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Basic Political Developments  Itar-Tass news outlook for Thursday, July 21. o MOSCOW/KAZAN – The operation to lift the Bulgaria boat, which wrecked on the Volga River, continues. The experts pushed under the bottom of the boat three of four ‘towels’ – metal strips necessary for the lifting. o MOSCOW – Presidium of Russia’s government will discuss fulfilment of the state programmes on formation of the budget expenses from 2013. Russia’s Minister of Economic Development Elvira Nabiullina will make a report on the topic. o BALI ISLAND – Agenda of the ministerial meeting in the format ASEAN plus 3 will feature topics on regional stability, including situation in the Korean Peninsula, as well as reaction to natural calamities, and food and energy security in the Asian-Pacific Region. o MOSCOW – Spokesman of Russia’s Foreign Ministry Alexander Lukashevich will participate in a briefing on current agenda of Russia’s foreign policy. o MOSCOW – The United Russia Party begins the procedure of primaries to form its list of candidates for the elections to the State Duma. o BRUSSELS – Formation of the second programme of aid for Greece and overcoming of the system financial crisis of the euro zone will be key topics of the emergency EU summit. o NEW YORK – Last pre-trial hearings of the case of Viktor But, who is accused by the USA of arms smuggling. o NEW YORK – The Atlantis space ship will land at the Cape Canaveral for the last time, thus finishing the Space Shuttle programme. o KRASNOYARSK – Over 400 reporters from Russia’s regions will participate in the Yenisey.RF-2011 media forum. o MOSCOW – Five Russians will be among 23 competitors in half final of the Operalia contest, organised by Placido Domingo. o ST. PETERSBURG – Opening of a memorial board devoted to Galina Ulanova, a great Russian ballet dancer of the XX century. o ST. PETERSBURG – The Mariinsky Theatre will have a first night of an extravaganza opera staged by Benjamin Britten and based on Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night's Dream. o BARNAUL – All-Russian festival called Shukshin’s Days in Altai begins.  Itar-Tass news digest for Thursday, July 21. o MOSCOW — Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev signed a federal law on additional prevention of selling alcohol to children, the Kremlin’s press service said on Thursday. The law introduces criminal and administrative responsibility for selling alcohol containing beverages to children. First time punishment may be limited to fines from three to five thousand roubles for individuals and from ten to 20 thousand for officials and from 80 to 100 thousand for legal entities, the law reads. o MAKHACHKALA — Gunmen have been blocked in a private house in Makhachkala on the Tarki-Tau mount slope. A source in the Interior Ministry of Dagestan told Itar-Tass that there was an exchange of gunfire. There was no immediate information about the number of the blocked militants. Automatic gunfire has been heard in the city since 05:00 MSK. o MAKHACHKALA — Special operation to neutralise members of illegal armed groups has been underway in Makhachkala Thursday morning on Mount Tarki-Tau. According to preliminary data, injuring one law enforcement officer has been wounded in an exchange of fire, a source in the Interior Ministry in Dagestan told Itar-Tass. At around 05:00 MSK Makhachkala residents heard submachine-gun fire and grenade explosions. o MAKHACHKALA — Three militants have been liquidated and one detained during a special police operation in Makhachkala, sources in the republic’s law enforcement agencies told Itar-Tass. According to the source, at around 04:00 MSK on Thursday morning, police special task force blocked a group of gunmen in a private house on Mount Tarki-Tau. The gunmen offered armed resistance. o MOSCOW — Russia’s Emergency Situation Ministry /EMERCOM/ has forwarded another portion of humanitarian aid to Libya, the ministry’s information department said on Thursday. “At 09:00 Moscow time, an Il- 76 plane left the Ramenskoye airport in the Moscow Region for Benghazi,” the source said. “The special flight will deliver 36 tonnes of humanitarian aid.” In early July, EMERCOM planes delivered to Tripoli and Benghazi 72 tonnes of humanitarian aid. o VLADIVOSTOK, the Far East – Ports located in the Nakhodka city district in Russia’s Primorye region transshipped 27 million tons in the first six months of 2011. They’ve set a new freight traffic record among all the ports on Russia’s Pacific coast by increasing the freight turnover by almost two million tons since 2010. Oil, petroleum products and coal formed the bulk of transshipped cargoes – about 22 million tons, according to the eastern branch of the Rosmorport Company. o KHABAROVSK — As many as 14 of forest fires at an area of 1,728 hectares were extinguished in the Russian Far East on Wednesday. “However, by Thursday morning, 36 fires are still burning, their total area is 8,136 hectares,” the Forestry Department of the Far Eastern Federal District told Itar-Tass. “The situation is the most difficult in the country’s east in Yakutia, where more than 6,700 hectares of forest and 757 hectares of non-forest land are affected by fires,” the department said. In the Olekminsky district the forest fire area has grown to 3,000 hectares, there are large spots of fire in the Yakutsk and Gorny districts. o BISHKEK — Fifteen people were injured on Wednesday as an earthquake hit the southern Batken region of Kyrgyzstan, the press service of the republic’s Ministry of Emergency Situations told Itar-Tass on Thursday. The earth tremors were recorded by seismic stations on July 20 at 01:35, local time (23:35 MSK). The force of the earthquake the epicentre of which was located near the Sovetskaya village, reached 7-8 points on a 12-point scale. According to the Institute of Seismology of the National Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Emergency Situations of Kyrgyzstan, a few dozen buildings were damaged. o MOSCOW - The Moscow employment department will provide Muscovites with information on vacancies in electronic form as of August 1, 2011, the agency’s head, Oleg Neterebsky, told journalists. He believes that this new form of work will cut the time for selecting the right vacancy and will make job searching more convenient for the Muscovites. The Moscow Department of Employment will provide e-services to Muscovites who search employment and to employers who want to hire employees. o ST.PETERSBURG – The St. Petersburg League of Hitchhikers, a sport tourism club, have set out on the first round-the-globe tour by hitchhike. This is an international project titled “Everybody has the right to see his planet.” Alexei Vorov, the founder of sport hitchhiking in Russia, told a news conference in St. Petersburg that over 33 years of its existence the League had transformed hitchhiking from being a simple and spontaneous way of moving by passing cars into an independent kind of sport tourism, which has its own rules and standards, ethics and traditions.  As-Safir: Jumblat from Moscow: Syria is witnessing a revolution and Assad has to fulfill his promise - MP Walid Jumblatt made significant comments from Moscow, particularly on Syria, describing the uprising there as a “revolution.” Jumblatt said after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that Lebanon was committed to decisions made by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon “but that does not allow any external interference in internal affairs.”  Russian, Libyan FMs meet on crisis in N Africa  EMERCOM sends another humanitarian aid portion to Libya. - “At 09:00 Moscow time, an Il-76 plane left the Ramenskoye airport in the Moscow Region for Benghazi,” the source said. “The special flight will deliver 36 tonnes of humanitarian aid.”  Lavrov to travel to Bali to attend Russia-ASEAN meetings. - During the forthcoming meeting the Russian side will confirm its readiness to actively join joint programs within the framework of sectoral mechanisms East Asian Summits.  Russian, Norwegian premiers discuss energy cooperation - "Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his Norwegian counterpart Jens Stoltenberg discussed by phone urgent issues of bilateral trade and economic cooperation with the focus on interaction in the power industry," Peskov said. o Russian, Norwegian premiers discuss energy cooperation  UNSC instruments not suitable for climate change issues-official. - The issue of global climate change requires urgent attention of the international community, but does not deserve to be included on the agenda of the UN Security Council, Russia’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Alexander Pankin confirmed this principled stance of the Russian Federation. o West, Russia divided on U.N. council climate role - Council statement blocked by Russia – diplomats; U.N. official says climate change speeding up  Sweden visa centre opens in St Pete on July 22.  Kyrgyz PM thanks Putin for Russia’s support for Kyrgyz economy.  500 tones of high-octane Russian petrol are transported to petrol stations – Zhumakadyr Akeneev  Tajikistan hopes to sign a military coop agreement with Russia.  Georgian, Russian Patriarchs to meet in Ukraine - A meeting of the Catholicos- Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II and Patriarch of All Russia Kirill is scheduled to be held in Ukraine on July 26.  Last pre-trial hearing in Viktor Bout's case to get under way  Russian president introduces agreement on cooperation in Caspian Sea security to parliament - The document was signed in Baku on November 18, 2010. Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan will cooperate against terrorism, organized crime, illegal trafficking of arms and narcotics, smuggling, human trafficking and illegal migration.  Medvedev sends condolences to families of Uzbek quake victims  Medvedev signs law on punishment for selling alcohol to children.  Elmar Mammadyarov’s visit confirms unity of our positions - Russian envoy  India to get new frigate fitted with BrahMos - The Navy chief returned on July 18 from Russia after a six-day visit during which he took stock of all the major Indian navy projects undergoing there.  Americans greet Russian frigate ‘Pallada’ in Alaska o Russian tall ship arrives in US on tour of Pacific  Army corruption cost Russia 600 million in 2011 – prosecutors o Corruption in Russian armed forces causes over 600 million rubles of damage in 2011 – prosecutor  CORRUPTION WATCH: Police pay tripled in anti-graft move  Air Force officer gets suspended sentence over MiG-31 crash  Zubkov agrees to be the first on the United Party election list.  GUNMEN KILLED IN OPERATION IN MAKHACHKALA COULD HAVE BEEN RELATED TO JULY 18 POLICE PATROL CAR BLAST, IN WHICH TWO POLICEMEN WERE KILLED - NATIONAL ANTITERRORIST COMMITTEE o Three gunmen killed, one detained in Makhachkala special operation. o Police officer wounded in Makhachkala special operation.  Moscow Reverts to Crude Force to Control the Situation in Kabardino-Balkaria - By: Valery Dzutsev  Forest fires affecting 8,200 ha in Russia Far East. o EMERCOM aircraft pour nearly 450t of water on Yakutia forest fires.  Expansion of Moscow proper to be completed in 5 years  Muscovites to get employment information electronically.  Russian court rules to extradite Ukrainian lawmaker Landyk's son charged with beating woman, say police  Three Russian police officers get long prison terms for abuse of office  Jailed Former Russian Oil Tycoon Allowed To See Mother  Russian Press at a Glance, Thursday, July 21, 2011  Choice is when Medvedev and Putin are both on the ballot - 40 percent of people surveyed by the Levada Center would like to see both names on the ballot By Lev Makedonov  Kommersant: Polls foresee parliamentary majority for United Russia  United Russia Losing Support, Survey Says - Support for the Communists and the Liberal Democratic Party is growing at the expense of United Russia and A Just Russia, but the State Duma elections in December shouldn't shatter the current four-party configuration dominated by United Russia, according to a survey released Wednesday.  Right Cause Taps Ex-Yanukovych Aide - By Alexander Bratersky  Hedging Putin's Will - Russian asset-management firm Arbat Capital has tailored its services to reflect total uncertainty over who will run in the March 2012 presidential election. Rogozin dives into the brainstorming session at the White House - The special presidential envoy will be allowed to enter the holy of holies of US missile defense By Darya Tsilyurik

 Who is who - Two months have passed since the Georgian Parliament recognized the genocide of the Circassian people. But silence and confusion caused by this act still continues in the upper echelons of the Russian authorities.  Energy and Politics - The Love-Hate Relationship between Russia and Ukraine - Written by John Daly

 Russia to get first dibs on Belarus privatisations - "We are opening the economy for real, and facilitate access for our Customs Union partners," Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich said in an interview with the Russia Today satellite TV channel. "Our Russian partners will always be our first option." Russia's Arctic vision, how different is it really? – by Mia Bennett  “A Russian-European economic zone can save euro” - Overcoming stereotypes and becoming closer partners with Russia is the natural way of development for European countries, to help them solve their problems, says Jean-Pierre Thomas, French presidential special representative for dealing with Russia.

National Economic Trends  Russia gold, currency reserves up on July 8-15.  RUSSIAN AGRICULTURE MINISTRY UPS GRAIN EXPORT FORECAST TO 18 MLN TONNES  Russia: agrarians sowed grains and leguminous crops throughout 44.1 mln ha – Rosstat Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions  Russian markets -- Factors to Watch on July 21  Polyus, Gazprom, Rostelecom, VTB: Russian Equity Preview  Petropavlovsk boosts gold output in H1 by 32% to 219,100 ounces  VTB ups stake in TransCreditBank to 73%  Russia's central bank withdraws license from Moscow-based AMT bank  Razgulay Appoints Chairman Mirgalimov as Chief Executive Officer  Yenisey Industrial to Get Loan for Elegest Coal, Interfax Says  Domodedovo Airport resumes property development project  Gilat Closes Sakha Deal - Gilat Satellite Networks said Wednesday that it would provide a broadband satellite network in Russia.  Nakhodka port transships 27 mln tons of cargoes in 2011.  Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Russian tourism sector on the brink of collapse

Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)  Rosneft May Buy Lisin’s Chernomorneftegaz, Kommersant Says  Total Gets Yamal Buy Approval  Terra firms up Russia financing  Lukoil Takes 70% Stake In Sierra Leone Offshore Block  BP's Russian Partners Renew Legal Proceedings

Gazprom  Gazprom signs a forth Indian LNG supply deal o Gazprom signs 4th memorandum on LNG supply to India o Gazprom’s 4th Indian customer in 2 months – Shtokman likely supply source  Gazprom: Construction at Bovanenskoye Field On Schedule  Gazprom stake in Dutch energy: risk or benefit? - By Michael Blass  Gazprom Profiting Mightily From German Nuclear Exit  Gazprom recognized as best Russian and CIS company in investor relations

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Full Text Articles

Basic Political Developments

10:08 21/07/2011ALL NEWS

Itar-Tass news outlook for Thursday, July 21. http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/189673.html 21/7 Tass 76 Telephone: 8 (499) 791-00-25 Fax: 8 (499) 791-00-26 LIFTING THE BULGARIA BOAT MOSCOW/KAZAN – The operation to lift the Bulgaria boat, which wrecked on the Volga River, continues. The experts pushed under the bottom of the boat three of four ‘towels’ – metal strips necessary for the lifting. RUSSIA’S GOVERNMENT MOSCOW – Presidium of Russia’s government will discuss fulfilment of the state programmes on formation of the budget expenses from 2013. Russia’s Minister of Economic Development Elvira Nabiullina will make a report on the topic. ASEAN MEETING BALI ISLAND – Agenda of the ministerial meeting in the format ASEAN plus 3 will feature topics on regional stability, including situation in the Korean Peninsula, as well as reaction to natural calamities, and food and energy security in the Asian-Pacific Region. RF FOREIGN MINISTRY MOSCOW – Spokesman of Russia’s Foreign Ministry Alexander Lukashevich will participate in a briefing on current agenda of Russia’s foreign policy. PRIMERIES OF UNITED RUSSIA MOSCOW – The United Russia Party begins the procedure of primaries to form its list of candidates for the elections to the State Duma. EU SUMMIT BRUSSELS – Formation of the second programme of aid for Greece and overcoming of the system financial crisis of the euro zone will be key topics of the emergency EU summit. JUSTICE NEW YORK – Last pre-trial hearings of the case of Viktor But, who is accused by the USA of arms smuggling. SPACE NEW YORK – The Atlantis space ship will land at the Cape Canaveral for the last time, thus finishing the Space Shuttle programme. JOURNALISTS’ FORUM KRASNOYARSK – Over 400 reporters from Russia’s regions will participate in the Yenisey.RF-2011 media forum. CULTURE MOSCOW – Five Russians will be among 23 competitors in half final of the Operalia contest, organised by Placido Domingo. ST. PETERSBURG – Opening of a memorial board devoted to Galina Ulanova, a great Russian ballet dancer of the XX century. ST. PETERSBURG – The Mariinsky Theatre will have a first night of an extravaganza opera staged by Benjamin Britten and based on Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night's Dream. BARNAUL – All-Russian festival called Shukshin’s Days in Altai begins.

11:31 21/07/2011ALL NEWS

Itar-Tass news digest for Thursday, July 21. http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/189729.html 21/7 Tass 106 MOSCOW — Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev signed a federal law on additional prevention of selling alcohol to children, the Kremlin’s press service said on Thursday. The law introduces criminal and administrative responsibility for selling alcohol containing beverages to children. First time punishment may be limited to fines from three to five thousand roubles for individuals and from ten to 20 thousand for officials and from 80 to 100 thousand for legal entities, the law reads. MAKHACHKALA — Gunmen have been blocked in a private house in Makhachkala on the Tarki-Tau mount slope. A source in the Interior Ministry of Dagestan told Itar-Tass that there was an exchange of gunfire. There was no immediate information about the number of the blocked militants. Automatic gunfire has been heard in the city since 05:00 MSK. MAKHACHKALA — Special operation to neutralise members of illegal armed groups has been underway in Makhachkala Thursday morning on Mount Tarki-Tau. According to preliminary data, injuring one law enforcement officer has been wounded in an exchange of fire, a source in the Interior Ministry in Dagestan told Itar-Tass. At around 05:00 MSK Makhachkala residents heard submachine-gun fire and grenade explosions. MAKHACHKALA — Three militants have been liquidated and one detained during a special police operation in Makhachkala, sources in the republic’s law enforcement agencies told Itar-Tass. According to the source, at around 04:00 MSK on Thursday morning, police special task force blocked a group of gunmen in a private house on Mount Tarki-Tau. The gunmen offered armed resistance. MOSCOW — Russia’s Emergency Situation Ministry /EMERCOM/ has forwarded another portion of humanitarian aid to Libya, the ministry’s information department said on Thursday. “At 09:00 Moscow time, an Il-76 plane left the Ramenskoye airport in the Moscow Region for Benghazi,” the source said. “The special flight will deliver 36 tonnes of humanitarian aid.” In early July, EMERCOM planes delivered to Tripoli and Benghazi 72 tonnes of humanitarian aid. VLADIVOSTOK, the Far East – Ports located in the Nakhodka city district in Russia’s Primorye region transshipped 27 million tons in the first six months of 2011. They’ve set a new freight traffic record among all the ports on Russia’s Pacific coast by increasing the freight turnover by almost two million tons since 2010. Oil, petroleum products and coal formed the bulk of transshipped cargoes – about 22 million tons, according to the eastern branch of the Rosmorport Company. KHABAROVSK — As many as 14 of forest fires at an area of 1,728 hectares were extinguished in the Russian Far East on Wednesday. “However, by Thursday morning, 36 fires are still burning, their total area is 8,136 hectares,” the Forestry Department of the Far Eastern Federal District told Itar-Tass. “The situation is the most difficult in the country’s east in Yakutia, where more than 6,700 hectares of forest and 757 hectares of non-forest land are affected by fires,” the department said. In the Olekminsky district the forest fire area has grown to 3,000 hectares, there are large spots of fire in the Yakutsk and Gorny districts. BISHKEK — Fifteen people were injured on Wednesday as an earthquake hit the southern Batken region of Kyrgyzstan, the press service of the republic’s Ministry of Emergency Situations told Itar-Tass on Thursday. The earth tremors were recorded by seismic stations on July 20 at 01:35, local time (23:35 MSK). The force of the earthquake the epicentre of which was located near the Sovetskaya village, reached 7-8 points on a 12-point scale. According to the Institute of Seismology of the National Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Emergency Situations of Kyrgyzstan, a few dozen buildings were damaged. MOSCOW - The Moscow employment department will provide Muscovites with information on vacancies in electronic form as of August 1, 2011, the agency’s head, Oleg Neterebsky, told journalists. He believes that this new form of work will cut the time for selecting the right vacancy and will make job searching more convenient for the Muscovites. The Moscow Department of Employment will provide e-services to Muscovites who search employment and to employers who want to hire employees. ST.PETERSBURG – The St. Petersburg League of Hitchhikers, a sport tourism club, have set out on the first round-the-globe tour by hitchhike. This is an international project titled “Everybody has the right to see his planet.” Alexei Vorov, the founder of sport hitchhiking in Russia, told a news conference in St. Petersburg that over 33 years of its existence the League had transformed hitchhiking from being a simple and spontaneous way of moving by passing cars into an independent kind of sport tourism, which has its own rules and standards, ethics and traditions.

