Last Sunday, elections to local legislative assemblies were held in the Vladimir, Ryazan and Voronezh regions, for the first time according to the so -called “mixed system”: half of the deputies were elected in single -mandate districts, half - according to party lists. Everywhere the United Russia won. True, she won with a creak, strained. For example, in the Vladimir region, her separation from the Communist Party of the Communist Party made up a share of a percent.

Answering the question about what to expect from the meeting between businessmen and the president scheduled for March 24, the chairman of the “trade union of oligarchs” Arkady Volsky firmly answered: “Close relations between business and government, close relations with the authorities.

“Someone must answer for the failures of the reforms being carried out in the country,” Lyubov Sliska said bluntly. It is obvious that she herself is not going to answer for these failures. And Alexei Kudrin, German Gref, Mikhail Zurabov, Andrei Fursenko and Vladimir Yakovlev will have to do this.

It was announced in Kyiv that the ICTV television company has successfully completed negotiations with Savik Shuster. The new project is planned to be launched in September 2005. “ICTV feels the need of society for an open and unbiased discussion that will contribute to the development of democratic institutions in Ukraine,” said a representative of the television company. Obviously, the management of NTV, which closed Shuster’s “Freedom of Speech” program, does not feel such a need.

The fact is that Baskov participated in the election campaign of the candidate for the post of President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych, which in itself already contradicts Ukrainian legislation: Nikolai Baskov is a foreigner. It would be nice if this famous performer just sang at propaganda concerts. But he also spoke. For example, he suggested that Yushchenko’s supporters “go to America.” Of course, the artist could not then know who would ultimately win the elections.

Reporting to the president on the ongoing major maneuvers, the head of the military department, Sergei Ivanov, said that the 106th Airborne Division was fully involved in the exercises. And a second later he added that about 3 thousand military personnel would be involved in the exercises. With all the difficulties of our army, it is difficult to imagine that the number of divisions fell from 7-10 thousand to three.

Another “managed democracy” is trying to enter into dialogue with those whom it recently tried to deceive. Even if Akayev manages to resolve the crisis, it is now unlikely that he will be able to remain in power after the end of his presidential term.

Instead of a year on Broadway, the Soviet government allowed us two weeks of tour in Hungary. And in the last days of May 1980, I walked along Budapest-free, like a feather in the sky. I liked Budapest, but even more liked the feeling of absolute freedom. I wandered where my eyes look, and I came across a bench, in the window of which jeans lay with stacks. Real! Not Podolsk “self -building”, welded in a pan, but natural “levis”!

The command of the Russian peacekeeping forces stated that the soldiers were sent to the village in order to find out “the legality of the presence of a Georgian police post” in this locality. After conducting an inspection, a representative of the headquarters claims, the peacekeepers left the village. Nothing is reported about the results of the inspection.

The world's first mosque for women, where they themselves will conduct prayers and read sermons, has opened in Amsterdam. The mosque will become a kind of club where women can meet without strangers. But local feminists are not ready to follow the American Amina Wadud, who a week ago gathered both men and women for Friday prayers in New York and led it herself. The new mosque will strictly follow the norms of Islam, the famous feminist writer Nawal al-Saadawi promised at the opening ceremony.

“It seems that everything in our society is going quite well and everyone should be happy, but there is no happiness,” Yuri Luzhkov described the economic situation. At a lecture at Moscow State University dedicated to the publication of his book “The Development of Capitalism in Russia.

The optimists who believed that the anger of the Duma members over the opera “Children of Rosenthal” was caused by a misunderstanding were put to shame. Having attended the dress rehearsal at the Bolshoi Theater, the deputies became convinced that opera is extremely harmful.

While the military column was moving, one of the vehicles hit a cow belonging to a local resident. Representatives of the Chechen Ministry of Internal Affairs tried to intervene in the situation - an attempt was made to stop the column. As a result, the owner of the cow, a bystander, two policemen and one soldier died. An investigation team is now working at the scene. Someone will probably be punished. It seems like a real-life incident: a car was driving and hit a cow.