Russian News From Russia…

Four people, including two former policemen, a real estate agent and a woman whose occupation was not revealed, have been arrested in Russia’s Urals region of Orenburg on charges of poisoning eleven people in order to illegally seize their apartments, regional investigators said on Saturday. According to the Investigative Committee, two bodies of an apparent [...]

A man died in hospital in the Urals city of Orenburg after his jealous wife struck him on the head with a frying pan, the local investigation committee reported on Saturday. “The 50-year old man was hospitalized in intensive care with acute cerebral circulatory problems and died the following day,” police said in a report. [...]

Dick Advocaat will step down as coach of the Russian national team in July after Euro 2012, he said Monday in remarks reported by Russian daily Sport-Express. Advocaat took over from fellow Dutch coach Guus Hiddink in May 2010 on a two-year deal with an option for a further two years. “After the European championship [...]

Britain spent 1.25 million pounds (almost $2 million) in 2011 to promote human rights and democracy in Russia, according to the Human Rights and Democracy Report, published on Monday. “The human rights situation in Russia continued to be of concern in 2011. Although President Medvedev emphasized the importance of the rule of law, the Russian [...]

Sweden’s IKEA, the world’s largest home furnishing products seller, is to open its own bank in Russia, Kommersant business daily reported on Friday quoting market sources. The deal will be implemented by Ikano Group, which used to be part of IKEA group, and Credit Europe Bank N.V., which currently cooperates with IKEA in a joint [...]

Russian gas giant Gazprom saw 2011 IFRS net profit jump 35 percent year-on-year to 1.307 trillion rubles ($44.6 billion), the company said on Friday. That was above a consensus forecast of analysts polled by RIA Novosti who expected a net profit at 1.26 trillion rubles. Revenue rose 28.9 percent last year to 4.637 trillion rubles, [...]

Russia’s state-controlled power trader Inter RAO UES saw its 2011 IFRS net profit skyrocket 123.1 percent year-on-year to 41.5 billion rubles ($1.41 billion), the company said on Friday. That was above a consensus forecast of analysts polled by RIA Novosti who expected the firm’s annual net profit at 25.6 billion rubles last year. The company’s [...]

The Russian Defense Ministry has resumed large-scale procurements of modernized S-300V surface-to-air missile systems, the manufacturer said on Saturday. “The State Defense Order through 2020 provides for significant volumes of procurement of modernized S-300V air defense systems,” Almaz-Antei’s general director Vladislav Menshchikov said. Almaz-Antei’s former design bureau chief Igor Ashurbeili previously said S-300 production for [...]

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday appointed Regional Development Minister Viktor Basargin the acting governor of the Perm Territory. Earlier in the day, Medvedev accepted the resignation of Perm Governor Oleg Chirkunov. Concurrently, Medvedev removed Basargin from the ministerial post. On Saturday, Medvedev also accepted the resignation of the governor of the Yaroslav Region, Sergei [...]

Russia has formed an anti-piracy naval task force in the Mediterranean, the Northern Fleet press service said on Saturday. The force, to be led by the Udaloy class destroyer Vice Admiral Kulakov, will combat piracy in the most dangerous part of the world’s oceans, press chief Vadim Serga said. The task force will arrive in [...]

The chance to end a poor run of form against world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka spurred Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova on to victory in the Stuttgart Grand Prix, Sharapova has said. Sharapova beat Azarenka 6-1, 6-4 in Sunday’s final after losing four of their last five matches, including a 6-3, 6-0 thrashing in the [...]

Russia will spare no effort to return Russian nationals detained in Libya, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday. “We will continue our efforts so that Russian citizens return home,” Lavrov said. Russian nationals Vladimir Dolgov and Alexander Shadrov who had worked for a Libyan maintenance company were detained in Libya last August for allegedly [...]

Sudan has informed Moscow of its readiness to start negotiations with South Sudan to settle their conflict, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday. Lavrov’s statement came after his talks on Monday with his Sudanese counterpart Ali Karti. “We have heard from our Sudanese colleagues that they are ready immediately to start talks, provided [...]

Dick Advocaat will step down as coach of the Russian national team in July after Euro 2012, he said Monday in remarks reported by Russian daily Sport-Express. Advocaat took over from fellow Dutch coach Guus Hiddink in May 2010 on a two-year deal with an option for a further two years. “After the European championship [...]