Lebanon's Arabic press digest - July 21, 2011 July 21, 2011 09:41 AM The Daily Star

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2011/Jul-21/Lebanons-Arabic- press-digest---July-21-2011.ashx#ixzz1Sj7prcA3 (The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)

As-Safir: Jumblat from Moscow: Syria is witnessing a revolution and Assad has to fulfill his promise http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2011/Jul-21/Lebanons-Arabic-press-digest--- July-21-2011.ashx#axzz1Sj7d10T4 Government achieved Wednesday a "breakthrough" in life by approving a Memorandum of Understanding between the Energy and Water Ministry and Iran's Petroleum Ministry, which gives Lebanon an opportunity to take advantage of Iran’s skills. The session witnessed discussions – on some occasions debate was heated – on how to approve spending in the absence of a state budget. As Cabinet holds its next meeting at Baabda Palace on Aug.2 after Mikati’s return from a private trip to south France, Berri called for general legislative sessions for Aug. 3 and 4. Meanwhile, MP Walid Jumblatt made significant comments from Moscow, particularly on Syria, describing the uprising there as a “revolution.” Jumblatt said after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that Lebanon was committed to decisions made by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon “but that does not allow any external interference in internal affairs.” “There are forces in Lebanon that believe STL decisions are a conspiracy directed against them. Among them is Hezbollah which has representatives in both Parliament and government,” Jumblatt said, stressing the need to take these factors into account. On Syria and the possibility of foreign intervention, Jumblatt said Syrian President Bashar Assad “should resort to reforms as soon as possible and release prisoners.” Jumblatt rejected any foreign meddling in the Syrian uprising and stressed the need to “understand that what is happening in Syria is a revolution, and accept the idea that the Arab people want freedom.” As Jumblatt also met with Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Mikhail Bgdanov, a source close to the head of the Progressive Socialist Party said the STL was no longer in the hands of the Lebanese state. Yet, the source added, justice must not overshadow stability. He noted that it would be very difficult for Lebanon to hand over any “Lebanese” [suspect in the Hariri murder case] no matter what the results were.

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2011/Jul-21/Lebanons-Arabic- press-digest---July-21-2011.ashx#ixzz1Sj7ivEO4 (The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)

Russian, Libyan FMs meet on crisis in N Africa http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/video/2011-07/21/c_13999641.htm

2011-07-21 13:06:50 BEIJING,July 21 (Xinhuanet) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Libyan counterpart Abdul Ati al Obeidi have met in Moscow to discuss a political solution to the crisis in the North African country. During closed door meetings, Lavrov stressed, that the immediate priority, should be, to stop the bloodshed, and begin political dialogue. He urged Tripoli, to confirm its intention to follow UN Security Council resolutions 1970 and 1973.

The Libyan foreign minister, stressed that a peaceful solution should involve all Libyans, not just the National Transitional Council. He added that Tripoli isnt ready to discuss the question of Gaddafi's departure. (Source: CNTV)

10:19 21/07/2011ALL NEWS

EMERCOM sends another humanitarian aid portion to Libya. http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/189679.html 21/7 Tass 86 MOSCOW, July 21 (Itar-Tass) — Russia’s Emergency Situation Ministry /EMERCOM/ has forwarded another portion of humanitarian aid to Libya, the ministry’s information department said on Thursday. “At 09:00 Moscow time, an Il-76 plane left the Ramenskoye airport in the Moscow Region for Benghazi,” the source said. “The special flight will deliver 36 tonnes of humanitarian aid.” In early July, EMERCOM planes delivered to Tripoli and Benghazi 72 tonnes of humanitarian aid. The aid is provided under the order of Russia’s president and in compliance with the Russian Federation’s governmental order. Earlier, spokesman for Russia’s Foreign Ministry Alexander Lukashevich said that “the protracted armed conflict in Libya has caused a dramatic degradation of the country’s humanitarian situation, and Moscow is concerned about it.” “This is why Russia has made a decision to provide urgently equal humanitarian aid to all those who need it in Libya, no matter in what part of the country they are,” he said adding that “Russia has been contacting Tripoli’s authorities and representatives of Libya’s Transitional National Council to work out optimal ways to deliver and distribute such aid.”

06:28 21/07/2011ALL NEWS

Lavrov to travel to Bali to attend Russia-ASEAN meetings. http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/189579.html 21/7 Tass 4 BALI ISLAND, Indonesia, July 21 (Itar-Tass) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will travel to Bali Island on Thursday to attend annual ASEAN events. The minister’s official program will start on July 22. Lavrov will take part in the Russia- ASEAN summit. For the first time ever the Russian side will be present at a ministerial meeting organized within the framework of the mechanism of East Asian summits as a full-fledged member. The meeting of Russian and ASEAN foreign ministers is taking place in the year of the 15th anniversary of establishment of dialogue and partnership back in 1996, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. “We’ve covered a great route over these years: we elevated our relations to the highest level,” the Ministry emphasized. “Contacts between Russian agencies concerned and ASEAN structures have become more intensive. A ‘road map’ for trade, economic and investment cooperation is being drafted. A working program of energy cooperation for 2010-2015 is being implemented,” the Foreign Minister went on to say. The Russian and ASEAN ministers will discuss the preparation for annual high-level ASEAN events that will be held in Bali on November 17-19 this year. “Russia considers East Asian Summits to be a vital factor in forming a comprehensive, balanced and open architecture of the Asia-Pacific region which is commeasurable to contemporary security challenges,” the Russian Foreign Ministry went on to say. “East Asian Summits can objectively claim to play the role of a leading playground for strategic dialogue of leaders on regional security. During the forthcoming meeting the Russian side will confirm its readiness to actively join joint programs within the framework of sectoral mechanisms East Asian Summits. “Involvement in integration processes unfolding in the region will contribute to attracting the potential of this association to more effective use of possibilities of the ASEAN member states to cooperate with China, the United States, India, Japan and the Republic of Korea in the interests of developing Russia’s economy and social and economic recovery of the Siberia and the Far East,” the Russian Foreign Ministry concluded.

Russian, Norwegian premiers discuss energy cooperation http://en.rian.ru/world/20110721/165305021.html

01:56 21/07/2011

NOVO-OGARYOVO, July 21 (RIA Novosti) The Russian and Norwegian prime ministers on Wednesday discussed energy cooperation in light of the two countries' maritime delimitation treaty that recently took effect, Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his Norwegian counterpart Jens Stoltenberg discussed by phone urgent issues of bilateral trade and economic cooperation with the focus on interaction in the power industry," Peskov said. The Russian-Norwegian treaty on maritime delimitation and cooperation in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean came into force on July 7. The document was signed in September 2010 after nearly 40-year-long talks to define the exclusive economic zones and delimitate the continental shelf. The treaty defines the borders of both states' sovereign rights and jurisdiction, as well as envisions that the countries continue fishing cooperation and outlines the procedure to jointly use trans-border hydrocarbon deposits. The document will allow Russia and Norway to explore oil and gas fields on the Arctic continental shelf at an area of 175,000 sq km (43.2 million acres). The continental part of the Arctic may contain some 13% of the global unexplored oil reserves and 30% of gas reserves. The countries will also be able to produce oil and gas at sections that were earlier disputed.

July 21, 2011 09:34

Russian, Norwegian premiers discuss energy cooperation http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=260642 NOVO-OGARYOVO, Moscow region. July 21 (Interfax) - The Russian and Norwegian prime ministers discussed trade and business cooperation between their countries, including contacts in the energy sector, over the phone on Wednesday, the Russian premier's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "A telephone conversation took place between Prime Minister of Russia Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister of Norway Jens Stoltenberg, who addressed key issues of bilateral trade and economic cooperation between Russia and Norway with a focus on cooperation in the energy sector," Peskov said. The telephone conversation was held at Norway's initiative, he said. tm 12:23 21/07/2011ALL NEWS

UNSC instruments not suitable for climate change issues-official. http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/189764.html 21/7 Tass 34 UNITED NATIONS, July 21 (Itar-Tass) — The issue of global climate change requires urgent attention of the international community, but does not deserve to be included on the agenda of the UN Security Council, Russia’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Alexander Pankin confirmed this principled stance of the Russian Federation. Speaking at an open debate on climate at the UN Security Council on Wednesday, the Russian diplomat called the readiness announced by Moscow to reduce by 2020 greenhouse gas emissions by 10-25 percent, compared to 1990 as part of a new universal climate agreement, the “evidence Russia’s constructive policy in this sphere.” From Russia’s point of view, “the framework for addressing change issues that has formed within the UN makes it possible to adequately respond to emerging threats in this sphere,” Pankin noted. “We are also convinced that the priority role in this belongs to and should continue to belong to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as a universal mechanism to combat global climate change,” the representative of the Russian Federation said. “FCCC has the necessary and sufficient instruments to develop both an effective international climate regime for a long term and also concrete measures to respond quickly to new challenges in this area.” According to Pankin, Russia is “sceptical about the practical value of recurring attempts to put the issue of the threat of climate change to international peace and security on the Security Council agenda.” From Moscow’s viewpoint, involvement of the UN Security Council in the regular review of climate change issues “will not create any added value, and can only cause another round of politicisation of the issue and the exacerbation of mutual standoff of countries, which is highly undesirable at present, after a successful conference in Cancun and on the eve of the Durban conference.” Despite the variety of opinions expressed on Wednesday at the UN Security Council’s day-long debate on climate, a balanced position was also reflected in the statement of the Council, read out after the debate’s end by its Chairman - German Ambassador to the UN Peter Wittig that takes into account the views of all 15 Security Council members. In the statement the Security Council recognises, in particular, that the responsibility for sustainable development issues, including climate change, are within the competence of the UN General Assembly and Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). However, the Security Council asked the UN Secretary General in his reports to the Council, “where appropriate,” to report on the possible impact of climate change on security, when such problems are the driving forces behind the conflict, complicate the implementation of the mandates of the Council, or threaten the peace consolidation process. According to a UN press release, “The Security Council notes that in matters relating to the maintenance of international peace and security under its consideration, conflict analysis and contextual information on, inter alia, possible security implications of climate change is important, when such issues are drivers of conflict, represent a challenge to the implementation of Council mandates or endanger the process of consolidation of peace. In this regard, the Council requests the Secretary-General to ensure that his reporting to the Council contains such contextual information.” Opening the Security Council’s thematic debate on “Maintenance of international peace and security: the impact of climate change”, Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, recalled that when the Security Council first had taken up the issue of climate change in 2007, he had argued that the debate was not only appropriate but essential. Today, he welcomed that the right debate was being held: on what the Council and all States could do to confront the “double- barrelled challenge” of climate change and international security, according to the release. “We must make no mistake,” he said. The facts were clear: climate change was real and accelerating in a dangerous manner. “It not only exacerbates threats to international peace and security; it is a threat to international peace and security”, he stressed. Extreme weather events were growing more frequent and intense in rich and poor countries alike, devastating lives, infrastructure and budgets — an “unholy brew” that could create dangerous security vacuums. Events in Pakistan, the Pacific Islands, the Russian Federation, Western Europe, the United States, China and the Horn of Africa were just some examples that should remind the world of the urgency of the situation, he said, adding that just today, the United Nations had declared a state of famine in two regions of southern Somalia. Around the world, hundreds of millions of people were in danger of going short of food and water, undermining the most essential foundations of local, national, and global stability. Russia’s Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin noted that the RF Government had always viewed combating climate change as a priority area for global cooperation, having advocated for a global instrument covering all countries and for more attention to be paid to the idea of Russian forests acting as carbon sinks. The Russian Federation’s policy had been seen in its decision to cut by 2020 greenhouse gas emissions by 10 to 25 percent over 1990 levels, within the framework of a new global climate agreement. In the transition to a low-carbon economy, the Russian Federation would give attention to nuclear energy.

West, Russia divided on U.N. council climate role http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFN1E76J1DE20110720

Wed Jul 20, 2011 8:42pm GMT * Council statement blocked by Russia - diplomats * U.N. official says climate change speeding up By Patrick Worsnip UNITED NATIONS, July 20 (Reuters) - Western nations clashed with Russia and some developing countries on Wednesday over whether climate change was a security issue meriting the attention of the Security Council, the most powerful U.N. body. Diplomats said Russia blocked, at least temporarily, the adoption of a statement by the 15-nation council that would assert the threat of climate change to international peace and security. They said a revised text would be circulated. The dispute came as the council formally debated the environment for the first time in four years and followed dire warnings by a senior U.N. official that global warming was speeding up, with unpredictable consequences. In the debate called by Germany, this month's council president, Western speakers said increasing aridity caused by climate change had contributed to conflicts in Sudan's Darfur region and in Somalia, where the United Nations on Wednesday said famine had hit two areas. U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said Washington strongly believes the council "has an essential responsibility to address the clear-cut peace and security implications of a changing climate," and should "start now." Without mentioning countries by name, Rice assailed those who had prevented the required consensus on the proposed council statement despite the wishes of countries whose existence was threatened by climate change. "Because of the refusal of a few to accept our responsibility, this council is saying, by its silence, in effect, 'Tough luck,'" she said. "This is more than disappointing. It's pathetic. It's shortsighted, and frankly it's a dereliction of duty." But Russian envoy Alexander Pankin said Moscow was "skeptical" about attempts to put the implications of climate change on the council's agenda, something he said was opposed by many countries. "We believe that involving the Security Council in a regular review of the issue of climate change will not bring any added value whatsoever and will merely lead to further increased politicization of this issue and increased disagreements between countries," he said. AGENDA CREEP Western diplomats said the Russian view reflected the country's long-standing concerns about agenda "creep" by the Security Council. The dispute echoed exchanges between Britain and China in 2007 when Britain called the first council debate on climate change. Temporary council members India and Brazil also said they doubted whether the body should be involved. Indian Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri said the council "does not have the wherewithal to address the situation." Developing countries railed against what they said was an attempt by the big-power club to muscle in on the territory of the 193-nation General Assembly and the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change. But President Marcus Stephen of Nauru, one of several small Pacific island states threatened by rising sea levels blamed on climate change, said he wanted the council to request appointment of a U.N. special envoy for climate and security. Stephen said he was deeply disappointed the council had so far failed to agree a statement. "Let history record that once again we have sounded the alarm and the world chose not to act," he said. Earlier, Achim Steiner, head of the U.N. Environment Program, said climate change was advancing faster than attempts to contain it through slow-moving U.N.-led negotiations on greenhouse gas emissions targets and other measures. He quoted projections that some parts of the world would see 5.4 to 7.2 degree Fahrenheit (3 or 4 degree Celsius) temperature rises this century while negotiators seek to set a 3.6 degree Fahrenheit (2 degree Celsius) target, that sea levels could rise by 3 feet (1 metre) this century, and that natural disasters could "increase exponentially." "The world is confronted with a global warming scenario that is already well beyond where we believe we might be able to manage these changes and trends if we will be able to conclude our negotiations," Steiner told the council. (Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

10:50 21/07/2011ALL NEWS

Sweden visa centre opens in St Pete on July 22. http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/189699.html 21/7 Tass 61 ST. PETERSBURG, July 21 (Itar-Tass) — Sweden’s visa centre opens in St. Petersburg on July 22 to improve services for its clients, Sweden’s General Consulate told Itar-Tass. Clients will be able to file applications for a 90-day visas /C class/ from July 22, and the service charges will make 26.75 euros. Clients may make the payment in the General Consular in accordance with the appointment. Applications for a residence or work permit in Sweden /D class visas/ may be filed to the General Consulate only. The same approach is applicable to visa applications from official delegations. Usual time to process applications is five working days. In 2010, the consulate’s visa service issued 21,000 visas. Over the first six months of the current year, the number has grown by 37 percent. One of the reasons is the new ferry route Stockholm – St. Petersburg.

00:48 21/07/2011ALL NEWS

Kyrgyz PM thanks Putin for Russia’s support for Kyrgyz economy. http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/189526.html 21/7 Tass 373 NOVO-OGARYOVO, July 21 (Itar-Tass) — Kyrgyz Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev who held talks with Vladimir Putin on Wednesday thanked the Russian prime minister for lifting an export duty for petroleum products earlier this year. “It was a real New Year gift,” he said, adding that thanks to the move 2011 started well for Kyrgyzstan and its economy, which has been growing. Putin said in turn that the lifting of export duties for petroleum products hadn’t been a gift but an element of support for Kyrgyzstan. The Russian prime minister said that meetings like the one that was held on Wednesday provide for an opportunity to see how Russian-Kyrgyz relations develop. “The last time we met we outlined major areas for developing our cooperation: energy, agriculture, scientific-technological and military cooperation. It’s very good that today we have an opportunity to see how we progress in all these areas,” Putin went on to say. For his part, Almazbek Atambayev told Putin that Kyrgyzstan feels Russia’s support all the time. He said that the Kyrgyz economy was recovering largely thanks to Russian support. Kyrgyz GDP grew by 5.5 percent in the first six months of 2011. Atambayev also noted that Kyrgyzstan had received 1,500 tons of barley from Russia. 500 tones of high-octane Russian petrol are transported to petrol stations – Zhumakadyr Akeneev http://eng.24.kg/community/2011/07/21/19339.html

21/07-2011 08:01, Bishkek – 24.kg news agency , by Tolgonai OSMONGAZIEVA “500 tones of high-octane Russian petrol are transported to petrol stations in Kyrgyzstan” the President of Oil Traders Association in the Kyrgyz Republic Zhumakadyr Akeneev stated to 24.kg news agency today. According to him, the fuel AI-92 and AI-95 was shipped overnight today and then they started its delivers to the Gazprom fillings. “Tonight we should get the second installment of fuel. The promised 6.5 thousand tons of high-octane fuel will arrive within 10 days in the Kyrgyz Republic from the oil-refining factories Salavat (Bashkortostan) and Kazan (Tatarstan). Additional 2.5 thousand tons of fuel is expected to be in early August,” said Zhumakadyr Akeneev. In addition, he noted that AI-92 petrol will be sold at the Gazprom fuel station to 34.5 som per liter, AI-95 – 36. URL: http://eng.24.kg/community/2011/07/21/19339.html

02:36 21/07/2011ALL NEWS

Tajikistan hopes to sign a military coop agreement with Russia. http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/189540.html 21/7 Tass 285 A DUSHANBE, July 21 (Itar-Tass) - Tajikistan hopes to sign a new military cooperation agreement with Russia not later than September this year. The agreement will determine the future of the 201st Russian military base located in Tajikistan and the Aini airport, according to Tajik Foreign Minister Khamrokhon Zarifi. "Negotiations on the military base and the use of the Aini airport by Russia have been under way since 2008. These questions are not simple or easy. So far the positions of the sides haven’t reached a necessary degree of rapprochement that would make it possible to sign an agreement. But work is going ahead at the level of experts. I think that this vital document is going to be signed during the CIS jubilee summit this September in which Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will also take part,” Zarifi told a news conference in Dushanbe last week. As far as the Aini airport is concerned, the Tajik foreign minister said that land costs money and those who want to use the airport should be ready to pay this price. At the same time, he gave a positive assessment of Tajik-Russian relations. “Russia is our vital strategic partner which is proved by the level of our trade and economic partnership and cooperation in humanitarian sphere,” the Tajik foreign minister emphasized. Mr. Zarifi spoke highly of the CIS and its prospects. "It certainly has its advantages and disadvantages and the advantages are outweighing. We’ve managed to establish trade and economic ties with each other,“ the Tajik foreign minister said. Tajikistan has drafted a Concept of the CIS development for the next 20 years. “I am an optimist, and my vision of the future is optimistic,” the Tajik foreign minister said in conclusion.

