On November 5, 2008, Illinois Senator Barack Obama won presidential elections to become the 44th president of the United States, promising to bring radical change to his country. Throughout the year, the world has closely followed the actions of the first African-American president of the United States.
Holidays at Moscow schools were prolonged for a week until November 15 following a swine flu outbreak in Russia. According to the health ministry, the A/H1N1 virus had been confirmed in 3,122 cases in the country, including 14 fatalities.
Ukraine's prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, was formally registered as a candidate in the presidential election due on January 17. Other registered contenders include incumbent President Viktor Yushhcenko, Viktor Yanukovych, ex-premier and Yushchenko's opponent in the 2004 race, Supreme Rada Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn, ex-defense minister Anatoliy Hrytsenko and Communist leader Petro Symonenko.
On November 5, Russian FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov said that the investigation into the murders of lawyer Stanislav Markelov and trainee journalist Anastasia Baburova had been completed and one of the suspects had confessed to the charges and was giving evidence.
The suspects, Muscovites Nikita Tikhonov, born in 1980, and Yevgeniya Khasis, born in 1985, were detained on November 3 and 4. Investigators said they believe the killing of Markelov was connected to his professional activities while Baburova was an "accidental witness."
On November 2, Russian-Israeli businessman Shabtai von Kalmanovich, the owner of the Russian women's basketball club Spartak - Moscow Region, was shot dead in central Moscow.
On November 4, Rubin Kazan drew 0-0 with Barcelona at home, putting up a good defense against the Catalan team's attacks two weeks after beating the European champions in Spain.
