POLITICS
Outgoing St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko, who is expected to head the Russian parliament’s upper house in the near future, had a closed meeting with Federation Council members.
(Kommersant, Moskovskie Novosti, Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Izvestia, Nezavisimaya Gazeta)
NATO and Russia again failed to agree on European missile defense.
(Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Nezavisimaya Gazeta)
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said he was ready to add more projects to the list of six government-financed “megaprojects.”
(Moskovskie Novosti, Izvestia, Nezavisimaya Gazeta)
The head of the presidential administration, Sergei Naryshkin, said after his visit to Japan, the two states currently have “a more favorable atmosphere” in bilateral relations, marred by the territorial dispute over the Kuril Islands. The two countries set up a scientific commission to study “disputed issues” in Russo-Japanese relations
(Kommersant, Izvestia)
ECONOMY
Russian macroeconomic statistics gives ground for cautious optimism as capital outflow slowed from $21.3 billion in the first quarter of 2011 to $9.9 billion in the second.
(Izvestia)
POWER GENERATION
A working group led by First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov proposed a reform aimed at curbing price growth in the Russian energy market. Meanwhile, the Russian economics ministry has already sent proposed electricity tariffs increases to the government
(Kommersant, Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Izvestia)
TELECOMS IT
World’s largest cell phone manufacturer Nokia is set to cut its smartphone prices as its share in this market segment continues to shrink rapidly
AVIATION
Next year, Russia will ban aircraft not equipped with terrain awareness and warning systems from flying in its airspace, Russian Deputy Transport Minister Valery Okulov said.
(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
Authorities proposed 10-year prison terms for people who direct laser pointers at airplanes after the practice went viral in recent weeks.
(The Moscow Times)
DEFENSE
Several influential members of the top brass have resigned, prompting speculations that they had to resign due to differences with the head of Russia’s General Staff over his implementation of military reforms. One of them, Lt. Gen. Andrei Tretyak, former head of the General Staff Main Operations Directorate, dismissed the reports in his interview with Vedomosti.
(Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Izvestia, Vedomosti)
SOCIETY
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met with the presidential civil and human rights council in the North Caucasus city of Nalchik, where he heard reports on the council’s probe into the death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in pre-trial custody.
(Kommersant, Izvestia, Vedomosti, The Moscow Times, Nezavisimaya Gazeta)
Investigators are trying to establish the causes of an attempted suicide by a high-ranking official in the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office, Vyacheslav Sizov
(Kommersant, Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Nezavisimaya Gazeta)
SPORT
Some six months after winning a bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the Russian Sports Ministry has prepared a draft special law on the event, which includes free transport between the host cities, visa-free entry to Russia to all ticket holders and zero taxes for organizers
(Kommersant, Vedomosti)
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