POLITICS
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has made a speech on freedom during a modernization conference to mark the 150th anniversary since the abolition of serfdom in Russia. Experts see it as the ‘technical’ beginning of his election campaign
(Vedomosti, Kommersant, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Izvestia)
The governor of Tula was questioned by the Federal Security Service over an alleged link to a graft case, which may be the latest step in President Dmitry Medvedev's pre-election crackdown on local leaders.
(The Moscow Times)
METALS & MINING
Coal mining companies might have to set aside as much as a third of their combined profit from last year to increase safety spending, Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko said. The plan comes the deaths of 10 coal miners in shafts this year.
(Izvestia, Vedomosti, Kommersant, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, The Moscow Times)
Severstal posted a net loss of $352 million, compared with a loss of $162 million a year earlier, after deciding to sell U.S. plants and revaluing its unprofitable Italian unit
(The Moscow Times)
OIL & GAS
Total, Europe's third-biggest oil company, agreed to buy 12 percent of Novatek and join the Yamal LNG project to snap up reserves as international energy producers rush to explore Russia's Arctic resources.
(The Moscow Times)
The Samsun-Ceyhan oil pipeline seems to lose its attractiveness for Russia as Moscow and Turkey disagree on gas prices
(Vedomosti)
REAL ESTATE
Little-known billionaire Alexander Ponomarenko claims he bought the mysterious Italianate mansion dubbed by the media "Putin's Palace." The unfinished mansion has been at the center of tabloid controversy since last December, when businessman Sergei Kolesnikov claimed that state funds were being diverted to build a personal palace for the prime minister.
(The Moscow Times, Vedomosti)
TELECOMS & IT
The four biggest telecommunications operators and Scartel, which operates under the Yota brand, signed an agreement to work together to build the next generation of mobile networks, at a meeting hosted by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
(The Moscow Times, Kommersant, Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Izvestia)
Expansion of Moscow's telecommunications network could move underwater as President Dmitry Medvedev's modernization commission has recommended that the Skolkovo Foundation consider financing a technology that would place fiber optic cable on the bed of the Moscow River
(The Moscow Times)
STOCK MARKETS
The RTS index grew past the key 2,000 points, the level of July 2008. Analysts expected it only in the second half of the year
(Vedomosti, Kommersant, Izvestia)
DEFENsE
Sergei Chemezov, who heads the Russian Technologies state corporation said Russia lost $4 billion when arms sanctions were imposed on Libya. The wave of uprisings which swept through Africa and Middle East may cause the global arms market to collapse, experts warn
(Vedomosti)
SOCIETY
Moscow City Court sentenced four ultranationalists to lengthy prison terms and given heavy fines for a string of ethnic hate crimes
(The Moscow Times)
A total of 55 Russian celebrities signed a petition which condemns the public discussion on Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s second sentence as “a campaign to defame Russian justice system”
(Vedomosti)
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