Russia 111208
Basic Political Developments
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Israel slams Russia for 'pro-Palestinian stance' and selling arms to Assad - Israeli
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has criticized what he called Moscow’s
“unilateral” pro-Palestinian stance in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The FM, who
is visiting Russia, was referring to the admission of the Palestinian Authority to
UNESCO as a sovereign state. He also warned that Russia’s role as a supplier of
modern weapons to crisis-hit Syria “can lead to very negative consequences.”
Israel and Russia are divided on many aspects of Middle East policy, Interfax
quoted Lieberman as saying. He added, however, that the overall balance of
Russian-Israeli relations is “undoubtedly positive.”
o Israel FM touts Russia elections as ‘free and fair’
Russian, Czech presidents to hold negotiations in Prague
o Medvedev visits Prague
o Czech press survey - December 8: Will Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev feel in the Czech Republic like in the West or on a bridge
between the East and the West during his ongoing two-day visit? Zbynek
Petracek asks in the daily Lidove noviny (LN) today.
Medvedev to hold talks with Indian PM on Dec 16
o Kudankulum N-plant: Moscow sees rivals' hand in stir - Russia's
ambassador to India Alexander M Kadakin said Russian authorities had
"great suspicion" about the events at Kudankulum, where the final stage
before commissioning of two power plants built with Russian cooperation
has been on hold due to post-Fukushima protests. The two units are 98%
complete.
The Russian Embassy in Britain criticized the Foreign Office
U.S. says will continue support for peaceful protests, including in Russia
Russia-NATO missile talks to continue within months – Rasmussen
o General Makarov: solutions have to be made now - "The mere idea of
building a missile defense shield could worsen bilateral relations.
President Medvedev, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and me, have
discussed this issue with nearly all our European counterparts. Most of
them referred us to the United States. But we’re talking about Europe. But
they either don’t hear or just won’t hear what we have to say."
o Russia-NATO Council ministers meet in Brussels
o Agt with RF on joint missile defence in Europe possible - German FM:
“In any case, I see not only the opportunity to reach an agreement, but also
the need to reach an agreement,” Westerwelle said. “We can guarantee our
security in Europe not against Russia, but only together with Russia,” he
added.
o NATO confirms commitment to dialogue with Russia
o Medvedev's missile shield remarks may be election rhetoric - NATO chief
o NATO chief rebuffs Russian threats to counter missile shield
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o On the same path with NATO? - The NATO-Russia Council has become a
cover for NATO’s plans Evgeny Shestakov (Brussels)
Azerbaijan, Russia hold consultations to extend Gabala radar station’s lease "The Azerbaijan and Russia defence ministries are to hold meetings to either
extend the existing lease of the Gabala radar station, or sign a new contract,"
Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov told media today.
Putin says US encouraged election protests - In his first public remarks about
daily demonstrations by protesters alleging Sunday's vote was fraudulent and
unfair, Putin said US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton "gave a signal" to Kremlin
opponents.
"She set the tone for some opposition activists, gave them a signal, they heard this
signal and started active work," Putin said.
o Most Russians do not want color revolutions – Putin: Prime Minister
Vladimir Putin has said that if during street rallies people act within the
framework of the law, they must be allowed to express their views, if not,
law enforcement bodies must use all legal means to demand compliance
with the law.
o Putin says protest rallies are a constitutional right, calls for dialogue
o Putin favors authorities' dialogue with opposition
o Putin has no imminent comment on situation around State Duma election
(Part 2)
Putin names his presidential campaign chief - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir
Putin has picked filmmaker Stanislav Govorukhin to run his campaign in next
year’s presidential elections.
o Putin’s election headquarters to base on All-Russian Popular Front
Moscow Closes Protest Square for Maintenance, Vedomosti Says
The Opposition is planning a large rally - The Opposition plans rallies in Moscow
and other cities on Saturday, December 10, in protest against the parliamentary
election fraud. In the Russian capital, a rally will be held in Revolyutsiya
/"Revolution"/ Square by the "Solidarity" opposition movement. Other
organizations intend to participate in the action. The federal and municipal
authorities are worried about the protests.
o Moscow city hall says will allow only 300 people at Saturday's rally
Russian Journalist Calls On Colleagues 'To Be Professionals' - In a statement,
Stanislav Kucher of Kommersant FM radio slammed those journalists for their
"keeping mum" about the events on Moscow's Triumph Square on December 6 in
which thousands of people protested alleged fraud in the December 4
parliamentary elections and shouted anti-Putin slogans.
Safin elected to Russian parliament - Two-time grand slam winner Marat Safin is
swapping tennis whites for business suits after being elected to the Russian
federal parliament, the Duma.
GLONASS providing global coverage - "Today, the first of the three spacecraft
launched on November 4, 2011, went on line; the GLONASS cluster therefore has
24 units in dedicated use, which ensures a continuous navigation signal globally,"
Zubakhin said.
ISS crew set for final pre-flight training at Baikonur
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Attempt made in Dagestan to demolish Baku-Grozny oil pipeline - An officer at
the republican Interior Ministry told Itar-Tass on Thursday, "The blast made a
dent with a diameter of 10-12 centimeters in the pipeline. There was no oilspill".
Fire at Domodedovo warehouse put down
Russia deny 'dirty tricks' as FBI investigates World Cup 2018 race - The Russia
2018 World Cup organising committee says it has no knowledge of the ongoing
FBI investigation into alleged computer hacking and other “dirty tricks” arising
from the Fifa bidding process.
Kremlin Plans to Sell Own Brands of Vodka, Beer, RBC Daily Says
Russian Press at a Glance, Thursday, November 8, 2011
Hoeve Halbach: “Meeting points of conflict environments in the North and South
Caucasus are clearer” - German expert on the Caucasus from the Berlin ‘Science
and Politics” Foundation, Professor Hoeve Halbach, shared his view of the
ongoing processes in the South and North Caucasus with a VK correspondent.
The last part of the interview is devoted to problems of the North Caucasus and
connection of processes in the North and South Caucasus.
Russian protests offer unusual challenge to political order - By Will Englund and
Kathy Lally
Duma vote falls into disrepute; "Russian Winter" might still snowball - Contrary
to international reports, protests have not rocked Moscow. But an ongoing postmortem into December 4's parliamentary elections sees them fall deeper into
disrepute, and there is now the potential for a mini "Russian Winter" in the
capital.
Russia United, For The Time Being – OpEd - By Eric Walberg
Repentant militants speak with Adaptation Commission - Yulia Rybina
(Makhachkala)
National Economic Trends
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Putin does not rule out possibility to lower taxes - "We, of course, must and will
mull over how to reduce the tax base," he said. In so doing, Putin added that his
personal opinion is that social guarantees for the people of Russia can be ensured
only on the basis of economic growth.
RUSSIAN INTERNATIONAL RESERVES AT $514.1 BLN IN WEEK TO
DECEMBER 2, UP FROM $510.2 BLN ON NOVEMBER 25
Unemployment shows uptick
Russia May Privatize 20 Banks, Companies by 2017, Vedomosti Says
Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions
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Russian stocks open higher ahead of EU summit
RTS Futures Rise With Gazprom at 37% Discount: Russia Overnight
Russian markets -- Factors to Watch on Dec 8
UPDATE 1-Russian protests block VEB's Eurobond deal-sources
United Aviation, Finmeccanica May Start Venture, Kommersant Says
GM plans to up sales 65%-70% in Russia in 2011
Exec: PSA Peugeot Citroen may launch another car plant in Russia
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Russian Billionaire Mamut Seeks Euroset Buyer, Kommersant Says
Euroset revenues grow 12% to 19 bln rubles in Q3
Rostelecom's Q3 net profit rises 1.3 pct to $330 mln
Wife of ex-Moscow mayor sells major real estate developer
No Sberbank Haggling On Volksbanken Price
VTB Quarterly Net Jumps 39% on Bank of Moscow, Investment Arm
Russian bank pulls bond offer 'due to protests'
VEB May Return to Eurobond Sale Next Year, Kommersant Says
Deutsche Bank May Hire Troika Founder Derby, Vedomosti Reports
Russians Suffer From Baltic Bank Closures
BRICKS & MORTAR: Russian warehouse party - Russia's property market has
been recovering slowly from the 2008 crisis, but as Russians return to the shops
and retail turnover levels pass their pre-crisis highs, a boom has taken off in the
country's warehouse business.
Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)
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WPC handover ceremony from Doha to Moscow to be held Thursday
Transneft expresses dismay on Bulgaria's decision to pull out from BurgasAlexandroupolis
BASHNEFT BOOSTS 9M IFRS NET PROFIT 52.7% TO $1.039 BLN, BELOW
FORECAST; Q3 NET UP 46% TO $407 MLN, ALSO BELOW FORECAST
Bashneft's net heads north in 9M
BP in talks to settle with Russian partners – FT
o BP talks peace deal with Russian partners
Vanco, Lukoil make Ivorian strike
Novatek warns of fraud attempt
Exxon Russia Chief:May Build LNG Plant In Kara Sea If Gas Found Paper
Gazprom
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Gazprom: Unacceptable to split gas pricing formula from oil prices
India govt says Petronet to finalise Gazprom LNG deal soon
Gazprom Said to Stall on RWE Talks as German Power Falters
Naftogaz pays for gas supplies in roubles for the first time
Gazprom eyes Israeli gas projects - Russia's gas giant Gazprom is interested in
partnering with Israel to develop the country's natural gas infrastructure and
distribute its gas to third countries, Gazprom's Chairman and Deputy Prime
Minister Victor Zubkov said today.
Arctic oil rig ready for last finish - Gazprom’s new “Arkticheskaya” jack-up
offshore drilling rig is moored at Shipyard No. 35 in Murmansk for completion.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Full Text Articles
Basic Political Developments
RT News line, December 8
Israel slams Russia for 'pro-Palestinian stance' and selling arms
to Assad
http://rt.com/news/line/2011-12-08/#id23209
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has criticized what he called Moscow’s
“unilateral” pro-Palestinian stance in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The FM, who is
visiting Russia, was referring to the admission of the Palestinian Authority to UNESCO
as a sovereign state. He also warned that Russia’s role as a supplier of modern weapons
to crisis-hit Syria “can lead to very negative consequences.” Israel and Russia are
divided on many aspects of Middle East policy, Interfax quoted Lieberman as saying. He
added, however, that the overall balance of Russian-Israeli relations is “undoubtedly
positive.”
Israel FM touts Russia elections as ‘free and fair’
http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/12/07/61779358.html
Dec 7, 2011 21:28 Moscow Time
Israel’s Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on
Wednesday that he fully shares Israeli observers’ touting Russia’s State Duma elections
as free and fair.
The topic was high on the agenda of Lieberman’s talks with Russian Prime Ministr
Vladimir Puitn in Moscow on Wednesday.
“Israel was keeping an eagle eye on the latest events in Russia”, Lieberman said,
referring to the presence in Russia of Israeli observers who “know perfectly well how
ballots are being counted.”
He quoted Israeli observers as saying that the December 4 elections in Russia were “free,
fair and democratic.”
(TASS)
December 08, 2011 10:15
Russian, Czech presidents to hold negotiations in Prague
http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=293471
MOSCOW. Dec 8 (Interfax) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has arrived in the
Czech Repubnlic and will hold negotiations with Czech President Vaclav Klaus in Prague
on Thursday.
The Kremlin said earlier that Medvedev and Klaus would exchange opinions on the
current state and prospects of the entire range of Russian-Czech relations.
"Medvedev and Klaus plan to exchange opinions on the most important issues on the
international agenda, primarily problems of the world financial crisis, a dialogue between
Russia and the EU, the situation in the Middle East and North Africa, and the plans to set
up a NATO missile defense system in Europe," it said.
The two presidents plan to sign a "solid package of bilateral documents significantly
expanding the contractual basis of mutually beneficial Russian-Czech partnership," it
said.
Medvedev and Klaus intend to attach particular significance to ways to strengthen trade
and economic interaction and investment cooperation, including in the hi-tech sectors.
They also plan to discuss promotion of mutually beneficial projects in the fuel and
energy, transport, and research and technology fields, it said.
Russia and the Czech Republic also plan to sign a joint statement on partnership for
modernization.
va
(Our editorial staff can be reached at [email protected])
Medvedev visits Prague
http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/12/08/61803983.html
Dec 8, 2011 09:37 Moscow Time
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is arriving in Prague on Thursday to hold talks with
his Czech counterpart Václav Klaus and Prime Minister Petr Nečas.
Moscow and Prague are expected to sign a package of agreements, including one on the
creation of a peaceful atom technology center.
On the sidelines of the talks, Russia`s TVEL and the Czech ALTA Invest companies are
scheduled to sign a deal to set up a joint venture of peaceful use of nuclear energy.
The agenda of the talks between Mr. Medvedev and Mr. Klaus also features the eurozone
debt crisis, cooperation between Russia and the EU, the situation in the Middle East and
in North Africa, and the creation of a missile-defense system in Europe.
RIAN
Czech press survey - December 8
http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/news/zpravy/czech-press-survey-december-8/725696
published: 08.12.2011, 00:24 | updated: 08.12.2011 06:11:53
Prague - Will Russian President Dmitry Medvedev feel in the Czech Republic like in the
West or on a bridge between the East and the West during his ongoing two-day visit?
Zbynek Petracek asks in the daily Lidove noviny (LN) today.
He says not much has changed in Russian-Czech relations in the past few years. Czechs
still watch Russia with a suspicion.
Czechs wonder whether Moscow has already accepted the fact that its former satellites
voluntarily and eagerly joined NATO and the EU ana became a part of the West,
Petracek writes.
The Czech Republic, as a small country, cannot influence such stances but it can
influence the feeling that Medvedev would have of Czech political representatives´
stances.
They are naturally interested in advantageous economic treaties with Russian. However,
the crucial issue is the Czech stance on U.S. plans NATO's and U.S. plans to create a
missile defence shield in Europe. It will significantly influence Medvedev´s impression
of the visit, Petracek writes.
He recalled that the Czech government did not win majority support for the planned U.S.
missile defence radar on Czech territory. When Barack Obama scrapped the plan, Czechs
with relief labeled him "a traitor."
If Medvedev heard this version of the story and not the other saying missile defence is
important for the Czech Republic, it would strengthen his opinion that Prague can be a
useful bridge between the East and the West, Petracek concludes.
The Czech Republic may not have the final say in the tender for the completion of the
Temelin nuclear power plant with regard to the disproportionate size of the bidders, Julie
Hrstkova writes in Hospodarske noviny today, in view of Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev´s visit to Prague.
She indicates that the real goal of Medvedev´s visit these days is not to sign a number of
economic agreements but to win a contract for Temelin´s completion.
"Several hundred billions"(of crowns) is worth a trip to Prague, she adds.
However, Temelin is not only a purely economic contract since the Czech Republic´s
energy independence is at stake as well as political-economic interconnection with the
EU, Hrstkova writes.
The Czech-Russian consortium of Skoda JS, Gidropress and Atmostroyexport is one of
the bidders. U.S. Westinghouse and French Areva are also interested in the order.
PM Petr Necas assured Washington in October that the tender for Temelin would be fair
and transparent, she recalls.
"In view of a mutual disproportion in the size of those who are giving the offer, it may
not be only the Czech Republic that will really make decision on the domestic nuclear
power plant´s construction," Hrstkova writes in conclusion.
President Vaclav Klaus´s defence of tuition fees is a rather cheap provocation, Martin
Zverina writes elsewhere in Lidove noviny.
Klaus in his lecture on Wednesday said free university studies can be called students'
sponging on the rest of society as university studies enhance one´s human capital, use in
society and personal life.
Zverina writes that this is a poor construct since there is also a deep gap between those
with basic education and secondary school graduates in terms of pay level and
opportunities in society and yet secondary schools should be free, according to Klaus.
Klaus could have promoted tuition in a more sophisticated way.
He could have, for instance, argued with the fact that unlike primary and secondary
schools, people attend university as adult and fully-fledged citizens. Moreover, he may
have highlighted that tuition would have a regulatory effect and motivate students,
Zverina writes.
($1=18.953 crowns)
December 08, 2011 12:44
Medvedev to hold talks with Indian PM on Dec 16
http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=293553
MOSCOW. Dec 8 (Interfax) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will hold negotiations
with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on December 16, the Kremlin press service
reported on Thursday.
Singh will be on an official visit to Russia on December 15-17.
va jv
(Our editorial staff can be reached at [email protected])
Kudankulum N-plant: Moscow sees rivals' hand in stir
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Kudankulum-N-plant-Moscow-sees-rivals-handin-stir/articleshow/11026368.cms
Sachin Parashar, TNN | Dec 8, 2011, 04.00AM IST
NEW DELHI: Just ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Moscow, Russia
lashed out at protests against the Kudankulam nuclear power project saying that the
disruptions may have been stage managed by its rivals.
Russia's ambassador to India Alexander M Kadakin said Russian authorities had "great
suspicion" about the events at Kudankulum, where the final stage before commissioning
of two power plants built with Russian cooperation has been on hold due to postFukushima protests. The two units are 98% complete.
"We still don't know why it took six months for the protests to erupt after Fukushima and
also who are the people paying for the food and shamiana used by the protesters," said
Kadakin. While he didn't name any country, he did not rule out the involvement of
Russia's rivals in stoking trouble.
Protesters at the site are local fisher-folks but the activities of foreign anti-nuclear
activists, reportedly from US, has been spoken of while church organizations have also
supported the stir.
The ambassador, however, said the trouble at Kudankulam will not impair Indo-Russian
nuclear cooperation and Moscow will implement plans including units 3 and 4 at the
Tamil Nadu site. Negotiations have intensified in the run up to the PM's two-day visit to
Moscow next week.
The likelihood of Russia bargaining hard is evident with Kadakin suggesting Moscow
does not just want these two remaining units at Kudankulam to be covered completely by
India's new civil nuclear liability law, rules for which were notified recently. Russia is
expecting "same terms of liability" as Kudankulam units 1 and 2 that are not under the
purview of the new law.
The new law has caused discomfort to nuclear suppliers as they are open to being legally
prosecuted by operators of nuclear plants under the "right to recourse" for faulty parts or
design.
