photo Epsilon/PhotoXPress.ru The feudal habit of conducting dialogue not with the Caucasian peoples, but only with their leaders, can cost Moscow dearly Since the beginning of the Ukrainian crisis, attention to the North Caucasus has noticeably weakened for some time. But in the last two months, the region has returned to the public space, albeit in a rather unexpected capacity: as a citadel of official Russian conservatism.

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko (No. 1284 in the global ranking of billionaires according to Forbes, fortune - $1.3 billion) will not go to Moscow on Friday, February 6, along with French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, RBC-Ukraine reports with reference to the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Yevgeny Perebiynis.

photo by RIA Novosti Under the rule of Vladimir Putin, all possible reforms were started, completed, shelved, and now launched again to serve the needs of the current political moment “Are you crazy or something?” - President Putin shouted at Deputy Prime Minister Dvorkovich on Wednesday and ordered the return of commuter trains that had been canceled in several regions of the country tomorrow, or better yet, today.

The growth of consumer prices in Russia in January 2015 compared to December 2014 amounted to 3.9%, this is the maximum acceleration since January 1999, according to data from the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat). In January 1999, prices rose by 8.4% per month. In January, in 10 Russian regions, prices for goods and services increased by 5% or more, mainly as a result of an increase in food prices, Rosstat notes. In Moscow, monthly inflation was 3.7%, in St. Petersburg - 5%.

Currently, inflation in Russia in annual terms is 13.7% and its peak will occur in March 2015, head of the Ministry of Economic Development Alexey Ulyukaev said on Thursday. “The peak will most likely be in March,” the TASS agency quotes him as saying . The minister refused to name the forecast for peak inflation in March. Ulyukaev said that currently inflation in annual terms is 13.7% and the Ministry of Economic Development has not yet revised its inflation forecast.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates (No. 1 in the ranking of the richest people on the planet in 2014, net worth: $76 billion) in November donated a $1.5 billion stake in the company to the Bill and Melinda Gates Charitable Foundation, Bloomberg reports, citing the foundation’s press service. As follows from the information on the website of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the businessman got rid of 30 million shares on January 30. As a result, Gates' stake in Microsoft decreased to 3%.

Russia has submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council aimed at increasing pressure on governments to curb the financing of the Islamic State (ISIS), Bloomberg reports, citing a Russian diplomat and three other UN diplomats. According to two European diplomats at the UN, the document aims to curb three main sources of funding for the Islamic State - illegal oil exports, antiques smuggling and hostage kidnapping.

The Central Bank increased the official dollar exchange rate on Friday, February 6, by 3.16 rubles to 68.6113 rubles, Finanz.ru reported on February 5 , citing data from the Bank of Russia. The official euro exchange rate was increased by 2.89 rubles and amounted to 77.9356 rubles. The cost of the bi-currency basket, consisting of $0.55 and €0.45, increased from 69.76 rubles to 72.81 rubles.

There are no high-ranking or famous people on the list of people the EU plans to sanction, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing unnamed diplomats. “These are all second- and third-ranking names,” one of the sources said. According to the agency's interlocutors, a new list of Russians, pro-Russian Ukrainians and companies against which sanctions are expected to be imposed was agreed upon by representatives of EU governments on Thursday.

Assistant to the Russian President Yuri Ushakov said that the Kremlin regards the upcoming visit of the leaders of France and Germany Francois Hollande and Angela Merkel to Moscow for negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin on resolving the conflict in Ukraine as a “positive step,” reports Thursday, February 5, TASS .

Mobile operators will not be able to reduce roaming prices in the near future, as requested by the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS), but, on the contrary, will be forced to increase the cost of foreign services, Vedomosti writes on Thursday, February 5, citing a study by the Content Review agency .

The National Payment Card System (NPC) plans to issue 120 million cards by 2019, thus providing the entire economically active population of the country with their cards, the Kommersant newspaper reports , citing the latest version of the draft NSPK development strategy, on Thursday, February 5.

The international rating agency Moody's has changed the outlook for Russia's rating from stable to negative, according to a message published on Thursday, February 5, on the agency's website. The report states that the downgrade of Russia's rating from Baa2 to Baa3 in mid-January forced the agency to change its rating forecast. Moody's cites the projected decline in GDP in 2015, rising unemployment and falling real wages as reasons.

Photo by Max Novikov for Forbes The expansion of visa sanctions will increase the split in the elite, the oppositionist believes If Western countries really want to influence the Kremlin’s policy towards Ukraine, they should impose visa sanctions on about 1,000 high-ranking Russians and their relatives, many of whom have real estate abroad, opposition leader Alexei Navalny said in an interview with the American newspaper The New York Times . “This will increase the split in the elite.

The Internet company Yandex launched on Thursday a new application, Yandex.Parking, with which you can find out about the availability of spaces and pay for parking in more than 6,000 municipal parking lots, the reported . company’s press service The application on the smartphone screen will indicate to the motorist the nearest parking lot and, if the Yandex.Navigator application is installed, will provide routes to it.