MOSCOW — Yury Lyubimov, one of Russia’s most celebrated directors, has confirmed that he is stepping down as head of the theater company he founded almost half a century ago. On July 15, the 93-year-old will officially quit the post he has held at Moscow’s Taganka Theatre since 1964 after a blistering row over salaries [...]
Archives: 01 July 2011
July 1, 2011
July 1, 2011
The Reluctant Speaker
The Power Vertical St. Petersburg’s governor Valentina Matviyenko with a giant glass key at the opening ceremony of new cruise passenger terminal in St. Petersburg on May 27. One would think that being asked to move from being the leader of Russia’s second largest city to a post that puts one second in line for [...]
July 1, 2011
Russia Concerned Over Blogger’s Detention In Moldova
The Blender Who Will Replace Bonner? Plus, Crossword Controversy
July 1, 2011
Armenian President Sargsyan begins official visit to Ukraine
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan will begin on Friday his two-day official visit to Ukraine upon an invitation from his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yanukovych, the Armenian presidential press service said. During the visit, Sargsyan is scheduled to meet with Yanukovych, Chairman of the Ukrainian Supreme Rada Volodymyr Lytvyn and acting Prime Minister Andriy Klyuyev and will [...]
July 1, 2011
Russian sailboat Pallada set for international trans-Pacific expedition
The Russian sailing vessel Pallada sets off on Friday from Vladivostok in Russia’s Far East for an over three-month international trans-Pacific expedition, a spokesman for the Far Eastern State Technical Fisheries University, which owns the vessel, said. The expedition is dedicated to the 50th anniversary of Yury Gagarin’s first space flight and to the 270th [...]
July 1, 2011
Firefighters in Russia’s Far East put out all but one forest fires
Rescuers and firefighters in Russia’s Far East put out seven forest fires out of eight raging in Russia’s Far East over the past 24 hours, a spokesman for the local emergencies ministry’s department said on Friday. “Only one active forest fire was registered in the Far Eastern territory as of 8:00 local time Friday [21:00 [...]
July 1, 2011
Medvedev visits construction site of future federal university in Russia’s Far East
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited a construction site of a new federal university on the Russian Island in the country’s Far East that will host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 2012. The president told Primorye Governor Sergei Darkin that in order to make the future Far Eastern Federal University prestigious “it is very important [...]
July 1, 2011
Russian Press at a Glance, Friday, July 1, 2011
POLITICS Russian President Dmitry Medvedev paid a visit to Far East to see how the region prepares to host Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 2012. The president criticized the preparations and urged the local authorities to speed up all works.(Kommersant) Vladimir Putin gave a cryptic hint as to his possible participation in the 2012 presidential [...]
July 1, 2011
Belarus Promising More Payments for Electricity
MINSK — Belarus will fully repay its debts to Inter RAO for May electricity imports from Russia within one or two days, First Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Semashko said at the parliament Thursday. “We will pay another [$]21 million today or tomorrow and therefore clear our debt,” Semashko said. After that, Belarus expects “everything to be resumed,” he said. Belarus paid [...]
July 1, 2011
Putin Warns of Dirty Presidential Election
YEKATERINBURG — Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned on Thursday that the 2012 presidential election campaign would be dirty, but stopped short of saying whether he would seek another stint in the Kremlin. Putin made clear he would play a significant role in the election and told supporters he would need to cleanse politics after the campaign. “I shall go to wash, in the hygienic sense of the [...]
July 1, 2011
Investigators Call Putin’s Ski Coach Over a Murder
St. Petersburg investigators plan to question Senator Leonid Tyagachyov, former head of the Russian Olympic Committee and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s personal ski coach, as a witness in connection with the 2008 killing of a businessman. But Sergei Kapitonov, a spokesman for the local branch of the Investigative Committee, stressed in a telephone interview that Tyagachyov was not a suspect. He also denounced media reports that Tyagachyov [...]
July 1, 2011
Top Court Backs Whistleblowers
The Constitutional Court on Thursday ruled that state employees cannot be punished for engaging in whistleblowing activities against their superiors. The court based its ruling on the case of two state employees, a police officer and tax inspector who both were fired for criticizing their bosses. “A state employer might express his opinion (based on real facts) if it concerns public interests and if [...]
July 1, 2011
Matviyenko to Run for Councilwoman
Governor Valentina Matviyenko is preparing to become a councilwoman in one of St. Petersburg’s 111 district councils — a step that will pave the way for her to be appointed speaker of the Federation Council. At least three St. Petersburg districts — Rzhevka, Porokhoviye and Finlyandsky — have publicly voiced their readiness to hold an early election and welcome Matviyenko as councilwoman. Matviyenko’s deputy and possible successor, Mikhail Oseyevsky, [...]
July 1, 2011
State Companies Oblivious to R&D
Foreign companies invest four to six times more in research and development than their Russian counterparts, according to a recent study. Expert RA rating agency found that large corporations in Russia are the least involved in research and development. Foreign corporations finance more than 65 percent of their countries’ total RD, but in Russia only 20 percent of RD is financed through [...]