This has been partially circumscribed by rules providing a time limitation and a cap on
liability but foreign suppliers are worried by higher insurance costs as well as the risk of
legal cases.
"I would not say we are happy or not happy with the rules. Talks are in active stage for
Kudankulam 3 and 4 and we really hope that India's liability law and rules don't interfere
with our grand plans for nuclear energy expansion here. We believe that if everything
from our side is the same as earlier, we too must get the same terms of liability," said
Kadakin.
During Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's visit to India in December last year, even
as they signed an agreement for expansion of nuclear energy cooperation, the two
countries did not finalize a deal for Kudankulam 3 and 4 due to concerns over the liability
law and pricing issues.
On the contentious issue of NSG effectively banning any enrichment and reprocessing
technology transfer to India, a non-NPT nation, the ambassador said Russia was the only
country to have offered India a way out by proposing a joint reprocessing plant on
Russian soil.
TOI reported on November 3 that Russia is insisting on setting up such a plant in Russia
to take care of its international obligations as well as bilateral commitments in the civil
nuclear deal with India.
"It is a dual approach plan and if the Indians want, they can even own shares in the unit.
The plant will be in accordance with all international laws," he added. The PM has said
that the nuclear deal with Russia is crucial because it goes beyond supply of reactors "to
areas of research and development and a whole range of areas in nuclear energy".
GOOGLE TRANSLATION
The Russian Embassy in Britain criticized the Foreign Office
http://www.bbc.co.uk/russian/rolling_news/2011/12/111207_rn_britain_russian_embassy
.shtml
Last updated: Thursday, December 8, 2011, 00:39 GMT 04:39 MCK
The Russian Embassy in London "regrets" remarks about Vice Foreign Minister David
Lidington on Britain's parliamentary elections in Russia.
The corresponding statement was published on the Embassy's website on December 7.
Lidington, as said in a statement, expressed concern about the elections in the Russian
Duma and called for an investigation into the breaches.
"Such statements can not but cause regret, especially in the context of positive changes
recently in the Russian-British relations, - is emphasized in the communication of the
Russian diplomatic mission in the UK. - Main [...] is that the Russian electorate spoke,
and the the electoral process and its results, which coincide with those exit polls indicate
health of Russian democracy. "
U.S. says will continue support for peaceful protests, including in Russia
http://en.rian.ru/world/20111208/169471934.html
04:36 08/12/2011
WASHINGTON, December 8 (RIA Novosti)
The United States will continue to support the rights of citizens for peaceful protests
everywhere in the world, including Russia, a Department of State deputy spokesperson
said.
"And again, I think as we've said before, we would obviously support the rights of
anyone to peaceful protest - emphasis on peaceful - anywhere in the world. And - well,
Russia's no different," Deputy Spokesperson Mark Toner said.
According to official reports at least 300 people were detained when a crowd of some
5,000 rallied in central Moscow on Monday against alleged poll violations at Sunday's
parliamentary elections.
"We have seen that hundreds were arrested, and there is apparently a prominent blogger
who remains in detention," the deputy spokesperson said. "We've expressed our concerns
about the treatment of all those being arrested who were exercising their rights to
peaceful protest."
Toner said that U.S. official, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have already
delivered their remarks on the issue.
"Secretary Clinton was very clear about raising some of the concerns with the conduct of
the recent elections," the State Department deputy spokesperson said. "She said that
Russian voters deserve, I think, a full investigation of electoral fraud and manipulation."
He also called on Russia to follow recommendations of international observers, including
an OSCE report which is to be finalized in the coming weeks.
"We look to the Russian Government to address some of those recommendations, as we
believe it's incumbent on any government to ensure a democratic, free, and transparent
process for its people," the U.S. official said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday comments by senior White House
officials about Russian parliamentary elections were "unacceptable," including Clinton's
statements that Sunday's polls in Russia were neither free nor fair.
"Comments by the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about the Russian
parliamentary elections, as well as those of other representatives of the White House and
the U.S. Department of State are unacceptable," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a
statement on Tuesday.
International observers from the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and
Co-operation in Europe noted that the election preparations were technically "welladministered across a vast territory," but marked by "flagrant procedural violations,"
including cases of ballot-stuffing, "a convergence of the state and the governing party,"
limited political competition and a lack of fairness.
President Dmitry Medvedev declared Sunday's elections free and democratic but ordered
an investigation into the alleged violations.
Russia-NATO missile talks to continue within months – Rasmussen
http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/12/08/61818825.html
Dec 8, 2011 13:06 Moscow Time
Strategic ties are crucial for the Russia-NATO cooperation, and the talks on missile
defense will be continue for the next several months, NATO chief Anders Fogh
Rasmussen said at meeting of the Russia-NATO Council`s foreign ministers in Brussels
on Thursday.
“More than 30 countries have or about to obtain missile technology. Some missiles can
already reach the territories of NATO member states. That is why the organization
decided to create its own system of missile defense. And it is not targeting Russia and
won`t undermine its strategic balance”, Rasmussen said.
“We are facing equal threats, so we should work hand in hand on it”, NATO Chief added.
(RIAN)
General Makarov: solutions have to be made now
http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/12/08/61819266.html
Vesnovskaya Maria
Dec 8, 2011 13:23 Moscow Time
A session of the Russia-NATO Council is opening in Brussels today with the missile
defense issue high on the agenda. President Medvedev expressed hope before the meeting
that all hurdles concerning missile defense would be cleared. The Voice of Russia’s
Maria Vesnovskaya reports.
Russia has always sought to bolster global and European security, Dmitry Medvedev
said. It’s pursuing the same agenda now, so differences concerning missile defense
should be resolved.
"Hopefully, Russia and NATO will be able to settle their differences and continue their
partnership on the basis of mutual understanding and in the interests of global security."
However, Moscow has made it clear that its position on missile defense remains
unchanged and that it will keep its promise to respond with appropriate measures to the
deployment of missile defense bases. NATO deems this stance as being behind the failure
of missile defense talks. NATO’s Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said before
the Council’s meeting that Medvedev’s moves to deploy weapons along the Russian
border were triggered by the “wrong understanding of a missile defense system”. Alexei
Arbatov of the Center for International Security says that Russia is not to blame for the
absence of consensus on missile defense.
"Russia might be wrong on some aspects of the missile defense policy but NATO has
been unable to understand many things too. Russia wants to know why NATO refuses to
take into account Russia’s interests and provide guarantees that it will reconsider its
missile defense program if the nuclear threat from Iran fails to materialize. If the missile
defense program is designed as a nuclear deterrent, giving written assurances beforehand
should only be logical. NATO’s position is not impeccable and inviolable, as the
alliance’s chief claims it to be. Besides, NATO should not force its will on Russia or
dictate to it, not if it wants to have Russia as a reliable partner."
US Ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder underscored on the eve of the Council’s meeting
that NATO would not accept Medvedev’s proposal to create a sector-based missile
defense system which he put forward at NATO’s summit in Lisbon in 2010. Expert
Dmitry Polikanov says that Washington tends to delay taking a decision on missile
defense.
"It’s up to the US to settle the controversy because it’s mainly Washington that sets the
stage for creating an American-European section of the global missile defense umbrella.
The course that the Russia-NATO missile defense confrontation will follow will depend
on the outcome of the presidential elections in the US which will become clear by the end
of next year."
However, neither the US nor its European partners seem to be willing to change their
positions. General Nikolay Makarov, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed
Forces, made this statement on Wednesday.
"The mere idea of building a missile defense shield could worsen bilateral relations.
President Medvedev, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and me, have discussed this
issue with nearly all our European counterparts. Most of them referred us to the United
States. But we’re talking about Europe. But they either don’t hear or just won’t hear what
we have to say."
Given that this kind of uncertainly might drag the two sides into a new arms race,
solutions have to be reached now, not in 2018, when the missile defense system becomes
reality, General Makarov said.
Russia-NATO Council ministers meet in Brussels
http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/12/08/61804580.html
Dec 8, 2011 09:48 Moscow Time
A ministerial meeting of the Russia-NATO Council is opening in Brussels on Thursday
to focus on the problem of missile defense, the situation in Libya and Afghanistan, as
well as current issues of bilateral cooperation.
The Russian delegation at the meeting is headed by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who
is expected to outline Moscow`s initiatives on the European missile defense project.
The idea is that Russia insists on legal guarantees that the U.S. and NATO missile shield
in Europe is not targeting Russia.
Earlier, Presdient Dmitry Medvedev said that Moscow might have to respond adequately
by deploying its Iskander missiles in its western Kaliningrad region.
(TASS)
07:05 08/12/2011ALL NEWS
Agt with RF on joint missile defence in Europe possible - German FM
http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/292217.html
BERLIN, December 8 (Itar-Tass) — German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle hopes
that it is possible to reach an agreement with Russia on a joint missile defence system in
Europe. The minister made this statement on Wednesday on the sidelines of a meeting of
NATO foreign ministers in Brussels.
“In any case, I see not only the opportunity to reach an agreement, but also the need to
reach an agreement,” Westerwelle said. “We can guarantee our security in Europe not
against Russia, but only together with Russia,” he added.
“Yes, there is rhetoric bitterness, it cannot be denied,” the German foreign minister said.
However, Europe has every reason to “stay in dialogue with Russia and to use the coming
months in order to convince Russia that together we can strengthen our security.”
In the view of Guido Westerwelle, the European missile defence system “is not a
program aimed at Russia, but a program that strongly invites Russia to participate.”
According to him, NATO is also developing joint initiatives on disarmament, as the
Alliance’s strategic concept gives this problem an important role. “Our motto should be
as follows: to have as many weapons as necessary, but as little as possible. And it is also
our proposal to Russia,” the German foreign minister stressed.
23:42 07/12/2011ALL NEWS
NATO confirms commitment to dialogue with Russia
http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/292090.html
BRUSSELS, December 7 (Itar-Tass) — The NATO Council has reaffirmed commitment
to dialogue with Russia on missile defence, Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen
said on Wednesday, December 7.
He also said a military reaction to Russia’s countermeasures announced by President
Dmitry Medvedev would be premature.
Rasmussen recalled that Medvedev left the door open.
The NATO Secretary-General believes there is still time to find a compromise before the
upcoming NATO summit in Chicago in May 2012.
Medvedev's missile shield remarks may be election rhetoric - NATO chief
http://en.rian.ru/world/20111208/169468939.html
01:39 08/12/2011
BRUSSELS, December 8 (RIA Novosti)
The NATO secretary general said the Russian president's recent remarks about Russia's
countermeasures against the European missile defense system could be influenced by the
parliamentary elections.
The statement is contradictory to remarks by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who
said on December 1 that his plans to put offensive weapon systems on Russia's borders to
counter a planned European missile shield were not electoral rhetoric but a forced
measure.
"It's a well-known fact that in democracies you have heated debates during electoral
campaigns and, of course, I can't exclude the possibility that recent statements are also
influenced by the electoral mood in Russia," NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh
Rasmussen told reporters after meeting with foreign ministers of NATO member states.
"But of course we have to take presidential statements seriously," Rasmussen went on.
"And that's what I do by stressing that I don't think that such statements are in full
accordance with what we decided a year ago in Lisbon when we clearly stated that we
want to develop a true strategic partnership between NATO and Russia."
He said that he was optimistic about the future of Russia-NATO missile defense talks and
the forthcoming Russia-NATO summit in Chicago due in May 2012.
"I hope that we can reach an agreement at the Chicago Summit in May," Rasmussen said
earlier in the day in his doorstep statement.
"It's a shared interest to protect our populations against a real missile threat, and it would
definitely be waste of valuable money if Russia started to invest heavily in countermeasures against an artificial enemy that doesn't exist," he said.
Moscow is seeking written, legally binding guarantees that the shield will not be directed
against it, Washington, however, has refused to put its verbal assurances in writing.
In his address to the nation on November 23, Medvedev said that if Moscow's
participation in the European missile defense project fails, Russia would deploy Iskander
tactical missiles in the Kaliningrad Region and halt its disarmament and arms control
efforts, including participation in the new strategic arms reduction treaty with the United
States.
NATO chief rebuffs Russian threats to counter missile shield
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/nato-chief-rebuffs-russian-threats-to-countermissile-shield/2011/12/07/gIQAtyRxcO_story.html
By Karen DeYoung, Published: December 7
BRUSSELS —Russia’s threat to install countermeasures against a planned missiledefense system in Europe are reminiscent of “the confrontation of a bygone era” and
reflect a “fundamental misunderstanding” of the West’s intentions, NATO Secretary
General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Wednesday.
“NATO’s position is clear,” Rasmussen said at a news conference following a meeting of
NATO foreign ministers. “We need missile defense for our own security. We believe our
defenses would be more effective if we cooperate . . . this is why we invited our Russian
partners” to participate in the system.
A U.S. official who attended the meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
said that NATO will “continue to deploy” with or without Russia’s participation.
Since NATO approved the U.S.-designed system at last year’s summit, Poland, Spain,
Turkey and Romania have agreed to deploy some of its components. Negotiations with
the Russians have “been slower than I expected,” Rasmussen told reporters earlier.
“People in Russia think it’s directed against them,” the U.S. official said. The Obama
administration and its European allies have insisted that the system is directed toward
possible long- and medium-range missiles from the Middle East. Russia, they have
insisted, needs protection from the same threat.
Negotiations stalled after NATO said that Russia’s demand for a binding guarantee that
the system would never be used to undermine or counter its defenses was unnecessary.
The issue is expected to be at the top of the agenda when Russian Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov meets with NATO ministers Thursday at a session of the NATO-Russia Council.
Last month, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev threatened to withdraw from the New
Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty — known as New START — on nuclear weapons
reductions if NATO proceeded with the missile-defense system. He also said that Russia
would prepare to deploy new ballistic missiles on its European border.
Tensions increased last week when Russia’s NATO envoy, Dmitry Rogozin, indicated
that his government might cut off northern routes for U.S. and NATO supplies into
Afghanistan. The route, called the Northern Distribution Network, has become
increasingly vital to the Afghanistan war effort since Pakistan shut down its border
crossings into Afghanistan after a U.S. air attack killed two-dozen Pakistani soldiers late
last month.
A second U.S. official said that Rogozin has indicated that his remarks were taken “out of
context.” A NATO official said it remains “unclear what he said.”
At his news conference, Rasmussen said that Russia’s comments about the supply
network were “an empty threat . . . because it is clearly in Russia’s self-interest to
contribute to success in Afghanistan.” Russia, he said, “knows from bitter experience that
instability in Afghanistan has negative repercussions in Russia as well.”
More than half the supplies for NATO forces in Afghanistan now arrive from the north.
On the same path with NATO?
http://rt.com/politics/press/rossijskaya-gazeta/nato-council-meeting-brussels/en/
Published: 8 December, 2011, 03:01
Edited: 8 December, 2011, 03:07
The NATO-Russia Council has become a cover for NATO’s plans Evgeny Shestakov
(Brussels)
On the eve of the meeting in Brussels, the French Foreign Ministry turned to the
participants with an unusual request – to conduct the meeting “in a constructive and an
appeasing manner.” In other words, Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, was
asked to avoid angrily slamming the door and wait until NATO’s policy shifts for the
better. Even so, almost no hope remains for such a positive outcome.
The changes currently taking place in NATO seem so ambitious, and their anti-Russian
orientation is so evident, that they can no longer be hidden behind the amiable smiles and
appeasing speeches of NATO's leaders.
The positive agenda in relations between Moscow and the Alliance is steadily declining,
and starting to represent a set of tactical and often secondary issues. Meanwhile, any
dialogue on strategic issues and its results seem unsatisfactory.
There is hope that, during Thursday’s meeting, both sides will compromise in order to
come to decisions. Lavrov arrived in Brussels in order to conduct an audit of the
decisions made between Russia and the NATO leadership over the last year, and the list
of problems is so critical that it makes it impossible for Russia to look to NATO as a
partner. When the Alliance demonstratively does not consider our country’s interests in
the development of its plans, it leaves nothing to discuss. “I believe that the NATORussia Council, in its current form, is unsuitable for more-open cooperation,” explains
Rogozin.
In the last three days, Russia’s Foreign Minister had met with US Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton three times: first at the International Conference on Afghanistan in Bonn,
then at the OSCE meeting in Vilnius, and now another rendezvous is taking place in
Brussels for the NATO-Russia Council. In Bonn, Ms. Clinton criticized Moscow’s
parliamentary elections, but did so delicately, behind the scenes. In Vilnius, her criticism
was public, as if she was getting ready for an upcoming confrontation in Brussels. Her
statements regarding the elections have already been called unacceptable by Russia’s
Foreign Ministry.
Clearly, during Thursday’s meeting of the NATO-Russia Council, the Secretary of State
will be the Alliance’s main advocate. Meeting participants will analyze the results of the
Libyan campaign, where NATO troops openly acted on the side of Muammar Gaddafi’s
opponents in the inter-Libyan conflict. Actions which, Moscow believes, went far beyond
the concept of a defense alliance, which is how NATO leaders often refer to it. The
Council will discuss the deployment of missile defense elements in Europe – a project in
which Washington has once again refused to consider Russia’s position.
News agencies report on the details of a dialogue held between the US Secretary of State
with Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite on the sidelines of the OSCE conference in
Vilnius. The topic of discussion was preparations for the upcoming NATO summit in
Chicago. In particular, the head of Lithuania found it to be important that defense
systems, such as missile defense, are not dependent on the systems of other countries or
alliances – as there is no doubt as to what countries the US missile shield should be
protected from. After such an unambiguous instruction, one could hardly expect Hillary
Clinton’s “comrades” to change their views on missile defense.
US Ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder’s statement, made several days before the
ministerial meeting in Brussels, looks no less ostentatious: he explicitly said that no
matter what guarantees Russia receives today, in the future, Washington will easily
abandon the agreement if it impedes the implementation of American plans.
The work of the NATO-Russia Council is losing purpose, because it assumes that both
sides are considering each other's interests in order to make policy changes. But NATO is
not changing or planning any reforms, while the bellicose rhetoric of the Alliance
members is only intensifying.
