There are no fewer Russian weapons on the market - only more Yesterday, President Vladimir Putin announced that this year the amount of export contracts concluded by Russia for the supply of weapons exceeded $15 billion, and the proceeds from already completed transactions amounted to a record $14 billion. According to Kommersant's information, over the past year the main buyers of Russian weapons remained India and Algeria and Vietnam.

Over the 11 months of 2012, defense enterprises of Tatarstan produced products, goods and services worth 55.3 billion rubles, reports the press service of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Republic of Tatarstan, citing Minister Ravil Zaripov. The industrial production index amounted to 122.1%. In 2011, defense industry enterprises produced products worth 52 billion rubles, of which 26 billion rubles were produced within the framework of the state defense order.

Argentine Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has extended his contract with the Catalan football club until 2018. The 25-year-old football player's previous contract expired in June 2016. Three-time player of the year Lionel Messi managed to score 90 goals in 2012, setting a world record. Based on materials from the BBC

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev supported the Ministry of Labor's proposal to ban indicating the age limit in job advertisements, RIA Novosti reported on December 18.

business department correspondent Anatoly Dzhumailo is watching in front of the locomotive Russian industrialists are accustomed to seeking help from the government in foreign markets. And the state often meets them halfway, introducing quotas and protective duties, providing various special tariffs, and allocating loans from state banks.

Deputy Minister of Investment Policy of the Nizhny Novgorod Region Oleg Zaitsev on cluster development and state support. Business Guide: What are the major projects in the regional warehouse real estate market in recent years? What are they, and how do they meet modern requirements? Oleg Zaitsev: Today, four large logistics complexes are fully functioning in the region.

The development company "Malysheva, 73" intends to commission the Greenpark office center in 2013, which will be located in the center of Yekaterinburg. “The commercial space will be about 8.5 thousand square meters. meters. From the beginning of 2013, we intend to begin sales and accepting applications from tenants. We will offer office space from 20 sq. meters,” said the developer’s representative Dmitry Makarov.

Former Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili, arrested after recently returning from exile, went on a hunger strike. Okruashvili demands that his comrades arrested in the case of creating an illegal armed group be given the status of political prisoners. These people, as the former minister’s lawyer Zviad Koridze said, have been on hunger strike for a week. Okruashvili now decided to join the hunger strike.

Governor Viktor Basargin confirmed to Kommersant that the head of his administration, Grigory Kuranov, is leaving his position. He noted that he has not yet decided on the candidacy of a new leader. “Still searching. The main thing is that the person is good,” Mr. Basargin told Kommersant. Let us remind you that yesterday Grigory Kuranov at a meeting of the regional coordination council of the United Popular Front (UNF) announced that he was leaving his position on January 14.

Yesterday, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov presented awards to FSB and MIA officers who took part in a special operation as part of the Edelweiss-Tatarstan plan on October 24, 2012, the press service of the Government of the Republic of Tatarstan reports. The presentation of the awards took place in Moscow, in the building of the Plenipotentiary Representative Office of Tatarstan in Russia. As Kommersant wrote , on October 24, in Kazan, during a special operation in house No.

135 settlements remain without power due to bad weather in 4 regions, the press service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations said in a statement. In the Kyiv region, 100 settlements remain without power, in the Zhytomyr region - 26, in the Vinnitsa region - 5, in the Lviv region -4.

Morgan Stanley has agreed to pay a fine of $5 million to US authorities to settle proceedings by Massachusetts regulators over the Facebook IPO. One of the bank's top employees, technology sector specialist Michael Grimes, tried to "exert inappropriate influence" on independent analysts in the days before Facebook's stock offering in May 2012, the investigation says. Morgan Stanley was the lead underwriter for the Facebook offering.

via GLONASS A Russian navigation system was installed on the official cars of parliamentarians. However, deputies were not notified of such a step and are now demanding an investigation into this fact. At the same time, the cars of people’s representatives were equipped with similar systems before, experts recall. "Big Brother" is monitoring Russian deputies. GLONASS was installed on the official cars of parliamentarians without their knowledge.

The head of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, Vyacheslav Lebedev, proposes to decriminalize all minor crimes that carry up to three years in prison, RAPSI reports. “This is my position, it has been thought out. I consider it necessary to decriminalize all minor crimes that carry a maximum penalty of three years in prison,” Mr. Lebedev said on December 18 at the All-Russian Congress of Judges.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani is in critical condition after suffering a stroke on Monday evening. After recent changes to the country's constitution, the powers of the Iraqi president are significantly inferior to those of the prime minister. “Talabani was taken to a Baghdad hospital due to fatigue and exhaustion,” the head of state’s office said. Currently, doctors have managed to stabilize the condition of the 79-year-old politician, but it remains critical.