Georgian, Russian Patriarchs to meet in Ukraine http://www.news.az/articles/georgia/40919

Thu 21 July 2011 06:26 GMT | 8:26 Local Time A meeting of the church leaders of Russia and Georgia is preparing in Ukraine. A meeting of the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II and Patriarch of All Russia Kirill is scheduled to be held in Ukraine on July 26.

As the "GHN" reported, this information was announced by the head of the Georgian church in the recent interview with radio station "Echo Moskvy".

"From 25 to 30 July I will be the guest of Ukraine. Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill will is also going to visit Ukraine. We will meet on July 26 and we are going to talk, I think, with fraternal understanding of each other" - said Ilia II.

Georgia Times

Last pre-trial hearing in Viktor Bout's case to get under way http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/07/21/53515481.html Jul 21, 2011 11:38 Moscow Time Today, the Manhattan Federal Court in New York will hold the last pre-trial hearing in the arms smuggling case against Russian businessman Viktor Bout. The prosecution and the defense will present their arguments. Bout’s lawyers insist that the politically-motivated case be closed because Bout’s extradition from Thailand for trial in the United States was illegal and charges against him were forged. Viktor Bout, who was arrested in Bangkok in 2008 and extradited to the U.S. two years later, has pleaded not guilty to the charges. If convicted, he may receive from 25 years to life term in prison. Russian president introduces agreement on cooperation in Caspian Sea security to parliament http://vestnikkavkaza.net/news/politics/16035.html

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has introduced the agreement on security cooperation in the Caspian Sea to the parliament, RIA Novosti reports.

The document was signed in Baku on November 18, 2010. Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan will cooperate against terrorism, organized crime, illegal trafficking of arms and narcotics, smuggling, human trafficking and illegal migration.

Supplements to the document note that the deal promotes peace, stability and law. It confirms Russia’s devotion to multilateral cooperation in the region.

Medvedev sends condolences to families of Uzbek quake victims http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/07/21/53503781.html Jul 21, 2011 00:54 Moscow Time President Dmitry Medvedev has sent his heartfelt condolences to Uzbek President Islam Karimov in connection with Tuesday night’s earthquake that left 13 people dead and more than 80 injured in this former Soviet Central Asian republic.

11:14 21/07/2011ALL NEWS

Medvedev signs law on punishment for selling alcohol to children. http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/189711.html 21/7 Tass 75 MOSCOW, July 21 (Itar-Tass) — Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev signed a federal law on additional prevention of selling alcohol to children, the Kremlin’s press service said on Thursday. The law introduces criminal and administrative responsibility for selling alcohol containing beverages to children. First time punishment may be limited to fines from three to five thousand roubles for individuals and from ten to 20 thousand for officials and from 80 to 100 thousand for legal entities, the law reads. If a crime is not occasional, but systematic, the punishment will not be limited to administrative measures, it will be considered by the criminal code. If the crime was committed several times and the one responsible for it was brought to responsibility within 180 days, “the fine will be up to 80,000 roubles or will be equal to the monthly allowance or any other income for the period up to six months or the person will be sentenced to corrective work for up to one year and will be deprived of the right to work at certain positions or in certain businesses for the term of three years or for an unlimited period.” Russia’s consumer rights watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, reports that over 28 million Russians are involved in potation. Out of ten million children between eleven and 18, over 50 percent drink alcohol and beer regularly. Two of three Russian children between 13 and 16 drink alcohol. About 60,000 children were officially registered as alcoholics as of early 2008, the National Alcohol Association reports. The realistic figure of children who suffer from alcoholism is much higher. Russia’s Ministry of social development states that Russians start drinking beer regularly at the age of twelve, wine – at 15, vodka – at 16. Alcohol containing cocktails are most popular drinks, which children of between 13 to 17 prefer. And the average age of those addict to alcohol drinks, mostly to beer, lowered over the past ten years from 14 to eleven years. The death rate caused by use of alcohol in 2007 made 75,200, Russia’s statistics service, Rosstat, reports. Here about 30 percent are the share with men and 15 percent are the share with women. Doctors warn that the hazardous effect from using alcohol for teenagers is postponed in time. For example, a birth of a mentally retarded baby may be a result of drinking alcohol at the age below 18.

Elmar Mammadyarov’s visit confirms unity of our positions - Russian envoy http://www.news.az/articles/politics/40895

Thu 21 July 2011 04:20 GMT | 6:20 Local Time We have absolutely similar approaches to strategic issues. In terms of developing bilateral ties, Elmar Mammadyarov’s visit helped us discuss in detail the whole agenda and once more confirmed the unity of our positions in viewing each other as partners.

The statement came from Russian ambassador to Azerbaijan Vladimir Dorokhin while commenting on the recent official visit of Azerbaijani FM Elmar Mammadyarov to Moscow.

'We have absolutely similar approaches to strategic issues and to the great volume of practical actions and issues, which we have in economy, policy and other spheres. The results of the visit are very good. I think we have fixed our relations more clearly and we understand what we should do to strengthen these ties', the ambassador said.

The diplomat reminded that as part of the visit Elmar Mammadyarov communicated the response of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to Dmitriy Medvedev’s letter regarding the resolution of Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

'The matter is that this message must be studied and the Russian side must give an official assessment. The response message of the Armenian president must also be studied. But nonetheless, we have a useful talk on the level of the foreign ministers about how to move forward. I hope the results of this dialogue will also be positive', the ambassador said.

India to get new frigate fitted with BrahMos http://www.indianexpress.com/news/india-to-get-new-frigate-fitted-with- brahmos/820413/

Posted: Thu Jul 21 2011, 12:37 hrs New Delhi: India will get a new frigate equipped with the BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles from Russia within six to eight months. "During his visit to Russia, Navy Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma reviewed the progress of the Talwar Class follow-on warships, under construction at the Yantar shipyard there and was reassured that the first ship 'Teg' would commence trials shortly and be delivered in six to eight months," the Navy said in a release here. The Navy chief returned on July 18 from Russia after a six-day visit during which he took stock of all the major Indian navy projects undergoing there. The new frigates namely 'Teg', 'Teer' and 'Trikand' are follow ons of the three Talwar Class warships built for India by Russia and inducted into service around the early part of the decade. In the new ships, the Russian-origin Klub missiles would be replaced by the indigenous BrahMos missiles.

RT News line, July 21

Americans greet Russian frigate ‘Pallada’ in Alaska http://rt.com/news/line/2011-07-21/#id14755

05:00 Hundreds of residents of the Alaskan outpost of Kodiak met a Russian ship sailing on an expedition dedicated to Yury Gagarin’s first manned flight into space and to 270 years of Russian sailors coming to America. The ‘Pallada,’ built in 1989, left Vladivostok on July 1 with 120 cadets on board and since has covered 3,400 nautical miles across the Pacific.

Russian tall ship arrives in US on tour of Pacific http://www.kyivpost.com/news/russia/detail/109048/

Today at 08:44 | Associated Press KODIAK, Alaska (AP) — A Russian tall ship has landed on U.S. shores.

KMXT radio reports the Pallada — a 354-foot (108-meter), three-masted frigate — arrived in Kodiak on Wednesday morning as hundreds of people lined the waterfront to watch.

The vessel is on the first stop of a North Pacific tour commemorating the 270th anniversary of Russia's colonization of Alaska and the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's pioneering space flight.

The ship will also visit Los Angeles, San Francisco and Honolulu.

Read more: http://www.kyivpost.com/news/russia/detail/109048/#ixzz1SiXW1WMb

RT News line, July 21

Army corruption cost Russia 600 million in 2011 – prosecutors http://rt.com/politics/news-line/2011-07-21/#id14775

11:43 The losses incurred by the state as a result of corruption-related crimes in the Russian army in 2011 exceeds 600 million rubles (some $20 million), military prosecutors report. “The share of corruption–related crime remains high. In the overall breakdown of crime, it amounts to 16.5 per cent,” chief military prosecutor Sergey Fridinsky reported at a meeting of his colleagues on Thursday. Almost 180 army officers were involved in these crimes, including six generals, who have all been brought to justice, he added.

July 21, 2011 11:37 Corruption in Russian armed forces causes over 600 million rubles of damage in 2011 – prosecutor http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=260683

MOSCOW. July 21 (Interfax-AVN) - The damage caused to the Russian state by corruption in the armed forces has exceeded 600 million rubles in 2011, and six generals and over 170 senior military officers have been held liable for corruption this year, Chief Military Prosecutor Sergei Fridinsky said. "The level of corruption offences still remains high. Their share in the general structure [of crimes] has reached 16.5%. The damage caused to military units and organizations has topped 600 million rubles," Fridinsky said at an expanded meeting of the Russian Chief Military Prosecutor's Office in Moscow on Thursday. va jv (Our editorial staff can be reached at [email protected])

CORRUPTION WATCH: Police pay tripled in anti-graft move http://www.bne.eu/dispatch_text16190 bne July 21, 2011

On the streets of Moscow the police presence has changed noticeably. In the old days fat officers would hang out in favoured hiding places, like under bridges or just around sharp turns, better to pounce on the unwary drivers going to fast and sting them for RUB500 bribe. However, in the last months police in crisp new florescent bids have found new places to stand where they can use their newly issued speed-ranging binoculars to check traffic for abuse. And police can be found all over the city in new, more obvious places - like where most of the traffic is. The result is that driving about Moscow you have to be a little more aware of what you are doing than before.

As part of the Kremlin's ongoing efforts to tackle corruption, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev ordered that police pay be tripled to reduce the motivation for fleecing the people to suppliement their wages.

Medvedev called the new law covering the payrise the "second most important" in "determining the well-being" of police officers, after the legislation on police reform that came into force in March.

The Kremlin launched a police law reform five months ago and has made steady progress, although the eradication of graft, or at least bringing it down to western European levels, could take a generation or more.

The bill to triple wages was signed by Medvedev on Tuesday. The police will additionally get other "social guarantees" as part of improving the package and so increasing the value and prestige of the job.

The law also boosts pensions and other benefits for veterans and introduces subsidies to purchase housing.

A lieutenant will earn 33,000 to 45,000 rubles ($1,170 to $1,600) a month, compared with the current 10,000 rubles ($360), Volkov, newswires report. Salaries for higher- ranking officers will be boosted in a similar proportion.

The law also cancels the current housing provision system that required officers to wait for decades for state-issued apartments that few ever received. Under the new scheme any officer that serves 10 years will be entitled to buy or build a house with state support.

Pensions will amount to 54 percent of their salaries on the police force, or upward of 18,000 rubles, NTV said.

Families of officers who died in the line of duty will receive up to 3 million rubles, while those maimed or crippled at the job will get up to 2 million rubles, RIA-Novosti reported.

The current size of Russia's police force is 1.2 million members. Offices are currently being re-evaluation in tests due to end in August. At the end of this process the size of the force will be cut by 20%.

Air Force officer gets suspended sentence over MiG-31 crash http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20110721/165310152.html

11:45 21/07/2011

MOSCOW, July 21 (RIA Novosti) A court martial in northern Russia’s Arkhangelsk has given a two-year suspended jail sentence to an Air Force officer who supervised flight operations prior to the crash of a MiG-31 interceptor in March, military investigators said on Thursday. The officer, Roman Storozhenko, was found guilty of accepting the base at Kotlas in Arkhangelsk Region as being fit to allow flight operations in March 2010, and authorizing missions for MiG-31s. Areas of the base’s runways and taxiways had not been sufficiently cleared, however, and when one of the MiGs landed, it hit snow guards on the edge of the runway, tipped over and crashed, causing damage worth 86.6 million rubles ($3.09 million). “In the course of the preliminary investigation and trial, Storozhenko has been found guilty. The Arkhangelsk military tribunal has sentenced him to two years suspended,” military investigators said. 01:10 21/07/2011ALL NEWS

Zubkov agrees to be the first on the United Party election list. http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/189530.html 21/7 Tass 170 A VOLGOGRAD, the Volga region, July 21 (Itar-Tass) — Russia’s First Vice-Premier Viktor Zubkov has agreed to be the first on the Volgograd regional list of the United Russian party at elections to the Russian State Duma slated for December. “Thank you for you trust. I am giving my consent to being the first on the party list,» Zubkov said at a meeting with residents of the Volgograd region on Wednesday. Last week the residents of the Volgograd region officially asked Viktor Zubkov to head the regional list of the United Russia party at the State Duma elections. “It’s a very serious proposal. It’s coming from people who enjoy the respect of the population of the region, which, in turn, has a heroic history and a very good and solid potential for development,” Zubkov told the people of the Volgograd region last week.

11:09 GUNMEN KILLED IN OPERATION IN MAKHACHKALA COULD HAVE BEEN RELATED TO JULY 18 POLICE PATROL CAR BLAST, IN WHICH TWO POLICEMEN WERE KILLED - NATIONAL ANTITERRORIST COMMITTEE http://www.interfax.com/news.asp

09:33 21/07/2011ALL NEWS

Three gunmen killed, one detained in Makhachkala special operation. http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/189654.html 21/7 Tass 69 MAKHACHKALA, July 21 (Itar-Tass) — Three militants have been liquidated and one detained during a special police operation in Makhachkala, sources in the republic’s law enforcement agencies told Itar-Tass. According to the source, at around 04:00 MSK on Thursday morning, police special task force blocked a group of gunmen in a private house on Mount Tarki-Tau. The gunmen offered armed resistance. As a result of a nearly three-hour exchange of fire, three militants were killed, and one was detained alive. One police officer was wounded. There have been no reports about the gunmen’s identity. 08:41 21/07/2011ALL NEWS

Police officer wounded in Makhachkala special operation. http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/189620.html 21/7 Tass 59 MAKHACHKALA, July 21 (Itar-Tass) — Special operation to neutralise members of illegal armed groups has been underway in Makhachkala Thursday morning on Mount Tarki-Tau. According to preliminary data, injuring one law enforcement officer has been wounded in an exchange of fire, a source in the Interior Ministry in Dagestan told Itar- Tass. At around 05:00 MSK Makhachkala residents heard submachine-gun fire and grenade explosions. According to unofficial sources, a group of militants the number of which is unknown, was blocked in the area of an observation platform on Mount Tarki-Tau in Makhachkala. Official sources have so far not disclosed the special operation details.

Moscow Reverts to Crude Force to Control the Situation in Kabardino-Balkaria http://www.jamestown.org/programs/edm/single/? tx_ttnews[tt_news]=38198&tx_ttnews[backPid]=27&cHash=eef7fc31b5f8cec73e41e0ae 4aa26952

Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 8 Issue: 139 July 20, 2011 01:28 PM Age: 4 hrs By: Valery Dzutsev On July 18, the Russian air force launched a surprise massive military exercise in Kabardino-Balkaria. Fifteen military aircraft are taking part in the exercises, including Su-24, Su-25, Su-27, Su-34, MIG-29 and Tu-22M3 planes, and Mi-24 and Mi-28 helicopters. These are the largest maneuvers in Kabardino-Balkaria in the past 15 years. The only mountainous firing range for the Russian air force was in a dormant state, but the worsening security situation in Kabardino-Balkaria, Georgia’s perceived threat to its breakaway territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and the impending Olympic games in Sochi reportedly prompted the Russian military to flex its muscles. According to a source in the Russian air force, the firing range in Kabardino-Balkaria was used to test Soviet and Russian guided and non-guided missiles, drones, and military command and control systems. Military airbases in Prokhladny, Kabardino-Balkaria, and Mozdok, North Ossetia, will be used to host the aircraft (www.ng.ru, July 18).

These massive exercises suggest that Moscow is preparing not for the development of tourism in the North Caucasus, but rather for a war. Although the stated aircraft models are of an older generation, they are probably sufficient to impress the locals and any other parties the drills might be addressed to. At the same time, however, the demonstration of military might signifies certain weakness on the part of Moscow, which chose to ensure the loyalty of its citizens by utilizing the air force. The armed underground in Kabardino- Balkaria has proven to be much less potent since its leadership was wiped out as a result of a Russian security operation on April 29. A counterterrorism operation regime is still in place in the republic and there seem to be no signs that it is going to be lifted soon.

The insurgent threat is not the only destabilizing factor in Kabardino-Balkaria. Old tensions between the Kabardins (aka Circassians) and the Balkars are simmering too. The heads of 17 Balkar villages addressed the Russian president to defend their rights. The Balkar leaders claim that the Kabardino-Balkarian government, dominated by the Kabardin majority, is encroaching on their land and pushing the Balkars to the brink of extinction (http://gazetayuga.ru, July 14). In fact, the counterterrorism operation regime and the virtual end of tourism in Kabardino-Balkaria affected the Balkars perhaps most, because many of them received subsistence from this business, since they traditionally occupy the highlands. This puts additional pressure on the local society and ethnic relations. On July 19, one of the Circassian leaders, Ibragim Yaganov, was severely beaten up near his house. Yaganov was organizing a conference with Circassian, Balkar and Cossack organizations to discuss land distribution and other contentious issues (www.kavkaz-uzel.ru, July 19).

Meanwhile, the first official publication of the Russian list of extremist and terrorist organizations and individuals caused uproar in Kabardino-Balkaria. The Council of Balkar People’s Elders, which is outspoken in its opposition to the republican government, was included on the list, despite the Russian Supreme Court’s ruling to lift extremism charges against this organization back in 2010 (www.kavkaz-uzel.ru, July 18). Since Russian courts are notoriously politicized, the fact that a court in Moscow allowed the Balkar organization to function means Moscow is looking for ways to balance the Circassians in Kabardino-Balkaria with the Balkar minority.

