Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree appointing Police Major General Anatoly Yakunin as head of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation for Moscow. At the same time, Yakunin was relieved of his previously held position as head of the Internal Affairs Directorate for the Novgorod Region.

In 2011, Russians invested $12 billion in foreign real estate. More and more families are buying houses and apartments with an eye to permanent residence. After Christmas, a dozen or two Russian families permanently residing in Monaco received an invitation to the princely palace.

Is it possible to do business in the Caucasus? For officials - yes, for the rest - as it turns out. Not far from the village of Chernaya Rechka on the road to Nalchik, the capital of Kabardino-Balkaria, the surrounding landscape resembles the Mediterranean hinterland. Along the highway there are thickets of vineyards, against which rises a newly built castle-fortress in the Romanesque style. This is the estate of Tembulat Erkenov, Deputy Prime Minister of the KBR government.

Who from Vladimir Putin's outgoing cabinet may appear on the Forbes list. From business to politics and/or vice versa—more than a dozen Russian officials have made this journey. It is believed that entrepreneurial experience will be useful in government, but there is no need to talk about the benefits of the civil service for subsequent business activities. The Forbes list is a monetary assessment of entrepreneurial success.

Inefficient markets do not guarantee earnings. In a previous column, I wrote about the theory of efficient markets. This theory provides a beautiful and logical description of financial markets in which there is no asymmetry of information and no transaction costs. But this is the very case when theory does not correspond to practice at all. In modern financial markets, transaction costs are very low.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at a press conference following negotiations with Francois Hollande in Paris, said that he does not consider the gas contracts for which former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was convicted to be contrary to Ukrainian laws. “Russia’s position and mine regarding Mrs. Tymoshenko are known,” the Russian President emphasized. - Before signing these contracts, our lawyers carefully analyzed Russian, international, and Ukrainian legislation.

photo by Evgeny Dudin for Forbes Why did two Moscow online stores create an outsourced delivery service? We had to change 10 logistics services,” Vladimir Smetanin, co-owner of Gradient CJSC, which invested in the online gift store Pum-Pu.Ru, shrugs. Smetanin and his partners invested in Pum-Pu.Ru in 2007: they liked the concept of the store. The turnover of online commerce in Russia has been growing by 25–35% per year over the past five years.

photo by Alexey Mayshev for Forbes Getting from the Forbes list to the government is a maneuver that is rarely seen in our politics. The movement in the opposite direction - from the government to the Forbes list (six new candidates on page 42) - is much more in line with Russian realities. Why officials become millionaires does not need to be explained to anyone in Russia. But why trade entrepreneurial freedom for a “flashing light”?

Samara businessman with a controversial reputation, Yuri Kachmazov, ran AvtoVAZ for many years, but under pressure from the state he was forced to give up the business and later flee abroad. Why didn't he have a chance to stay afloat? December 2005 in Togliatti turned out to be warm; on the 22nd, a southerly wind brought in thick, low clouds.

photo Fotodom/Rex Features As a descendant of Russian emigrants, Harry Trigubov became the king of real estate on the fifth continent. What is the Australian Dream? It's simple, no orphans dropping out of university to create the most valuable company in the world. An Australian needs his own home to live a full life. It can be one-story, three or four rooms. With a garage and always a small lawn so that there is somewhere for children to play and barbecue.

Putin is first and foremost a political person, and for him the economy is a tool for achieving political goals... For him, the priority, as he understands, is greatness and geopolitical power. — Sergey Dubinin, Chairman of the Board of Directors of VTB, on Radio Liberty Medvedev effect Medvedev, having extended the life of the Putin regime, at the same time did a lot to desacralize power... It was under Medvedev that the system demonstrated that it could not change for the better.

Photo by Fotobank/Getty Images A few tips on the peculiarities of choosing wines for a good outdoor recreation Every year my friends and I go... no, not to the bathhouse - to the Glyndebourne Opera Festival. But we follow the tradition almost like Ryazanov’s characters.

American authorities have softened the terms of punishment for Russian businessman Viktor Bout, transferring him to a so-called “medium” level prison located in the state of Illinois. This was announced by Bout's lawyer Albert Dayan.

Forbes measured obstacles to business for the first time. Doing business in Moscow and St. Petersburg is more difficult than in other Russian cities. This became clear after we broke the tradition of excluding them from the ranking of the best cities and regions for doing business in Russia. It turns out that if we ignore the wealth and crowdedness of the two Russian capitals, the conditions for doing business here are not good at all.

The Cairo Criminal Court on Saturday found former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak guilty of involvement in the deaths of peaceful protesters during the January 2011 popular uprising and sentenced him to life imprisonment. This was announced by the chief judge at the trial, Ahmed Rifaat. Some of those present in court at that moment began to applaud and shout, thereby expressing approval of the verdict.