Windows to Russia
RBC, 02.12.2007, Moscow 13:57:43.Polling stations closed in the Khabarovsk region at 1 p.m. Moscow time (8 p.m. local time) with a more than 57 percent voter turnout, preliminary estimates suggest. According to the regional election commission, some 600,000 out of 1,052 voting-eligible Russians living in the area took part in the elections.
RBC, 02.12.2007, Moscow 13:24:20.As of 10 p.m., total voter turnout in the parliamentary elections in Russia amounted to 12.6 percent, Deputy Chairman of the Central Election Commission Stanislav Vavilov said, comparing the turnout to the 2003 elections figure of 5 percent by the same time. According to earlier reports, Central Election Committee Chairman said that the turnout had already reached 6 percent as of 10 a.m., but some 50 regions had not been taken into account at the time.
All of polling stations were open at 9 a.m. this morning, after the Kaliningrad region, the country’s most western point, joined the election. In Russia’s most eastern areas, Chukotka and Kamchatka, polling stations were opened more than fourteen hours ago.
Some 107m voters are eligible to participate in the elections, including 1.5m Russians abroad. Over 96,000 polling stations have been established. Eleven political parties, including United Russia, Communist Party, Fair Russia, Union of Right Forces, Yabloko, Liberal Democratic Party and others, are running for 450 seats in the State Duma. According to Russia’s Central Election Commission, up to 3m Russian and around 330 international observers are monitoring the election process.
RBC, 02.12.2007, Novosibirsk 13:45:24.As of 2 p.m. local time (11 a.m. Moscow time), nearly 39.23 percent of voters had cast their votes in the parliamentary election in the Novosibirsk region, compared to 34.19 percent at the State Duma elections in 2003, the region’s election commission told RBC today, adding that no serious violations had been registered so far.
RBC, 30.11.2007, Kiev 16:53:11.Ukraine can only sign a gas contract with Russia for 2008, although the countries had previously planned to agree on the terms of supplies for the mid-term, as well, the Ukrainian President’s Deputy Chief of Staff Alexander Shlapak told journalists today. He added that the decision to stay within the current time frame had been prompted by uncertainties surrounding the price of Turkmenistan’s natural gas for 2009.Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko himself announced earlier today that Kiev was planning to sign accords for the supply of imported natural gas to the country after the Russian parliamentary election on December 2. He stressed that the gas agreement had been thrashed over thoroughly and approved by the key players, which would facilitate gas supplies to Ukraine for the following five to seven years. Gazprom and Ukraine are currently in talks over gas prices for 2008 and the mid term.
RBC, 30.11.2007, Moscow 17:58:48.Russian Railways is planning to raise a syndicated loan worth $1bn, which it will use to develop its infrastructure and upgrade rolling stock, a source in the company said. Russian Railways has invited banks to take part in a tender. According to earlier reports, the government approved Russian Railways’ three-year investment program of RUR1.331bn (approx. USD54.66m) on November 15.
RBC, 30.11.2007, Moscow 15:34:03.The low on dollar deals is currently hovering at 24.3650 RUR/USD at the special session for tomorrow deals, which is virtually RUR0.06 below the official dollar rate for December 1-3, while the spread on deals has widened to RUR0.065. The ruble has gained ground against the dollar due to a stronger euro abroad, where the latter is now buying some USD1.4765, up 0.25 percent from USD1.4730 as of 11:30 a.m. As a result, the trading volume topped USD2.2bn on MICEX.
RBC, 30.11.2007, Moscow 13:07:21.The Russian government has authorized the Federal Treasury to carry out all forms of currency operations coming under the federal low on exchange regulation and control without limitations. A decree to this effect has been signed by Russia’s Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov.
RBC, 30.11.2007, Moscow 09:44:02.President Vladimir Putin of Russia has signed the federal law suspending the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty, the President’s press office has reported. Russia’s participation in the treaty signed in Paris on November 19, 1990, can be renewed by the President of Russia alone. This law passed by the State Duma on November 7, 2007 and approved by the Federation Council on November 16, 2007, is to take effect upon its official publication.
RBC, 29.11.2007, Moscow 18:30:28.Nearly two thirds of Russians (63.5 percent) would vote for Russia’s incumbent President Vladimir Putin, should elections be held this weekend, a poll held by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center on November 9-10 showed. Throughout 2007, Putin’s voter base ranged between 60 and 66 percent. Other would-be candidates trail far behind, with leader of the Liberal Democratic Party Vladimir Zhirinovsky wining 3.3 percent, Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov 2.8 percent, Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov 1.8 percent and Deputy Prime Ministers Sergei Ivanov and Dmitry Medvedev 2 and 2.5 percent respectively. Federation Council Chairman Sergei Mironov would have received only 1.4 percent of votes, while other possible candidates were supported by less than 1 percent of poll participants. In addition, 5.4 percent of people questioned said they would abstain from voting, down from 7-10 percent in October 2007. However, the number of those who are still undecided rose from 5-10 percent to 12.2 percent. The poll was held among 1,600 people in 154 locations of 46 regions and republics in Russia, and the margin of error does not exceed 3.4 percent.
