ITAR-TASS According to the president, it is wrong to compare the salaries of top managers of state-owned companies with the national average Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he does not know the salary of Rosneft head Igor Sechin. “I don’t know Sechin’s salary,” the president said at the annual big press conference broadcast by the Rossiya 24 TV channel.

The press service of the US State Department denied the words of the official representative of the department, Jane Psaki, about new sanctions against Russia. Earlier, Psaki said that US President Barack Obama signed a law providing for new sanctions against Russia, as well as the possibility for the United States to supply weapons to Ukraine. “He signed it yesterday,” Jane Psaki said during her press conference.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a large press conference, called Rosneft President Igor Sechin an “effective manager,” while admitting that he does not know what his salary is. “I don’t know Sechin’s salary. But he works quite efficiently and effectively. He turned out to be an effective manager,” the president emphasized.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a large annual press conference that the division of Russian citizens into the elite and the rest is unfounded. At the same time, Putin called the real elite of Russia the hard workers and peasants. “There is elite wine, elite resorts, there are no elite people. Do you know what the Russian elite is? This is a hard worker, this is a peasant, this is a person on whose shoulders the country rests.

At the end of the year, the President of Russia traditionally holds a multi-hour communication session with journalists. All the most interesting things about the press conference - in our online broadcast On December 18, Vladimir Putin sums up the results of the year for the tenth time in the format of a large press conference for Russian and foreign journalists. 1,259 media personnel were accredited for the event.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called his decision to pardon the former head of Yukos Mikhail Khodorkovsky in December 2013 correct, emphasizing during the annual big press conference that he does not regret anything. “I don’t regret anything, and I think I did absolutely the right thing,” said the head of state. He explained that he made the decision to pardon Khodorkovsky on humanitarian grounds after the ex-head of YUKOS wrote to him that his mother was ill.

The difficult situation in the Russian economy is not a consequence of the annexation of Crimea, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday during the annual large press conference. “This is not retribution for Crimea,” Putin emphasized.

The head of MasterCard in Russia, Ilya Ryaboy, released a statement in which he reports that the international payment system (IPS) is working and plans to continue working in Russia, Interfax reports on Thursday, December 18 . Thus, Ryaboy denied rumors spread among the population about the possible termination of services by Visa and Mastercard.

Shares of AFK Sistema more than doubled in price during trading on the Moscow Exchange and as of 13:30 the price of one ordinary share was 14.40 rubles, according to exchange data. The growth was 117.85% in less than a day The growth of the company's shares began after the release of its co-owner and head Vladimir Yevtushenkov from house arrest the day before, December 17. Against this background, shares rose 54% on Thursday.

Pavel Sokolov Author Documentary and feature films about the economic and financial crisis of 2008-2009. The Great Depression at one time inspired many directors to create films that became classics of world cinema. John Ford's Oscar-winning film The Grapes of Wrath, an adaptation of John Steinbeck's novel of the same name, is the most striking example of this.

Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov said that Vladimir Putin is going to meet with representatives of large Russian businesses on Friday, December 19, Interfax reports . Peskov clarified that Putin is going to discuss with them the current problems of leading companies. “This is a traditional event, a continuation of regular dialogue with representatives of large businesses, which are a serious employer and bear great social responsibility,” Peskov said.

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko (No. 1284 in the global ranking of billionaires according to Forbes, net worth: $1.3 billion) introduced to the Verkhovna Rada a bill “On amendments to some laws of Ukraine regarding Ukraine’s refusal to implement the policy of non-alignment,” reports on Thursday, December 18 , press service of the Ukrainian leader. This draft law provides for Ukraine to renounce its non-bloc status.

The Russian training ship Smolny with Russian sailors undergoing training on the Mistral helicopter carrier left the French port of Saint-Nazaire on Thursday, December 18, Reuters reports . At the same time, a representative of the French Navy noted that the decision on the supply to Russia had not been decided. Earlier, the French publication Ouest France reported that 400 Russian sailors who arrived for training on the Mistral at the end of June will leave France by December 25.

Deputies of the Moscow Regional Duma approved in three readings a change to the law on the sale of alcoholic beverages, which increases the number of hours for the sale of alcohol in the Moscow region, the press service of the Duma reported on Thursday, December 18. In accordance with the changes, alcohol in the region can now be sold from 8:00 to 23:00, whereas previously this was allowed from 11:00 to 21:00.

The Omsk construction company Mostovik was included in the register of unscrupulous suppliers for two years, TASS reports on Thursday, December 18, citing the press service of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (UFAS) for the Omsk Region. This decision imposes a ban on the company’s participation in state and municipal auctions and competitions.