Meanwhile, Russian cooperation with NATO on certain issues – counteraction to
terrorism, piracy, and natural and man-made disasters – and their successful dialogue on
Afghanistan, are not helping to remove tensions between the Alliance and Moscow on
some more fundamental issues. If these problems cannot be resolved “in an appeasing
manner” within the framework of the Council, then perhaps it’s time to make a critical
decision on how to make the format of the discussions more constructive.
Azerbaijan, Russia hold consultations to extend Gabala radar station’s lease
http://en.trend.az/news/politics/1966745.html
8 December 2011, 13:44 (GMT+04:00)
Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 8 / Trend A. Akhundov /
Azerbaijan and Russia are to decide whether to extend the lease contract of the Gabala
radar station, or to sign a new agreement.
"The Azerbaijan and Russia defence ministries are to hold meetings to either extend the
existing lease of the Gabala radar station, or sign a new contract," Deputy Foreign
Minister Khalaf Khalafov told media today.
The issues of changes to the cost of the lease, radar station modernisation, as well as data
transfer from the station to the third countries are to be discussed, Mr Khalafov said.
The Gabala radar station located in north-western Azerbaijan was built in Soviet times as
one of the most important elements of a missile defence system of the USSR. After
Azerbaijan gained independence the radar station become the country's property and
Russia continued to use it. A 10-year agreement to lease the station was signed in 2002.
"The negotiations at governmental level have not begun yet," he said. "They will start
soon."
The Russian Defence Ministry will send Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov to
Azerbaijan to attend the talks, a spokesperson for Russian Defence Minister, lieutenant
colonel Irina Kovalchuk said earlier.
She said that Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov met with his Azerbaijani counterpart,
Colonel General Safar Abiyev. They discussed the state and prospects of cooperation
between Russia and Azerbaijan in the military area, including the issues relating to the
extension of the term of the radar station, RIA Novosti reported.
"It is planned to begin inter-state negotiations to resolve these issues in the near future,"
she said. A decision was made to send a Russian inter-departmental delegation, headed
by Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov to Baku."
Previously, the Defence Ministry reported the negotiations with Azerbaijan to extend the
lease of the Gabala radar station until 2025. The term of the lease agreement and
exploitation conditions of this facility expires on December 24, 2012.
Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at [email protected]
Putin says US encouraged election protests
http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=248637
By REUTERS
12/08/2011 11:23
MOSCOW - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin accused the United States of
encouraging protests over Russia's parliamentary election and said hundreds of millions
of dollars in foreign funds were used to influence the vote.
In his first public remarks about daily demonstrations by protesters alleging Sunday's
vote was fraudulent and unfair, Putin said US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton "gave a
signal" to Kremlin opponents.
"She set the tone for some opposition activists, gave them a signal, they heard this signal
and started active work," Putin said.
Putin said some of the demonstrators who have protested daily over allegations of
election fraud were pursuing selfish political aims and that most Russians do not want
political upheaval
Most Russians do not want color revolutions – Putin
http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/12/08/61818312.html
Dec 8, 2011 13:01 Moscow Time
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has said that if during street rallies people act within the
framework of the law, they must be allowed to express their views, if not, law
enforcement bodies must use all legal means to demand compliance with the law.
He was speaking at a session of the Coordinative Council of the All-Russian People’s
Front this morning, following attempts by the opposition to stage unsanctioned protests
after Sunday’s parliamentary elections.
He added, however, that some protesters are pursuing their personal goals, while
generally people do not want a Kyrgyz or a Ukrainian scenario in Russia.
IF
Putin says protest rallies are a constitutional right, calls for
dialogue
http://rt.com/news/line/2011-12-08/#id23209
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has said people who oppose government policies have a
constitutional right to participate in protest rallies. Speaking at a meeting of the Federal
Co-ordinating Council of the Russian Popular Front on Thursday, he also called for
dialogue with people of opposing views. People who take to the streets and are not
breaking the law should be allowed to express their views, he said. Referring to protest
rallies following the State Duma poll, the premier said some organizers were pursuing
their own political goals. But the majority of people do not want the repetition of
Ukrainian or Kyrgyz scenarios in Russia, Putin stressed.
December 08, 2011 12:59
Putin favors authorities' dialogue with opposition
http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=293564
MOSCOW. Dec 8 (Interfax) - The authorities should hold dialogue with representatives
of pro-opposition forces, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said.
"Relying on the overwhelming majority of our citizens, we ought to hold dialogue with
opposition supporters and give them a chance to make themselves heard using their
constitutional rights to demonstrations and to formulate their opinion," Putin said at a
session of the Russian Popular Front's Coordinating Council.
tm jv
(Our editorial staff can be reached at [email protected])
December 08, 2011 12:23
Putin has no imminent comment on situation around State Duma election (Part 2)
http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?pg=2&id=293540
MOSCOW. Dec 8 (Interfax) - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has abstained from
immediately commenting on the situation around the State Duma election.
"I would like to say a few words about the State Duma election, very briefly. A lot of
comments have been made, the problem is being dwelt upon, so I will make no comment
right now," he said as he opened a meeting of the Federal Coordinating Council of the
Russian Popular Front.
In his words, about 50% of the United Russia faction members are new and 25% are nonparty members representing the Russian Popular Front.
te jv
(Our editorial staff can be reached at [email protected])
Putin names his presidential campaign chief
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20111208/169480023.html
13:15 08/12/2011
MOSCOW, December 8 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has
picked filmmaker Stanislav Govorukhin to run his campaign in next year’s presidential
elections.
Speaking to supporters on Thursday, Putin said he wants to use an amorphous group he
launched in May, the All-Russia People's Front, as the basis of his campaign.
“I would like to create my [presidential campaign headquarters] at the offices of the AllRussia People’s Front, an organization that is above parties, that unites all the people of
the Russian Federation,” the prime minister said.
Govorukin, a veteran director and a one-time dissident, delivered a passionate eulogy to
“Vladimir Vladimirovich” at a glitzy United Russia congress last month.
The former KGB agent appears to be trying to distance himself from his United Russia
party, which won Sunday’s parliamentary election but with a much reduced majority.
Putin said he had “warm feelings” for the party which he set up in the early 2000s but
added that he wanted a quarter of its fraction in the lower house to be represented by
“non-party members of the All-Russia People’s Front.”
Earlier this week, the prime minister’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told BBC Russia that
Putin “had never been directly linked to the party.”
There have been rallies in Moscow and other cities against alleged fraud in Sunday’s
parliamentary vote, most of it in favor of United Russia.
Observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) had
earlier said the election was “slanted in favor of United Russia.”
Nearly one thousand people have been arrested in three days of protests and the biggest
rally yet is scheduled for Saturday, with tens of thousands of people signing up to
Saturday's protests on social networks such as Facebook and Vkontakte.
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on Wednesday called for a re-run of the
election.
“The country’s leaders must admit there were numerous falsifications and rigging, the
results do not reflect the people’s will,” he told the Ekho Moskvy radio station.
12:15 08/12/2011ALL NEWS
Putin’s election headquarters to base on All-Russian Popular Front
http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/292429.html
MOSCOW, December 8 (Itar-Tass) —— Election headquarters of presidential candidate
Vladimir Putin will be organised on the basis of the All-Russian Popular Front.
The prime minister offered the chairing role in the headquarters to head of the Mosfilm
Concern Stanislav Govorukhin.
“During the presidential election campaign, there will be certain structures: headquarters
of candidates for presidency in the Russian Federation,” Putin told a meeting of the
Federal coordination council of the Front. “Until now, they have been technological,
administrative structures.”
“Thus, I would like to voice a suggestion: i would like the headquarters of your humble
servant were not a technical, administrative structure, but i would like it to be of an open
character,” the prime minister said.
Putin added that if the participants in the movement do not object, he would like to
organise the headquarters “on the basis of the All-Russian Popular Front, on the basis of
the organisation which is above parties and which unites most different people, with most
different political views, but who share common basic values of development of this
country.”
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has asked non-affiliated winners in the elections
of the 6th State Duma on the United Russia ticket not to cede their seats to party
functionaries.
“We have already seen what is happening in some regions, there where United Russia
functionaries failed qualify, but Popular Front representatives succeeded. Already now
these are being persuaded to cede their mandates to United Russia functionaries,” Putin
said at a meeting of the federal coordinating council of the All-Russia Popular Front.
Putin said that he had a very “nice and warm” feeling towards the United Russia party.
“But I am asking you, those candidates who won, not to succumb to pressures,” Putin
said. “Not to hand in any mandates.”
He added that State Duma seats must be taken by those who emerged the winners in fair
struggle.
Moscow Closes Protest Square for Maintenance, Vedomosti Says
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-08/moscow-closes-protest-square-formaintenance-vedomosti-says.html
By Yuliya Fedorinova - Dec 8, 2011 8:34 AM GMT+0400
Moscow authorities closed the square where political activists plan to gather to protest
the Dec. 4 parliamentary elections, Vedomosti reported, citing Mosvodokanal, operator
of the capital’s water pipeline network.
As many as 20,000 people are planning to demonstrate at Revolution Square on Dec. 10,
the Moscow-based newspaper reported today, citing its own estimates from data posted
on social networks. City authorities gave approval for a demonstration of no more than
300 people.
To contact the reporter on this story: Yuliya Fedorinova in Moscow at
[email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Viljoen at [email protected]
12:57 08/12/2011RUSSIAN PRESS REVIEW
The Opposition is planning a large rally
http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c142/292500.html
MOSCOW, December 8 (Itar-Tass) — The Opposition plans rallies in Moscow and other
cities on Saturday, December 10, in protest against the parliamentary election fraud. In
the Russian capital, a rally will be held in Revolyutsiya /"Revolution"/ Square by the
"Solidarity" opposition movement. Other organizations intend to participate in the action.
The federal and municipal authorities are worried about the protests.
The number of the participants in the Revolyutsiya Square rally on December 10 may
considerably exceed the declared 300, the "Vedomosti" writes, "a campaign to take part
in the protest is gaining momentum in social networks, not just in the Russian capital."
The "Vedomosti" estimates some 60,000 people registered as potential participants on
Facebook and VKontakte, including 20,000 in Moscow. The number of potential
participants keeps increasing.
"The Federation of Russian Car Owners (FAR) stated its support.»We intend to make a
car run through central Moscow with the endpoint in Revolyutsiya Square, where a rally
is planned to protest the election violations. We intend to support the rally by
participating in it," FAR leader Sergei Kanayev said. The activists of the movement
intend to put stickers on their cars reading "For Fair Election!" and distribute such
stickers for free.
However, the Mosvodkanal water supply company began digging works on Thursday,
which may foil the action. The company spokesman confirmed repairs of a damaged
section in Revolyutsiya Square.
The Kremlin, too, is worried about the protests in the capital. The government and Town
Hall are now working on their line of conduct in the situation, said the "Vedomosti,"
citing sources in these bodies. The situation in Moscow was reported to the president at a
meeting with the administration on Wednesday, but the decision was postponed to
Thursday, a Kremlin official said. The Security Council met on Wednesday. Taking part
in the meeting were the president, the prime minister, and the senior officials of the
Interior Ministry and the Federal Security Service.
The authorities overreacted with the use of force, and even celebrities began to side with
the opposition, a source close to Town Hall said, "the number of discontented is only
increasing."
Yabloko leader Sergei Mitrokhin stated his readiness to join the protest, the "Novye
Izvestia" underlines, as did A Just Russia lawmaker Gennady Gudkov who stated in
Triumfalnaya Square on December 6 that Opposition parties did not rule out new large
rallies against election fraud. Communist lawmaker Valery Rashkin said the party had
submitted an application to Town Hall to hold a march and a rally on December 18.
Rashkin noted that the Communists might take part in other actions.
Lawmaker from the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) Maxim Rokhmistrov told the
newspaper that the Party is planning actions of its own: "as for the consolidated rally with
other political forces, no decision has been made yet. "We don't want small parties to
score points at our expense. We're capable of staging a large action on our own and will
invite others to join. If it turns out to be a serious political action, we’ll see and may
support what they will say."
"Our core group, which will turn up for the rally, will be making its own case,"
the "Moskovsky Komsomolets" quoted member of the Communist Party's Central
Committee, lawmaker Sergei Obukhov as saying, "we don't want to be Nemtsov's cannon
fodder." The newspaper notes that the Party had taken a two-sided position: on the one
hand, it is sort of joining the protesters, but, on the other, nobody prevents the
Communists' coming out to Revolyutsia Square. Until recently, an unofficial ban on joint
actions with non-system opposition forces has been in effect with the Communists
recently. At present, given the rapidly changing political situation, it is allowed to join
any actions. A Just Russia has adopted the same stance as the Communists. Officially, the
Party is not coming out to Revolyutsiya Square, but A Just Russia activists will.
The "RBK Daily" reminds that this weekend will mark the first anniversary of the
protests football clubs fans and nationalist-minded youths staged in Manezhnaya Square.
"We won't allow the recurrence of last year December events in Manzhenaya Square," a
Moscow police source told the newspaper. Police are actively monitoring social networks
for accords on nationalists' rallies to mark the first anniversary of the event. No particular
activity has been reported so far. "If they dare come to Manezhnaya Square on that day,
they will be stopped on the approach to it," the source said.
Moscow city hall says will allow only 300 people at Saturday's rally
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20111208/169471026.html
03:32 08/12/2011
MOSCOW, December 8 (RIA Novosti)
Moscow Deputy Mayor Alexander Gorbenko warned organizers of Saturday's rally
against election results that the number of protestors should not surpass the previously
declared 300 people.
Some 20,000 people have so far indicated on social network sites that they will attend a
sanctioned protest on Saturday at central Moscow's Revolution Square.
"A total of 300 participants were declared to take part. If more people are eager to join,
organizers will be held responsible. We will warn people that they attend an unsanctioned
part of the rally, and are thus subject to all measures envisaged by the law," the deputy
mayor said in an interview with the Ekho Moskvy radio station.
Gorbenko invited organizers to apply for another rally location if they expect more
people to come.
"We will find an opportunity to choose a more suitable place together," he said, adding
that it was only a matter of public security.
The deputy mayor said the organizers face a fine or an administrative arrest of up to 15
days for violating the law on public protests.
Demonstrations against alleged electoral fraud in favor of Prime Minister Vladimir
Putin's United Russia party continued for a third night on Wednesday, with arrests in both
Moscow and St. Petersburg, police said.
The deputy mayor also dismissed media reports that the square would be closed for
"repairs" before Saturday. According to a RIA Novosti correspondent, who visited the
site of the future protest, an area of 50 by 70 meters is currently closed.
December 07, 2011
Russian Journalist Calls On Colleagues 'To Be Professionals'
MOSCOW -- A prominent Russian journalist has called on journalists working for the
state-run media to be "professionals" after they failed to cover recent demonstrations
against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports.
In a statement, Stanislav Kucher of Kommersant FM radio slammed those journalists for
their "keeping mum" about the events on Moscow's Triumph Square on December 6 in
which thousands of people protested alleged fraud in the December 4 parliamentary
elections and shouted anti-Putin slogans.
The demonstration was not sanctioned by Moscow authorities, although thousands of
supporters of the ruling United Russia party were given official permission to gather on
the square. Police arrested some 600 protesters and opposition politicians Eduard
Limonov, Sergei Mitrokhin, and Boris Nemtsov, among others.
State-run television and radio failed to cover the protests or the arrests.
Kucher told RFE/RL that the goal of his statement -- which was published on the
Kommersant website (read in Russian here) -- is to help five, 10, or 20 colleagues
working for state media outlets "to wake up and start doing their jobs professionally."
"This is not about politics or something; this is about professionalism, that is all," he said.
"I personally know some colleagues working in state television companies who are
capable of simply saying 'no' at the editorial meeting and start doing something different
than they have been instructed to do."
Kucher said many journalists were only working for state media because they listen to
their bosses and do as they are told, a condition that they accept.
But he added that now was a time for "big changes" and people could and should change
their practices.
Kucher added that he had received numerous phone calls from various journalists who
have made very different comments regarding his statement. But he said the majority
who called said that they support his call.
Read more in Russian here
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty © 2011 RFE/RL, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Safin elected to Russian parliament
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-12-08/safin-elected-to-russianparliament/3720306/?site=newcastle
Updated December 08, 2011 13:19:56
Two-time grand slam winner Marat Safin is swapping tennis whites for business suits
after being elected to the Russian federal parliament, the Duma.
The former world number one, who was elected to the 450-seat lower house of Russian
parliament, said he had thought long and hard about what to do with his life after his
sporting career.
"I could go and make commercials left and right and pretend like I am a celebrity, but
that is not me," he said.
"This is a completely new life, a new way of thinking, new way of doing things that's
nothing to do with tennis or sports at all.
"But the two things definitely have one thing in common and that is that you need to have
a character."
Safin, 31, is a member of Vladimir Putin's United Russia Party and will represent the
Nyzhny Novgorod region, about 500 kilometres from Moscow.
United Russia is expected to win the election with a reduced majority, but the weekend
poll has been widely criticised both inside and outside Russia, with widespread
allegations of voter intimidation and vote rigging.
Overnight former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev called for the elections to be re-run
and the opposition vowed to stage new rallies contesting the result.
Despite the cloud over United Russia's apparent victory, Safin's election win was praised
by former on-court opponent and tennis great Pete Sampras.
Sampras went down to Safin in the 2000 US Open, handing the Russian his first grand
slam win.
"In 20 years Marat will be the president of Russia," Sampras said.
"Marat is going to go a long way.
"He is very intelligent and articulate and he's good with people, and that's half the battle
with being a politician."
AAP/ABC
09:52 08/12/2011ALL NEWS
GLONASS providing global coverage
http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/292289.html
MOSCOW, December 8 (Itar-Tass) — The number of units in Russia's global navigation
system has been brought to 24, so GLONASS now ensures a continuous navigation
signal worldwide, spokesman for the Russian Space Systems company /RKS/ Alexander
Zubakhin told Itar-Tass on Thursday.
"Today, the first of the three spacecraft launched on November 4, 2011, went on line; the
GLONASS cluster therefore has 24 units in dedicated use, which ensures a continuous
navigation signal globally," Zubakhin said.