The Cossack population of Kabardino-Balkaria received another sign of official benevolence. Of the estimated 10,000 Cossacks in the republic, 3,000 are already employed by the government to cooperate with police, Federal Security Service (FSB), Emergency Situations Ministry and the military. Now the Cossacks have offered to patrol the streets as policemen and the head of Kabardino-Balkaria, Arsen Kanokov, expressed his approval of this proposal (www.kavkaz-uzel.ru, July 17). The talk about Cossacks being recruited for patrolling betrays a profound failure of the state to control this territory with conventional police. Cossacks historically spearheaded the Russian conquest of the Caucasus and controlling the territories after they were subdued. So if the Cossacks receive official approval to patrol the streets in Kabardino-Balkaria, the Circassians and Balkars will likely be deeply offended. In 2010, the Cossacks in Adygea also tried to assume a law enforcement role, but their claims were rebuffed because of the local Circassians’ concerns (www.regnum.ru, June 30, 2010).

On July 9, the Russian TV channel TV Tsentr attacked Georgia and the Circassians over the issue of the Circassian genocide. Journalist Aleksei Pushkov, who has conspicuous ties to the government, stated that Georgia’s official recognition of Circassian genocide in the nineteenth century was meant to fuel separatist trends in the North Caucasus. The program mentioned a conference sponsored by The Jamestown Foundation and Georgia’s Ilia State University in Tbilisi in March 2010, at which the Circassian genocide issue was extensively discussed. Disrupting the 2012 Sochi Olympics is one of the main goals of the Circassian diaspora and Georgia, according to Pushkov. Kabardino-Balkaria is allegedly the weakest spot because of its high levels of corruption and unemployment (www.tvc.ru, July 9). The program sparked outrage even among the Circassians in the North Caucasus conspicuously loyal to Moscow. For example, Asker Sokht, a Circassian activist from Krasnodar, stated that the goal of the TV program was to make the Circassian people and the Circassian diaspora into enemies for Russian viewers. Sokht alleged that this campaign against the Circassians has been going on in Russia for several years (www.aheku.org, July 11).

On July 18, FSB Director Aleksandr Bortnikov stated that his organization thwarted a major terrorist attack in Moscow. Officials said that the plotters of the attack had received orders from Doku Umarov and were the followers of Said Buryatsky, a charismatic Muslim cleric who was killed in Ingushetia in March 2010. The novelty of this situation is that plotters were not only from Chechnya and Ingushetia: there was also a person from Kabardino-Balkaria and another from Mordovia, a region near Volga River in Russia (www.kavkaz-uzel.ru, July 19).

By ramping up the response to the actual or perceived rebel threat, Moscow may be contributing to a loss of trust in the government. The more it appears that Russia treats the North Caucasian territories as something to be captured, suppressed and controlled, the more alienation it evokes among the local population.

10:57 21/07/2011ALL NEWS

Forest fires affecting 8,200 ha in Russia Far East. http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/189701.html 21/7 Tass 55 KHABAROVSK, July 21 (Itar-Tass) — As many as 14 of forest fires at an area of 1,728 hectares were extinguished in the Russian Far East on Wednesday. “However, by Thursday morning, 36 fires are still burning, their total area is 8,136 hectares,” the Forestry Department of the Far Eastern Federal District told Itar-Tass. “The situation is the most difficult in the country’s east in Yakutia, where more than 6,700 hectares of forest and 757 hectares of non-forest land are affected by fires,” the department said. In the Olekminsky district the forest fire area has grown to 3,000 hectares, there are large spots of fire in the Yakutsk and Gorny districts. According to the Yakutsk hydrometeorology department, the fire hazard situation on July 21-23 in most areas of the republic is expected to be extremely complicated - the highest fifth and high - fourth class of fire hazard situation is expected in the forests due to abnormally hot weather. The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry’s (EMERCOM) main department for the Sakha Republic issued an urgent warning about possible emergencies, saying there is the threat of forest fires' spreading to summer cottages and economic facilities located near forests. According to the Far Eastern regional emergencies centre, more than 1,500 people and 196 pieces of equipment have been involved in the fire fighting operation in Yakutia. Specialists of the Aerial Forest Protection Service (Avialesookhrana) of territories and regions of Siberia and the Far East are working here. As many as 105 EMERCOM specialists have been sent to help them. The planes Ilyushin Il-76, BE-200, as well as the Mi-26 and Mi-8 helicopters of the RF Emergency Situations Ministry are extinguishing fires in Yakutia.

08:24 21/07/2011ALL NEWS

EMERCOM aircraft pour nearly 450t of water on Yakutia forest fires. http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/189608.html 21/7 Tass 44 VLADIVOSTOK, July 21 (Itar-Tass) — Aircraft of Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry (EMERCOM) on Wednesday poured on burning fires in Yakutia nearly 450 tonnes of water, liquidating nine wildfires. However, the republic is currently affected by 20 forest fires, 10 of them have been localised. More than 1,500 people, 196 pieces of equipment, including 12 aircraft, are engaged in the fire fighting efforts, the press service of the EMERCOM main department for Yakutia reported. A state of emergency was introduced in 18 districts of the republic and in the Yakutsk city district. Together with local specialists, more than 100 smokejumpers from Siberia, the Amur region, Khabarovsk and Primorsky Territories are engaged in putting out fires. On Thursday, a high fire hazard class is declared in the Primorsky Territory. The same as Yakutia, it is affected by dry hot weather. The likelihood of outbreaks of wildfires in the forests is forecasted in the Kirov, Krasnoarmeisky, Terneisky and Pozharsky districts. Earlier this week, the authorities of Russia’s republic of Yakutia pledged to reverse the wildfire situation in a few days. “Today or tomorrow we shall try to overcome the situation,” Yakutia’s deputy Prime Minister Anatoly Skrybykin told a videoconference at the Emergencies Ministry on Monday. Under Russian current laws, protection of forests from fires and organisation of fire fighting operations are within the competences of regional authorities. Yakutia is one of the regions, where the wildfire situation, according to the Russian Emergencies Ministry, is most difficult. “I hope quantity is to be transformed into quality. But if there are more new fires than extinguished ones, the situation will not improve. A set of preventive measures is badly needed,” said Ruslan Tsalikov, the First Deputy Emergencies Minister. The situation when up to 12 new fires are reported every day is inadmissible, he said and urged Yakutia’s authorities to spare no effort to take the fire situation under control. Wildfires have been ravaging on 15,000 hectares in Yakutia. The Russian Emergencies Ministry has sent Il-76 and Be-200 jets and Mi-26 and Mi-8 helicopters to help put out fires in the republic. Fire fighting operations involve about 900 men, a spokesman for the emergencies administration in the Far Eastern Amur region told Itar-Tass. The worst fire situation is reported in Yakutia. According to local forestry authorities, a total of 406,800 hectares, including 316,900 hectares of forests, have been destroyed in the republic since the beginning of this year’ s fire season. The figures for the entire Far Eastern federal district are 364,000 hectares of forests and 113,700 hectares of non-forest lands. A state of emergency has been in place in the republic’ s 19 municipalities since July 15. The abnormally hot weather with air temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius only deteriorates the fire situation. Weather forecasts say the situation will not change within a week.

Expansion of Moscow proper to be completed in 5 years http://en.rian.ru/russia/20110721/165310126.html

11:44 21/07/2011

MOSCOW, July 21 (RIA Novosti) A project to expand the borders of the Russian capital proposed by the country's president last month may be completed within a five-year term, Russia's Izvestia daily said on Thursday. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev suggested earlier this year to expand Moscow at the expense of Moscow Region's territories to create a capital federal district and to transfer a significant part of government bodies beyond the existing boundaries of the city. "According to regulations of Moscow's authorities, the transitional period of annexing definite municipal territories must be no less than three years and no more than five years," the daily quoted a document pending consideration with Moscow officials. Under the project, the territory of the Russian capital may be enlarged by 720 hectares (1,779 acres) mostly expanding in the southwest into the current Moscow Region, annexing new territories between the Kievskoe and Varshavskoe highways. More than half of Muscovites support the idea of creating a new federal district and moving government agencies outside downtown Moscow, a survey by the All-Russia Public Opinion Center said.

06:44 21/07/2011ALL NEWS Muscovites to get employment information electronically. http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/189582.html 21/7 Tass A-2 MOSCOW, July 21 (Itar-Tass) - The Moscow employment department will provide Muscovites with information on vacancies in electronic form as of August 1, 2011, the agency’s head, Oleg Neterebsky, told journalists. He believes that this new form of work will cut the time for selecting the right vacancy and will make job searching more convenient for the Muscovites. The Moscow Department of Employment will provide e-services to Muscovites who search employment and to employers who want to hire employees. Neterebsky said that a federal program designed to decrease tensions in the labor market had been under way in Moscow for the third year running. This year it covers employees of enterprises that undergo reorganization and modernization. More than 172 million rubles have been allocated for training employees who face dismissal and assisting invalids and parents with many children to find an employment. The city authorities will also help law enforcers who have failed to reconfirm their posts to find a new job. Neterebsky described the situation in Moscow’s labor market as stable. The number of unemployed in the end of June accounted for 45,800 people or about 0.74 percent of Moscow’s economically active population. In the meantime, Moscow’s database on vacancies has 145,000 job offers. The Moscow Employment Service has helped more than 126,000 people to find employment since the beginning of the year.

Russian court rules to extradite Ukrainian lawmaker Landyk's son charged with beating woman, say police http://www.interfax.com.ua/eng/main/74432/

20:21 Krasnodar Court of Russia has decided to extradite to Ukraine a member of Luhansk City Council, Roman Landyk, who is charged with beating a young woman, Interfax-Ukraine learned at Luhansk police. Head of the public relations center of the Main Department of the Interior Ministry in Luhansk region Tetiana Pohukay confirmed this information. At the same time, she refused to disclose any details. The prosecutor's office of Luhansk region earlier reported that Landyk was detained not far from Krasnodar in Russia. On July 19, the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine sent a request to Russia's PGO asking it to extradite Landyk to Ukraine. As reported, the prosecutor's office of Luhansk region opened a criminal case against member of Luhansk City Council Roman Landyk on charges of disorderly conduct (Part 3 of Article 296) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine on July 7. Earlier media reported that Landyk beat up a young woman, who was seating at another table in a restaurant. This incident was recorded on the video and the clip was posted on the Internet. The injured woman, aged 20, was hospitalized with brain concussion and bruises. Landyk was expelled from the Regions Party and from the party's faction in Luhansk council. Roman Landyk is the son of Volodymyr Landyk, a member of the Party of Regions' faction at Ukraine's parliament. 20.07.2011

Three Russian police officers get long prison terms for abuse of office http://en.rian.ru/crime/20110721/165307145.html

05:53 21/07/2011

VLADIVOSTOK, July 21 (RIA Novosti) A court in the Far Eastern Russian city of Khabarovsk has given three police officers long prison terms for abuse of office, a Khabarovsk Territory Court spokesman said on Thursday. According to court materials, in June 2010 the police officers brought a detainee to a police station in Khabarovsk and told him to confess to unsolved crimes. When the man refused to do so, they severely beat him. One of the policemen was sentenced to 10 years in a high-security prison, and the two others to nine years each. They will also have to pay the man they injured 300,000 rubles ($10,660) each in moral damages. It was not immediately clear whether the officers planned to appeal the verdict.

Jailed Former Russian Oil Tycoon Allowed To See Mother http://www.rferl.org/content/khodorkovsky_allowed_to_see_mother/24271809.html

July 20, 2011 MOSCOW -- Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the jailed former head of Russia's Yukos oil company, was allowed to see his mother for the first time since December, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports.

Marina Khodorkovskaya told RFE/RL that she visited her son in the Segezha labor camp in Russia's northwestern republic of Karelia. Khodorkovsky was transferred there from a detention center in Moscow on June 10.

Khodorkovskaya told RFE/RL she talked to her son for four hours by phone and was able to see him through a glass partition. She said Khodorkovsky looked well and was sun- tanned, but had lost weight. "It was the first time in several years that I was able to see him more or less thoroughly in the light as the room was very light," she said.

Khodorkovskaya added that her son shared a room with about 15 other prisoners. He works in a larger group of 180 people in a workshop producing plastic materials.

Khodorkovsky was found guilty in December 2010 of stealing billions of dollars in oil from his own company, Yukos, and of laundering the profits. That second conviction -- following an earlier one for tax evasion -- means he is due to remain in jail until 2017.

Khodorkovsky had the legal right to see his relatives and talk to them by phone through the glass wall for four hours after being transferred to the labor camp from the detention center.

He will be allowed a three-day visit with relatives in August.

Russian Press at a Glance, Thursday, July 21, 2011 http://en.rian.ru/russia/20110721/165308442.html

09:18 21/07/2011 A brief look at what is in the Russian papers today

POLITICS

Support for the Communists and the Liberal Democratic Party is growing at the expense of United Russia and A Just Russia, but the State Duma elections in December shouldn't shatter the current four-party configuration dominated by United Russia, according to a survey released Wednesday. (Moscow Times)

Police on Wednesday detained 19 opposition protesters who staged a sit-in on Lubyanskaya Ploshchad in support of fellow activist Taisia Osipova, on trial on murky drug dealing charges in Smolensk. (Moscow Times)

Apart from governors, Russian government ministers will lead regional United Russia party lists at the State Duma elections. (Kommersant)

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

The Central Bank decided to withdraw the license of AMT Bank where deposits worth over 15 billion rubles ($533mn) were placed. (Kommersant, Vedomosti)

Investigators are trying in vain to establish who owns Domodedovo Airport. (Vedomosti, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)

The Kremlin demanded that state companies ensure the responsibility of board members for decisions they make. (Vedomosti, Kommersant)

SOCIETY

The Dunaisky-66 tow boat captain, Alexander Yegorov, was questioned over his failure to come to the aid of the boat that sank on July 10 on the Volga River, killing over 100. Investigators say he should have tried to help passenger. (Kommersant)

A French company and an Israeli company could become involved in ensuring security at North Caucasus resorts. (Vedomosti)

IT Russia’s largest cell phone operators and Rostelecom have proposed that all 4G frequencies be given to them. (Kommersant)

Choice is when Medvedev and Putin are both on the ballot http://rt.com/politics/press/gazeta-ru/choice-medvedev-putin-ballot-percent/en/

Published: 21 July, 2011, 07:45 Edited: 21 July, 2011, 07:58 40 percent of people surveyed by the Levada Center would like to see both names on the ballot By Lev Makedonov Russians are confident that the current head of state, Dmitry Medvedev, and his predecessor, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, will both be listed on the presidential ballot in 2012. This is not a conscious choice: on one hand it is driven by protest sentiments, on the other by indifference, say sociologists. The number of Russians ready for “a third option” – Dmitry Medvedev and the current prime minister’s presidential nomination – is rising, show public opinion surveys conducted by the Levada Center. Forty percent of Russians have answered the question, “Who do you think will run in the presidential election?”, by saying it will be both Medvedev and Putin. One in four believes that Putin will run for president, and almost one in six believes Medvedev will put his name on the ballot for a second term. The same survey asked Russians about the people they would like to see as candidates. The difference in the results gives reason to conclude that Russians do not have a formalized political choice, Aleksey Grazhdankin, an expert with the Levada Center, told Gazeta.Ru. For example, only 15 percent of respondents would like seeing Medvedev’s name on the ballot, and 27 percent of respondents prefer Putin. The numbers did not change much since the last time a similar poll was conducted this past March. Compared to that period, Medvedev lost 3 percent, while Putin did not gain a single percentage point. The percentage of people opposed to the current tandem has reduced slightly, from 25 percent to 23 percent. Meanwhile, the share of those who would like both officials to run in the presidential election, or those who are indifferent, rose from 16 percent in March to 19 percent. The option in which both are nominated is, in the eyes of the Russian voters, regarded as their only opportunity to take part in determining the country’s fate, say sociologists. “The fact that this option is being proposed shows demand for real competition and the ability to be involved in making a decision regarding the next president,” explained Grazhdankin. “We cannot yet be talking about the feeling of being insulted, which arises when the public is not asked who will be the next president. The feeling of self-worth, including civil, is a value present only in narrow layers of post-Soviet Russian society.” A plebiscitary democracy which, according to the sociologist, repeats “the Soviet bloc of communists and non-party members” with United Russia and the All-Russian People’s Front, does not meet the Russians’ demands. Based on recent polls, 65 percent of citizens would not want to become members of the All-Russian People’s Front. “Political outlook assessments fluctuate within a measureable range – between 20 percent and 40 percent, which shows that Russians easily alter their perceptions, which is also shown by the previous surveys,” noted the Levada Center expert. According to him, respondents simply seized the proposed theoretical “third option.” Among them are those who are completely indifferent and those who do not want to see Putin or Medvedev become president. Talking strictly about the chances of Medvedev and Putin’s nomination, the desirable and the realistic (or the proposed) are practically the same in Russians’ eyes. Nearly 18 percent are confident Medvedev will be nominated. Meanwhile, 24 percent of respondents expressed confidence that Putin will try running for a third term. Meanwhile, respondents were and remain confident that the final decision is not theirs to make. Putin and Medvedev have already decided among themselves which one of them will run in the election, say 64 percent of Russian citizens. Twenty-five percent are confident of just that, and 39 percent believe that the president and the prime minister have “most likely” already decided on “the 2012 issue.” Only 3 percent firmly believe that the question has not yet been settled. The survey was held between June 23 and June 27 and included 1,600 Russians in 130 constituent territories in 45 regions. The statistical margin of error amounts to 3.4 percent.

Kommersant: Polls foresee parliamentary majority for United Russia http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n255202

21 July 2011 | 08:25 | FOCUS News Agency Home / World Moscow. Next line-up of Russia’s State Duma will consists of the same four parties, which are represented there now, while the ruling United Russia would lose its constitutional majority, as stated in the latest poll results, presented by the Russian Public Opinion Research Centre. In fact, on the eve of the 2007 elections the sociologists again envisaged lower results for the ruling party. Experts think that the new election forecast will be again different from the real results, Kommersant writes. According to the poll, at the moment the United Russia enjoys 49% public support, while the Communist Party – 12%, followed by the Liberal Democratic Party – 7%, and the Just Russia Party – 5%.

United Russia Losing Support, Survey Says http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/survey-united-russia-losing- support/440869.html

20 July 2011 By Natalya Krainova Support for the Communists and the Liberal Democratic Party is growing at the expense of United Russia and A Just Russia, but the State Duma elections in December shouldn't shatter the current four-party configuration dominated by United Russia, according to a survey released Wednesday. Unlike regular surveys, the forecast by state-run VTsIOM pollster combines a population poll with prognoses by 13 political analysts and sociologists. If the elections were held this month, United Russia would win 58.3 percent of the vote, down from almost 63 percent last November, VTsIOM said. The Communist Party increased its support from about 12 percent to 14.7 percent over the period. The Liberal Democratic Party also boosted its ratings from 6.9 percent to 9.8 percent, while A Just Russia is teetering on the brink of the 7 percent threshold with 7.3 percent, down from 8.9 percent in November.

