* Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said the company would hit record production levels of 547 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2005
* Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a bill on the formation of a new federation member that includes the Krasnoyarsk territory and the Taimyr and Evenk autonomous districts
* The Russian lower house of parliament approved the draft 2006 budget in its second reading
* International ratings agency Standard & Poor's raised its rating on Gazprom International S.A.'s secured exports notes from 'BBB-' to 'BBB'
* A Russian-French enterprise to produce engine parts for a new regional jet opened in Rybinsk near Moscow
* Russian Railways, the 100% state-owned operator of the Russian railroad infrastructure, said its container shipments had grown 12.2% year-on-year in the first nine months of 2005
* Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova failed to advance to the semifinals of the Kremlin Cup, a premier Russian tennis tournament with a prize pool of $1.3 million
* Oleg Lundstrem, the father of Russian jazz, died at the age of 89
