POLITICS
Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet on Thursday with participants of the 9th annual Valdai Club conference to answer economic questions
(Vedomosti)
Sergei Naryshkin, the speaker of the Russian parliament’s lower house, has criticized a draft law banning Russian state officials from having bank accounts and property abroad
(Kommersant)
Opposition leaders and human rights groups on Wednesday slammed the apparent kidnapping and torture of Left Front activist Leonid Razvozzhayev as a return to Stalinist political repression and an unprecedented escalation in the crackdown against dissent
(The Moscow Times)
ECONOMY BUSINESS
Russian state-controlled oil giant Rosneft’s shares jumped to an eight-month high in Wednesday afternoon trading as the markets reacted to news it was taking over TNK-BP
(Vedomosti)
When consumer electronics company M.Video was transforming itself into a nationwide chain, it had to make a choice: set up the information-technology systems for far-flung stores on its own or hire external specialists to do the job
(The Moscow Times)
DEFENSE
Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov delivered a report in the Russian parliament’s lower house on the current state of, and future prospects for the Russian armed forces
(Kommersant)
WORLD
Greece has agreed new austerity measures with international lenders, but also secured another two years to implement them
(Kommersant)
Tokyo and Beijing held secret talks to resolve the issue of the disputed islands in the East China Sea
(Kommersant)
SOCIETY
The St. Petersburg government denied speculation Wednesday that part of the $1.3 billion cost of a World Cup stadium currently under construction would come from public donations
(Kommersant)
Russians view the ruling elite as aggressive and predatory and believe that revolution is one of the only realistic ways to change the government, according to a report released Wednesday by an influential think tank
(The Moscow Times)
A quarter of Russians do not go and see a doctor when they fall ill, preferring to recover on their own, according to a survey by the Russian State Statistics Committee (Rosstat)
(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
CRIME
Police and federal security service (FSB) operatives killed two militants in Russia’s predominantly Islamic republic of Tatarstan, as the radical Islamist insurgency shows signs of spreading from the North Caucasus to central Russia
(Kommersant)
MIGRATION
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev promised on Wednesday to seek new ways to simplify bureaucracy for foreign professors, scientists and doctors and make their stay in Moscow more comfortable
(The Moscow Times)
SPORTS
Alexander Kerzhakov’s second-half penalty gave Zenit St. Petersburg a 1-0 win over Anderlecht in the Champions League on Wednesday to kickstart the Russians’ campaign in the competition
(Kommersant)
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