None of the country's other three registered parties would have won seats. The Patriots of Russia would get 1.9 percent, Yabloko 2.8 percent, and the revamped Right Cause 4.1 percent, admittedly up from 2.6 percent in November. The poll, held in June, covered 1,600 people and had a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points. VTsIOM did not identify the 13 analysts questioned for the survey. The pro-business Right Cause party is the wild card of the election season, with its new leader, billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, promising to make it the second-biggest faction in the next Duma. But the party "will not succeed by using liberal ideology," Sergei Mikheyev, head of the Center of Political Conjuncture of Russia, said at a news conference organized by VTsIOM to unveil the survey. VTsIOM head Valery Fyodorov called Right Cause's electioneering a personal advertising campaign for Prokhorov, who made headlines in 2007 when he was detained and later cleared during a prostitution investigation at the French resort of Courchevel. Prokhorov also angered unions by proposing a 60-hour work week last year. "Most Russians know Prokhorov from the scandal at Courchevel and the proposal to introduce the 60-hour work week," Mikheyev said. Fyodorov said it was "a big question whether Prokhorov would change so much to attract more voters in the remaining time." As for the other parties, A Just Russia suffered from the recent dismissal of its leader Sergei Mironov as the Federation Council speaker, Fyodorov said. In addition, the party has been "deprived of a key object for criticism" after St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko agreed to trade her job for Mironov's speaker seat, he said. The Liberal Democratic Party's rating is growing because of a rise in nationalistic moods that the party has tried to cater to recently, Fyodorov said. The Communist Party has a permanent electoral base of about 18 percent, but part of its supporters mobilize only on the eve of elections, which spells more gains for the party as December draws near, Mikheyev said. Moreover, some Communist voters who swung toward A Just Russia, created in 2006 as a pro-Kremlin alternative to the Communists, at the last Duma elections, will come back, Mikheyev said. As for United Russia, Mikheyev blamed its slipping popularity on a "number of recent technological catastrophes." He did not elaborate, but recent incidents include plane crashes in Petrozavodsk last month and the Tomsk region in early July, which killed a total of 54, and the sinking of the cruise ship Bulgaria last week, killing a presumed 129. Meanwhile, United Russia and its new electoral ally, the All-Russia People's Front, finished accepting nominations for joint primaries Wednesday. Campaigning was to start Thursday and proceed parallel to the primaries, which are to wrap up by Aug. 25, the party said on its web site. United Russia is to reserve 150 of the 600 seats on its party list for members of the front, created by its leader, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, to give broader representation in the Duma to nonpolitical groups. First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov has agreed to head United Russia's party list in the Volgograd region in the Duma elections, the party's web site said Wednesday.

Read more: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/survey-united-russia-losing- support/440869.html#ixzz1SiPvXlcT The Moscow Times

Right Cause Taps Ex-Yanukovych Aide http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/right-cause-taps-ex-yanukovych- aide/440868.html

21 July 2011 By Alexander Bratersky Mikhail Prokhorov's Right Cause party has tapped a spin doctor whose work in Ukraine was undone in 2004 by the Orange Revolution to lead its campaign for the State Duma elections. Prokhorov has also announced that Right Cause will form a "shadow cabinet" with him at the helm, Interfax said. A key position on Right Cause's campaign team will be assumed by Rifat Shaikhutdinov, currently a Duma deputy with the Liberal Democratic Party, Gazeta.ru reported, citing senior Right Cause official Boris Nadezhdin. Prokhorov's spokeswoman Yuliana Slashchyova said Tuesday that Shaikhutdinov would only serve as an adviser with a 100-member team headed by Prokhorov. But unidentified party members told Gazeta.ru that Shaikhutdinov was already at work as de-facto campaign chief.

Igor Lebedev, who heads the Liberal Democrats' faction in the Duma, denounced Shaikhutdinov's alliance with Right Cause as "a betrayal," RIA-Novosti said. Shaikhutdinov was not available for comment Wednesday. Shaikhutdinov, a Duma deputy since 2003, has formidable experience in political campaigning that dates back to the 1990s. He also headed a state-owned aviation enterprise that went bankrupt in 2003, prompting the Investigative Committee to unsuccessfully seek in 2007 to have him stripped of parliamentary immunity and charged over the bankruptcy. But Shaikhutdinov's biggest challenge came in 2004, when he headed the campaign team of Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych, who enjoyed the Kremlin's backing and declared himself the winner after the vote but agreed to a rerun election after sweeping public protests. He lost to Viktor Yushchenko but defeated him in a 2010 rematch, this time without Shaikhutdinov. Prokhorov, who announced plans for the "shadow cabinet" at a news conference Tuesday, did not name any future ministers but himself, but said they would be included on the party list for the Duma vote. He has promised to give Right Cause the second- biggest Duma faction. "We will invite people whose professional skills enable them to assume even the top posts," said Prokhorov, who in June voiced aspirations to become the prime minister after the elections. "It's important to present an alternative view on government actions," senior Right Cause member Leonid Gozman said, Interfax reported. The cabinet may gain importance if stocked with "influential people," said political analyst Iosif Diskin, who sits on the Public Chamber. He identified former a deputy economy minister, Andrei Nechayev, and former Central Bank chief Sergei Alexashenko — both Right Cause members — as possible cabinet nominees. But Eduard Limonov, who sat on a shadow cabinet established in 1992 by the Liberal Democratic Party, was skeptical of the idea. "Our shadow government had no influence," Limonov, now an opposition leader, said by telephone Wednesday. He predicted the same fate for Prokhorov's plan.

Read more: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/right-cause-taps-ex- yanukovych-aide/440868.html#ixzz1SiQCcTC6 The Moscow Times

Hedging Putin's Will http://www.rferl.org/content/hedge_fund_offers_choice_russia_presidential_race/242716 21.html

July 20, 2011 Russian asset-management firm Arbat Capital has tailored its services to reflect total uncertainty over who will run in the March 2012 presidential election.

The enterprising asset-management group is creating a fund that will actually invest in portfolios of companies based on their apparent ties to either President Dmitry Medvedev or Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. In a country where business and politics often overlap, investors are thus effectively able to throw the dice and speculate on whether it will be powerful Putin or incumbent Medvedev in the Kremlin next year.

Putin and Medvedev, former colleagues and friends from the St. Petersburg 1990s, have been unforthcoming and often utterly cryptic when quizzed on who will run for the presidency with only seven months to go until polls.

Putin recently sneered at a journalist for even posing the question.

They say that revealing which of them might run for the Kremlin could trigger infighting as clans vie with each other to lay the appropriate groundwork for their political and business survival until 2018 (Medvedev increased presidential terms to six years).

Nadia Popova points out for the WSJ's "Emerging Europe" blog that Arbat Capital believes it has a solution for investors in its "New Kremlin Fund," which is expected to be registered and operative in August.

Arbat Capital gives a number of examples "to illustrate how the upcoming elections can affect the value of public companies."

The outcome of the poll is crucial for businesses operating in Russia that are thought to require informal approvals from the Kremlin before striking major deals. The companies to benefit from Mr. Putin’s possible third term are gas producer OAO Novatek and media holding CTC-Media Inc., said Arbat Capital managing director Yulia Bushueva, the creator of the New Kremlin Fund.

The choice of the next president also has major impact on potential collaborations between Russian and foreign companies, according to Arbat Capital. It points to the example of TNK-BP, British Petroleum's 50-50 Russia venture.

TNK-BP has been a central party in the dispute over a share swap between BP and Rosneft, oil behemoth. The latter was until recently chaired by Igor Sechin, the powerful deputy prime minister at the heart of Putin's inner circle.

A Putin return could potentially give Sechin more sway in the BP-Rosneft deal, which he himself has championed.

But, for gamblers with more modest investment capital but who still have a penchant for reading the Kremlin tea leaves, there are other outlets.

British gambling sites Paddy Power and Stan James are offering odds of 2/7 and 4/11 respectively on Putin staging a comeback to the Kremlin. They put the incumbent's chances at 9/4 and 2/1.

Analysts are divided over Russia's burning question and many can agree only that Putin, president from 2000 to 2008 and widely perceived as Russia's most powerful leader, will ultimately have the final say in who runs despite handing the reins to Medvedev in 2008.

Nikolai Petrov of the Carnegie Moscow Center says that Prime Minister Putin may base his decision to run in the presidential elections on his performance in the December parliamentary elections.

Putin has said he will "need to wash" after election season.

-- Tom Balmforth

Rogozin dives into the brainstorming session at the White House http://rt.com/politics/press/nezavisimaya/rogozin-missile-defense-us/en/

Published: 21 July, 2011, 06:10 Edited: 21 July, 2011, 06:14

The special presidential envoy will be allowed to enter the holy of holies of US missile defense By Darya Tsilyurik Yesterday Russia’s permanent envoy to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, arrived in Washington. The main theme of his visit to the US, which will last until July 25, is the search for a compromise on the deployment of US anti-ballistic missile defense elements in Europe. An informed diplomatic source told Nezavisimaya Gazeta (NG) that Rogozin’s scheduled trip to the Missile Defense Integration and Operations Center at Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado Springs could be considered a landmark event. On his trip, Rogozin will be accompanied by Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Ryabkov, who is in charge of the Foreign Ministry’s ABM affairs and disarmament in general. Rogozin should be joined by his counterpart, US Permanent Representative to NATO Ivo Daalder. According to the source, Rogozin should expect a fully-packed agenda with talks and consultations. For example, he will meet with Special Assistant to the US President Gary Seymour, and hold consultations at the National Security Council with representatives of the presidential administration, including Presidential Advisor Michael McFaul, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Ellen Tauscher, Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense James Miller, and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff James Cartwright. Moreover, Rogozin is expected to hold talks with certain senators, including Jon Kyl. On Friday, he plans to meet with Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Gordon. Consultations with Assistant Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller have also been scheduled. The main theme of the visit – deployment of US anti-ballistic missile defense elements in Europe – will be discussed during these meetings. It is the main aggravating factor in the relations between Russia, the US and NATO. According to our source, it has been proposed to hold a brainstorming session on issues concerning cooperation in this field. Russia will rely on the idea that there is still a chance to reach a compromise. The goal of the visit, which is taking place in an environment of “cautious optimism,” is to identify common ground on this issue. “For now, not one of the discussed options for cooperation has been disregarded,” explained the source. “It is planned to analyze the existing groundwork and outline at least some reference points. We believe that a chance has not been lost.” He added that Rogozin will not raise any other issues, unless the US has some unrelated questions. It is noteworthy that on Monday, Rogozin is expected to visit the holy of holies of the US Armed Forces: Colorado Springs, which is home to the US ABM command post. There he will be greeted by US military officials, who will hold a briefing and show him what they are allowed to show, said the source, adding that this is the first time a visit to Colorado Springs is taking place at this level. Today, in the midst of the search for a solution to the ABM defense problem, this is a symbolic event. The sourcepointed to the fact that Moscow remains concerned about the deployment of US ABM defense elements in Europe, because this system could “have a significant effect on the balance of forces, and lead to the reduction of the viability and effectiveness of Russia’s strategic deterrence.” “This is a serious matter of national security, and we are not ready to turn a blind eye to what will be happening,” he said. Russia will demand solid guarantees that this system is not aimed against its strategic nuclear forces, while considering comprehensive equal-right cooperation within the framework of the AMB to be the best approach. There should be no room left for mutual distrust and especially suspicion, as it could lead to a new arms race, says the diplomat. Russia must be assured that, in terms of its national security interests, the ABM in Europe does not undermine its strategic potential. Rogozin’s trip to the US is regarded in Moscow as “a highly important event.” In May, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev addressed a message to all of the heads of states and governments of the Russia-NATO Council, in which he outlined the Russian position and noted that its further clarification and development will be carried out by the efforts his special envoy on missile defense cooperation with NATO – Dmitry Rogozin. Rogozin is making contacts with the alliance members’ defense departments as part of his efforts to develop this position. Rogozin has already visited Germany, Poland, Slovenia and the Netherlands, and plans to travel to France, Italy and Turkey in the future. “But the most important visit is the current one – to the US,” explained NG’s source. At the end of the trip it is expected that an analysis will be conducted of what was discussed in order to consider and develop Russia’s further negotiations position on cooperation with NATO and the US on ABM defense. Who is who http://eng.expertclub.ge/portal/cnid__9275/alias__Expertclub/lang__en/tabid__2546/defa ult.aspx

20/07/2011 17:28 Experts's Club

Two months have passed since the Georgian Parliament recognized the genocide of the Circassian people. But silence and confusion caused by this act still continues in the upper echelons of the Russian authorities. Sensible parts of the Circassian society assessed this immediately as the beginning of a new stage in their history. The decision of the Georgian Parliament played another important part. It made it possible to distinguish between forces really interested in the fate of the Circassian people and those hidden behind pseudo-patriotism. This equally concerns both international and Caucasian Circassian organizations and their leaders. Majority of Circassian public organizations from the Caucasus, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Europe and the US sent letters of thanks collectively and individually to the Georgian Parliament where they noted that by this brave act a big step was taken towards restoration of historical justice regarding the Circassian people and in the matter of their unification. This decision created a barrier which would help to prevent similar tragedies in the future. It supported strengthening of common humanitarian values, establishment of peace and stability in the Caucasus region. According to activist of the Circassian Youth Organization Kik Kase the recognition of the Circassian genocide by the Parliament of Georgia has completely changed attitude of the Circassian people and especially of the youth towards Georgia. Georgian people and Georgia have become more and more popular topic among them. Many stereotypes that certain circles had been creating for the last twenty years about Georgia and Georgians were broken and they started to rethink this issue from a new point of view. This process is gathering pace not only in Circassians of the Caucasus but in all Circassian Diasporas of the world. Also a decision of the Georgian authorities to erect a memorial of Circassians -victims of the genicide on the Black Sea coastline was a positive step. It would have been even better if it were possible to do this in historical Circassia where today monuments are erected to Russian conquering generals – Zass, Yermolov, Romanov and so on. And by doing this they are insulting a memory of people that died and were expelled from their homeland from hands of these very generals – said Kik Kase. They believe that the recognition of the Circassian genocide by Georgia gave incentive to the Chechen authorities to accelerate return of those refugees from Jordan that were fighting with arms in their hands against the Russian army in the First and the Second Chechen wars and afterwards were forced to leave their homeland for well-known reasons. Authorities of the Chechen Republic made a very courageous and just decision and this June they brought 100 refugees from Jordan with special free flight. 10 more similar flights are planned to bring back other groups as well. Despite the fact that large part of the returnees are pursued and wanted by the Russian security services local authorities gave them security guarantees for living in their homeland , returned their old properties and even allotted significant sums funds to them. Chechens showed a fine example of timely and prompt solution of the Muhajir problem. This is the way to go when what was taken away by force is not returned for hundreds of years. Return of the Circassian Muhajirs to their historical homeland, unification of Circassian territories in the Caucasus , formation of united , truly national and independent Circassian organization, revival of Circassian culture and language, recognition of the genocide of the Circassian people , expression of the position towards the 2014 Winter Olympics - these are questions that define genuine national spirit of all public organizations or separate individuals. Approaching these issues with double standards aims at stretching time aimlessly and turning a blind eye to mounted problems that got the Caucasus to a deplorable state. The issue of the Circassian genocide is not a question of short standing. It was raised on the international level back in the nineties of the last century by the International Circassian organization headquarters of which was in Nalchik. This organization was considered a significant force then. At the instruction of Moscow and with its direct participation it was taken under control by the authorities of Balkaria of the time. And few years later it, like some of other Circassian public organizations, became an attachment of the government bodies. This was when accumulation of problems, that Russia is struggling with today, began. Those are wise who see what's coming when it still in its bud. These wise words count thousands of years. And if the Russian authorities have seen the Circassian problem in its bud, and started politics of its timely solving instead of politics of concealment the issue of the genocide would not have raised so acutely today. And there have not been question of holding or non-holding of the Olympics in Sochi. Neither so much innocent blood would have been spilt in the Caucasus. Like their Moscow masters Abkhazian separatist leaders maintain silence. They feel that recognition of crimes that were committed 150 years ago against the Circassians will accelerate putting on an agenda of the shameful crime against 300 000 innocent people that twenty years ago were driven out of their homes. Adopting the ostrich position and politics of not seeing of so many problems will not achieve anything. In order to please Moscow more insolence is demonstrated by those who believe that the Genocide of the Circassian people never happened. This was an act that was in the interests of the Russian Empire. And that all empires at that time behaved the same way. An author of this approach is Kabardian professor, Doctor of Historical sciences Khasan Dumanov who, in his words, has been working on problems of Circassia since 1968. By the way, now-deceased leader of the separatist regime of Abkhazia Sergei Bagapsh hald the same view. Dumanov maintains that neither Russia nor Turkey is ready for settling Circassians back into their historical homeland. And in all descendents of Muhajirs are better off where they have been living for so long as return to their historical homeland will bring them face to face with new painful processes. Position of head of the public organization of the Krasnodar Krai Adyge Khase Asker Sokht towards all Circassian problems is diametrically opposed to views repeatedly expressed by national forces. He calls on heads of Circassian organizations to be guided only by the legislation of the Russian Federation. He advises the government of Turkey to create appropriate conditions on place for Circassians as in this case it will be hard for them to live in conditions of today's Russia. He criticizes everybody who believes it to be blasphemy to hold the Olympics in Sochi, on graves of the Adyge people. More, he was accused of attempts to deceive leaders of the Circassian organizations. Asker Sokht showed them individually a document that was prepared in Moscow to convince them that everybody had signed their consent there already and that only that particular person was left to do the same. But as it became known later no one had signed it. This immoral and treacherous act of Asker Sokht was officially confirmed by chairman of the public movement of Kabardino-Balkaria Khase Ibrahim Yaganov and other Circassian public figures at a press conference. Ibrahim Yaganov differs significantly from the rest of the leaders of the Circassian with his clear and unambiguous position. He believes that unlike other countries Russia has failed to overcome barrier of the country's colonial legacy and is trying to preserve the empire with the use of force. He argues that Georgia's recognition of the genocide of the Circassian people brought the Circassian problem at the international level that put the federal government in an awkward position. They do not even understand how to behave in the future, as their designated regional leaders do not understand the situation and are just busy with misappropriation of federal grants. Yaganov categorically opposes holding of the Olympic Games in 2014 on the graves of their ancestors -Circassians in Krasnaya Polyana. He raises the question of creation of one united Circassian Commission from separate organizations, as chief force that guided the Circassian idea - the International Circassian organization has become a marginal entity since 2000. The latter only exists to serve the Federal centre and prevent formation of new, truly national organizations. Yaganov criticizes leaders of Circassian public organizations Asker Sokht, Chachukh Majid, Muhamed Khafitse who do not have their own positions and who only have poses that is changed in accordance with instructions received from the centre. They have always been and will continue to be on the side of the existing government, and they do not care who is in power. The decision of the Georgian parliament of May 20th, 2011 accelerated the disclosure of enemies and well-wishers of the Circassian people. It became clear who is who. The process continues.

P.S. Today it became known that the leader of the Circassian movement in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic Ibrahim Yaganov was attacked by unidentified persons and was severely beaten up with metal rods and even pipes. Currently Yaganov is in hospital with head injuries. Supporters of Yaganov link the attack to its public activities. Energy and Politics - The Love-Hate Relationship between Russia and Ukraine http://oilprice.com/Geo-Politics/International/Energy-and-Politics-The-Love-Hate- Relationship-between-Russia-and-Ukraine.html

Written by John Daly Wednesday, 20 July 2011 13:01 Russia and Ukraine resemble nothing so much as Siamese twins that have grown up, now detest each other, but share organs difficult, if not impossible, to separate.

