POLITICS
A Moscow appeals court upheld the multi-million dollar theft and money laundering conviction against jailed Russian tycoons Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev on Tuesday and reduced their 14-year sentence by one year. Khodorkovsky’s defense said the ruling had been predictable and bears only “cosmetic” changes. (Kommersant, Vedomosti, Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Izvestia)
Belarus continues its desperate fight against a severe currency crisis. The authorities may impose a state monopoly on imports as a follow-up to the recent devaluation of the national currency. Russia says nobody is going to blindly pump money into the troubled country as a charitable gesture, and expects privatization of at least one-seventh of the Belarusian economy in exchange. (Moscow News, Vedomosti)
Former Federation Council speaker Sergei Mironov will officially leave his post on Wednesday. His replacement has not been chosen yet, but sources close to the Kremlin say that it will be a respected United Russia member. (Kommersant)
“If Palestine is not recognized, a new intifada will begin.” Interview with Musa Abu Marzook, the deputy head of Hamas’ political bureau, on prospects of the future Palestinian state. (Moscow News)
WORLD
Georgian opposition has failed again to unite in an attempt to overthrow Mikheil Saakashvili’s regime. The opposition party of ex-defense minister Irakly Okruashvili refused to take part in the Day of Wrath on Wednesday. Okruashvili has cancelled his return from self-imposed exile abroad. (Kommersant, Izvestia)
A growing ash cloud spewed by Iceland’s Grimsvotn Volcano grounded more than 250 flights across Europe on Tuesday. Some logistics companies claim that precautionary measures taken by air carriers are ungrounded. (Kommersant, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
The production of heroin in Afghanistan has grown 40 times since the start of the NATO operation against the Taliban, Russian anti-drug chief Viktor Ivanov announced at a meeting of heads of G8 anti-drug agencies in Paris. Ivanov explains the cause of this sensational phenomenon in an interview. (Izvestia)
ECONOMY
The Russian government will strengthen control over energy giant Gazprom this year by increasing the number of its representatives to seven on the company’s 11-member board of directors. (Kommersant)
Hungary bought Surgutneftegaz’s 21.2 percent stake in Mol Nyrt for 1.88 billion euros ($2.65 billion), thwarting what Mol management termed a “creeping takeover” of the country’s largest refiner by the Russian oil producer. (Moscow Times, Kommersant, Vedomosti)
BUSINESS
Search engine Yandex announced the pricing of its NASDAQ initial public offering of 52 million shares at $25 per share Tuesday, higher than the earlier price guidance of $20 to $22 per share – and shot up more than 42 percent in the first half day of trading. (Moscow Times, Vedomosti, Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Izvestia)
Russia’s Alrosa has revealed its reserves of diamonds on the eve of going public – 1.23 billion carats. They are larger than those of Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and Petra Diamonds combined. (Vedomosti)
Russian tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov’s pet banking project – the MFK bank – is showing signs of failure. Shareholders are not happy with the poor financial results. (Kommersant)
Russia officially opens sales of iPad2 on May 27. The device will cost from 19,000 rubles ($670) to 31,000 rubles ($1,100) depending on configuration. (Kommersant)
Russia’s gold mining company Polyus Gold has hired former top manager of the Canadian SNC-Lavalin James Nieuwenhuys as operations director. Nieuwenhuys is expected to double the company’s gold output by 2014. (Kommersant)
SOCIETY
An Australian think tank, the Institute for Economics and Peace, has put Russia in a dismal 147th place in its annual Global Peace Index of 153 nations. Russia is considered aggressive because of the large number of terrorist acts, sprawling organized crime and inflated defense budget. (Kommersant)
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