The results of the first stage of summarizing the results of the 2002 population census showed that Russia is an "immigration attractive country." At a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which was also attended by Russian Minister for Ethnic Affairs Vladimir Zorin, Chairman of the Russian State Committee for Statistics Vadim Sokolin said that "since 1989, Russia has become an immigration country." "In terms of immigration, Russia is second only to the US and Germany," he said.

Mail.Ru, with the support of the Internet media Gazeta.Ru, Lenta.Ru, Ytro.Ru, Newsru.Com and Vazhno.Ru, conducted a survey of Internet users' opinions on the reasons for the arrest of the head of the Yukos oil company, Mikhail Khodorkovsky. It is reported by Lenta.Ru. More than 70% of respondents believe that the detention of Mikhail Khodorkovsky is not related to the charges against him.

The location of the miner Sergei Tkach, who is still missing, is approximately known. This was reported to RIA Novosti by Vladimir Katalnikov, a representative of the emergency response headquarters at the Zapadnaya-Kapitalnaya mine. He said that now two detachments of mine rescuers had gone in search of Tkach. "They are following the same route that they followed when they were looking for a group of 13 people whose whereabouts were completely unknown for five days," Katalnikov said.

The prosecutor's office asks the court to invalidate the election of Vasily Shakhnovsky as a member of the Federation Council, RIA Novosti was told in the Information and Public Relations Department of the Prosecutor General's Office. Evenkia rejects the claims of the Prosecutor General's Office to the election of Shakhnovsky.

China is planning a second spaceflight with possibly three astronauts to orbit Earth within a week. This was reported by ITAR-TASS with reference to an interview given to the Chengdu Wanbao newspaper by Xu Dazhe, Deputy Director General of the China Space Science and Technology Corporation. Earlier, Chinese experts in the field of space flights said that the second launch of a manned spacecraft will be carried out in China within two years.

Ukraine will have to strengthen the island of Tuzla in the Kerch Strait to protect it from erosion. The threat arose with the start of construction by Russia of a dam in the Krasnodar Territory towards the Ukrainian border. This, as reported by Reuters, said the Prime Minister of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea Sergey Kunitsyn.

The subscription fee for a telephone in Moscow in 2004 may increase by 20% - up to 170 rubles, RBC reports. Mikhail Smirnov, general director of MGTS, announced this today at a briefing. According to him, the final decision to raise tariffs depends on the MAP. Mikhail Smirnov also noted that next year Moscow will be divided into two code zones: 499 and 095.

A new decline in quotations began on the Russian stock market, RBC reports. On the RTS, as of 13:15 Moscow time, Yukos fell by 5.24%, Sibneft - by 12.45%. Quotes of RAO "UES of Russia" fell by 1.11%, "LUKOIL" - by 1.43%, "Rostelecom" - by 0.54%, "Surgutneftegaz" - by 1.44%, "Mosenergo" - by 3%. 47%, Norilsk Nickel - by 4.07%, Tatneft - by 2.27%, Sibneft - by 12.45%. Sberbank is in positive territory - its quotes increased by 0.28%. The RTS index fell by 3.76% - to the level of 540.32 points.

Grani.ru collage French Danone postpones the planned purchase of the control package of Wimm-Bill-Dann JSC due to the political instability that arose in Russia after the arrest of the head of the Yukos. This was written by Financial Times with reference to sources close to negotiations. Earlier it was reported that Danone could already agree on the purchase of shares from Russian shareholders of the company, which is estimated at $ 900 million.

On the exchange. Photo by the Air Force After a collapse on Monday, the Russian stock market is growing for the second day. Caution growth - within 1-2 percent. It was with such dynamics that bidding began on Wednesday. Growth leaders were the shares of RAO UES, Lukoil and Gazprom. As for Yukos, the company's papers froze at 12.50 dollars apiece (data at 11.30 in the morning), that is, at the level of Tuesday prices.

Leonid Filatov will be buried on Wednesday at the Vagankovsky cemetery in Moscow, Interfax was told in the Union of Cinematographers of Russia. The actor's funeral will be held at the Church of the Resurrection of the Glorious in Sivtsevo Vrazhek. The civil funeral ceremony will begin at 12.00 at the Central House of Cinema. The actor was hospitalized at the Central Clinical Hospital on October 14 with bilateral pneumonia.

Grani.ru collage The Accounts Chamber has checked the "effectiveness of the use of budget funds" released to financing the state defense order (GOZ). The money here is spinning - about 40-60 billion rubles annually. And the return, let's say, is not impressive. The army and navy have seen neither new equipment nor new weapons for years. Those isolated cases when the Ministry of Defense buys a really new plane, ship or tank, are perceived as something supernatural.

The unmasked group of "werewolves" police officers included "operational workers from lieutenant colonel to senior lieutenant," Konstantin Romadanovsky, head of the internal security department of the Russian Interior Ministry, said on the Rossiya TV channel. "I would like to draw attention to one more thing: two members of this group from the GUBEP of Moscow - from the operational-investigative unit that was engaged in the fight against economic crimes in the food market," he said.

Jewish associations of Belarus intend to apply to the prosecutor's office with a request to initiate lawsuit under the article "inciting racial, national or religious hatred or discord". According to PRIMA, they are protesting against the distribution banned newspaper Russky Vestnik and claim that the publications in this publication are openly "anti-Semitic".

The host of the program "Moment of Truth" Andrei Karaulov. From the site www.tvc.ru The Zamoskvoretsky court of Moscow on Wednesday partially satisfied the lawsuit of the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force of Colonel General Vladimir Mikhailov on the protection of honor and dignity for the TV-Center television company and the host of the Program of Truth Andrei Karaulov. It is reported by RIA "Novosti".