RT News line, December 8
ISS crew set for final pre-flight training at Baikonur
http://rt.com/news/line/2011-12-08/#id23197
The main crew of this year’s expedition to the International Space Station – along with
some backups – are preparing for a final pre-flight training at Russia’s Baikonur
cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, European Space
Agency (ESA) astronaut Andre Kuipers and NASA astronaut Donald Pettit are to
conduct two final fit-checks of the Sokol spacesuits and the third digital series Soyuz
TMA-03M spaceship, which will bring them to orbit in two weeks, Itar Tass reports.
Together with the main crew, their backups Yury Malenchenko, Akihiko Hoshide and
Sunita Williams will conduct the final operations before the spaceflight. The launch of
the Soyuz TMA-03M spaceship is scheduled for December 21, and the craft is planned to
dock with the ISS on December 23.
09:06 08/12/2011ALL NEWS
Attempt made in Dagestan to demolish Baku-Grozny oil pipeline
http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/292256.html
MAKHACHKALA, Republic of Dagestan, December 8 (Itar-Tass) — Unidentified
people in Dagestan set off an explosive device planted under the Baku-Grozny main oil
pipeline on Wednesday night.
An officer at the republican Interior Ministry told Itar-Tass on Thursday, "The blast made
a dent with a diameter of 10-12 centimeters in the pipeline. There was no oilspill".
The incident occurred in an area called Dagir-Kala, Karabudakhken District, three
kilometers from Manas Village. Criminal proceedings have been instituted in connection
with the incident. An investigation is under way.
11:12 08/12/2011ALL NEWS
Fire at Domodedovo warehouse put down
http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/292354.html
MOSCOW, December 8 (Itar-Tass) — The fire, which broke out at a warehouse with
wooden trays in the Moscow regional town of Domodedovo, was put down, one man was
killed in the fire, the press service of the Moscow regional police department told ItarTass on Thursday.
The fire broke out in a metallic hangar in the village of Vostryakovo in Vokzalnaya
Street. The fire spread on 800 square meters.
“The fire was put down, a worker died of carbon dioxide poisoning,” the press service
said, noting that six fire engines continue to pour water on the burnt warehouse building.
The death toll at a warehouse in the Moscow regional town of Domodedovo reached
three people.
The fire broke out at a metallic hangar in the village of Vostryakovo in Vokzalnaya
Street, the press service of the Moscow regional police department told Itar-Tass on
Thursday. The fire spread over 800 square meters.
“Another two people were found dead in the cleanup of the debris. So, the fire death toll
reached three people,” the press service said.
Six fire engines keep working at the fire site.
Russia deny 'dirty tricks' as FBI investigates World Cup 2018 race
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/england/8941725/Russia-deny-dirtytricks-as-FBI-investigates-World-Cup-2018-race.html
The Russia 2018 World Cup organising committee says it has no
knowledge of the ongoing FBI investigation into alleged
computer hacking and other “dirty tricks” arising from the Fifa
bidding process.
By Paul Kelso, Chief Sports Reporter
6:45AM GMT 08 Dec 2011
Russia emerged victorious from the 2018 World Cup race following a Fifa vote in
December last year, the circumstances of which are now the subject of inquiries by the
American law enforcement agency.
Telegraph Sport revealed on Wednesday that investigators from the FBI have
interviewed members of England’s failed 2018 World Cup bid as part of an investigation
into alleged corruption.
It is understood that the FBI claim to have “substantial evidence” of outside organisations
attempting to hack the email accounts of the USA’s bid for the 2022 tournament, and
believe the English bid may have also been affected.
The interviews, conducted in the last month, are part of an inquiry into allegations arising
from the World Cup bidding process a year ago, and the Fifa presidential election in
June.
Investigators claim to have “really great intelligence” of malpractice and came to London
last month to interview people present in Zurich at the time of the World Cup vote.
In a statement the Russia 2018 organising committee said they were unaware of any
investigation and that they conducted their bid in a “transparent” way. “Russia 2018 will
not comment on speculation: the LOC (local organising committee) has not been
contacted regarding any investigation, nor have we been made aware that any such
investigation exists,” they said.
“We at Russia 2018 are proud of the way we conducted ourselves throughout a long and
highly competitive campaign; as an LOC, we are driven by exactly the same
transparency, commitment to excellence and spirit of Fair Play that underpinned our
successful bid.
“Right now, our focus is on ensuring the momentum behind our preparations continues to
build. We are already looking forward to welcoming the global football community to a
celebration of the values we all share and the game we all love in 2018.”
The FBI is understood to have asked England 2018 officials, who are not under
suspicion, if they were aware of dirty tricks in the World Cup campaign.
The FBI is also understood to have interest in potential offences arising from the alleged
bribery of Caribbean football officials by Mohammed bin Hammam, who stood against
Sepp Blatter for the Fifa presidency.
Bin Hammam has been banned for life by Fifa after being found to have offered $40,000
(£25,000) bribes to Caribbean football officials three weeks before the election.
It is suspected that the currency offered to the officials was transported through US
borders, a potential offence if it was undeclared.
Kremlin Plans to Sell Own Brands of Vodka, Beer, RBC Daily Says
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-08/kremlin-plans-to-sell-own-brands-ofvodka-beer-rbc-daily-says.html
By Yuliya Fedorinova - Dec 8, 2011 10:49 AM GMT+0400
The Kremlin plans to sell alcoholic and soft drinks under its own brand to increase
revenue, RBC Daily reported, citing Victor Khrekov, an official in President Dmitry
Medvedev’s administration.
The Kremlin has registered six trademarks so far, including Kremlin Vodka, Kremlin
Beer and Kremlin Lemonade, and plans to license the rights to make those drinks to
producers and collect royalties on sales, the Moscow-based newspaper said today.
To contact the reporter on this story: Yuliya Fedorinova in Moscow at
[email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Viljoen at [email protected]
Russian Press at a Glance, Thursday, November 8, 2011
http://en.rian.ru/papers/20111208/169476522.html
08:30 08/12/2011
A brief look at what is in the Russian papers today
POLITICS
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visited the Central Elections Commission to file
paperwork declaring himself a candidate for president.
(The Moscow Times, Kommersant, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Rossiiskaya Gazeta,
Moskovskie Novosti, Izvestia)
The Russian Foreign Ministry criticized foreign observers’ evaluations of the elections in
Russia as “biased” and “politicized.” Meanwhile, opposition leaders and rights activists
presented fresh indications of massive fraud at last Sunday's parliamentary vote, insisting
that election officials fabricated 20 to 25 percent of United Russia's results.
(The Moscow Times, Kommersant, Moskovskie Novosti)
About 20,000 Muscovites unhappy with the election results said they were ready to take
part in Saturday’s protest. Rallies against alleged election fraud have been held in
Moscow and other major cities since Monday, leading to the detention of almost 1,000
people. Meanwhile, the Presidential Council on Civil Society and Human Rights is to
give its opinion about the elections
(Kommersant, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Moskovskie Novosti, Vedomosti)
Opposition leader Alla Dzhioyeva, who declared herself winner in last week’s
presidential elections in South Ossetia, said she was satisfied with the talks with the
Russian mediator, while President Eduard Kokoity sacked a number of unpopular
officials to ease tensions in the country
(Kommersant, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Vedomosti, Izvestia)
December 8 marks the 20th anniversary of the meeting between leaders of Russia,
Belarus and Ukraine in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha Natural Reserve in Belarus in 1991
and the signing of an agreement to set up the Commonwealth of Independent States
(CIS). The agreement said all the members were sovereign and independent nations and,
thereby, effectively abolished the Soviet Union.
(Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Moskovskie Novosti, Vedomosti)
ECONOMY
A two-day European Union summit will begin in Brussels on Thursday evening. The
summit is expected to result in key decisions on the future of the Eurozone with two
projects being submitted for discussions
(Kommersant, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Vedomosti)
Russia’s foreign trade in January-October grew 21.8 percent year-on-year and stood at
$170.1 billion
(Kommersant)
The inflation rate in Russia has remained unchanged for the fourth week running and
stood at 0.1 percent from November 29 to December 5. According to Russia’s state
statistics service, inflation stood at 5.7 percent since the beginning of 2011
(Nezavisimaya Gazeta)
The Federal Customs Service might have to change some of its internal regulations that
bog down foreign trade, following Russia's accession to the WTO.
(The Moscow Times)
OIL & GAS
After several years of discussions, Bulgarian authorities decided to quit the BurgasAlexandroupolis pipeline project by paying 6.7 billion euro in compensation to other
participants of the projects
(Kommersant, Vedomosti)
Talks to renew Moldova’s contract on gas supplies from Russia, which expires on
December 31, are in a deadlock
(Nezavisimaya Gazeta)
VEHICLES & ENGINEERING
The country's officials may be chauffeured to work in new models of domestic ZiL
luxury cars, exchanging them for the Mercedes and BMWs currently in use.
(The Moscow Times)
Competitive advantage of production in Russia - cheap workforce and energy - are a
myth. The production of cars at the Kaluga plant of Peugeot-Citroen and Mitsubishi is
5% more expensive than in Europe and 15-20% than in China or Korea
(Vedomosti)
Russia has a worse aviation safety situation than in Congo or Indonesia, according to the
international agency Ascend
(Vedomosti)
DEFENSE
A ministerial meeting of the Russia-NATO council will be held in Brussels on Thursday,
the first high-profile event since Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s harsh remarks
about the European missile defense system. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh
Rasmussen said ahead of the meeting that progress toward a missile defense deal has
been slower than expected but Russia would be wasting money by investing in countermeasures against an imaginary threat from the West. Russia’s envoy to the alliance,
Dmitry Rogozin, said the Council has become a smokescreen for NATO, which makes
decisions first and then simply announces them to the Russian side
(The Moscow Times, Kommersant, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
Weapons supplies by Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport will grow by $1
million this year. Further growth, however, has been hampered by the revolutions in the
Middle East and North Africa
(Vedomosti)
SOCIETY
In the latest in a long string of fatal accidents involving officials, a Supreme Court judge
in the republic of Chuvashia fatally struck a 34-year-old woman crossing the street
(The Moscow Times)
A year has passes since the team of Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin started its program
to improve the traffic situation in the capital. Despite over 200 billion rubles spent on
solving Moscow’s notorious traffic problems, the average traveling speed in Moscow
continues to fall, and traffic jams continue to grow
(Kommersant)
For more details on all the news in Russia today, visit our website at www.en.rian.ru
Hoeve Halbach: “Meeting points of conflict environments in the
North and South Caucasus are clearer”
http://vestnikkavkaza.net/interviews/politics/20714.html
German expert on the Caucasus from the Berlin ‘Science and Politics” Foundation,
Professor Hoeve Halbach, shared his view of the ongoing processes in the South and
North Caucasus with a VK correspondent. The last part of the interview is devoted to
problems of the North Caucasus and connection of processes in the North and South
Caucasus.
- Mr. Halbach, what can you say about the situation in the North Caucasus and its
influence on the South Caucasus?
- Often the connection between geopolitical processes in the North and South Caucasus is
not considered. International conferences in the South Caucasus were held separately
from international conferences on Chechnya and the North Caucasus in general. A fresh
view is necessary here. First of all, the North Caucasus includes not only Chechnya.
Chechnya is not a center of violence anymore, it has moved to Dagestan and partially to
Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia. In the long term it could be Sochi, as in
2014 it will become an attractive target for militants.
On the other hand, meeting points of conflict environments in the North and South
Caucasus are becoming clearer. For example, Abkhazia and South Ossetia are meeting
points: the connection between South Ossetia and North Ossetia, Abkhazia is oriented
towards the North Caucasian space. One more meeting point is the Pankisi Gorge at the
border between Georgia and Chechnya. I think none of these points should be forgotten.
The president of Georgia is developing a North Caucasus policy. Tbilisi wants to
influence events in the North Caucasus.
- Can Tbilisi really influence the situation in the North Caucasus?
Georgia actively supports Circassian movement. A conference was organized in Tbilisi
with the help of James Town. It was the first conference devoted to the historic past, the
genocide of the Circassians. This conference was echoed in the USA. The Georgian
parliament was first to name colonial policy of Russia toward Cercessian people
“genocide” like parliaments of many countries recognize genocide of Armenians by
Turkey in 1915. This issue is highly politicized, and it is a part of Georgian policy to
Russia. Nevertheless, connection between South and North Caucasus is relevant. After
2008 Georgia is counting on regional policy. For example, it stated on confederation with
Azerbaijan, visa free regime with Iran and North Caucasus republics.
- At the same time, in Russia there are some opinions improving anti-Russian
attitude in the North Caucasus. I mean popular motto “Stop feeding the Caucasus!”
- The North Caucasus is a challenge for Russia itself. That’s why Georgia counts for this
relevant problem of Russia, as Russia doesn’t cope with the situation in the region. On
the one hand Russia wants to be the major force in the South Caucasus, and the war
between Russia and Georgia confirmed it, as well as active diplomatic efforts in the
sphere of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement. On the other hand, Russia loses
influence in its North Caucasus republics. Even great investment doesn’t make the region
calmer. That is why position of Russia in the Caucasus is ambiguous.
- You’ve mentioned that Chechnya is no longer the center of violence on the North
Caucasus. Do you believe the ‘Chechen model’ is working?
- No, I don’t. I just meant that Chechnya is no longer a site of military actions, as it was a
few years ago. And it is not on the top of the list as far as acts of terror and shootouts with
police are concerned. But you can’t call Chechnya a peaceful place and its government –
a civilized one. From the European point of view Kadyrov is not a democratic leader, he
is a despotic ruler. So this ‘Chechen model’ is dubious at best. But you can’t deny that
there are some positive changes there. On the other hand there is some evidence that
under Kadyrov’s rule Chechnya is slipping away from Moscow’s control, and is more
independent than in the times of separatist Dudayev. According to polls, the public in
Russia deems the North Caucasus to be something like a separate state. And right-radical
slogans ‘Enough of feeding Caucasus!” gains wide support. The nature of anti-terrorist
measures on the Caucasus also raises some questions. For example, when they try to fight
terrorism with… tourism and build resorts in dangerous zones. I don’t think that anyone
apart from extreme-lovers would go there.
- So how should one fight terrorism?
- It’s hard to tell. Nor the 'security group', nor Presidential Envoy Khloponin’s strategy
were able to pacify the region. Police there is criminalized and terrorizes the residents at
least as much as the actual terrorists. The influence of Islam has also increased. So I don’t
believe that the ‘strong hand’ or Khloponin’s civilizing program will give any positive
effects any time soon.
Orkhan Sattarov, exclusively to VK
Russian protests offer unusual challenge to political order
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/gorbachev-calls-for-nullifying-electionsas-protests-continue-in-moscow/2011/12/07/gIQAyWnMcO_story.html
By Will Englund and Kathy Lally, Published: December 7
MOSCOW — An extraordinary political refashioning is underway here as protesters
galvanized by widely reported electoral fraud are demanding that their government obey
the law.
What began in the minds of individual Russians is now playing out on public squares
where crowds of protesters have confronted swarms of police.
Since Sunday’s elections, won by the ruling United Russia party with a reported total of
just under 50 percent of the vote, a sense of disgust that had been gathering weight has
found a public voice.
Unsanctioned — illegal — protests have broken out in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Rostovon-Don and elsewhere of a size rarely seen in Vladimir Putin’s dozen years in power.
Closing public squares
On Wednesday police sealed off Triumfalnaya Square, the scene of past protests. A
radical party called the Other Russia said 70 members were detained on the way to the
square in the evening.
The New Times magazine reported that the city was closing Revolution Square for
reconstruction; that was to be the site of a major rally Saturday, and 20,000 people have
signed up on Facebook promising to attend. The city later suggested that the work would
be done by Saturday after news of the closure lit up the Twittersphere.
It could run out of steam. A few million voters turned against United Russia at the polls
Sunday, and a few thousand, in a capital city of 13 million, have taken to the streets to
protest an election deemed neither free nor fair. The vast majority of Russians are home
in front of their big-screen TVs, seeing almost nothing of this activity because television
news isn’t reporting it.
In January 2010, protests in Kaliningrad brought 12,000 to the streets to demonstrate
against authoritarianism and economic policies, and government opponents hoped the
discontent would fill streets across the nation. The movement slowly died.
Yet the events of this week have brought into the open a debate – on the Internet, in the
newspapers and in countless apartments – that Russians hadn’t known they could have.
Something has broken.
On Monday, 5,000 demonstrators took to the streets, and police detained 300. On
Tuesday, United Russia brought in busloads of young supporters, with police escorts, and
600 protesters were detained.
Rising discontent
Before Sunday, Russians were voicing increasing discontent with the perceived fix in the
upcoming election. And now, quite suddenly, the public protests have upended the settled
political expectations of the past decade.
“You told them that you exist,” anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny shouted Monday
night before he was arrested. The crowd cheered. “They can hear that, and they are
afraid.”
This is nothing like the last days of the Soviet Union, when hundreds of thousands
marched for democracy and desperate coal miners went on strike.
“They were strong because the country needed their coal,” said Dmitri Gornostayev, a
23-year-old engineer, “and they lived like beggars. So they were willing to fight, and the
authorities had to listen.”
Duma vote falls into disrepute; "Russian Winter" might still snowball
http://www.bne.eu/storyf3105/Duma_vote_falls_into_disrepute_Russian_Winter_might_
still_snowball
bne
December 7, 2011
Contrary to international reports, protests have not rocked Moscow. But an ongoing postmortem into December 4's parliamentary elections sees them fall deeper into disrepute,
and there is now the potential for a mini "Russian Winter" in the capital.
International reports of troop-defying mass protests in Moscow are a huge exaggeration.
While the day after the elections saw a largeish 5,000-strong rally in downtown Moscow
protesting electoral fraud, Tuesday's protests of 500-1,000 people were disbanded by
police, and overshadowed by a 2,000 strong pro-Putin rally by the youth organisation
Nashi.
But an ongoing analysis of the conduct of the elections, including whistleblower accounts
of vote-rigging, mean the Duma vote is sliding deeper into disrepute. With international
voices raised against the vote, and Moscow's blogosphere debating a protest strategy,
there is the potential for more protests as the country moves towards presidential
elections in March, which are likely to see Vladimir Putin return to the presidency.
