POLITICS
In an unexpected twist indicative of a possible rift with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev suggested that the ruling United Russia party’s victory in the upcoming parliamentary election was not a foregone conclusion.
(Kommersant)
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin quickly moved ahead with his All-Russia People’s Front initiative. He presided on Thursday over a meeting of the coordination council which approved the manifesto of the movement.
(Kommersant, Moscow News, Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Izvestia)
Russian Central Election Committee said that foreign observers would monitor upcoming elections in Russia in accordance with existing rules and regulations.
(Kommersant)
Russia’s notorious Congress of Russian Communities nationalist group has won a five-year battle for registration with the Justice Ministry, in line with what analysts say is a Kremlin plan to create a controllable right-wing movement.
(Moscow Times)
The territorial dispute over the four Kuril Islands between Russia and Japan may soon reignite with a new intensity in view of the upcoming visit to the islands of the Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov.
(Kommersant)
WORLD
Ukraine-born Ivan (John) Demjanjuk, who was found guilty of helping to kill at least 27,900 Jews at a Nazi extermination camp and convicted to five years in prison, will be released from custody because of his declining years, a German court ruled Thursday. (Kommersant)
Denmark plans to reintroduce customs and passport controls on the border with Germany and Sweden to regulate the inflow of migrants. (Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
ECONOMY BUSINESS
Russia, the world’s largest oil producer, may extend to June a gasoline export duty, which was raised by 44 percent from May to $408.3 per ton to fight local shortages, Economic Development Minister Elvira Nabiullina said.
(Vedomosti)
Russia and China are likely to sign an agreement on natural gas supplies during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in June. (Moscow Times)
Russia’s Sberbank is planning to buy the French BNP Paribas retail business in Russia.
(Kommersant)
Inflation in Russia this year will most likely hit 8.9 percent, experts believe.
(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
Russian bourses continue to experience a sharp downward correction. Their indexes have dropped by 12-13 percent since April.
(Moscow News)
Russian Helicopters desperately wants to increase its presence on the Indian market. The company has offered Delhi an attractive deal which includes construction of an assembly plant in India and sales of jointly produced helicopters to third countries.
(Moscow News)
Russia may seek the extradition of Hermitage Capital head William Browder from Britain and prosecute him in absentia if London refuses. (Kommersant)
The Ford company has stopped producing the economy models of its Focus line in Russia – Limited Edition and three-door hatchback.
(Vedomosti)
Automaker BMW may build an assembly plant in Russia.
(Vedomosti)
DEFENSE
The Russian Defense Ministry has picked the developer of a new heavy ballistic missile to replace the outdated SS-18 Satan. Interview with former head of the General Staff of the Missile Forces Viktor Yesin.
(Izvestia)
SOCIETY
Russia’s overcrowded prisons could release 15,000 inmates if the State Duma approves a “business amnesty” proposed by the parliamentary opposition.
(Vedomosti, Izvestia)
The pension age could be raised for men and women in Russia in 20 years, experts working on Russia’s Strategy-2020 say.
(Izvestia)
The mastermind of the infamous MMM financial pyramid in Russia Sergei Mavrodi offered Belarus help in bringing the country out of the current financial crisis.
(Izvestia)
CRIME
DNA analysis confirmed that a teenage girl found dead in April near a luxurious cottage village in the Moscow region was the daughter of a LUKoil top executive.
(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
IT
Google challenges Windows with its innovative operating system Google Chrome for notebooks. Most of its applications will be stored on remote servers.
(Vedomosti)
Russia is not planning to introduce stringent control over Internet content, Communications Minister said in an interview.
(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
The Russian segment of the Internet may become largest in Europe, says Communications Minister Igor Shchegolev.
(Izvestia)
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