POLITICS
* The former head of Dagestan, Magomedsalam Magomedov, who was appointed deputy chief of Putin’s staff on Monday, may oversee state policies toward national minorities.
(Kommersant , Vedomosti)
* Russia’s Public Chamber is facing wide-scale reform for the first time since its creation in 2006. A new bill introduced in the lower chamber of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, stipulates guaranteed representation of all regions and partial election of its members through online voting.
(Kommersant, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
* The Russian budget will get richer by about 54 billion rubles from the sale of 29 licenses on the development of oil and gas deposits on the continental shelf to energy giants Gazprom and Rosneft.
(Kommersant)
* Gasoline prices in Russia will grow despite stiff anti-monopoly fines due to inflation, high taxes and steep transportation expenses. Taxation constitutes about 65 percent in the final gasoline price formula and the government has no intention of lowering it.
(Moscow News)
* Kyrgyzstan’s cash-strapped government wants to renegotiate its agreement with its largest foreign investor, Toronto-based Centerra Gold, and to end the company’s privileged tax regime.
(Kommersant)
* Russia is planning to use foreign investment banks to promote its investment climate abroad. The first bank on the list is Goldman Sachs, which is expected to earn up to $500,000 in consulting services for the Russian government.
(Vedomosti)
* Private investors will most likely be able to take part in the upcoming IPO of the Moscow bourse as it is planning to hire retail as well as institutional brokers to sell its shares.
(Vedomosti)
* Russian experts believe monetary policies carried out by the current Japanese government could provoke a new wave of global currency wars. Russia must stay away from this "tug-of-war" competition, they say.
(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
* Farming and food production must become a national priority in the future. Russian farmers must unite their efforts to develop agriculture in the country. Interview with a grandson of Pyotr Stolypin - prime minister in Tsarist Russia in the beginning of the 20th century, who advocated agrarian reforms in the country.
(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
SOCIETY
* Moscow authorities are planning to resolve the problem of traffic congestion in the Russian capital by adding 240 kilometers of railroads to its network of suburban passenger rail transportation. The cost of the ambitious project, estimated at 236 billion rubles (about $8 bln) until 2020, will be covered by the federal budget.
(Kommersant, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
* Retirement pensions in Russia will grow on average by 615 rubles (about $20) starting February 1, according to the Russian government. The raise covers about 37 million Russian pensioners.
(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
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