Kyle
Try this for an expensive Fabergé egg. A rare pink and gold Fabergé egg, adorned with a diamond-studded cockerel and embedded clock, has broken auction records by selling for about £9m at Christie’s Auction House.
The rest of the fabulous Russian Art items at Christie’s Auction House went for up to 10 times their appraised value also.
So all in all, The largest Russian Art Auction Ever!
Kyle
comments always welcome.
Hello,
I was just drinking coffee & thinking about an article that I had read on Moscow City. My Wife and I have driven by the construction site many times. It is very impressive. We decided to look into what was being built. Here is what we found…..
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(Link)Moscow International Business Center “Moscow City” is the future of business in Russia; the future has arrived. GDO City Properties is the market expert on this exciting new development.
Any business serious about success in Russia will be represented in Moscow City. The new City Hall, rising over 300 meters, will be centralizing virtually all functions of Moscow city government and Duma, providing unparalleled access for businesses located there. Given the concentration of businesses occupying the 5 million square meters of grade A office space, symmetries will exist for conducting business like nowhere else in the world. Travel time to meetings that once took hours will now take minutes. A trip from home to the office can now occur on a single, high-speed lift.
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This is a fantastic project that is actually going to bear fruit. This is Ultra Modern City!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow-City
Kyle
comments always welcome.
Hello,
RBC, 27.11.2007, Moscow 11:40:13.The Russian stock market opened with no defined trend today. On MICEX, RAO UES was the only company trading in positive territory, while the rest of blue chips edged down 0.5 percent on average. The RTS index also slid at the opening. The Russian stock market has been influenced by the US stock exchanges, analysts told RBC TV. However, market participants are optimistic, and experts do not project the Russian market to lower significantly.
RBC, 27.11.2007, Moscow 11:07:19.The net profit of Dixy Group, one of Russia’s top food retail chains, under IFRS soared 173 percent to USD5.4m in the first nine months of 2007 compared to the same period a year earlier, the company reported today. The company’s net revenue amounted to RUR25.638bn (approx. USD1.05bn), which is 34 percent greater than in January-September 2006. Gross profit climbed 57 percent to RUR6.002bn (approx. USD247m) and gross profit margin went up from 20.1 percent to 23.4 percent. The company attributed this increase in net profit to the group’s measures to develop the product range, as well as to higher sales. EBITDA grew 51 percent to RUR1.162bn (approx. USD48m) and EBITDA margin edged up 0.5 percentage points to 4.5 percent in January-September 2007.
RBC, 27.11.2007, Moscow 10:55:47.Russian companies Gazprom and SIBUR Holding and American Dow Chemical have signed a memorandum of intent for hydrocarbon refining, the press office of the Russian energy giant reported today. According to the document, the companies are looking into the possibility of forming a joint venture on the basis of Dow Chemical’s new petrochemical facilities in Germany. The companies are also likely to consider natural gas refining in Russia and cooperation in other projects.
RBC, 27.11.2007, Annapolis, USA 09:34:02.The recent suggestions made by the US on the anti-missile defense systems have lowered Moscow and Washington’s chances of reaching a compromise on the matter, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told journalists in Annapolis today following his meeting with US State Secretary Condoleezza Rice. He pointed out that this was a step backwards from the agreements that had been reached between the two countries in October 2007. Lavrov added that Russia was reviewing the new proposals, the Vesti TV channel reported today.
RBC, 26.11.2007, St. Petersburg 14:18:12.The OSCE’s decision to cancel the monitoring of the upcoming parliamentary elections is Russia was made in accordance with the US State Department’s recommendation, Russian President Vladimir Putin told a meeting in St. Petersburg today. He pointed out that Moscow would take this fact into account in the future relations with the US. Putin believes that some European leaders did not know about the decision of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) until their announcement. He added that the organization needed serious reforms, the Mayak radio station reported today, citing the Russian leader.
Kyle
Russia picks presidential vote date: The Federation Council, the upper chamber of the Russian parliament, has set the date for the next presidential election: March 2, 2008. The resolution was passed in accordance with Articles 81 and 102 of the Russian Constitution and Article 5 of the Federal Law “On presidential elections in the Russian Federation.”
The President of the Russian Federation is to be elected for a period of four years by Russian citizens in an equal and direct election by secret ballot, the Federation Council’s Committee for Constitutional Legislation said in its reference regarding the presidential vote. (rbc)
Kyle
comments always welcome.