The two issues that unite and divide Russia and Ukraine are simple – energy and military issues.

The former – Russia’s need of Ukraine’s Soviet-era skein of natural gas pipelines that supply Moscow’s most lucrative European markets.

Military issues? One word – Sevastopol, the Black Sea’s finest natural harbor, now uneasily shared between the Ukrainian Navy and the Russian Federation’s remnants of the USSR’s Black Sea Fleet.

Two decades after the implosion of the USSR, the two sides frequently seem farther apart than ever, but no surgeons from Kiev or Moscow have yet to come up with a solution for clean divisions.

Ukraine can rightly be argued to be the cradle of Slavic orthodox culture, as Grand Duke Vladimir of Kiev chose Christianity as the state religion in 988 AD.

But three centuries later, Mongolian armies sweeping in from the east across Ukraine’s broad steppe destroyed Kievan culture, as what up to then had been a minor principality sheltered in Russia’s deep forests began a slow and relentless rise to power. The name of the town?

Moscow.

As Moscow’s ascendancy to Eurasian power grew, Ukraine’s power waned, as the country became an area of fierce struggle between not only Muscovy, but the Ottoman Empire, Poland and Lithuania.

The early 19th century saw Russian domination of the country nearly complete, as Russia was drawn by Ukraine’s rich resources, not least the zhernozem, Ukraine’s fertile “black earth,” whose cultivation led Russia by the end of the century to become Europe’s leading exporter of wheat.

But the 20th century brutalized Ukraine, as first Lenin’s Bolsheviks and later, in 1941, Hitler’s Wehrmacht fought over the region’s reserves.

Beginning in the 1970s, Ukraine began to be crisscrossed by a skein of natural gas and oil pipelines – while many were designed to fulfill the requirements of both the USSR and its Eastern Europe allies, but ultimately European Gazprom clients as well.

The energy-poor Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic’s role then was as a transit country, after its energy needs were met.

After 1991, Moscow wanted two things – continued access to Ukraine’s pipelines to continue providing its affluent European clientele, and oh, by the way, Kiev to pay ever higher natural gas prices.

And so things trundled along for several years, until Ukraine’s mounting gas debts caused Moscow to propose a swap – Ukraine’s multi-billion dollar gas debt for the Ukrainian pipeline network.

Kiev refused, and so began several years of Gazpron attempting to apply pressure by reducing gas supplies during the winter months, causing much shivering in Kiev and nervousness amongst Gazprom’s European clients, for whom, the fundamental question amid the relentless brinkmanship between Moscow and Kiev is between spending significant money to improve Ukraine's pipeline infrastructure through which they receive 42 percent of their Russian gas imports, or swallowing hard and digging deeper to build alternative lines.

Eurocrats might recall the warning that Putin delivered on 23 December 2009, before the Ukrainian dispute flared up, "The era of cheap energy resources, of cheap gas, is, of course, coming to an end."

And so, Ukraine remains what it was in the time of Genghis Khan – a highway to Europe, except in this case it is Russian energy invading Europe, not hordes of Asiatic warriors.

Accordingly, both the EU and Russia need Ukraine. What neither side has understood up to now is that lessening their efforts to pull Ukraine into their respective gravitational orbits might in fact be a good thing.

Three years ago, in April 2008 at the NATO summit in Bucharest, the Bush administration assiduously pressured its NATO allies to fast-track both Ukraine and Georgia for NATO membership. The Europeans baulked at Washington’s pressure and the wisdom of their caution was proved four months later when a brief but brutal conflict erupted between Georgia and the Russian Federation.

Accordingly, 20 years after the collapse of Communism, Brussels should recognize that Ukraine represents a “red line” for the Kremlin for extending military influence, while the Russia should in turn realize that Europe’s primary interest in Ukraine is in fact its ability to transit energy, whatever NATO’s 800-lb gorilla, Washington, might want.

Geography and history bind Ukraine and Russia to a deeper relationship than many neighboring nations – if Europe is serious about the long-term security of its energy supplies, then it should stop following Washington’s lead to inveigle Kiev into military relationships and instead, like China, concentrate exclusively on economic issues. As for Russia, it should stop regarding Ukraine as a potential covert stalking horse for outside military powers seeking to encircle Russia, and stop trying to squeeze each and every kopeck out of Kiev by both low-balling the transit fees it pays to use Ukraine’s pipelines while relentlessly raising natgas prices.

Neutrality is not always a dirty word.

And Sevastopol? Another tale for another time. By. John C.K. Daly for OilPrice.com

Russia to get first dibs on Belarus privatisations http://www.bne.eu/storyf2793/Russia_to_get_first_dibs_on_Belarus_privatisations

bne July 21, 2011

Belarus seems finally to be getting its privatisation programme going, and it is not shy about who will be buying up the bulk of its state-run industries – Russia.

"We are opening the economy for real, and facilitate access for our Customs Union partners," Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich said in an interview with the Russia Today satellite TV channel. "Our Russian partners will always be our first option."

Russia has long had its eye on some of the state firms that dominate Belarus' economy – selling off a host of state-owned companies was a condition that Moscow forced Minsk to accept in return for the $3bn Eurasec bailout loan – but some Russian companies are so far playing hard-to-get.

According to Prime news agency, Myasnikovich said Belarus is negotiating selling stakes in Grodnoazot to Sibur and Rosneft, in Naftan to Lukoil, in Beltransgaz to Gazprom, and in Mozyr NPZ oil refinery to Rosneft, and in MAZ and in Integral to Rostekhnologii. He complained, however, that Lukoil is dragging its feet over Naftan, while Rosneft denies any talks are going on. "Take the chemical complex – Lukoil has been considering Polimir, which is part of a complex with Naftan, for two years, and we would like to hear a yes or a no," Myasnikovich said in the Russia Today interview, warning: "We have alternative proposals."

That is a familiar refrain from Belarus, but there rarely seems anything to back it up.

Experts say Russian majors appear unexcited about Belarus' petrochemical sector. "The [Russian] interest in oil-processing assets in Belarus is not an active process and highly depends on the market situation," Oleg Andreyev, chief M&A specialist with Alfa Bank in Belarus, told Prime .

"On Grodno Azot, Russian Sibur and Rosneft responded in the negative, and I suppose the key factors here are the price of raw stuff and value of the asset," Andreyev said, adding that Lukoil's acquisition of Naftan was discussed in 2007 and 2009, but nothing came of it.

Another much-discussed Russian acquisition – fertilizer producer Belaruskali – has apparently stalled too.

Uralkali has not sent its proposals about its role in the privatisation of Belaruskali, Myasnikovich said on Russia Today: "I don't know, maybe they don't want it."

Meanwhile, the director of the national energy security fund of Russia, Konstantin Simonov, says the acquisition of Mozyr NPZ by Rosneft was not reasonable under the circumstances – Gazpromneft and TNK-BP already hold stakes in the Belarus-based refinery. However, Simonov said at least one purchase would go ahead, with Gazprom likely to acquire the remaining 50% stake in pipeline monopoly Beltransgaz.

Still, Russia is determined the privatisations will go ahead.

Belarus only received the first $800m trance of the Eurasec loan in June, but Russia is already warning of the consequences if its smaller neighbour doesn't live up to its side of the bargain.

Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said the terms may be revised if the Belarusian government doesn't take serious steps to address its economic crisis. He reiterated that privatisation could provide additional resources for the economy. "If the government is not ready to use this reserve, I believe credit support to be less justified," Kudrin is quoted as saying by Prime . "Belarus should be assisted only after it starts acting."

Russia's Arctic vision, how different is it really? http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/russias-arctic-vision-how-different-it-really

Mia Bennett | Jul 20, 2011 At the same June 30 regional conference of the United Russia party in Yekaterinburg where Vladimir Putin defended Russia's growing presence in the Arctic, he spoke about his vision for developing the region. He focused on environmental restoration in the Arctic waterways and on natural gas development. First, he called for a "big cleanup" in the region. Putin lamented, "I was in the North last year, and I was terrified by the number of old barrels, once used for fuels and lubricants, which have been piling up for many decades near geologists' stations and military bases there. Sometimes, these barrels become rusty and leaky from age, and the contents pour out. This is impermissible. If we don't start to clean up the Arctic right now, the consequences may be very sad." During the cold war, the Soviet government closed off numbers of settlements in the Russian Arctic to test chemical and nuclear weapons. Much of the waste, some of it radioactive, spewed out into the rivers, like the Ob River, which flows into the Arctic Ocean. The radioactive pollutants don't just stay in the Russian portion of the Arctic, either: traces have been found to the east, around Alaska, and will continue to circulate at the top of the globe. Farther north, on Wrangel Island, the Soviets built an anti-aircraft defense base and a weather station. Approximately two hundred people lived on the island at the time. To this day, thousands of oil barrels sit leaking, the poisonous consequences of a government which cared little about the environment. These are just a few examples of the pollution that ravages Russia's Arctic.

Developing offshore oil and gas resources Putin also spoke about the $20 billion plan to develop the Yamal Peninsula's surrounding natural gas fields. The government intends to construct a port and an LNG plant there to develop the 1.2 trillion cubic meter gas deposit in South Tambey, in the Barents Sea, though hopefully they will take a little more care in preserving the natural surroundings. Plans are indeed moving forward: on June 20, Sovcomflot, Russia's largest shipping company, which also specializes in oil and LNG transport, signed a bilateral agreement on cooperation with the state-owned Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs (Vnesheconombank). Broadly, the agreement regards how shipbuilding for the Yamal project will be financed. According to a press release on Sovcomflot's website, the agreement covers "the structure of ship building finance and the acquisition and subsequent operation of conventional LNG tankers, shuttle LNG tankers, tankers designed to carry gas condensate and supply vessels for the liquefied natural gas (LNG) production project in the Yamal peninsula." The terminal is slated to be operational by 2018. Developing offshore oil and gas resources is an integral part of both Russia's long-term economic trajectory and its plans to increase its presence in the Arctic. It's also tied in to the country's proposals to make the Northern Sea Route a full-fledged shipping route. Two weeks ago, the Maritime Collegium of the Russian Government held a retreat to discuss the topic of reviving the passage, which could see more oil and LNG tankers sailing through in the coming decades. In an interview with RIA Novosti, the governor of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Ilya Mikhalchuk, discussed why the city of Arkhangelsk would be an ideal hub for the route. He argued, "Obviously, it's time to revive the Northern Sea Route. And this issue is given great attention at the highest level. Today, the Arkhangelsk region has all the conditions to once again become the center of the Northern Sea Route. Most of the Arctic Research fleet is still based in Arkhangelsk. Of the 14 hydrographic vessels, 12 are assigned to our port. In the area there are ice-class vessels and a shallow-draft icebreaker fleet for dredging and unloading at unequipped shores. In the region are also an oil base and the Arkhangelsk oil terminal. Arkhangelsk's hydrographic base was saved, which provides all the necessary work in the Northwest Arctic. Our regio, has created a powerful platform personnel – Northern (Arctic) Federal. That's why we believe that the administration of the Northern Sea Route should logically be located in Arkhangelsk. At the same time, other strong points of administration can be created involving separate areas of the Northern Sea Route. This was stated by Vice-Premier Sergei Ivanov, the Marine Board, and we fully support the position of the Russian Government on this issue." (edited from Google Translate.)

'Bringing civilization to the North' In the same interview, Mikhalchuk expounded on the need for more housing in this distant northwest reach of Russia, far from Moscow. Eight social housing buildings will be constructed in the center of the region, rather than in far-flung suburban developments. Many young people will be moved from emergency housing to these new apartments once they have been built. In a survey of the residents of Arkhangelsk, housing and kindergartens were found to be the people's main priorities. These concerns resonate with those in that other big country in the North, Canada. There, in the three territories, local governments are also desperate to build more housing and improve education. Back in Yekaterinaburg, Putin added, "Bringing civilization to the North, we must not infringe the centuries-old culture of local peoples." Again, this sounds like something Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper might say with regard to the Aboriginal peoples who have resided in Northern Canada for millennia. Maybe the Russians and Canadians do share a common vision for the Arctic after all. Mia Bennett graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2010 with degrees in Political Science and European Studies and minors in Geospatial Information Systems & Technology, Scandinavian, and French. She focuses on the politics of Arctic resource management and Canadian infrastructure, and is interested in the application of GIS technology to Arctic dilemmas. She speaks French, Swedish, and is learning Russian. She freelances for the magazine ReNew Canada and currently lives in New York City. This commentary is posted on Alaska Dispatch as part of Eye on the Arctic, a collaborative partnership between public and private circumpolar media organizations. The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch. Alaska Dispatch welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, e-mail commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com.

“ A Russian-European economic zone can save euro” http://rt.com/news/economy-russia-france-euro/

Published: 21 July, 2011, 10:03 Edited: 21 July, 2011, 10:36 Overcoming stereotypes and becoming closer partners with Russia is the natural way of development for European countries, to help them solve their problems, says Jean-Pierre Thomas, French presidential special representative for dealing with Russia. RT: You come to Russia every 15 days. What is your primary mission?

Jean-Pierre Thomas: My first mission given by President Sarkozy, in line with President Medvedev, is to report and scope out the establishment of a Euro-Russian economic zone. And the second part of this mission is to strengthen economic cooperation in all possible areas between our countries.

RT: You have responsibility also for developing trade between France and Russia. What sectors of the Russian economy do you think are the most attractive for business leaders in France?

JPT: Today, for France, it is of course raw materials and trade. We have gas, oil is essential, but we do a lot of other things. Today, look at what Alstom is doing with TransMash Holding, building locomotives for export across the world, look at what Sanofi is doing in the pharmaceutical area.

We co-operate in many new technological areas, and today these areas are multiplying, because we are in the heart of Russia’s modernization plan and French companies can offer quality technology. And so for us, points of interest are many, not only raw materials, which remain essential, including the nuclear sector, in which we can co- operate more deeply.

RT: You’re talking about good sides of modernization, and President Medvedev has criticized the investment climate in Russia. Do you see improvement?

JPT: I see huge progress myself. I have been working with Russia for many years and I believe we are wrong when seeking to teach lessons to Russia. Today, Russia is 20, and the progress to date has been huge. And President Medvedev and Vladimir Putin have done huge work; we see it; the changes are profound.

To put it simply, on our side we are not always very aware of that. Firstly, you need to read Russian, which is not common; secondly, you need to come more often to Russia. So we also need to open our minds. There is still much to do however. Your leaders, the president, your prime minister, say it. At the St. Petersburg forum, the roadmap was clarified.

The investment climate is much better. Today, look at the business flow between us. The big French groups are present: for example – Vinci who are doing the motorway link between Moscow and St. Petersburg. Today we are developing co-operation on power generation. On the sides of the St. Petersburg’s summit, we signed with EDF to equip, and I would say to provide electricity to, the city of Tomsk. We built parts for EADS, for Airbus in Irkutsk in Siberia. So there are multiple areas of co-operation. The co-operation between France and Russia does work. RT: But if someone like you does not come to Russia every 15 days – just a business community outside of Russia. Do they still have the old stereotypes of Russia?

JPT: If you speak with the presidents of big French groups present in Russia, they are very happy to be here and they want to develop their business. Those who are not here yet often have some a priori and we have, I have to say it, in Western Europe, not only in France, a problem with our media who do not know Russia well, and Russia should communicate more also. There are old stereotypes and the progress achieved is not reflected.

RT: Why? Why is the media biased in the West about Russia?

JPT: I think their image of Russia is based on the past, from 15-20 years ago, and as they do not come to Russia often enough, and as Russia communicates actually quite little to us on what internal changes are taking place, we have to deal with outdated ideas and perceptions, which are wrong, and this, I believe, is an important subject. This is a blocking point. We often speak about big groups, but think about the numerous small and medium-sized companies, in Russia and in France. Many are already co-operating, but we could do much more in this area.

RT: How will the French businesses that you bring to Russia help diversify the economy?

JPT: Today, you are in the middle of a modernization drive in Russia. Be it in transport, water or electricity distribution, in aeronautics, in health at the laboratories level, in high- tech, and by the way, you have Skolkovo which is a big success. Many companies, EADS, Alstom, and soon Sanofi, but also American, German and many others are present, so we can help Russia on technology transfers in many areas.

RT: On this visit you will go to the North Caucasus to evaluate its potential for investment. Does the alpine tourism expertise figure in your approach?

JPT: Yes, and I believe that Russia took a very good decision, which is the one to try to stabilize and ensure better security in this area through economic development. And both presidents, President Medvedev and President Sarkozy in Deauville, on the sides of the G8, made a joint declaration on this.

Russia chose France as the main supplier – not exclusive, but main. To try and establish ski resorts, spas and develop the area coastline. This is a huge project led by Mr. Bilalov, the president of North Caucasus Resorts. We’re taking a visit with Ms. Nabiullina, and I believe that the tourist development will be the right path to create jobs, give hope and as well increase security, which also comes with economic development. We are going to take part in this adventure.

RT: Is this the first time you will be going to the North Caucasus? JPT: Yes, for me this will be my first time in the North Caucasus and I am very excited to have the chance to discover it, which is wonderful. I have seen photos, the French team accompanying me already knows that area, it is a wonderful place, and I think you can develop a tourist hub in the center of Europe which will be very attractive to the whole world.

RT: How long do you think it will take to turn into a tourism paradise? Right now it’s not the safest place for tourists to go.

JPT: You know, the French have experience. We developed in Croatia, remember. Turkey at the very beginning. When we were developing tourism in Turkey, the area was not that safe. And the conviction of your government and your president, to say that we are going to develop this area, to create jobs for the young, of course to ensure security. The government provides guarantees for up to 70 per cent of investment, but its still taking a chance – it’s the right decision to develop this area, so that is what needs to be done.

RT: What amount of investment are we talking about?

JPT: This is a huge project, over many years; more than $15 billion will be invested. French companies and others will have the opportunity to take part. Investors, and of course the Russian government invests a lot in infrastructure, which our companies can complement: I am thinking about Pomagalski, who builds ski lifts. Other French companies will be present, we are going to invest but it will also be necessary to attract capital from all over the world. This is a very big project.

RT: Let’s talk about the euro. What are the concerns about the euro in France? It’s so closely tied with Spain and Italy, which are sliding into bailout territory.

JPT: I believe that, whatever they say, today the euro is not threatened. It is facing difficulties. But as we speak here about co-operation and about a future economic zone with free movement of people and capital between Russia and Western Europe. This will be a breathing space for the European Union and for the euro, an additional economic area and so a strengthening of the euro.

RT: You thing a Russian-European economic zone could save the euro?

JPT: Yes, I believe that today Europe, which is a political, economic entity, needs a much bigger economic space to be globally competitive. Think about the fact that the American continent is brought together at the NAFTA level, that the Asian countries are brought together at the ASEAN level.

We do not have a big area on the European continent, but however so many things link us in history, in culture. And today our economic complementariness is strong. On one hand, there are raw materials, a huge area, on the other hand a trade capacity, advances in some sectors, but not all. You also have here high technology and demand for more, meaning we have a common interest, and common interests to be defended in the world and I believe that today this can only strengthen the eurozone, notwithstanding the rise of China, who for you is a great partner but also a great competitor.