Whistle-blower
The Associated Press goes today where no pressman has gone before in running an
extensive anonymous interview with a chairman of an Moscow precinct electoral
commission. According to this chairman, his workers stuffed ballots all day Sunday, but
it still was not enough to get the desired result for Putin's party United Russia: so he
talked the problem over with his commission and the decision was reached that United
Russia would be given 65% of the vote, with some compensation votes being
redistributed to the Communists.
The chairman also told AP that election workers had been trained on how to stuff ballots
quietly, and demonstrated how to fold a stack of 30-50 ballots in half, hide it under a
jacket and slip it noiselessly into the ballot box.
According to the official, in Moscow the four main parties of United Russia, Liberal
Democrats, A Just Russia and the Communist Party, negotiated how many votes each
would get in district precincts: United Russia initially wanted 68 to 70%, but eventually
settled for around 65%. The actual United Russia vote for Moscow was a lower 45%, but
an exit poll conducted by FOM polling organisation put the United Russia vote at only
25% in Moscow.
Overall, United Russia polled 49.6%, 16 percentage points down from their result in
2007. The result surprised many with the extent of United Russia's drop in vote, despite
the obvious use of electoral fraud. The result also seemed to be broadly in line with
nationwide opinion polls and exit polls.
The AP report tallies with numerous anecdotal reports and also internet video clips
showing instances of apparent egregious electoral fraud, especially in Moscow demonstrating how the internet in Russia has become a force to be reckoned with.
The Putin/Medvedev administration is showing signs of nerves, with Interior Ministry
troops reported moving through Moscow December 6. A small attempted pro-democracy
protest was broken up by riot police yesterday, and it was the pro-Putin youth movement
Nashi that had the numbers holding a rally attended by 2,000.
Following the initial protest of around 5,000 in Moscow on Monday, international voices
including US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and EU High Commissioner Catherine
Ashton spoke up to criticise the Duma vote.
Deputy head of the presidential administration, Vladislav Surkov, seen as the grey
cardinal of Russia's "managed democracy" system, seems to be losing his grip or sliding
into self-parody. In response to the protest mood in Moscow, he suggested founding a
new party for discontented city-dwellers.
The electoral rot in Russia set in big time with the Duma elections in 2007. In hindsight,
there was clearly a target set for United Russia to achieve a constitutional majority of
two-thirds in the Duma. The plan was to subsequently change the constitution and in
2008, the Duma duly voted to extend presidential terms of office to six years and Duma
convocations to five years. This then paved the way for Vladimir Putin to return to the
Kremlin as president for up to an additional 12 years in 2012, after the four-year proforma interim presidency of Dmitry Medvedev.
Shortly before the 2007 elections, in a shock decision long-serving and highly respected
chairman of the central electoral committee Aleksandr Veshnyakov was replaced by the
current bearded wonder Vladimir Churov. Churov had no prior experience of organising
elections, and has shown himself to be a slave of United Russia, which has largely
merged with the electoral commission. Both United Russia and the electoral commission
are directed by the Kremlin’s Vladislav Surkov.
There is little doubt that Vladimir Putin still has a core support among the population of
about 45%. But there is a growing disgust at the Byzantine manoeuvring and fraudulent
votes perpetrated to get him back in office for 12 years in 2012. Putin may have finally
‘jumped the shark’ and lost his media-backed reputation among ordinary Russians as an
honest broker and straight shooter. The blatant involvement of his entourage in the
corruption and insider dealing that is so rife in Russia may also void his reputation as the
man who ousted the oligarchs from the Kremlin.
In particular, the apparent sharp drop of support for United Russia in Moscow and
corresponding surge in electoral fraud there may light a fuse among the capital’s
politicised blogosphere. The result might be some new protest movement emerge in the
capital this winter, as the country moves towards presidential elections in March.
Putin will return as president, but will it be for a further six or 12 years?
Russia United, For The Time Being – OpEd
http://www.eurasiareview.com/08122011-russia-united-for-the-time-being-oped/
December 8, 2011
By Eric Walberg
With a 60 per cent turnout, United Russia’s solid 49.5 per cent plurality in the 4
December Duma elections, giving it 238 of the 450 seats, is the envy of any Western
political party. But it is nonetheless a disappointment after its 2007 sweep, where it
gained over two-thirds of the seats. Very, very few parties ever approach the magic twothirds that lets them ignore the opposition and change the constitution, and Prime
Minister and president-virtually-elect Vladimir Putin even put a positive spin on the
results: “This is an optimal result which reflects the real situation in the country,” Putin,
59, said coolly. “Based on this result we can guarantee stable development of our
country.” (He will be recrowned president in pro forma elections 4 March.)
Post-Soviet Russian politics over the past two decades has been a rollercoaster. Until the
founding of United Russia in 2001, a short decade ago, the Russian Communist Party was
the largest political force in the country. By uniting the Westernisers and soft nationalists
around his charismatic leadership, Putin was able to push the Communists aside and
capture 1/2 the seats in 2003, UR’s debut. Within a few weeks an additional 78 MPs
climbed on the bandwagon, giving UR the magic two-thirds. With this election, the
Communists have now recovered, almost doubling their vote to 20 per cent, an
underestimate of their real support, given who has the money and who controls media
and election procedures. “The Communists are the only real party out there,” admitted
one Western banker in Moscow, and are now attracting even liberals disillusioned with
UR.
In his first two terms as president, Putin transformed Russia, with UR his political figleaf,
restoring state power in the economy, centralizing political control, guaranteeing a piece
of the pie for almost all, while hiding the many deep social and political problems –
corruption, violence, gangs, mafia, drugs, despair, and on and on. Relying on Soviet-era
prestige and Russia’s vast material resources, UR has been the vehicle for creating a
crude but powerful national force that keeps chugging alone, even as the West descends
into financial chaos and self-inflicts wounds in pursuing will-o-the-wisp imperial wars
around the world.
Of course, the Duma is not much more than a prestigious sandbox, an expensive talk
shop which can’t take any real initiative without a nod from above. The whole electoral
process is heavily in UR’s favour, with a brutal 7 per cent popular vote necessary for
initiation into the club, and persistent rumours that the also-ran Communists, Liberal
Democrats and Fair Russia quietly cut deals to divvy up the seats in less than transparent
proportional elections. UR is able to mobilise the vast administrative apparatus, the
fortunes of oligarchs, the private and public airwaves. It is for all intents and purposes
invincible. The elections, however, are still an important barometre of public mood, and
the almost daily opinion polls make too blatant vote-rigging a risk, given the Russian
elite’s proclaimed insistence that Russia is “democratically” governed.
The general outlines of post-Soviet Russia as shaped by UR-Putin have now become
clear: Russia will not join the West as a subservient “postmodern state”, the neocon
version of Kant’s world order, where nations give up their sovereignty to a “higher”
organisation in the interests of world peace. (Kant envisioned a neutral United Nations, as
opposed to the unipolar imperial order established with the collapse of the Soviet Union.)
The early post-Soviet Yelstin crowd seemed willing to join the US-led imperial order, but
there were enough savvy patriots who were not duped by US professed intentions and
who raised the alarm and put the breaks on this process in time.
It will do whatever is necessary for its security and national/ federal sovereignty
(Chechnya and Georgian wars, missile defence), and work with others to lessen
dependency on the US order (Latin America, India, China, gas/ oil deals with Europe).
To pursue this, it is developing new international structures especially in Eurasia (SCO,
CSTO, the new regional customs union and proposed Eurasian Economic Community) to
counterbalance US-controlled structures and prepare for the inevitable collapse of US
empire.
But at the same time, the new Russian political-economic elite is still very much a part of
the US-led economic order, based on the dollar and the Bretton Woods financial
institutions, with billions of dollars stashed abroad, and children attending elite foreign
schools both in Europe and now in the heart of capitalist Russia. But US hopes to wipe
Russia as a major force off the political map were dashed, and even the most Atlantophile
Russians balk at becoming the latest Latvia.
In contrast to old Soviet-era policies, this Russian strategy is manageable in the face of
hostile powers. It accepts the international framework the US established after WWII and
even new additions like the International Criminal Court and the Kyoto Protocols which
the US rejects, and thus does not face the anticommunist reaction of Soviet years by
Western liberals and conservatives. It no longer threatens the interests of the ruling elites
of other countries, making Russia an attractive partner for many countries who seek to
remain free from US imperial control. These polices enjoy a broad consensus inside
Russia, ensuring UR-Putin’s continued domination of Russian politics for the time being.
For an objective outside observer, the Russia fashioned by Putin and UR plays a positive
force in world politics and economics, though it is not above playing its own games; for
instance, in Belarus, possibly in Kyrgyzstan, using its transit route to Afghanistan as a
bargaining chip with the US, regardless of the justness of the NATO occupation of
Afghanistan. It let down longtime ally Gaddafi in Libya, has jilted Iran on nuclear power
and weapons sales in the interests of placating the US, not done much for the Serbs,
especially in Kosovo (yet). If NATO pushes hard, Russia will back down, unless its
direct and vital interests are threatened. The best Russia can do for countries threatened
by US empire is support their appeals to international law and wield its veto at the UN
Security Council.
It should no longer be “empire vs Communism”, the zero-sum game which the US
fashioned in the 20th century to counter the “Soviet threat”, though just what the game
adds up to now is entirely the responsibility of the empire to determine, rather than the
non-empire independents like Russia, all of whom are trying to survive in the face of
pressures to accept a subservient role as “postmodern states”. Russia has forfeited claims
to be the gravedigger of capitalism and by extension imperialism, and just wants a fair
shake in a fairer world order. At the same time, leaders in the Kremlin are under no
illusion about the reality of US empire; that, for all their smiles, its leaders see Russia
(along with China) as the enemy; and that “Western policies always aim at the eventual
dismemberment and demise of Russia,” writes vineyardsaker.blogspot.
“They just don’t believe that the Soviet way to oppose the US was the correct one,” the
Russian-American analyst continues. Rather than being an active midwife of a new world
order opposed to imperialism (Soviet policy), Russia is playing a waiting game — the
age-old policy of retreat used against the Mongols, the French and the Nazis. “Americans
play Monopoly, Russians chess,” quips Spengler at Asia Times. Afghanistan looms large
as another Vietnam, and the US is busily adding Libya, Syria, Iran, who-knows-where
next to its overfull plate of indigestible goodies. At times, it is wise to sit back and wait
for the straw that breaks the ogre’s (excuse me, camel’s) back. A fool’s mate comes
about when your opponent is bankrupt, and it certainly looks like this is how the current
game is shaping up.
UR will no doubt continue its slide, and even Putin himself come 4 March may find
himself in a runoff with some dark-horse challenger, as it is also clear that UR-Putin are
unable to face down the corrupt administrative minions who keep “the party of crooks
and thieves” in power. However, the cautious, patriotic policies of the 2000s as sketched
above have been set for the near future. Perhaps the world financial crisis will turn
Russians back to their tried and at-least-partially true socialist heritage to make sure the
country survives. But its domestic and foreign policies will not be too much different
from the ones UR has put its (rubber) stamp on, policies which are effectively the work
of Putin as Mr UR.
- Eric Walberg writes for Al-Ahram Weekly http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/ You can reach
him at http://ericwalberg.com/ His Postmodern Imperialism: Geopolitics and the Great
Games is available at http://claritypress.com/Walberg.html. He contributed this article to
PalestineChronicle.com.
Repentant militants speak with Adaptation Commission
http://rt.com/politics/press/kommersant/militants-adaptation-commission-police/en/
Published: 8 December, 2011, 07:20
Edited: 8 December, 2011, 07:23
Yulia Rybina (Makhachkala)
All five suspects were part of a criminal group operating in South Dagestan. The first to
appear before the Commission was 19-year-old Temirlan Amirov, who took part in the
June 5 shooting of a police station in Mamedkalinsky Village. No policemen were
injured. He turned to the Commission on November 11, and confessed his guilt to law
enforcement officials on the same day. The young man told Commission members that he
repents, and said that he went “into the woods” out of fear of prosecution: “I was
approached by a person who worked in the administration… He said that a warrant for
my arrest was issued by the FSB, and that I was being watched. I’ve heard a lot of stories
about how Muslims get ‘lost’. Fearing this, I left.” He explained that he was carrying
arms because “you simply won’t walk through the forest with just a stick,” and
participated in the police station shooting under the orders of the “amir” (the criminal
gang’s leader – Kommersant). Rasul Kadiev, Amirov’s lawyer, noted that his client made
the decision to return to a peaceful life and cooperate with law enforcement on his own,
“without the fear of public condemnation.”
Then, Commission members heard the cases of 24-year-old Arsen Isayev and 23-year-old
Telman Gadzhimustafaev. Both participated in a September 22 shooting of the District
Department of Internal Affairs in Dagestanskie Ogni and the attempted assassination of a
police chief in Derbent four days later (the police officer was unaffected, though his
mother was injured in the attack). On November 28, Isayev, who was hiding in Moscow,
turned to the Adaptation Commission and willingly reported to law enforcement. During
the hearing, he publically repented and declared that he was “lured into the gang, as
usual, with money.” “They said, ‘We’ll buy you a car, you drive us a couple of times, in a
couple of weeks we’ll leave, and you get to keep the car.’ If I knew the things that were
happening there, I would have never joined… but it was no longer possible to back out:
it’s clear what would have happened to me. When we were shooting at the police station,
I shot into the air. As for the fact that we were going to assassinate the police officer, that
– I did not know. I was told to simply drive them; then, they started shooting out of the
car.”
The conversation with Arsen Isayev’s partner, Telman Gadzhimustafaev, was tense. He,
together with the gang’s “amir” – 41-year-old Nariman Mirzamagomedov – turned
himself in to the Adaptation Commission during a special operation on October 15 in
Makhachkala. The Commission’s chairman and other members spent roughly a half hour
trying to get a detailed explanation from Gadzhimustafaev of how he ended up “in the
woods,” and assurances of repentance. However, he said that he no longer remembers
how he became involved with the militants and who handed him a machine gun, saying
that before getting the order to shell the police station he spent three months “simply
sitting at home” with the weapon. A member of the Derbent Municipal Adaptation
Commission, Sevil Novruzova, came to his defense. “These are still children. For them,
the things that happened are still perhaps a military sports game of Zarnitsa; they only
now understood the seriousness of the situation,” she said, adding that Telman
Gadzhimustafaev has indeed repented and told the investigators everything he could. Ms.
Novruzova had presented a letter to the Commission, in which Telman addresses his
father a few days before the special operation with a request to help him “get out of the
woods”. But Commission members, unsatisfied with his evasive answers, suggested that
it was written after the fact. The suspect “turned himself in” after hearing the words of
the Minister of National Policy, Religious Affairs and External Relations, Bekmurza
Bekmurzaev: “Why do you not want to share at least some truth with the people? If we
are quiet, that does not mean that we don’t know anything.” Then, Telman
Gadzhimustafaev admitted that he, himself, searched for a way “into the woods,” after
reading some literature with the help of an “Islamic bot” in ICQ. “A while later, Nariman
(Mirzamagomedov – Kommersant) called me and said: ‘Let’s go there.’ My things were
already packed,” he said.
Maksim Shevchenko, a member of Russia’s Public Chamber who participated in the
hearings, complained that religious leaders are not actively engaged with young people
who are attracted to religion. “Religious leaders are also part of our Commission, and we
don’t have such problems,” responded head of the republican Commission, Rizvan
Kurbanov. He also asked young people whether or not law enforcement officers had
committed any wrongful acts against them, clearly referring to the statements made
during the meeting. Specifically, he meant law enforcement agents' arbitrariness and
abduction of individuals, which took place in Makhachkala on November 25 and brought
together several thousand people. In response, militants confirmed that they had not been
handled inappropriately.
The appeals reviewed last were those of 33-year-old Zaur Makhmudov and 21-year-old
Fakhrudin Takhmezov. Both turned themselves in to law enforcement on August 26 in
Derbent, after a long negotiation process. Sevil Novruzova had presented to the
Commission an appeal by their third accomplice, Gasan Kurabekov, who was then able
to flee.
After a closed-door meeting (the press was asked to leave the premises), Rizvan
Kurbanov announced that the Commission, “not unanimously, but by majority,” has
decided to accept all five motions and ask the court to keep all five young men to serve
their sentences on the territory of their home republic. The First Deputy Prime Minister
noted, however, that “if they start changing their testimonies and refuse to cooperate
during the investigation,” the petition will be withdrawn.
National Economic Trends
13:11 08/12/2011ALL NEWS
Putin does not rule out possibility to lower taxes
http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/292517.html
MOSCOW, December 8 (Itar-Tass) — Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, speaking at a
meeting of the Federal Coordinating Council of the All-Russia Popular Front here on
Thursday, did not rule out possibility to lower taxes. "We, of course, must and will mull
over how to reduce the tax base," he said.
In so doing, Putin added that his personal opinion is that social guarantees for the people
of Russia can be ensured only on the basis of economic growth.
10:12
RUSSIAN INTERNATIONAL RESERVES AT $514.1 BLN IN WEEK TO
DECEMBER 2, UP FROM $510.2 BLN ON NOVEMBER 25
http://www.interfax.com/news.asp
Unemployment shows uptick
http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20111208113105.shtml
RBC, 08.12.2011, Moscow 11:31:05.The number of registered unemployed
persons inched up 1% or by 12,293 persons between November 16 and 30, 2011,
totaling 1.23m as of the end of November, the Healthcare and Social Development
Ministry said in a statement.
Russia's unemployment rate has been on the decline since March until midNovember, decreasing 0.8% per week on average, but the uptick registered in
November is due to seasonal factors, the ministry explained.
The unemployment rate rose in 65 out of 83 Russia's regions during the reporting
period.
Russia May Privatize 20 Banks, Companies by 2017, Vedomosti Says
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-08/russia-may-privatize-20-banks-companiesby-2017-vedomosti-says.html
By Yuliya Fedorinova - Dec 8, 2011 8:23 AM GMT+0400
Russia may sell 20 state-owned banks and companies by 2017, Vedomosti reported,
citing the latest draft of a privatization program.
The program assumes that state-controlled oil, gas and energy companies, which already
have shares trading on market, can’t be privatized at a price less that they got in the initial
share sale, Vedomosti says.
