POLITICS
The Russia-EU summit, which opens on Thursday in the central Russian town of Nizhny Novgorod may bring a breakthrough in the implementation of the Partnership for Modernization program. Russia’s largest banks VEB and Sberbank, and the EU’s EBRD and EIB agreed to lend at least 2 billion euros to business projects under the program
(Kommersant)
District heads of the election commissions of the ruling United Russia party will gather in Moscow on Thursday to discuss plans and strategies for the final leg of the 2011 presidential election campaign
(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
WORLD
Georgia may announce within days that it is removing its conditions on Russia’s entry to the World Trade Organization, the leader of the Georgian opposition party said, citing a source close to President Mikheil Saakashvili’s administration
(Moscow Times)
Amnesty International warned on Wednesday of the possibility of new ethnic clashes in Kyrgyzstan if the current authorities fail to punish those responsible for a bloodshed in the southern cities of Osh and Jalalabad in June 2010
(Kommersant)
ECONOMY BUSINESS
U.S. carmaker Ford unveiled plans to create a joint venture with Russia’s Sollers firm to manufacture six car models at three plants with a total capacity of 350,000 cars per year
(Kommersant)
A fire at a Moscow refinery last week has cut production by 15 percent, which may lead to 6-7 percent shortages on the Moscow fuel market
(Kommersant, Vedomosti)
A report by the World Bank published on Wednesday advised the Russian government to make effective use of extra profits from the sale of energy resources to improve the long-term stability of the state budget and reduce inflation
(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
Russia’s flagship airline Aeroflot will receive its first Sukhoi Superjet 100 passenger planes in a basic version rather than the upgraded variant with improved passenger cabin, three toilets and four kitchens (Vedomosti)
IT
Microsoft may reveal the source code for its popular Skype application to the Russian Federal Security Service. The code itself will not allow the operatives to eavesdrop on conversations over the Internet, but will help the Russian experts find ways to do it on their own
(Vedomosti)
NUCLEAR INDUSTRY
Moscow and Washington have agreed to “open doors” for direct cooperation between national nuclear research institutions on all aspects of nuclear development, including safety at nuclear power plants in light of the nuclear disaster at Japan’s Fukushima
(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
Bulgaria is discussing the construction of additional reactors at the Kozloduy nuclear power plant with France’s AREVA. The draft project may further disrupt the stalled Russian-Bulgarian nuclear plant project in Belene
(Kommersant)
DEFENSE
The Russian Islamic Institute has announced the start of a training program for clerics who will provide religious services for Russian Muslims serving in the Armed Forces. The move comes two years after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree authorizing the institute of Orthodox Church military chaplains
(Moscow News)
Russia and NATO failed on Wednesday to overcome their conceptual differences in their approaches toward a planned European missile shield
(Vedomosti, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
SOCIETY
Turkish prosecutors described as “premeditated murder” the poisoning of Russian tourists with counterfeit alcohol during a yacht tour at a Turkish beach resort. Turkey is doing all it can to help the Russian side in an effort to mitigate the damage done to the reputation of the Turkish tourist industry
(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
Maria Gaidar, deputy governor of the central Russian Kirov region and daughter of former Russian prime minister Yegor Gaidar, is quitting her post to study at Harvard University in Boston. The fierce critic of the Russian government has received a $40,000 grant from The Center for Public Leadership
(Vedomosti)
CRIME
The authorities in Russia’s North Caucasus republic of Dagestan have pledged to take all possible steps to arrest and punish the killers of Muslim theology professor Maksud Sadikov (Kommersant)
A Moscow district court has started closed hearings in a case against Leonid Kuvayev, the co-owner of popular Russian coffee shop chain Coffee Toon and infamous spammer, who has been charged with sexual molestation of underage girls and organizing a prostitution ring which involved girls from orphanages, some of whom had mental or learning disabilities (Kommersant)
SPORTS
U.S. ice hockey team Phoenix Coyotes has terminated its contract with Russia’s best goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, who is expected to move to the Philadelphia Flyers for the next National Hockey League season
(Kommersant)
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