Concerning the Mediterranean, the instability is going to continue for some time, the accession to democracy for these countries will be much longer than we want to admit, and our partners across the Atlantic are also competitors, so the idea of expansion is both an opportunity and an obligation, for Russia and for Western Europe, for our countries.

RT: Talking about commonalities, Russia and France have always competed for defense and military contracts, and now we are purchasing French helicopter carriers. What do you think of this?

JPT: This is a big first. In St. Petersburg in the presence of President Medvedev we signed for the Mistral. This is the first time France undertook such a technology transfer, and sold such important military equipment. And in the same way, by the way, co- operation will be in two directions.

As Prime Minister Vladimir Putin came to Paris we took delivery of test model of the Beriev 200, the firefighting plane, which is now under trial in the West of France, and we’re looking at buying more. So our co-operation in sensitive areas, the Mistral is an example, shows that the political climate is healthy. There are no more clouds today between France and Russia, and contacts between the two presidents are excellent. Also with the prime minister.

I believe that we have to seize the opportunity presented by this political climate, because it is very good, and this is an opportunity to consolidate the gains we have made so quickly.

RT: You know Moscow very well, because you come here very often. We like to think that Moscow is like the New York of Eastern Europe. Do you think Moscow can have the status of an international financial center?

JPT: I am convinced of Moscow’s financial hub plans. We received Mr. Voloshin, who is responsible for the Moscow financial hub plan in Paris. He met French stock market regulatory authorities, on the ACP, on regulating banks and insurance companies, to follow the example of what is being done, so as to be in line with global norms and standards.

Our idea is that Moscow, located halfway between Hong Kong and New York, has a central role to play. We have here a big country for raw materials. Moscow could be the global financial hub for raw material trade tomorrow. You are global leaders in oil, gas. Look at big groups like Rusal, Norilsk Nickel, I mean that you are global leaders in the energy sector, so Moscow has a role to play.

And moreover for our financial hubs we can find synergies in the derivates area, in many things, so we, we are convinced that the ruble will stay strong, and Moscow must become a major international financial hub. You have a lot of things yet to do at the legal level, on legal security, regulation, but you are doing it at the moment, and the only thing to do is to help you, not to give you lessons.

National Economic Trends

11:30 21/07/2011ALL NEWS

Russia gold, currency reserves up on July 8-15. http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/189728.html (adds) 21/7 Tass MOSCOW, July 21 (Itar-Tass) Russia's gold and foreign exchange reserves climbed by 2.4 billion US dollars from 526.1 billion dollars to 528.5 billion (or by 0.11 per cent) on July 8-15, the business news agency PRIME reported on Thursday with reference to the foreign and public relations department of the Central Bank of Russia (CBR). The country's foreign exchange reserves record registered on August 8, 2008 was 598.1 billion US dollars. Since January 1, when the gold and foreign exchange reserves amounted to 479.379 billion dollars, this index has been raised by 10.25 percent.

07/21 12:18 RUSSIAN AGRICULTURE MINISTRY UPS GRAIN EXPORT FORECAST TO 18 MLN TONNES http://www.interfax.com/news.asp

Russia: agrarians sowed grains and leguminous crops throughout 44.1 mln ha – Rosstat http://www.agrimarket.info/showart.php?id=110188

07/21/2011 10:15 According to preliminary data, in Russia agricultural producers of all categories (agricultural organizations, farming enterprises, population) sowed grains and leguminous plants throughout the areas of 44.1 mln ha for the harvest-2011, sunflower - 7.6 mln ha, reported the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) on July 19. The sowing areas of grains and leguminous crops in the country increased compared to the previous year areas, to the level of 0.5 mln ha (1.2%), wheat sowings reduced by 1 mln ha (3.8%). Agrarians increased sunflower sowings by 5.7%. Agricultural organizations still continue to focus most of the sowing areas of grains and leguminous crops - 74% of the general areas in farms of all categories, sunflower – 66.3%. The share of private (farming) enterprises in sowings of grains and leguminous crops among farms of all categories in 2011 totaled 24.8% (in 2010 - 24.3%), sunflower sowings - 33.3% (32.6%). In Russia, in June 2011 the volume of agricultural production of all categories of agrarian producers (agricultural organizations, farming enterprises, population) totaled 198 bln RUR (7.09 bln USD) in current prices, on the first half year of 2011 - 901.7 bln RUR (32.3 bln USD), an increase of 0.7%, declared the Federal State Statistics Service.

Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions

Russian markets -- Factors to Watch on July 21 http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/07/21/russia-factors-idUKLDE76K07420110721

Thu Jul 21, 2011 7:15am BST MOSCOW, July 21 (Reuters) - Here are events and news stories that could move Russian markets on Thursday. You can reach us on: +7 495 775 1242

STOCKS CALL (Contributions to [email protected]): Alor: The external backdrop is neutral. Positive dynamics in U.S. indexes may drive MICEX index to 1,710 points ... but the achievement will not be secure because of the European Union's crisis summit meeting starting at 1100 GMT. Troika: We are opening our prices this morning flat.

EVENTS [RU-DIA] (All times GMT): MOSCOW - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is meeting Trade Union leaders. MOSCOW - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will hold a cabinet meeting. MOSCOW - The Russian government is due to review finalised proposals on a relaxed duty regime for crude oil exports. LONDON - Russian miner Petropavlovsk (POG.L) to release operation update.

IN THE PAPERS [PRESS/RU]: Vedomosti reports that Russian state oil major Rosneft (ROSN.MM) is in talks with NLMK's (NLMK.MM) owner Vladimir Lisin over a $200-400 million acquisition of ChernomorNeftegaz which has rights to develop offshore deposits in the Black Sea. Four Russian telecoms operators -- Rostelecom (RTKM.MM), MTS (MBT.N), Vimpelcom (VIP.N) and MegaFon -- suggested current third- and second-generation networks should not be used for the fourth-generation network development, meaning smaller rivals such as Nordic carrier Tele2 (TEL2b.ST) may end up without 4G networks as undistributed spectrum is not enough to share among more than four companies, Kommersant writes.

TOP STORIES IN RUSSIA AND THE CIS [RU-NEWS]: TOP NEWS: * Russia okays Total joining Arctic gas project [ID:nLDE76J0F7] * Powerful quake shakes Central Asia, kills 13 [ID:nLDE76J00Q]

COMPANIES/MARKETS: * TNK-BP minorities win BP-Rosneft fiasco case [ID:nLDE76J13U] * Polyus Gold to invest $8.7 bln in 2011-2020 [ID:nLDE76J0SU] * LUKOIL buys into offshore Sierra Leone project [ID:nLDE75Q0GF] * Severstal raises $500 mln via Eurobond-sources [ID:nLDE76J0BY] * Rouble up on risk appetite, bonds in demand [ID:nLDE76J16W] * Russia 2011 car sales seen rising up to 40 pct [ID:nLDE76J05J] * AvtoVAZ backs Putin for President [ID:nLDE76J1MM] * Utinet eyes foreign listing after Moscow IPO [ID:nLDE76J104]

ECONOMY/POLITICS: * Russia FDI tops $27 bln in H1 - Putin [ID:nLDE76J0K9] * TABLE-Russia's three-year budget strategy [ID:nLDE74P1N9] * Poll shows Putin's party to lose ground in Dec [ID:nLDE76J1GW] * Libyan FM: no talks on Gaddafi's departure [ID:nLDE76J1A8] * Kazakh leader back in office this week - min [ID:nL6E7IK1TT]

ENERGY: * ANALYSIS-Russia top contingent liability: oil [ID:nLDE76H0YH]

COMMODITIES: * TABLE-Russian sugar refining up 19 pct y/y [ID:nLDE76J0TE]

MARKETS CLOSE/LATEST: RTS .IRTS 1,938.0 +0.07 pct MSCI Russia .MIRU00000PUS 1,012.0 +0.28 pct MSCI Emerging Markets .MSCIEF 1,134.8 -0.17 pct

Russia 30-year EurobondRU011428878= yield: 4.373/4.353 pct EMBI+ Russia 11EMJ 197 basis points over

Rouble/dollar RUBUTSTN=MCX 28.0000 Rouble/euro EURRUBTN=MCX 39.7525

NYMEX crude CLc1 $98.31 -$0.09 ICE Brent crude LCOc1 $117.93 -$0.22

For Russian bank balances see CBDEPOS For Russian company news, double click on [E-RU] Treasury news [M-RU] Corporate debt [D-RU] Russian stocks [.ME] Russia country guide RUSSIA All Russian news [RU] Scrolling stocks news [STXNEWS/EU] Emerging markets top news [TOP/EMRG] Top deals [TOP/DEALS] European companies [TOP/EQE]

Polyus, Gazprom, Rostelecom, VTB: Russian Equity Preview http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-20/polyus-gazprom-rostelecom-vtb-russian- equity-preview.html

Q By Anna Shiryaevskaya - Jul 20, 2011 10:00 PM GMT+0200 The following companies may be active in Russian trading. Stock symbols are in parentheses and share prices are from the previous close in Moscow. The 30-stock Micex Index (INDEXCF) rose 0.1 percent to 1,701.37. The dollar- denominated RTS Index climbed 0.5 percent to 1,936.54. OAO Polyus Gold (PLZL RX): Gold futures fell for the second straight day on optimism that policy makers in Europe are moving closer to resolving the region’s debt woes. Russia’s biggest gold producer slid 1.8 percent to 1,717.40 rubles. OAO Gazprom (GAZP RX): NAK Naftogaz Ukrainy, Ukraine’s state-run energy company, said it had 16.9 billion cubic meters of natural gas in storage as of July 18, after pumping in 7 billion cubic meters since April. The company also plans to borrow 625 million hryvnia ($78 million) from the state-run export-import bank this month to pay for Russian gas. Gazprom, the Russian gas exporter, rose 0.2 percent to 200.31 rubles. OAO Rostelecom (RTKM RX): The association of shareholders and investors of Russia’s dominant fixed-line phone company is seeking re-election of the company’s board of directors, RIA reported, citing the group. Rostelecom gained 5.3 percent to 209.72 rubles. VTB Group (VTBR RX): Russia’s second-biggest lender completed the purchase of 29.4 percent of OAO TransCreditBank from OAO Russian Railways. VTB gained 0.4 percent to 0.08569 rubles. To contact the reporter on this story: Anna Shiryaevskaya in Moscow at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Will Kennedy at [email protected] July 21, 2011 10:28

Petropavlovsk boosts gold output in H1 by 32% to 219,100 ounces http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=260660

MOSCOW. July 21 (Interfax) - Gold production alliance Petropavlovsk increased its gold output by 32% to 219,100 ounces in the first half of 2011 from 166,300 ounces produced for the same period of 2010, the company said. Gold production in the second quarter of 2011 increased by 43% to 143,700 ounces. The company expects its production to increase in the second half of this year thanks to seasonal operations to set up 'heap leaching' and placer gold production. Petropavlovsk confirmed an earlier announced forecast that puts 2011 output at 600,000 ounces. Sales of precious metals in the first half came to 266,000 ounces at an average price of $1,455 per ounce. Sales increased 71% year-on-year. In addition to funds on the company's balance sheet at the end of 2010, standing at $96 million, the company signed an agreement to raise $340 million in loan facilities, which should be enough for financing the company's capital expenditures. Ih (Our editorial staff can be reached at [email protected])

VTB ups stake in TransCreditBank to 73% http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20110721104647.shtml RBC, 21.07.2011, Moscow 10:46:47.VTB has closed a transaction to purchase a 29.4% interest in TransCreditBank from Russian Railways, thus bringing its stake to 72.9%, VTB said in a statement late Wednesday. Russian Railways President Vladimir Yakunin said earlier that the company would receive about RUB 16.5bn (approx. USD 588m) for the 29.4% stake. Russian Railways is expected to sell the remaining 25% plus one share stake in TransCreditBank to VTB for RUB 13.95bn (approx. USD 497m) before the end of 2013. Russian Railways also expects to receive around RUB 10bn (approx. USD 357m) from the capitalization of the bank's profit.

Russia's central bank withdraws license from Moscow-based AMT bank http://en.rian.ru/business/20110721/165310197.html 11:50 21/07/2011

MOSCOW, July 21 (RIA Novosti) Russia's central bank has withdrawn the operating license from Moscow-based mid-sized AMT Bank over inaccuracies in its financial statements, the regulator said on Thursday. "The Bank of Russia has taken the decision to revoke the license because AMT Bank has failed to comply with federal laws on banking activity and Bank of Russia regulations and has considerably distorted its financial statements,," the regulator said in a statement. AMT Bank invested funds in assets without creating adequate reserves for possible losses, the central bank said.

Razgulay Appoints Chairman Mirgalimov as Chief Executive Officer http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-21/razgulay-appoints-chairman-mirgalimov- as-chief-executive-officer.html

Q By Ilya Khrennikov - Jul 21, 2011 10:04 AM GMT+0200 OAO Razgulay Group (GRAZ), a Russian sugar and grain producer, said its board appointed Rustem Mirgalimov as chief executive officer on a one-year contract. Mirgalimov was hired last year as the company’s chairman and is a managing partner at Avangard Asset Management, Razgulay said in the 2010 annual report posted on its website. Avangard became Razgulay’s largest shareholder this year after buying shares from the producer’s founder Igor Potapenko, it said. To contact the reporter on this story: Ilya Khrennikov in Moscow at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Viljoen at [email protected]

Yenisey Industrial to Get Loan for Elegest Coal, Interfax Says http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-20/yenisey-industrial-to-get-loan-for-elegest- coal-interfax-says.html

Q By Anna Shiryaevskaya - Jul 20, 2011 7:36 PM GMT+0200 Yenisey Industrial Co., owned by Russian Copper Co. shareholders Igor Altushkin and Ruslan Baisarov, will receive a 2 billion-euro ($2.84 billion) loan to finance development of the Elegest coal deposit in Siberia, Interfax reported, citing an official it didn’t identify. Yenisey Industrial reached an agreement on the syndicated loan with a group of unidentified foreign banks, the Moscow- based news service said. To contact the reporter on this story: Anna Shiryaevskaya in Moscow at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Will Kennedy at [email protected]

Domodedovo Airport resumes property development project http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20110721110602.shtml

RBC, 21.07.2011, Moscow 11:06:02.Moscow's Domodedovo Airport is to resume a project aimed at developing approximately the 14 hectare area it controls, RBC Daily reported today citing chairman of the airport's board of directors Dmitry Kamenshchik. The development plan could be unveiled this fall. Of the total area, 9.5 hectares will be used for the construction of runways and 5,000 hectares will be used for the construction of Aerotropolis, a complex of terminals, shopping malls, offices, a business park, and exhibition centers, according to a presentation made in 2007. According to Kamenshchik, investments in the development of the airport will amount to $1.5bn-$2bn over the next 10 years. Investments in 2011 are estimated at $200m-$250m.

Gilat Closes Sakha Deal http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/gilat-closes-sakha-deal/440876.html

21 July 2011 Bloomberg JERUSALEM — Gilat Satellite Networks said Wednesday that it would provide a broadband satellite network in Russia. The company was selected by the Sakha republic Finance Ministry to provide a full turnkey SkyEdge II broadband satellite network to serve new locations in Sakha, Gilat said in a statement. The contract was the second the company won this month in Russia. On July 13, Gilat said it was selected by Synterra to provide equipment for a broadband network.

Read more: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/gilat-closes-sakha- deal/440876.html#ixzz1SiZCfWqZ The Moscow Times 06:33 21/07/2011ALL NEWS

Nakhodka port transships 27 mln tons of cargoes in 2011. http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/189581.html 21/7 Tass A-1 VLADIVOSTOK, the Far East, July 21 (Itar-Tass) – Ports located in the Nakhodka city district in Russia’s Primorye region transshipped 27 million tons in the first six months of 2011. They’ve set a new freight traffic record among all the ports on Russia’s Pacific coast by increasing the freight turnover by almost two million tons since 2010. Oil, petroleum products and coal formed the bulk of transshipped cargoes – about 22 million tons, according to the eastern branch of the Rosmorport Company. If the Nakhodka ports continue working at their current rate, they may set another record by the end of 2011. Their previous achievement was 51.3 tons in 2010. The shipping harbor plans to transship 65 million tons of cargoes in 2012. The most powerful ports operating within the boundaries of the Nakhodka city district are the deep-water Vostochny port and an oil marine port of Kozmino where giant ships and tankers are loaded in 24 hours.

Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Russian tourism sector on the brink of collapse http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n255200

21 July 2011 | 08:00 | FOCUS News Agency Home / World Moscow. Representatives of Russia’s tourism sector on Wednesday made a concerning warning. The tourism industry is on the brink of a new crisis. This time the issue does not concern the tourist inflows but of the profitableness. The clashes in Egypt played an important role for this, as they raised Turkish tour operators’ appetite for profit. In the future the downturn will affect the consumers with the latest increase of the price of tourist services, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes. “Turkey comes first in terms of tourist interest, followed by Greece, Spain, Bulgaria, Egypt, Croatia, Cyprus, Thailand and Montenegro,” announced Maya Lomidze of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia.

Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory) Rosneft May Buy Lisin’s Chernomorneftegaz, Kommersant Says http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-21/rosneft-may-buy-lisin-s- chernomorneftegaz-kommersant-says.html

Q By Lyubov Pronina - Jul 21, 2011 6:07 AM GMT+0200 OAO Rosneft is in talks to buy ZAO Chernomorneftegaz as it seeks to expand its assets on the Russia's Black Sea shelf, Kommersant reported today, citing unidentified people familiar with the course of negotiations. State-owned Rosneft plans to buy almost 100 percent of the company from Russian billionaire Vladimir Lisin’s GRT Investments Ltd, the Moscow-based newspaper said. The deal, worth between $300 million and $400 million, may be completed by early fall, Kommersant said. To contact the reporter on this story: Lyubov Pronina in Moscow at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Brad Cook at [email protected]

Total Gets Yamal Buy Approval http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/total-gets-yamal-buy- approval/440856.html

21 July 2011 The Moscow Times The government approved on Wednesday the purchase by France's Total of a stake in a major Arctic natural gas project, Yamal LNG, clearing another hurdle for its development. It appears that Total will buy the 20.5 percent interest from Novatek, the Russian gas producer that already owns 51 percent in the project and has the option to buy the remaining 49 percent from the other current shareholders. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin referred to the French company as "our long-time, good and reliable partner" before the special foreign investment commission, which he chairs, backed the deal. Yamal LNG is scheduled to produce its first liquefied natural gas in 2018, Putin said Wednesday. Other foreign partners, including from Qatar and India, may join the project, Novatek has said.

