POLITICS
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev will attend a G8 summit in the United States next week instead of President Vladimir Putin. U.S. leader Barack Obama may also skip an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit to be hosted by Russia in September.
(Vedomosti)
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited a tank factory in the Urals town of Nizhny Tagil on Thursday, where workers have denounced opposition protests challenging Putin’s grip on power.
(Kommersant)
Russian acting Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has arrived in China as part of preparations for President Vladimir Putin’s upcoming visit to Beijing which will become his first trip outside the former Soviet Union after his inauguration. Lavrov and his Chinese colleague Yang Jiechi agreed that Moscow and Beijing’s relations were “unprecedentedly” good, despite some disagreements over recent history.
(Kommersant)
Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yanukovych during an informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Moscow on May 15. If Yanukovych agrees to closer cooperation with Russia, he may resolve all his problems related to the jailing of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
(Moskovskiye Novosti)
SOCIETY
Russian anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny declined an invitation to join the Open Government working group launched by then-President Dmitry Medvedev in February.
(Izvestia)
ENERGY
On his last day as prime minister, Vladmir Putin included acting Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin in a list of candidates to head the state-owned holding Rosneftegaz. Sechin resigned as the company’s chairman last year in line with a directive from then-President Dmitry Medvedev for government ministers to leave the boards of state companies.
(Vedomosti, The Moscow Times)
BUSINESS
A co-owner of the Vnukovo Airport near Moscow is planning to invest in the construction of a new runway at the nearby Domodedovo International Airport. The company also plans to acquire land to construct a passenger terminal and a refueling facility at the airport. As a result, the airport may get an alternative operator.
(Kommersant)
EMERGENCIES
A search operation continues at the site of a crash of a Russian-made Sukhoi Superjet 100 plane near Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta.
(Kommersant)