OAO Rosneft, OAO Rushydro, OAO Zarubezhneft and OAO Inter RAO Ues are among
the companies, the Moscow-based newspaper said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Yuliya Fedorinova in Moscow at
[email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Viljoen at [email protected]
http://www.vedomosti.ru/finance/news/1446772/banki_vycherknut_iz_stoplista
Банки вычеркнут из приватизационного стоп-листа
Предложение вице-премьера Игоря Сечина не приватизировать акции госкомпаний
дешевле цены IPO правительство готово поддержать лишь частично. Особое
условие будет касаться только «Роснефти». Но оно может и не помешать
приватизации компании
Максим Товкайло
Екатерина Дербилова
Vedomosti.ru
08.12.2011
Читайте далее:
http://www.vedomosti.ru/finance/news/1446772/banki_vycherknut_iz_stoplista#ixzz1fvF
vvxF0
Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions
Russian stocks open higher ahead of EU summit
http://en.rian.ru/business/20111208/169478010.html
11:58 08/12/2011
MOSCOW, December 8 (RIA Novosti)
Russian stocks opened higher on Thursday, paring some of their losses for the previous
three days as investors expected a rate cut from the European Central Bank and concrete
solutions at this week’s EU summit to defuse the eurozone debt crisis.
European leaders are meeting later on Thursday to push for deeper fiscal integration as
proposed by the eurozone’s leading economies, such as Germany and France, which
might require changes to the EU basic treaties to legislatively seal possible spending
targets for eurozone countries in a bid to cut their debt levels and restore investor
confidence.
The key proposal is to work out a mechanism for enforcing budgetary discipline with
automatic penalties for eurozone countries that fail to comply with their spending targets.
Analysts also expect the European Central Bank to cut its key interest rate by 0.25
percentage points to 1 percent to stimulate lending and spur economic growth.
As of 11:43 a.m. Moscow time (07:43 GMT), the ruble-denominated MICEX index rose
0.97 percent to 1,462.48 points while the dollar-denominated RTS gained 1.05 percent to
1,483.16 points.
The ruble fell by 4 kopecks against the U.S. dollar to 31.2308 and by 4 kopecks against
the euro to 41.8688. The value of the bi-currency basket comprising $0.55 and 0.45 euros
edged up 1 kopeck to 36.0543.
RTS Futures Rise With Gazprom at 37% Discount: Russia Overnight
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-08/rts-futures-rise-with-gazprom-at-37discount-russia-overnight.html
By Leon Lazaroff and Halia Pavliva - Dec 8, 2011 4:20 AM GMT+0400
Russian equity futures gained and OAO Gazprom’s (OGZPY) U.S.-traded shares rallied
as valuations approaching their lowest level in three years outweighed concerns that
protests against Dec. 4 election results may spur instability.
Futures on the dollar-denominated RTS index expiring in December rose 0.2 percent to
146,745 in U.S. trading and the Bloomberg Russia-US 14 Index of Russian companies
listed in New York rebounded from its biggest decline in a month. State-run Gazprom’s
American depositary receipts climbed after Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko said the
Moscow-based company may receive a tax break on an Arctic region project.
Russian shares rallied in New York after the benchmark Micex index fell to a 10-day low
in Moscow amid demonstrations against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s government.
Shares in the Bloomberg Russia-US 14 Index trade at 3.2 times analysts’ earnings
estimates for member companies, close to their lowest valuation since December 2008,
while Gazprom ADRs trade at 3.2 times forward earnings, a 37 percent discount to the
Micex. (INDEXCF)
“Gazprom is cheap as hell,” Ilya Kravets, a research analyst at brokerage ED Capital in
New York, said in a phone interview yesterday. “There’s a belief now that the
government is serious about controlling Gazprom’s cash flow so that they get more, and
that investors get more as well.”
Gazprom’s ADRs, which plunged 8 percent on Dec. 6, recovered 1.9 percent to $11.21
yesterday to close the gap with shares in Moscow, which fell 0.9 percent to 174.57
rubles, or the equivalent of $5.59. One Gazprom ADR represents two ordinary shares.
Volatility Drops
The RTS Volatility Index, which measures expected swings in the index futures, dropped
for the first time in four days, falling 1.6 percent to 51.04 points. The RTS Index slipped
1.2 percent in Moscow to 1,467.69 and the 30-stock Micex lost 0.7 percent to 1,448.39,
the lowest level since Nov. 25.
The Market Vectors Russia ETF (RSX), a U.S.-traded fund that holds Russian shares,
gained 0.4 percent to $29.07 while the Bank of New York Mellon Russia ADR Index lost
0.7 percent to 769.06.
Russian opposition groups are planning to stage a demonstration next to the Kremlin on
Dec. 10 after holding an unsanctioned rally Dec. 6 in downtown Moscow to protest the
results of Dec. 4 parliamentary elections. Police said they detained about 300 people on
Dec. 6, with a total of about 1,000 activists held after three days of rallies.
Protesters are disputing the results of the parliamentary election, which saw support for
Putin’s United Russia party drop to 49.5 percent, from 64.3 percent in a 2007 vote. The
party maintain a majority of seats in the Duma.
Gazprom Dividends
Gazprom, the world’s largest natural gas producer that accounts for 16 percent of the
Micex, is budgeting about 200 billion rubles ($6.4 billion) a year for dividends starting in
2012 through 2014, the Moscow-based Interfax newswire reported on Dec. 1, citing an
unidentified person familiar with the plan. That would make the 2012 cash dividend 6.40
rubles a share, the highest payment to shareholders since at least 2005.
Oil fell for the first time in four days in New York after the U.S. Energy Department
reported that crude and fuel inventories climbed as imports surged. Crude for January
delivery declined 0.8 percent to settle at $100.49 a barrel on the New York Mercantile
Exchange.
Brent oil for January settlement fell 1.2 percent to $109.53 on the London-based ICE
Futures Europe exchange, while Urals crude, Russia’s chief export blend, lost 1.2 percent
to $109.47. Oil and natural gas contribute about 17 percent of Russia’s gross domestic
product.
Rostelecom Earnings
OAO Rostelecom (ROSYY), Russia’s dominant fixed-line phone operator, declined 4.7
percent in New York to $29.30, a two-week low and the biggest decliner on the
Bloomberg Russia-US 14 index.
The company will release “mediocre third quarter and January to September numbers
with very limited revenue growth,” today in Moscow, Iouli Matevossov a senior analyst
at Alfa Bank in Moscow, wrote in a client note e-mailed yesterday. Rostelecom will
report third-quarter adjusted net income of 9.75 billion rubles, according to the average of
nine analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The company reported profit of 8.64
billion rubles in the second quarter.
Rostelecom shares in Moscow dropped 0.6 percent to 151.55 rubles yesterday, the
equivalent of $4.85. One ADR equals six ordinary shares.
OAO Mechel (MTL), Russia’s largest producer of steel-making coal, fell 2.2 percent to
$10.22 in U.S. trading yesterday. The Moscow-based company’s stock on the Micex fell
5 percent to 321.80 rubles, or equivalent of $10.29. Coal on the New York Mercantile
Exchange was little changed at $69.05 a ton yesterday. Prices have fallen 14 percent this
year.
Mine Suspensions
The company suspended work at two mine sites after complaints to the Siberian branch
of Russia’s industrial safety watchdog, according to a Dec. 6 statement.
Yandex NV, operator of Russia’s most popular Internet search engine, climbed the most
in more than a week after a British newspaper reported news announced by the company
last month that they will collaborate with Facebook Inc. on their music service. Yandex
gained 4.4 percent to $21.80 in New York, after earlier jumping as much as 6.6 percent to
$22.26, the biggest intraday advance since Nov. 28.
In addition to Rostelecom, VTB Group, Russia’s second- biggest lender, OAO Severstal,
the biggest steelmaker by market capitalization and OAO Bashneft, an oil producer, are
expected to release third-quarter earnings in Moscow today.
Metals Fall
The European Central Bank may announce a range of measures today to stimulate bank
lending, three euro-area officials with knowledge of policy makers’ deliberations told
Bloomberg News. The ECB is focusing on getting banks lending again rather than
increasing its government bond purchases to fight Europe’s debt crisis.
Standard & Poor’s GSCI index of 24 raw materials dropped 0.9 percent to 653.57 as
copper and nickel fell for a second day. Copper futures for March delivery declined 0.5
percent to close at $3.556 a pound on the Comex in New York while nickel lost $375 to
$18,050 a ton on the London Metal Exchange.
The Micex has lost 14 percent in 2011 and trades at 5 times analysts’ earnings estimates
for member companies. That compares with a 15 percent slide for Brazil’s Bovespa
(IBOV) index, which trades at 11 times estimated earnings, according to data compiled
by Bloomberg. The Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP) trades at 11 times estimated
earnings, and the BSE India Sensitive Index (SENSEX) has a ratio of 15.
To contact the reporters on this story: Leon Lazaroff in New York at
[email protected], or Halia Pavliva in New York at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Papadopoulos at
[email protected]
Russian markets -- Factors to Watch on Dec 8
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/12/08/russia-factors-idUKL5E7N801Z20111208
Thu Dec 8, 2011 5:46am GMT
Here are events and news stories that could move Russian markets on
Thursday.
You can reach us on: +7 495 775 1242
STOCKS CALL (Contributions to [email protected]):
ALOR: "Investors are likely to follow the rise on the U.S. market at
the
opening. But expectations of the ECB meeting outcome and proximity of
the U.S.
futures to resistance levels may lead to profit fixing on longs in the
first
half of the day."
NETTRADER: "External background is neutral... The focus today is on
the ECB
and the Bank of England decisions on rates as well as the U.S. labour
market
data."
EVENTS (All times GMT):
MOSCOW - Russian Interior Ministry investigators, who work on cases of
the
Hermitage Fund head William Browder and lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, to
give a press
conference.
MOSCOW - Russian state-controlled telecoms company Rostelecom
reports third-quarter financial results.
MOSCOW - Severstal , Russia's second-largest steelmaker,
to post third quarter earnings.
MOSCOW - Russia's second biggest lender VTB to report
third-quarter results, which are expected to be hit by recent market
turmoil.
MOSCOW - Mid-sized oil company Bashneft, owned by Sistema holding
, to report third-quarter results.
MOSCOW - The Russian unit of Deutsche Bank to give a briefing on
2011 results with local senior management attending.
IN THE PAPERS :
Russia may sell some state-controlled companies' shares as a part of a
wider
privatisation programme below their price set at previous initial
public
offering, despite objections from Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin,
business
daily Vedomosti reports.
Head of ExxonMobil Russia's operations Glenn Waller told Kommersant
daily the company offered Russia's top crude producer Rosneft a
participation in its projects in third countries. He added that
agreement from
other participants in these projects are needed to allow Rosneft in.
TOP STORIES IN RUSSIA AND THE CIS :
TOP NEWS:
NATO still hopes for Russia missile system deal
Social media makes anti-Putin protests "snowball"
COMPANIES/MARKETS:
[ID:nL5E7N62N ]
Russian stocks off as further demos planned
Russian protests block VEB's Eurobond deal-sources
BP in talks to settle with Russian partners - FT
Russian court to hear appeal on BP case in January
Rosneft to sign increased $2 bln loan-sources
ECONOMY/POLITICS:
UN says Russia air firms' staff guilty of sex abuse
Russian police block new anti-Putin rally
Medvedev's Twitter obscenity provokes shock
Putin takes formal step to regain Kremlin top job
ENERGY:
Ukraine, Russia agree delayed gas payments
TNK-BP's Venezuela JV eyes 9 pct oil output growth
COMMODITIES:
Russia seen exporting at least 25 mln tonnes of grain
Urals bid up slightly, China buys Libya
Potash miner Uralkali sees no Q1 price hikes
Bulgaria to abandon trans-Balkan oil pipeline
MARKETS CLOSE/LATEST:
RTS
MSCI Russia
MSCI Emerging Markets
780.8
1,471.7
+0.27 pct
-0.72 pct
954.7
-0.48 pct
Russia 30-yr Eurobond yield: 4.371/4.294 pct
EMBI+ Russia 296 basis points over
Rouble/dollar
Rouble/euro
NYMEX crude
ICE Brent crude
31.2999
41.8500
$100.52
$109.64
+$0.02
+$0.11
For Russian bank balances see
For Russian company news, double click on
Treasury news
Corporate debt
Russian stocks
Russia country guide
All Russian news
Scrolling stocks news
Emerging markets top news
Top deals
European companies
(Compiled by Vladimir Soldatkin)
UPDATE 1-Russian protests block VEB's Eurobond deal-sources
http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/12/07/veb-eurobond-idINL5E7N722320111207
Wed, Dec 7 2011
By Oksana Kobzeva
MOSCOW, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Russian state development bank VEB has postponed a
Eurobond offering due to poor market conditions fueled by fears that Russia may face
political instability after parliamentary elections, two financial market sources said on
Wednesday.
The deal's failure is the first sign that domestic politics may make it harder for Russian
companies to raise foreign cash in markets already under pressure as European leaders
seek to finalise a plan to calm the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis.
VEB had planned to tap the international debt market for a five-year dollar Eurobond,
offering yield guidance at around 5.625 percent, IFR markets, a Thomson Reuters news
and market analysis service had reported. •
The state lender, the government's main vehicle for major investment projects and a
special cash channel to support economy during vulnerable periods, had planned to close
the books on the deal on Tuesday.
"VEB could do a deal, the book was already full but investors started to call and take out
the bids, hearing about massive protests," one of the sources said.
Russian stocks and the rouble have lost ground since elections on Sunday showed a drop
in the ruling United Russia party's majority, prompting Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to
promise "significant renewal" of the government.
Up to 5,000 protesters rallied in Moscow on Monday evening to protest against alleged
electoral fraud, and 300 were arrested. Hundreds also took to the streets on Tuesday to
demand an end to Putin's 12-year rule.
"Given the adverse change in Russian markets since the announcement of the transaction,
VEB has elected to proceed with its dollar bond issue once markets have stabilised," one
of the sources quoted a statement circulated by the deal's arrangers as saying.
Gas export monopoly Gazprom sold $1.6 billion of two-part loan participation notes last
month, prompting other local borrowers, including VEB, to seek to tap eurobond markets
that had been closed to them since the summer.
It is unclear whether VEB's decision will affect the plans of two other Russian borrowers
-- state-owned Russian Railways and Anglo-Russian oil firm TNK-BP -- to meet
investors for non-deal roadshows next week.
United Aviation, Finmeccanica May Start Venture, Kommersant Says
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-08/united-aviation-finmeccanica-may-startventure-kommersant-says.html
By Yuliya Fedorinova - Dec 8, 2011 9:47 AM GMT+0400
Russia’s United Aviation Corp. and Finmeccanica SpA (FNC) may set up a new joint
venture to produce a long version of the Sukhoy Superjet plane with 130 seats that would
compete with Boeing Co. (BA), Kommersant reported.
Finmeccanica may take as much as a 49 percent stake in the new alliance, the newspaper
said, citing people with the knowledge of situation.
The Sukhoy Superjet is now produced by the two companies under a joint venture in
which Alenia, Finmeccanica’s parent, holds a 25 percent stake.
The venture was barred from producing a longer version of the plane after Boeing, which
served as a consultant on the project, banned the two partners from building one,
Kommersant said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Yuliya Fedorinova in Moscow at
[email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Viljoen at [email protected]
09:27
GM plans to up sales 65%-70% in Russia in 2011
http://www.interfax.com/news.asp
Exec: PSA Peugeot Citroen may launch another car plant in Russia
http://www.prime-tass.com/news/0/%7B45128D27-8794-4192-88278A82D9DD2D0E%7D.uif
MOSCOW, Dec 7 (PRIME) -- Europe’s second largest car maker PSA Peugeot Citroen–
Mitsubishi Motors may launch an additional car production facility in Russia and is
looking for a partner, Didier Alton, general director of PSMA Rus, a local unit of the
alliance, said at a forum Wednesday.
“We are looking for possible options to cooperate with any company manufacturing cars
in Russia, including Russian producers,” Alton said, adding that the alliance is not
involved in talks with Russian automaker GAZ Group. “There are no agreements yet.”
Alton said that the alliance is also looking for a site to increase production capacities in
Russia. “A Russian company would provide production capacities, while we manufacture
new models,” Alton added.
The alliance plans to make a final decision on cooperating with a Russian company in
January–March 2012, he said.
The PSA Peugeot Citroen–Mitsubishi Motors Alliance opened a 470 million euro car
assembly plant in central Russian Kaluga Region in April 2010. The capacity of the plant
is 125,000 vehicles per year, which can be extended to 300,000.
End
07.12.2011 18:16
Russian Billionaire Mamut Seeks Euroset Buyer, Kommersant Says
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-08/russian-billionaire-mamut-seeks-eurosetbuyer-kommersant-says.html
By Yuliya Fedorinova - Dec 8, 2011 8:48 AM GMT+0400
Billionaire Alexander Mamut is seeking to sell his 50.1 percent stake in Euroset, Russia’s
largest mobile-phone retailer, Kommersant reported today, citing people it didn’t
identify.
Mamut hired Troika Dialog to help find a buyer and is seeking $1.6 billion to $1.8 billion
for the stake, the newspaper said. OAO VimpelCom, Russia’s second-biggest cellular
company, owns the rest of Euroset.
To contact the reporter on this story: Yuliya Fedorinova in Moscow at
[email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Viljoen at [email protected]
December 08, 2011 09:25
Euroset revenues grow 12% to 19 bln rubles in Q3
http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=293457
MOSCOW. Dec 8 (Interfax) - Euroset (RTS: TDEV), Russia's largest mobile phone
retailer, posted revenue up 12% to 19 billion rubles in the third quarter of 2011 from 16.9
billion rubles in the same period last year.
Revenue grew 28% compared to the second quarter of 2011, according to company
materials obtained by Interfax.
The growth was driven primarily by the opening of new stores, an increase in the average
price of handsets sold and higher revenue from financial and payment services.
Sales of telephones generated 58% of revenue, and commissions from mobile providers
accounted for 16%.
The retailer had 4,388 outlets in Russia at the end of the third quarter.
Euroset's debt shrank to 6.6 billion rubles on September 30 from 6.7 billion rubles at the
beginning of the year. The net debt/EBITDA ratio, however, rose to 1.1 from 1. Debt
denominated in rubles made up 64% of the total, and long-term loans accounted for 30%
of the debt; the weighted average interest rate on the loan portfolio was 7.1%.