The Novatek-led effort represents Russia's determination to expand its share of the market of the gas, which is shipped by tankers. The market — now dominated by Qatar — offers more flexibility in choosing customers. The government agreed to provide tax breaks for Yamal LNG and help with building some of the required transportation network. Together, the state and investors will spend at least 1 trillion rubles ($35.7 billion) getting the gas to market, including the construction of tankers and a new Arctic port, Putin said Wednesday. Without the tankers and the port, Novatek has said it would cost 15 trillion to 20 trillion rubles to develop the project. Total paid $4 billion in April to become a Novatek shareholder, buying 12 percent of the country's second-biggest gas producer after Gazprom. Yamal LNG, whose other current shareholders include Gennady Timchenko and — reportedly — Pyotr Kolbin, plans to lift its gas from the giant Yuzhno-Tambeiskoye field. Total is also a partner in a Gazprom-led plan to develop another Arctic natural gas field, Shtokman, in the middle of the rough Barents Sea. The final investment decision on that effort has been delayed several times and is now expected by the end of this year.

Read more: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/total-gets-yamal-buy- approval/440856.html#ixzz1SiQM7r87 The Moscow Times

Terra firms up Russia financing http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article268434.ece

Frankfurt-listed Terra Resources has secured enough financing to start bringing on stream dozens of formerly producing oil and gas fields in Russia. Luke Johnson 20 July 2011 19:16 GMT The London-headquartered company said it had finalised an initial round of $7 Million in equity funding, with an additional $4 million available should it require more. Terra holds oil and gas concessions in Kalmykia, Russia, in the North Caspian region bordering Kazakhstan. The field contains 64 wells that were drilled more than four decades ago, all but two of which were producing. Terra says on its website that seven of the wells are listed as potential "super giant" finds. Low gas prices and insufficient infrastructure led to the capping of the wells, Terra says. It was not clear how long the wells have been capped or how long it would take to bring tham back into production. Terra has contracted Baker Hughes to help develop the field and bring the wells back into production. The US services giant will produce reservoir studies, production forecasts and field development models, and will perform geomechanical modelling for surface completion design and workover design. Terra was not immediately available to give further details. Published: 20 July 2011 19:16 GMT | Last updated: 20 July 2011 19:18 GMT

Lukoil Takes 70% Stake In Sierra Leone Offshore Block http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/07/20/lukoil-takes-70-stake-in-sierra-leone- offshore-block/

By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen Published July 20, 2011 | Dow Jones Newswires MOSCOW -(Dow Jones)- Russian oil major OAO Lukoil Holdings (LKOH.RS) has acquired a 70% stake in the SL-5-11 block off the coast of Sierra Leone in West Africa from Oranto Petroleum Ltd., the company said Wednesday. Under the exploration program, Lukoil is required to drill one exploration well before 2013, the company said. The SL-5-11 offshore block covers 4,022 square kilometers with water depth varying from 100 meters to 3.3 kilometers, Lukoil said. "2D and 3D seismic surveys have been conducted at the block, revealing several promising structures," it said in a statement. "The block is part of the Sierra Leone--Liberia geological basin, where a number of major oil fields have been discovered during the last two years, thus proving its potential productivity," the company said. Copyright © 2011 Dow Jones Newswires

Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/07/20/lukoil-takes-70-stake-in- sierra-leone-offshore-block/#ixzz1Siducmmr

JULY 21, 2011

BP's Russian Partners Renew Legal Proceedings http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904233404576458241367459356.html

By GUY CHAZAN And GREGORY L. WHITE After a brief lull, BP PLC's billionaire Russian partners have recommenced legal proceedings against the U.K. oil giant, asking an arbitration panel to rule on whether BP breached their shareholder agreement when it pursued an alliance with Russia's state- owned oil company earlier this year. The move is the first stage of a process designed to win billions of dollars in compensation from BP for the alleged damage done to the joint venture, TNK-BP Ltd., a person close to the Russian shareholders said. BP has in the past argued that because the tie-up with OAO Rosneft never materialized, no damage was done to TNK-BP. Last January, BP struck a landmark deal with Russia's Rosneft that would have seen the two companies swap shares in each other and jointly explore for oil in the Russian Arctic, an area long off limits to foreign oil firms. But the alliance was opposed by BP's partners in TNK-BP, a group of Soviet-born billionaires whose holding company is known as AAR. They said it violated the exclusivity provisions of their shareholder agreement and won an injunction to block it. Last May, the three parties were close to a deal under which BP and Rosneft would have bought out AAR's stake in TNK-BP for more than $32 billion in cash and stock. But the transaction collapsed at the last minute over legal disagreements. BP and AAR both acknowledge that talks on a buyout are unlikely to be revived. The person close to the Russian shareholders said they had asked the Stockholm tribunal that adjudicates commercial disputes between BP and AAR to hear AAR's complaint that the Rosneft deal violated the TNK-BP shareholder agreement. The person said that if the panel finds in the Russian partners' favor, they will seek to persuade the TNK-BP board to sue BP for damages. A BP spokesman declined to comment, saying the Stockholm dispute-resolution process was "confidential." AAR is alleging that BP's abortive alliance with Rosneft damaged TNK-BP in a number of ways. First, it says, TNK-BP could itself have taken part in the Arctic alliance in BP's place: the Russian partners estimate this "missed opportunity" to have been worth around $4 billion. Secondly, AAR says the collapse of the deal damaged TNK-BP's relationship with Rosneft and the Russian government, making it harder for the company to access export routes and procure oil licenses. The person close to the Russian shareholders said they would be willing to drop their legal case in Stockholm "if BP admitted that its breach of the shareholder agreement had caused significant damage to TNK-BP and offered to compensate the company." "We would rather not go to the tribunal and prefer to resolve this matter amicably," the person said. A person close to BP said AAR's request to the Stockholm tribunal was a pressure tactic to try to bring BP back to the negotiating table and revive the BP-Rosneft buyout of AAR. The BP spokesman said the offer to buy out AAR was "no longer on the table." "[AAR] turned down good offers, which we believe would have benefited them," he said. "The buyout transaction, which really could have been a great deal for [AAR], Russia, BP and its shareholders, is gone for everyone, and we have to move on." Write to Guy Chazan at [email protected] and Gregory L. White at [email protected] Gazprom

Gazprom signs a forth Indian LNG supply deal http://www.russia-media.ru/mainmore.php?tpl=Shtokman+News&iditem=130

21.07.11] Gazprom said on Wednesday according to the Economic Times (India) that it signed a memorandum to supply the Indian Oil Corporation Limited with a volume of 2.5 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) a year for up to 25 years.

This is the fourth gas deal Gazprom, the world's largest gas producer, has signed with Indian companies this year, the Indian Economic Times writes on its web site.

Last month, Gazprom Marketing and Trading Singapore (GM&TS) signed memorandums to supply LNG to GAIL , Gujarat State Petroleum Company (GSPC) and Petronet LNG Limited, which together could be worth more than 90 billion USD.

"Gazprom Singapore will provide LNG to its Indian partners from its current and projected Gazprom group production, such as Sakhalin, and will be supplemented by its wider Russian and international supply portfolio," Gazprom said in a statement.

“This forth Indian LNG deal is of importance also for the planned Shtokman project in the Barents Sea. It represents another brick in the Shtokman puzzle. If Gazprom has to fulfill all its contracts about LNG deliveries to Asian markets, the projected Shtokman LNG factory in Teriberka in Murmansk region seems to be absolutely needed”, comments Murmansk & Shtokman News publisher Ulrich Kreuzenbeck. (Source: Economic Times, India; Murmansk&Shtokman News))

[ russia-media.RU – Murmansk & Shtokman News / FLAIT Group Murmansk ]

Gazprom signs 4th memorandum on LNG supply to India http://en.rian.ru/business/20110721/165310587.html

12:22 21/07/2011

MOSCOW, July 21 (RIA Novosti) Gazprom subsidiary Marketing&Trading Singapore, or GM&TS, has signed a fourth memorandum of understanding on liquefied natural gas supplies to India with Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Gazprom said in a statement on Thursday. Gazprom is to deliver 2.5 million tons of LNG per annum for 25 years. In June, GM&TS signed memoranda of understanding with India's major firms GAIL, Gujarat State Petroleum Company (GSPC) and Petronet LNG Limited (Petronet) to supply about 7.5-10 billion cubic meters of LNG a year. Gazprom will supply LNG from the existing and future projects, including the giant hydrocarbon deposits in the Sea of Okhotsk off Russia's Pacific Island of Sakhalin and international assets. Gazprom said in a statement it considered India as one of its key LNG markets, as well as Japan and other Asian countries.

Gazprom’s 4th Indian customer in 2 months – Shtokman likely supply source http://tilt.ft.com/#!posts/2011-07/25786/gazproms-4th-indian-customer-2-months- shtokman-likely-supply-source by Alastair Marsh, FT Tilt Gazprom has signed an MOU to supply Indian Oil Corporation, India’s biggest company, with 2.5m tonnes of LNG a year each for 25 years. The deal comes after three identical MOUs were signed with IOC’s compatriots last month, with the gas due to be supplied from the Shtokman field - a large Arctic field that has suffered from many setbacks.

21.07.2011

Gazprom: Construction at Bovanenskoye Field On Schedule http://www.oilandgaseurasia.com/news/p/0/news/12187

Work has been completed at the Bovanenkoye field to assemble a complex gas preparation unit, Gazprom reported in a news release. The work was reviewed by a recent delegation of Gazprom specialists headed by Gazprom Deputy Chair of Management Aleksandr Ananenkov.

The Bovanenskoye field is the main center of gas production in Yamal, Gazprom reported. At a meeting in Nadym, Ananenkov noted that construction in the field was on schedule.

Besides the new gas preparation unit, preparations are underway to install a hydraulic test unit and a cluster of gas wells.

Gazprom noted that test drilling is still being conducted. Since the beginning of the year, 143 wells have been drilled and underground equipment installed at 82 wells.

Copyright 2011, Oil and Gas Information Agency. All rights reserved.

Gazprom stake in Dutch energy: risk or benefit? http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/gazprom-stake-dutch-energy-risk-or-benefit Published on : 20 July 2011 - 10:25pm | By Michael Blass (Flickr/FaceMePLS) Russian energy giant Gazprom is in talks about collaboration with German energy company RWE. And RWE owns Dutch energy company Essent. “Is Dutch legislation Gazprom-proof?” wonders Christian Democrat MP Marieke van der Werf. Is Essent in danger of falling into the clutches of a Russian state company? Ms Van der Werf raised concerns about the deal with Economic Affairs Minister Maxime Verhagen. “What I’m slightly uneasy about is that a company in which the Russian government has proved to have a considerable finger in the pie should have a say in a Dutch company,” she says. Dark side Privatisation has brought a lot of benefits to the Dutch energy market, says Ms Van der Werf. Consumers can now take their pick of energy suppliers battling to beat each other’s prices. And cooperation with foreign companies has brought scale benefits and fresh investment. But there’s also a potential dark side to the globalising energy market, she says. “If Gazprom gains control over these companies, it’s possible that they could come under Russian state influence.” Essent stresses that Gazprom is merely gaining a financial interest in Dutch power stations, not a controlling influence. And it hastens to add that the Netherlands’ only nuclear power plant, Borssele, has nothing to do with the deal. No problem Energy expert Aad Correljé of the Clingendael International Energy Programme doesn’t share Ms Van der Werf’s fears of Russian state control. “It’s not the fact that the Russians will determine whether or not the Essent plants will be used to generate electricity or not,” he says. “And a stronger argument is that those plants are in the Netherlands and can’t be removed or cut off. And there’s alternative gas available. So I can’t really see it as a problem.” Benefit Gazprom won’t really be gaining any influence in the Dutch energy market, he says. “I think it would rather be the other way round. Gazprom taking over the assets of Essent creates a client for its own gas here in the Netherlands. And that of course would bring more gas to the Netherlands. In that sense it’s a better embedment of the Netherlands in the European gas network.” So the Gazprom deal could actually be seen as a benefit, he believes. It suits Dutch ambitions to become a European energy hub. What’s more, if Gazprom has an interest in Dutch power plants, Mr Correljé points out, it’s hardly likely to start turning off the gas taps. And the Netherlands has its own gas to fall back on anyway. Gazprom is motivated by concerns that Brussels is trying make the EU less dependent on Russian gas, Mr Correljé says. So by investing in European clients like RWE and Essent, the company is securing its European market. Unfair competition Marieke van der Werf is concerned that while EU companies are bound by strict rules on matters like sustainability or the split between energy supply and grid management, Gasprom doesn't have such worries. “In short, Gasprom has a different way of making profit,” she says. “If that money is invested in Dutch companies, isn’t there a question of unfair competition? Because you have to compete with companies that do have to comply with European regulations.” Common interest Aad Correljé doesn’t see the problem. “In the European Union, Gazprom like any other company will have to comply with European rules and the Dutch interpretation of them.” In the end, he says, Europe has to accept its dependence on Russian gas. So rather than get into rivalries and political clashes with Russia, it’s better to strike deals that create a common interest with the Russian energy giant.

Gazprom Profiting Mightily From German Nuclear Exit http://theenergycollective.com/rodadams/61545/gazprom-profiting-mightily-german- nuclear-exit

The European Energy Review (available with a free registration) has published a detailed article titled Gazprom: back in the game – and ready to take on Brussels that paints a picture of Gazprom’s continued pattern of aggressive market actions aimed at locking European customers into long term contracts at prices that must make many US natural gas suppliers jealous. Gazprom expects gas prices to reach $400 per 1,000 cubic metres by the end of the year, as against an average of $306 in 2010. Even though European gas consumption has stagnated this year and even declined during the first four months of 2011 compared to the previous year, Russian gas exports to Europe have increased. Gazprom is counting on sales of 155 billion cubic metres (bcm) to Europe in 2011, up from 139 bcm in 2010, Medvedev told a group of journalists in Austria. There are about 35.3 cubic feet in a cubic meter, so $400 per cubic meter works out to $11.30 per thousand cubic feet (or $11.30 per million BTU). That is nearly 2.5 times the price that Bloomberg.com is quoting for US natural gas futures today. If Gazprom reaches its sales and price targets, its revenue would increase from $42 billion in 2010 ($.306 per cubic meter x 139 billion cubic meters) to $62 billion in 2011 ($.400 per cubic meter x 155 billion cubic meters). That is nearly a 50% increase year over year in a period where the European economy is struggling.

So, what is driving those European prices and those increased sales? Did you notice how the quote indicates that there was a substantial turnaround in sales after a slow first four months of the year?

Gazprom’s new-found confidence has everything to do with political and economic developments in the European energy market. Russia’s prospects on the European gas market are looking up again. The Nord Stream gas pipeline linking Russia with the European Union is nearing completion. Germany is planning to phase out its nuclear power. Competing LNG is looking to find its way to China and Japan (after Fukushima), while doubts about the viability of future supplies of Caspian gas via the Nabucco pipeline are growing by the day. And serious competition from shale gas will not be a factor for a long time, in Gazprom’s view at least. The article goes on to detail how Gazprom is a 50% shareholder in a company called Wingas, the second largest reseller of Russian gas – after Gazprom. The other major partner in the venture is a subsidiary of BASF, the German chemical company. Germany and Russia have of course been on very good terms for a long time when it comes to energy. Last year the Germans literally took a saw to the table at which BASF and Gazprom signed the agreement in the early Nineties to set up Wingas – not out of anger or frustration but, on the contrary, as a sign of appreciation for their close energy ties. From the hacked-up wood Berlin selected a piece of table top measuring 10 by 15 centimetres and had it beautifully framed as a memento. In his new role of promoter of the German-Russian gas lobby, former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder subsequently presented the souvenir to BASF CEO Jürgen Hamperecht and Russian Gazprom chief Alexei Miller. ‘There’s no getting round Russia, we can’t ignore them’, Schröder said. The recent decision by the German government to phase out nuclear power looks set to increase German dependency on Russian gas even further over the coming years. But Gazprom’s German partners seem unconcerned about the implications of this. In the comment threads on previous Atomic Insights posts that detail the relationship between Gazprom, Schroder and Germany’s 2001 nuclear phase out decision, several people have claimed that the actions border on treason, but many Germans have a different view. Germany has a substantial population that traditionally looks to the east instead of to the west for partnerships and political alliances. The above quote supports my contention – certain German business leaders and politicians are happy to partner with the Russians. It may be just coincidental that Ms Merkel, the architect of the recent phase out decision, grew up in East Germany before the reunification. Since European Energy Review targets energy investors, it takes no moral or judgmental position on the Gazprom’s market maneuvers and it does not every draw a line between the irrationality of the political decision to shut down reliable, low cost, emission-free nuclear plants and the rapid revenue growth at Gazprom. However, I decided to try to encourage readers to think about the circumstantial evidence supporting the idea that there were purposeful actions to kneecap a competitor. It is also worth thinking about the people that those actions will ultimately hurt. Here is my comment: The article does a fine job of pointing to the means, motive and opportunity relating Gazprom and its German partners to the illogical decision to kill off German nuclear power plants. A relatively tiny number of people stand to capture a great deal of wealth and power by closing nuclear plants and making the EU more dependent than ever on expensive natural gas. It requires a gullible imagination to believe that Gazprom does not recognize the connection between killing nuclear and increasing gas sales. It is likely that they were financial supporters of the organizers who encouraged antinuclear mobs to take to the streets after Fukushima experienced a natural disaster-initiated accident that resulted in zero radiation related deaths. We all know that Gerhard Schroder has been well rewarded for his initial leadership in the effort to phase out nuclear energy. Why doesn’t this make people realize that the tales they continue to be told about the dangers of nuclear are exaggerated lies created by competitors who are willing to go to great lengths to capture market share? The losers in the battle are the hundreds of millions of energy consumers who will pay higher prices for more vulnerable gas supplies. Rod Adams Publisher, Atomic Insights PS – The Petroleum Economist has an article titled Gas Markets Enter New Era that includes a lengthy analysis of various factors that will affect natural gas demand and prices. Here is an interesting quote: And while nuclear power may not be a popular option in the immediate aftermath of Japan’s disaster, sentiment towards that source of energy may change over time, leading to higher nuclear gneration – and, potentially, less gas use – than some forecasters are predicting. I hope that is true, but I also suspect, based on the tone and content of the rest of the article, that some Petroleum Economist readers will see that as a warning and a call to action to keep up the pressure against nuclear energy. After all, if you sell gas, increased nuclear generation is not a positive scenario.

Gazprom recognized as best Russian and CIS company in investor relations http://russia-media.ru/gazprom/morenews.php?iditem=257

[21.07.11] The IR magazine Russia & CIS recognized Gazprom as the best company of Russia and the CIS in the investor relations (IR) category. In addition, the magazine announced Gazprom`s CEO Alexey Miller the winner of the category “Best Investor Relations by a CEO/CFO”.

Gazprom became the winner following the independent study carried out by IR magazine Russia & CIS in cooperation with Thomson Reuters Extel. Opinions by more than 300 asset managers and analysts from Russia, Europe and the USA were reviewed during the study.

In addition, IR magazine Russia & CIS announced Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee the winner in the Best Investor Relations by a CEO/CFO nomination. Background

IR magazine Russia & CIS is a periodical highlighting the IR theory and practice. Since 2008 the Magazine has been giving awards to the best IR structural units of Russian and CIS companies.

Thomson Reuters is one of the world's leading sources of business information. The agency holds regular IR surveys and identifies the best experts in this field. The surveys are based on polling of experts from European and Russian asset management companies. (Source: Press Release Gazprom; photo: Gazprom)

[ russia-media.RU – Murmansk & Shtokman News / FLAIT Group Murmansk ]

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