Good article on the Visa problems:
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| November 2, 2007 Tougher Visa Rules – What They Mean Moscow News |
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Moscow News Demonstrating that it is resolute in introducing immigration laws similar to those in Western countries, the Russian government recently unveiled new, tougher business visa regulations. Foreigners – particularly those living and working in Russia on business visas – are worried about how this will affect them. Some seeking to renew their business visas in a third country were finding that what used to be a breezy, one-day procedure could turn into a 10-day wait. Meanwhile, new regulations seemed to target the entire practice of getting visas in third countries. One of the more considerable changes came in a decree on visas passed by the new Prime Minister, Viktor Zubkov, on October 4. Now, foreigners traveling on business visas can remain in the country for no more than 90 days at a time, even if they have multiple-entry visas. And it’s soon going to become much harder to obtain them in third countries. Business visas are popular among expatriates who live in Russia over long periods of time, extending their visas regularly by travelling to neighboring countries. But the new decree toughens rules regulating this type of visas, an apparent attempt to force expatriates who live and work here to obtain work visas instead. Point 9.1 in the decree reads: “A foreign citizen who is present in a state that he is not a citizen of may only get a visa if he has a permit for a consecutive stay of at least 90 days in that country.” What this means for some citizens of Western Europe is that a trip across the border from Russia is no longer enough to renew their business visa. In a statement to The Moscow News, the FMS confirmed the new restriction but pointed to several exceptions – these could be based on “a decision by a diplomatic representative” in cases where a foreigner needed to attend various “international and domestic official, economic, socio-political, scientific, cultural, sports or religious events.” Another exception was a close relative who was ill. A clause lower down in the decree clarifies that an exception is made “based on the international principle of mutuality.” Alexei Filippenkov of the Visa Delight agency explained what this means. If a European country allows Russians to obtain visas from a third country, then citizens from that European country will have the same privilege when it comes down to getting a Russian visa. “Our migration legislation is being brought in line with analogous international legislation,” he told The Moscow News. The same concerns another important change. Now, foreigners who obtain a multiple entry business visa that is active for a year will be able to stay for no more than 90 consecutive days, and no more than a total of 180 days out of a year. “It’s impossible to work in England or the United States if you have a business visa,” Filippenkov said. Foreigners are hard pressed to obtain a work visa. According to an FMS statement, “issuing visas of all categories and types is… in the competence of diplomatic missions and consular offices of the Russian Federation. We recommend that foreign citizens address the Foreign Ministry of Russia regarding practical questions.” It was unclear whether the minimum wait for a visa had indeed risen to 10 days. The Russian consulate in Riga, the Latvian capital where expatriates frequently go to renew business visas, when asked if this was the case, told a Moscow News reporter to read the official Rossiiskaya Gazeta, where the changes were published. But there was no mention about any new wait for visas. Asked how long it would take to issue a visa to a British citizen, an unnamed official said that the consulate was “not issuing visas to British citizens who had no permanent residence permit in Latvia.” Asked the same question about U.S. citizens, the official said that the process will take from 10 to 14 days. The FMS said that, as under the previous law, visas must be issued within 20 days after the appropriate documents had been filed. There were reports that foreigners that usually got their visa renewed in one day now had to wait 10 days, but a Moscow News correspondent who is a British citizen obtained her business visa in one day in Kiev this week. “Right now it’s a little chaotic over there because they haven’t come to a unified reading of the decree,” Filippenkov said. “For now, people will still be able to go over there for visas, but that’s going to end soon.” According to Filippenkov, considering that Russians have to wait weeks – sometimes months – to get their European visas, the 10-day wait isn’t that long. |
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Kyle
I was drinking my morning cup of wonderful coffee and thinking how the dollar is affecting Expats?
With the dollar now worth about 20 percent less in many cases against world currencies. The weak dollar and recent tax laws are hurting many of the millions or so Americans who live out of the USA, especially those paid in dollars! It is being felt by students, professionals and pensioners all over the world. The dollar is at a 26-year low against sterling and expected to stay above $2 to the pound for the next six months at least.
For those who work and live in Europe are often self-employed. The dollar’s plunge to all-time lows against the Euro has already caused changes in incomes and lifestyles. Example $15,000 transfers to around 10,200 Euro’s. So the dollar does not go as far anymore. When you earn money primarily in the States and then transfer it to Europe. The pain of the weak dollar is presented full force!
Adding to American Expat woes are laws passed last year which raised the amount some pay in U.S. taxes. Expatriate groups argue that the combination of the weak dollar and new tax laws will make Europe a less attractive destination for Americans wanting to work overseas. In fact it is making destinations all over the world less attractive.
This all makes for unhappy Americans who play around the world cheaply! Now they have to eat at McDonald’s, like I do. :))
Kyle
comments always welcome.