location of Afghanistan and Iraq, President George W. Bush seems eager to learn more about Iran.

Putin's Mixed Signals Sidelining Medvedev
By Vladimir Frolov Many in the West believe that Vladimir Putin has become a dictator and has found in Dmitry Medvedev a convenient seat holder while he himself will rule as prime minister once he steps down. I do not think this is Putin's intention. But appearances matter, and they might be misleading. Indeed, some of Putin's recent actions could be viewed as proof of his desire to remain not only influential but dominant after he formally transfers power to Medvedev on May 7.

Sports

Ferrari Storms Back in Bahrain
Reuters Brazilian Felipe Massa led Ferrari to a one-two victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday, 3.3 seconds ahead of teammate Kimi Raikkonen who seized the championship lead from McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.

City Wise

Always Ready to Start Again
By John Wendle / Staff Writer Chris Karle's life in Moscow has been a long series of ups and downs.

Progressive Without the Progress
By John Wendle Lights flashed, smoked wafted and videos clipped on a wall-size screen. A disk jockey on two turntables presided over a packed dance floor. ""There's a lot of club/house music in Moscow. Its good for girls to dance to and is very trendy. But there are not a lot of clubs playing good music,"" said Alexei Savanin, an employee at A&T; Trade, a firm that sells high-end DJ equipment in Moscow.

A Taste of the Suburbs
By Nathan Toohey / Staff Writer There was a time when cafes in suburban shopping centers were little better than cafeterias, or at best a fast-food outlet facing onto a food court. Things have come quite a long way over the last few years, if the recently opened Vkus Cafe is any example.

Restaurant News
By Nathan Toohey

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