Euroset has about a 32% share of the Russian cellular retail market.
Vp of
(Our editorial staff can be reached at [email protected])
Rostelecom's Q3 net profit rises 1.3 pct to $330 mln
http://en.rian.ru/business/20111208/169478807.html
12:33 08/12/2011
MOSCOW, December 8 (RIA Novosti)
Russian long-distance operator Rostelecom saw its third-quarter net profit increase 1.3
percent year-on-year to 10.285 billion rubles ($330.2 million) to IFRS, the company said
in a statement on Thursday.
The company's revenue grew 8 percent in July-September 2011 to 73.86 billion rubles.
"We continue to deliver growth despite the turbulent situation in the financial markets
and the global economy. We continue to expand our broadband and Pay-TV subscriber
base," Rostelecom President and CEO Alexander Provotorov was quoted in the
company's statement as saying.
The local telephony subscriber base went up two percent to 21.616 billion rubles, while
the broadband Internet subscriber base amounted to 11.429 billion rubles and the Pay TV
subscriber base grew 580 percent, year-on-year, to 1.905 billion rubles.
The company's OIBDA (Operating Income before Depreciation and Amortization) rose 9
percent to 29.477 billion rubles, while the OIBDA margin went up to 39.9 percent from
39.5 percent.
The company's capital expenditure increased 10 percent to 15.361 billion rubles or 20.8
percent of revenue. The company's net debt totaled 138.068 billion rubles as of
September 30, 2011, with the net debt to annualized OIBDA ratio stood at 1.3x times.
Rostelecom's net profit in the first nine months of the year stood at 29.397 billion rubles,
a two-percent growth year-on-year, while its revenue in January-September 2011 rose 7
percent to 217.458 billion rubles.
Rostelecom completed a restructuring in spring to merge with seven regional telecoms
companies, following which the Russian government has retained a 53.23 percent stake
in the telecoms operator.
Wife of ex-Moscow mayor sells major real estate developer
http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20111208104559.shtml
RBC, 08.12.2011, Moscow 10:45:59.Sberbank's subsidiary Sberbank Investments
and businessman Mikhail Shishkhanov have closed a deal to purchase a 100% stake in
a major real estate development company Inteco from Yelena Baturina, the wife of
former Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov, Russia's largest bank said in a statement.
Shishkhanov acquired a 95% interest and Sberbank Investments bought the other
5%. The transaction has been cleared by the Federal Antimonopoly Service.
Although the financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, the market value of
the acquired assets is estimated at $1.2bn, experts say.
No Sberbank Haggling On Volksbanken Price
08 December 2011
Combined Reports
Sberbank is not discussing lowering the purchase price for Volksbanken International,
fixed at 585 million euros ($788.6 million), deputy chief Sergei Gorkov told reporters
Wednesday.
"We are not talking about the price, we've already fixed it at 585 million euros," Gorkov
said, adding that Sberbank will pay that amount providing VBI capital does not change.
Current VBI shareholders were able to receive dividends for January-September this
year, Gorkov said. However, due to the situation in Hungary, where a decision was made
for repaying mortgage loans on easy terms, the bank incurred losses in that country
and no dividends were paid — money was put toward offsetting losses instead.
In September, Sberbank inked an agreement to buy VBI for an amount equal to the
European bank's equity. VBI is represented in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary,
Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Romania and Ukraine.
The Romanian subdivision was not part of the deal with Sberbank.
Sberbank has opted not to acquire Denizbank, a Turkish asset held by the French-Belgian
group Dexia, Gorkov said.
Meanwhile, Sberbank plans to increase lending by 24 percent in 2012, president
and chief executive German Gref said Tuesday.
"We are forecasting market growth of about 20 percent next year. But we are planning
growth of about 24 percent for Sberbank," Gref told reporters, remarking that this
scenario is written into the bank's business plan for next year and corresponds to a
moderately optimistic forecast.
Gref said Sberbank has also mapped out projections for a negative turn of events on the
market, which assumes oil prices drop to $70 per barrel and a difficult situation emerges
in Europe.
Gref also said Sberbank would emphasize lending to small and medium businesses,
gradually expanding its share on this market. Sberbank's portfolio of loans extended
to small and medium businesses is expected to reach 1 trillion rubles ($32 billion)
by 2015, he said.
The government's planned sale of a 7.6 percent stake in Sberbank will not happen this
year, he added.
"We do not have any kind of deadline. There will be no [share] placement before the new
year. But if markets stabilize and the price goes up, we are ready," Gref said when asked
whether the bank would be ready to sell the stake in January.
The Federal Anti-Monopoly Service has approved Sberbank's purchase of Troika Dialog
without attaching conditions.
Sberbank inked an agreement of intent to acquire 100 percent of the stock in Troika
Dialog for $1 billion on March 14. The parties signed a legally binding agreement last
May, and then Sberbank applied to the agency.
Sberbank had previously secured permission from U.S., British, Ukrainian and Cypriot
regulators for the Troika buy.
Sberbank plans to close the deal before this year is out, and plans to pay the first
acquisition tranche before then. The unification of Sberbank and Troika Dialog is slated
for completion next February.
(Interfax, Reuters)
Read more: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/no-sberbank-haggling-onvolksbanken-price/449451.html#ixzz1fvKIGZ3j
The Moscow Times
VTB Quarterly Net Jumps 39% on Bank of Moscow, Investment Arm
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-08/vtb-quarterly-net-jumps-39-on-bank-ofmoscow-investment-arm.html
By Jason Corcoran - Dec 8, 2011 11:23 AM GMT+0400
VTB Group (VTBR), Russia’s second-largest bank, said profit rose 39 percent in the
third quarter as the volume of delinquent loans declined, investment banking revenue
rose and it took over Bank of Moscow.
Net income reached 20.4 billion rubles ($637 Million) from 14.7 billion rubles in the
same period last year, the state-run lender said in a statement today. VTB’s share of bad
loans declined to 5.9 percent of overall lending from 7.7 percent at the start of the
quarter.
“We are well prepared for any stress scenario, and we are well-positioned for strong
growth when the market environment stabilizes,” Chief Executive Officer Andrei Kostin
said in the statement.
The acquisition of Bank of Moscow added 587 billion rubles of corporate loans and 66.4
billion rubles of consumer loans to VTB’s business in the third quarter, the company said.
Russian regulators in July agreed to a 395 billion-ruble bailout for Bank of Moscow after
VTB bought the city government’s 46.5 percent stake in the lender and uncovered bad
debts.
Investment and corporate banking pretax profit jumped 77 percent to 69.9 billion rubles
in the first nine months of the year from 39.5 billion in the same period last year, VTB
said.
VTB gained 1.9 percent to 6.8 kopeks at 11:20 a.m. in Moscow, valuing the company at
about $23 billion.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Corcoran in Moscow at
[email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Frank Connelly at
[email protected]
Russian bank pulls bond offer 'due to protests'
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hMAjXvq91L46MzE_9zeOLkn
uPyzQ?docId=CNG.a2ee30a019a9ce1ac362749b615d888b.5f1
(AFP) – 1 hour ago
MOSCOW — Russia's state development bank VEB shelved a bond offering at the last
minute after investors took fright over the volatility caused by the Moscow protests,
according to a report.
The Kommersant daily said interest had initially been high in the $500-million (370million-euro), five-year eurobond offer by Vnesheconombank (VEB). But investors were
then spooked by a steep fall on the Moscow stock markets due to the protests.
It said this was the first time since the turbulent 1990s -- when Russia defaulted on its
debt and the economy almost went into meltdown -- that a political event had forced the
cancellation of a Russian eurobond offer.
The book building, indicating investor interest before the actual bids come, had been very
strong, a banking source told the paper.
"The book building was basically done but then investors decided not to take part due to
the disturbances in Moscow," the source said.
"Two hours before the start of taking bids for the offer, the book was already filled to a
volume of $1 billion. But then after hearing about the turbulence on the markets,
investors started to withdraw their bids."
The Russian stock markets, which usually closely track US trends, fell sharply on
Tuesday after the first demonstrations. The MICEX index dropped almost 4 percent and
the RTS almost 5 percent. They extended the losses on Wednesday.
Another source told the paper that foreign investors in particular had pulled out after
hearing that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had vehemently criticised the conduct
of the elections.
The opposition, which insists the vote was rigged, have staged daily protests in Moscow
since Monday and have vowed an even bigger rally at the weekend.
VEB May Return to Eurobond Sale Next Year, Kommersant Says
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-08/veb-may-return-to-eurobond-sale-nextyear-kommersant-says.html
By Yuliya Fedorinova - Dec 8, 2011 8:55 AM GMT+0400
Vnesheconombank, the Russian state development bank known as VEB, may resume
Eurobond sales next year, Kommersant reported today, citing people it didn’t identify.
Earlier this week it pulled a bond sale of $3 billion because of adverse market conditions
and increased political instability, newspaper said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Yuliya Fedorinova in Moscow at
[email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Viljoen at [email protected]
Deutsche Bank May Hire Troika Founder Derby, Vedomosti Reports
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-08/deutsche-bank-may-hire-troika-founderderby-vedomosti-reports.html
By Yuliya Fedorinova - Dec 8, 2011 8:41 AM GMT+0400
Deutsche Bank AG (DBK) may hire Peter Derby, founder of Troika Dialog, Russia’s
oldest investment bank, to replace Igor Lozhevskiy as executive director for the region
next year, Vedomosti reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.
Alexander Pertsovsky of Renaissance Capital and former Troika executive Jacques Der
Megreditchian are among the other candidates being considered for the position, the
Moscow-based newspaper said today. Pertsovsky said he wasn't interested in leaving
RenCap, according to Vedomosti.
Deutsche Bank declined to comment, according to a person in the lender's press
department in Moscow who wouldn't give her name, citing company policy.
To contact the reporter on this story: Yuliya Fedorinova in Moscow at
[email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Viljoen at [email protected]
Russians Suffer From Baltic Bank Closures
08 December 2011
Vedomosti
Russian customers of Vladimir Antonov’s now defunct Lithuanian bank Snoras, and its
Latvian subsidiary, Latvijas Krajbanka, are feeling the consequences of the case, in
which regulators in the Baltic countries found gaping holes in the banks’ balance sheets.
An employee of one Russian company controlled by Oleg Deripaska’s Basic Element
told Vedomosti that salary payments have been delayed as result of the bankruptcy.
“We confirm that funds of one structure of Basic Element are in accounts at Bank Snoras,
but the amounts are significantly less than have been reported in the press,” a Basic
Element spokesman said in a statement.
Lithuanian newspaper Lietuvos Rytas reported that 58 million euros ($77 million)
belonging to Deripaska’s companies, including Norilsk Nickel, are stuck in the bank. A
spokesman for Norilsk denied the claim.
Other Russian companies suffered from the Snoras bankruptcy.
There are accounts of a number of associated companies of Suleiman Kerimov’s NaftaMoskva in Latvijas Krajbanka, a Nafta-Moskva spokesman said. The amount of money
that is stuck in the Baltics is significant, but not critical, a source at one of the companies
said.
The Nafta-Moskva spokesman stressed that the group’s companies never used the
services of Bank Snoras, nor did it borrow funds from Latvijas Krajbanka. “Our lawyers
are considering various steps to get back the funds,” he added.
Among the clients of Snoras, a source at one of the Basic Element companies said, are
structures belonging to Sergei Polonsky, Gazprom and Major Auto.
A spokesman for Polonsky’s Potok Beskonechnosti, the real estate development
company until recently called Nazvanie.net, and before that known as Mirax, confirmed
that the company has credit from Snoras due in 2017, but he declined to specify the
amount.
Gazprom has three assets in Lithuania, but is the majority owner of only one of them —
the Kaunas Electric plant.
Vedomosti inquiries to Snoras, Latvijas Krajbanka and the financial regulator of Latvia
went unanswered. The central bank of Lithuania said it has no data about Russian
customers of Snoras.
At the end of 2010, non-resident deposits and accounts in Snoras and Latvijas Krajbanka,
the majority of which were from Russia, represented about 20 percent of the total value
— $507 million and $216 million, respectively, said Fitch analyst Vladimir Markelov.
The majority of those deposits probably don’t qualify for deposit insurance payments, he
said.
The accounts of Russian customers were some of the largest, and they could wind up
losing their money.
Snoras was nationalized on Nov. 16, and the next day operations at Latvijas Krajbanka
were stopped. The central banks of Lithuania and Latvia then ordered their bankruptcy.
The regulators found $1.42 billion missing from Snoras and 210 million euros missing
form Latvijas Krajbanka, and accused the owners — Russian businessman Vladimir
Antonov and Lithuanian Raimondas Baranauskas — of falsifying reporting and
expropriating assets. They were arrested in London and are now free on bail.
Read more: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/russians-suffer-from-balticbank-closures/449450.html#ixzz1fvK84aLq
The Moscow Times
BRICKS & MORTAR: Russian warehouse party
http://www.bne.eu/storyf3102/BRICKS__MORTAR_Russian_warehouse_party
Ben Aris in London
December 7, 2011
Russia's property market has been recovering slowly from the 2008 crisis, but as
Russians return to the shops and retail turnover levels pass their pre-crisis highs, a boom
has taken off in the country's warehouse business.
“We just had our best year ever,” says Tim Millard, general director of Cushman &
Wakefield’s (C&W) Moscow office. “The demand for new warehouses is at an all-time
high.”
The real estate business in the West is in the doldrums as many mortgage holders remain
under water. Likewise, the economic slowdown in the developed world has depressed the
office market. The upshot is that attention has shifted to emerging markets. In its global
investment atlas published in December, C&W praised Central and Eastern Europe as the
fastest growing real estate market in the world, up 60% in terms of investment year on
year. “The traditional markets are all victims of the crisis, but the emerging markets are
all growing," points out Millard. "Russia is particularly attractive, as it's large and right
on the doorstep of the rest of Europe. It is the logical first step and the logistics of going
into Russia are simple."
Millard says that means Russia is at the top of the list for many western companies
looking to expand into the emerging markets. The economic growth outlook for Russia
may now be significantly lower than in pre-crisis years, but it's still three-times above the
average EU rate. Building on the already strong trade ties that have developed in the last
two decades, German and Italian firms are already well established, but the UK is lagging
behind due to poor diplomatic relations. “In the UK the perception of Russia is different
from the reality," says Millard. "Doing business in Russia is not as difficult as most
assume, but the gap is closing slowly.
Ironically, the current crisis in Europe should be a boon for Russia, Millard argues. With
no growth on offer in the development markets for years to come, companies in the West
have been forced to look to new markets if they want to expand. “The Kremlin’s reforms
are making a difference if you are selling something concrete," he claims. "The logistics
of import are easier, customs and clearing has improved, and accession to the [World
Trade Organization], which is now imminent, will only improve things further."
It's the effect of all these factors that has shown up in the warehousing sector, which
remains badly undersupplied, says Millard. In the first nine months of the year, C&W has
already seen $6.5bn worth of investment into real estate in Moscow, against the $5.8bn
that was invested in all of 2008, the last boom year – and another $1bn-1.5bn of activity
is set for the final quarter.
Warehouses are an attractive investment, as undersupply keeps the rents high. Prior to the
crisis, vacancy rates in the industrial segment were 11%, says Millard, but today they
have fallen to under 1% to push Russian warehouse rents to the second highest in the
world, beaten only by the UK's Heathrow airport. At the same time, the volume of new
warehousing going up remains limited by a lack of financing. “Project financing is still
hard to get, but it is starting to come back," Millard says. "However, it's only the Russian
banks that have started to lend again, and even then it's only senior debt for performing
assets."
Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)
07:46 08/12/2011Top News
WPC handover ceremony from Doha to Moscow to be held Thursday
http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c32/292226.html
DOHA, December 8 (Itar-Tass) — The ceremony of “passing the baton” of the World
Petroleum Congress (WPC) to Russia will be held in Doha on Thursday. Russian Energy
Minister Sergei Shmatko will receive the banner of one of the world’s major and
authoritative energy forums that will be hosted by Moscow in three years.
According to the Russian minister, although it is too early to look ahead, he would like
Russia at the next Congress to make a convincing presentation of its concrete progress in
the development of the Eastern - Asia-Pacific vector in the energy policy, as well as a
program of deepening oil processing at domestic plants. “I am sure that one of the
important topics on the agenda will be the development of the Arctic shelf,” he told ItarTass. The minister expressed hope that the European partners will come to the Moscow
meeting with a changed rhetoric and will discuss specific business projects, moving away
from their excessive politicisation.
The current 20th Congress has been held under the motto “Energy Solutions for All:
Promoting Cooperation, Innovation and Investment.” During five days of the anniversary
forum, which for the first time in its nearly 80-year history, is organised in the rich in oil
Middle East, more than 5,000 delegates from around the world shared their experiences
in the field of oil and gas production, refining and transportation, ensuring security of the
industry, its economic and social components for each country. World energy producers
have paid considerable attention to renewable and alternative energy sources.
In addition, about 500 companies, specialised institutions and agencies presented their
products and solutions at an exhibition organised on the sidelines of the forum. Among
the exhibitors were also Russian companies, including Rosneft, Gazprom, LUKOIL,
Tatneft, TNK-BP, Bashneft and Surgutneftegas. Experts and scientists from Russia made
their presentations to the forum participants.
Rosneft is the exclusive sponsor of the closing ceremony of Qatar’s Congress. In
addition, this national oil and natural gas company, the only Russian, has also become a
“platinum” sponsor of the world gathering of oil industry workers, along with global
energy giants such as Shell, Exxon Mobil, Total and others.
Held every three years, the World Petroleum Congress and Exhibition is the largest and
most reputable oil and gas industry gathering in the world. The 20th World Petroleum
Congress is hosted by Qatar Petroleum and takes place at the Qatar National Convention
Centre (QNCC) in Doha, Qatar, from 4-8 December 2011. Since its establishment in
1933, this is the first time that the World Petroleum Congress is held in the Middle East,
according to the event’s press release.
