Vedomosti
www.vedomosti.ru
- Green threat: Scaring investors off environmentally unfriendly pipeline. The environmental campaign against the Eastern Siberia-Pacific oil pipeline, to be built by Russian pipeline monopoly Transneft, has taken an unexpected turn. Environmental groups have compiled a report about the project's potential hazards and circulated it among would-be investors to discourage them from lending Transneft the $6.6 billion it needs for the construction.
- Egotism vs. altruism. Russian charities organizations had their reputation tarnished in the 1990s when they were widely used as a cover for tax evasion and other crimes. But this does not mean there are no selfless charities. Commentary by Lord Robert Skidelsky, a professor at Warwick University, in the UK.
- Populism-free mortgage. The affordability of mortgage loans in Russia is limited by two main factors: a sizable down payment and high interest rates. But this country has recently seen the emergence of a whole number of low-cost mortgage loan programs, subsidized from regional coffers. The declared goal of such programs is to provide affordable housing for low-income groups. What is behind the populist rhetoric?
Izvestia
www.izvestia.ru
- Russian Internet's investor appeal is on the rise. Two large deals have just been struck on Russia's Internet resources market: the popular matchmaking Web site Mamba has been sold for $20 million and the Gazeta.ru news portal, at $10 million. Experts say the trend of Russian Web companies frequently changing hands will persist in the future, with an increasing number of foreign companies among the potential buyers.
- Russian gasoline could become purer in a year. Russian-made gasoline is notorious for its poor quality. But the government has promised to improve it by 2007. Later this month, the Fuel and Energy Ministry is expected to draw up Euro-2 to Euro-4 fuel standards and measures for compliance control. Once the new standards come into effect, producers failing to meet them will be fined and substandard filling stations shut down.
Kommersant
www.kommersant.ru
- Russian industrialists pushing for timber trade to go legit. The Russian Chamber of Industry and Commerce will approach the government by the end of the year with a proposal to create an e-market for timber, with the aim of cracking down on the illicit timber trade and setting an indicative selling price on both the domestic and foreign markets.
- State pumping up oil prices. The Russian government is getting serious about oilmen's problems. Several ministries have agreed in principle on main criteria to determine the rates of tax on mineral resources extraction. The authorities have also begun searching for ways to raise the quality (and, consequently, the price) of Russian crude oil and derivatives on world markets. Interviews follow.
- Youth movement to resemble an army. The Russian youth movement Molodaya Gvardia (Young Guard) has adopted a new charter to reconfigure itself along the army lines. The statute spells out the rights and duties of its "command," as well as criteria for recruiting new personnel, with physical fitness coming on top.
- Italians reluctant to let in Russian chartered airliners. Relations between the civil aviation authorities of Russia and Italy have been strained recently by a conflict between the two national carriers, Aeroflot and Alitalia. It was with great difficulty that the Russian operator KD-Avia obtained permission for a chartered flight to the Adriatic Sea resort of Rimini Wednesday. Italian authorities delay the issuance of flight permits for Russian carriers in a bid to get similar permits from Russia.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta
www.ng.ru
- Kasyanov washing Orangeade off his sleeve. Mikhail Kasyanov is preparing an "oligarchic surprise" for Russian voters. The ex-premier appears to have changed his strategy and tactics for getting back into power. Until recently a staunch adversary of the incumbent government, he now positions himself as a "meaningful opponent" to the Kremlin.
- Belarus may find itself equated to Myanmar, as the EU is getting tougher with the incumbent regime. The Belarusian opposition has stepped up contacts with European Union bodies, lobbying them to bring more pressure to bear on President Alexander Lukashenko. And not without effect.
Novaya Gazeta
www.novayagazeta.ru
GDP higher on virgin lands. Andrei Illarionov, the Russian president's economic advisor, argues that the country should draw from Kazakhstan's expertise in effecting economic reform. The macroeconomic performance of that Central Asian country is better than Russia's. Illarionov reflects on why the Russian economy is not as effective.
Actions speak louder than words. Viktor Yanukovych: "I may not speak eloquently or dress well, but I know how to work." Interview with the former Ukrainian prime minister.
Rossiiskaya Gazeta
www.rg.ru
- Where's Blue Stream flowing? Will the North European Gas Pipeline have the same future as the Blue Stream project? The latter is to be launched in mid-November in the Turkish city of Samsun, on the Black Sea coast. Interview with Sergei Zhvachkin, chief executive of Kubangazprom, a subsidiary of Russian natural gas monopoly Gazprom, which operates Blue Stream's key facilities.