The triennial World Petroleum Congress is held over five days with more than 4,000
delegates, 600 media and 550 presenters participating in a programme that covers all
aspects of the industry, from technological advances in upstream and downstream
operations, to the role of natural gas, renewable and alternative energy, the management
of the industry and its social, economic and environmental impact.
Known as the “Olympian Event of the Oil and Gas Industry”, it is attended by a global oil
and gas audience and outside stakeholders such as governments, other industry sectors,
NGOs and international institutions who also join in the dialogue.
The World Petroleum Exhibition, held alongside the congress, and in the same venue,
features exhibits from the national committees of the World Petroleum Council, which
include the most prestigious national oil and gas companies and agencies of the world. It
also showcases the most important international oil and gas companies alongside key
suppliers, service companies and manufacturers. This is the most significant global
exhibition dedicated to the oil and gas industries.
The World Petroleum Council is an oil and gas industry forum and international
organisation representing the petroleum sector worldwide. WPC has been called “the
world’s premier oil & gas forum since 1933.” It is widely recognised to “include the most
prestigious national oil and gas companies and agencies of the world.” The premier
conference that is organised by the World Petroleum Council is called the World
Petroleum Congress. Starting in 1933, the congress was held every four years until 1991,
with a 14-year hiatus in between because of World War II. After 1991, it was held every
three years until the year 2000. There was a move to have it hosted every two years after
the 2000 edition, with Rio de Janeiro hosting one in 2002, but the cycle returned to every
three years after that. In order to host a congress, there is a bidding process by interested
cities for one in a particular year.
07.12.2011
Transneft expresses dismay on Bulgaria's decision to pull out from BurgasAlexandroupolis
http://www.oilandgaseurasia.com/news/p/0/news/13675
Russia's oil company Transneft has expressed dismay at the decision of the Bulgarian
government to kill the project for the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline, according to
its representatives.
"Transneft has not been notified by the Bulgarian authorities that they are leaving the
Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline project," Igor Demin, a representative of Transenft,
told ITAR-TASS Wednesday, hours after Bulgaria's Finance Minister Simeon Djankov
announced that the Borisov Cabinet wanted to do away with the controversial pipeline
project.
Demin has reminded that in November Bulgaria's Environment Ministry technically
approved the Environmental Impact Assessment submitted by Trans-Balkan Pipeline, the
Bulgarian-Greek-Russian company set up to construct and run the oil pipe from the Black
Sea to the Mediterranean.
The approval was granted after the Environment Ministry in Sofia returned the EIA
paperwork for corrections by TBP several times.
Bulgaria's Finance Minister Djankov announced earlier that the Borisov Cabinet will
send formal letters to Russia and Greece offering them to terminate by mutual consent the
agreement for the construction of the oil pipeline.
Copyright 2011 Novinite Bulgaria All rights reserved
10:01
BASHNEFT BOOSTS 9M IFRS NET PROFIT 52.7% TO $1.039 BLN, BELOW
FORECAST; Q3 NET UP 46% TO $407 MLN, ALSO BELOW FORECAST
http://www.interfax.com/news.asp
Bashneft's net heads north in 9M
http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20111208104903.shtml
RBC, 08.12.2011, Moscow 10:49:03.Bashneft ramped up its IFRS net profit
52.7% year-on-year to $1.31bn in January-September 2011, while Q3 net profit
plunged 23.5% to $407m compared to the previous quarter, the oil major said in a
statement.
Revenue climbed 45.2% year-on-year to $12.47bn in 9M, but went down 1.4% in
Q3 quarter-on-quarter to $4.46bn.
Operating profit advanced 41.6% year-on-year to $1.9bn in the first nine months
of 2011, and decreased 26.6% quarter-on-quarter to $574m in Q3, while EBITDA
jumped 31.6% to $2.37bn in 9M, but came in at $720m in Q3, down 23.6% compared
to the previous quarter.
BP in talks to settle with Russian partners – FT
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/08/bp-tnkbp-talks-idUSL5E7N800620111208
8:41pm EST
LONDON, Dec 8 (Reuters) - BP has discussed the outline of a possible settlement with
its Russian billionaire joint venture partners in TNK-BP, the Financial Times reported on
Thursday.
The newspaper cited people familiar with the situation as saying the discussion is aimed
at trying to resolve an acrimonious dispute between the two sides.
However, people close to the situation, cited by the FT, said BP and its partners are only
involved in preliminary discussions, and no formal talks are taking place.
The talks on a settlement, which would involve the transfer of some BP assets to TNKBP, come ahead of a critical board meeting of the venture in Brussels on Friday.
Directors will hear recommendations from two independent international law firms on
whether to file suit against BP over its failed alliance with Rosneft , the Russian state oil
champion.
None of the parties involved were available for immediate comment.
December 7, 2011 11:13 pm
BP talks peace deal with Russian partners
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http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f7512016-20f5-11e1-8a4300144feabdc0.html#ixzz1ful9PQnW
By Catherine Belton in Moscow and Sylvia Pfeifer in London
BP has discussed the outline of a possible settlement with its Russian billionaire joint
venture partners in TNK-BP to try to resolve an acrimonious dispute between the two
sides, according to people familiar with the situation.
The talks on a settlement, which would involve the transfer of some BP assets to TNKBP, come ahead of a critical board meeting of the venture in Brussels on Friday.
Directors will hear recommendations from two independent international law firms on
whether to file suit against BP over its failed alliance with Rosneft, the Russian state oil
champion.
There have been preliminary discussions on a peace deal in recent weeks, people close to
the situation confirmed, although no formal talks are currently taking place.
Under the proposal, both sides would acknowledge their differences but make a firm
commitment to the future of the venture. The proposal would also require agreement on
the cessation of all outstanding legal action – including all claims from any minority
shareholders in TNK-BP – and BP would agree to transfer some assets, deemed a
“sensible” value.
“Such a potential settlement is possible but the parties are very far from agreeing on the
nature of the settlement and no talks are being held,” said one person close to AAR.
Relations between the UK energy group and Alfa-Access-Renova (AAR), the vehicle
through which the Russian partners hold their stake in the venture, have become
increasingly strained since January when BP announced a proposal to team up with
Rosneft to explore the Arctic. AAR claimed BP broke TNK-BP’s shareholder agreement
stipulating any new ventures in Russia and Ukraine need to be offered to the joint venture
first. BP has always denied the Rosneft deal was in violation of the agreement.
AAR blocked the alliance by winning an injunction from Stockholm then later rejected a
$32bn buy-out offer tabled by BP and Rosneft in an effort to break the deadlock.
Although the Rosneft deal has since collapsed, arbitration proceedings have continued.
Any deal is unlikely to be agreed in the short term, if at all.
The preliminary soundings come ahead of Friday’s board meeting where TNK-BP’s
independent directors, including former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, are likely
to have a decisive vote on the issue of the damages claim. BP has always insisted no
grounds exist as TNK-BP was not damaged.
“The issue is coming to a head,” said a person close to TNK-BP management.
The directors will also look at a possible, separate case by BP against Viktor
Vekeselberg’s Renova Group, one of the companies that makes up AAR.
AAR declined to comment. BP said it would not comment “on speculation about any
commercial discussions we may have with AAR”. It added that it had not changed its
position that “we have not breached the TNK-BP shareholder agreement and that TNKBP incurred no loss as a result of the incomplete Rosneft deal”.
Vanco, Lukoil make Ivorian strike
http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article293109.ece
Africa-focused Vanco Exploration and its partner Lukoil said on Wednesday that they
have discovered oil in Block CI-401 off Cote d’Ivoire.
Luke Johnson 07 December 2011 23:53 GMT
The Independance-1X exploration well hit a series of “good-quality” Turonian-aged
sandstones containing light oil with eight metres of pay, Vanco said in a statement.
Operator Vanco will temporarily abandon the well, which was drilled to a total depth of
4132 meters in a water depths of 1689 meters about 93 kilometres south-east of Abidjan.
Independance-1X, drilled by the drillship Ocean Rig Olympia, is one of the deepest-water
exploration wells ever drilled in the eastern offshore Ivorian basin, Vanco said.
It is the second such well to be drilled in Block CI-401, with drilling currently in progress
on one more deepwater exploration well in the block, the Albacore-1X.
Vanco owns a 28.34% participating interest in the block with Lukoil on 56.66%.
State-owned Petroci Holding holds a 5% participating interest together with a 10%
carried interest.
Published: 07 December 2011 23:53 GMT | Last updated: 07 December 2011 23:53
GMT
Novatek warns of fraud attempt
http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article293031.ece
Russian gas producer Novatek has cried foul over recent letters purportedly misusing its
name and logo in a bid to sell hydrocarbons.
Bill Lehane 07 December 2011 15:26 GMT
The company said it was considering filing legal proceedings for attempted fraud,
document forgery and trademark violation over the incident.
Letters bearing Novatek’s name and logo allegedly sought to show a company registered
to an address in London was affiliated to Novatek.
The letters said that Novatek had benzine, mazut, diesel, crude oil and natural gas
available for sale outside the Russian Federation.
Novatek said in a statement on Wednesday that it had no connection whatsoever to the
company.
“The letters...purportedly confirming our business relations are counterfeit and made by
unknown persons by compiling corporate information and elements of Novatek's
corporate design copied from official documents on our corporate site”, the company
said.
“If you have been offered to purchase benzine, mazut, diesel, crude oil and natural gas
from sources that are located outside the territory of the Russian Federation and allegedly
produced by Novatek, we recommend you contact us to avoid the risk of fraud”, the
statement added.
Novatek is Russia's second largest producer of natural gas and its largest independent gas
producer.
Published: 07 December 2011 15:26 GMT | Last updated: 07 December 2011 15:26
GMT
Exxon Russia Chief:May Build LNG Plant In Kara Sea If Gas Found Paper
http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/stock-market-newsstory.aspx?storyid=201112080316dowjonesdjonline000286&title=exxon-russia-chiefmay-build-lng-plant-in-kara-sea-if-gas-found-paper
MOSCOW -(Dow Jones)- Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) may build an LNG plant in the
Kara Sea if large gas reserves are found in the Vostochno-Primovosemelskiye sectors, the
company's Russia chief, Glen Waller, said in an interview with the Kommersant
newspaper published Thursday.
The U.S. oil major has partnered with Russian oil champion Rosneft (ROSN.RS) in the
region.
"Our company produces oil and gas, and we think that the Black Sea and the Kara Sea
have good potential for oil," Waller said. "If it turns out that the fields are predominantly
gas, however, then it would be logical to build an LNG plant there, although much will
depend on the market situation."
Rosneft and ExxonMobil may start drilling in the Kara Sea as early as 2014.
"We'll begin explorational seismology next year, and this goes well, we will start the first
well in 2014. Production may start after five or six years," Waller said, adding that the tax
regime will be important in determining at what pace the project is realized.
-By Ira Iosebashvili, Dow Jones Newswires; +7 495 232-9192; ira.iosebashvili@
dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
12-08-110316ET
Copyright (c) 2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Gazprom
Gazprom: Unacceptable to split gas pricing formula from oil prices
http://www.prime-tass.com/news/0/%7BE3FD302B-9FC1-403A-962EE650DB2BAA90%7D.uif
MOSCOW, Dec 7 (PRIME) -- Russian natural gas export monopoly Gazprom finds it
unacceptable to move away from the existing gas pricing formula that is dependent on oil
prices, Sergei Komlev, head of Gazprom Export’s contracts and pricing department, said
at an industry conference Wednesday.
“Any form of splitting (gas prices) from oil prices is unacceptable for producers,”
Komlev said.
Gazprom has been adhering to the pricing code, under which the main part is played by
long-term contracts, while spot prices are serving as compensatory factor, Komlev added.
Discussions about the necessity of changing the formula for setting the price of Russian
gas have been held for several years now and consumers have been calling for Gazprom’s
prices to be tied to spot ones. However, in June, Gazprom’s CEO Alexei Miller said the
company planned to keep binding gas prices to oil prices.
End
07.12.2011 17:03
India govt says Petronet to finalise Gazprom LNG deal soon
http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL3E7N74YF20111207
Wed Dec 7, 2011 2:42pm GMT
Dec 7 (Reuters) - India's Petronet LNG Ltd will soon finalise an agreement for sourcing
liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia under a pact with energy giant Gazprom , an
Indian government statement said on Wednesday.
In June, Gazprom had signed a preliminary deal with Petronet for the supply of 2.5
million tonnes of LNG annually.
India is the world's eighth-largest importer of LNG and the widening gap between
demand and supply could mean imports rise as much as five-fold in the next decade.
Separately, the overseas arm of Indian state-run explorer Oil & Natural Gas Corp has
showed "keen interest" in Russia's Sakhalin-3 and other fields and is in "close talks" with
Gazprom to jointly develop projects to produce LNG, the same government statement
said. (Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy in NEW DELHI; Editing by Aradhana
Aravindan)
Gazprom Said to Stall on RWE Talks as German Power Falters
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-07/gazprom-said-to-stall-on-rwe-talks-asgerman-power-falters.html
By Anna Shiryaevskaya - Dec 8, 2011 12:00 AM GMT+0400
OAO Gazprom, the world’s biggest natural-gas exporter, is stalling on talks to create a
European power-plant venture with RWE AG because of deteriorating profits in
Germany, two people familiar with the matter said.
Gazprom and RWE agreed last week to keep talks going for several more months in a
second extension since July, another person said. The companies haven’t yet agreed on
the assets and need more time to monitor demand and margins in Germany, the other
people said, declining to be identified because the matter is confidential.
“It’s difficult to see the strategic logic for Gazprom to get involved in the German power
business,” Derek Weaving, a London-based utilities analyst at Renaissance Capital, said
by e-mail. “The European power sector is highly competitive, with even established
national champions like EON AG reporting mediocre profitability.”
Gazprom supplies about a quarter of Europe’s gas and the company announced plans to
negotiate its first generation venture in western Europe with RWE in July, including coaland gas-fired plants in Germany, the U.K., Belgium and the Netherlands. RWE is looking
at ways to mitigate the costs of Germany’s decision to close all its nuclear reactors by
2022 and has pledged to sell 11 billion euros ($15 billion) of assets. The Essen-based
utility raised 2.1 billion euros in a share sale earlier this week.
Price Mismatch
Gas-fired power generation, most interesting to Gazprom because it can supply fuel, has
been unprofitable for the entire year until the end of November, based on year-ahead
prices for electricity, fuel and carbon emission permits. The spread turned positive for the
first time on Dec. 1, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Annett Urbaczka, a spokeswoman at the German utility, declined to comment on
“ongoing talks.” Gazprom and RWE chief executive officers, Alexey Miller and Jurgen
Grossman, agreed to continue “consultations” on the creation of the joint venture, the
Moscow-based company said in a statement on Nov. 30 after the two men met.
Gazprom and RWE agreed in October to extend the three-month exclusive talks to the
end of the year. For RWE, an agreement with Gazprom may allow the company to
negotiate a better deal on the long-term gas supply contracts that are currently losing
money because their rates are linked to oil prices rather than day-to-day gas prices in
Europe.
‘Creative Approach’
Gazprom Deputy Chief Executive Officer Alexander Medvedev said in September that
the company may adopt a “creative” approach on gas pricing after forming the power
venture. The gas pricing talks are part of the discussions on the power venture. A deal
with RWE could help the Russian gas export monopoly to maintain its share in the
European gas market, which slipped to 23 percent last year.
The Moscow-based gas exporter is also looking to invest in other European countries
such as Bulgaria and Romania, Denis Fedorov, head of the OOO Gazprom
Energoholding electricity unit, said in October.
Germany’s plans to develop renewable energy to replace nuclear generation may also be
an obstacle to the deal. The German government wants to boost the share of renewable
energy to 35 percent of output in 2020 from 17 percent last year.
“Companies will struggle to recover the huge costs associated with reducing greenhouse
gases and increasing the proportion of renewable energy,” Weaving said. “Expanding
into the German power sector may be good for Gazprom egos, but doesn’t seem to offer
any upside for shareholders.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Anna Shiryaevskaya in Moscow at
[email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Will Kennedy at
[email protected]
11:49 08/12/2011ALL NEWS
Naftogaz pays for gas supplies in roubles for the first time
http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/292393.html
MOSCOW, December 8 (Itar-Tass) —— Ukraine’s national gas company Naftogaz of
Ukraine has paid for the first time in roubles to Gazprom for supplied gas.
Ukraine’s company reports that for the gas imported in November Ukraine owes over
972.2 million dollars. On December 7, the company transferred to Gazprom 210 million
dollars and 7.2 billion roubles /232.2 million dollars/.
“In compliance with the additional agreement of December 5, 2011 to the basic gas buysell contract, the company has a right to make payments for imported natural gas no later
than to the 28th day of the months following the supplies,” Naftogaz reports. Earlier, the
payment deadline was the seventh day. Thus, Ukraine owes to Gazprom 530 million
dollars more for the supplies made in November.
The price for Russia’s natural gas supplied to Naftogaz in the fourth quarter of the current
year makes about 400 dollars per a thousand cubic metres.
Gazprom eyes Israeli gas projects
http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20111208120102.shtml
RBC, 08.12.2011, Moscow 12:01:02.Russia's gas giant Gazprom is interested in
partnering with Israel to develop the country's natural gas infrastructure and distribute
its gas to third countries, Gazprom's Chairman and Deputy Prime Minister Victor
Zubkov said today.
Russia and Israel could team up to tap gas fields on Israel's shelf, as well as oil
deposits in Russia, Zubkov went on to say, adding that Russia could also supply
power engineering equipment, including steam turbines and turbine-type generators,
to Israel's power plants, and to cooperate in energy conservation and renewable energy
projects.
Arctic oil rig ready for last finish
http://www.barentsobserver.com/arctic-oil-rig-ready-for-last-finish.4996275-16178.html
2011-12-08
Gazprom’s new “Arkticheskaya” jack-up offshore drilling rig is moored at Shipyard No.
35 in Murmansk for completion.
Russian and Canadian experts have now started to install the drilling equipment on the
rig, which is expected to be ready for towing to its designated place in June 2012.
It is not certain were the rig is to be placed. BarentsObserver has reported that it might be
placed in the Pechora Sea, but according to Arctic-TV, it will probably be placed on the
Arkticheskoye oil field, which is located in the Barents Sea, just south of the Shtokman
gas field.