The dollar exchange rate decreased slightly - by 4 kopecks, to 28 rubles 49 kopecks. The situation on the foreign exchange market is gradually returning to normal - the growth of the dollar on Monday and Tuesday turned out to be short-term and opportunistic, the market is again adjusting to the fact that a decline in the dollar is more likely and the specific moment when the rate moves significantly below the level of 28.5 rubles depends only on the Central Bank.

Polit.ru has obtained a most interesting document - the contents of a criminal charge against the leaders of the Sakharov Center in connection with the sensational exhibition “Beware of Religion!”, which was destroyed by people who called themselves Orthodox. Moreover, the rioters themselves were acquitted, but the organizers and artists are now being persecuted.

** Themes of the day ** One of the central topics in today's issue of the media is the acquisition by the Non -Profit Foundation "Communication of the times" , established by the chairman of the board of directors of Renova CJSC V. Veveselberg , the auction house Sotheby's the largest private collection of Karl Faberge for more than $ 100 million. The newspaper News Time , in particular, notes: “The transaction concluded by the Foundation“ Communication of the times ”is recorded.

At the disposal of Polit.ru, a curious document came - the content of the criminal prosecution against the leaders of the Sakharov Center in connection with the accurate exhibition “Caution, religion!”, Disrupted by people who called themselves Orthodox. Moreover, the pogroms themselves were justified, and the organizers and artists are now subjected to persecution.

The All -Russian Political Party "Yabloko" does not intend to participate in the presidential election, the newspaper writes. Ru. The general party decision to boycott the elections was made at the past congress of the party.

The Gosnarko control of Russia intends to intensify cooperation with the law enforcement agencies of Afghanistan in the fight against drug trafficking. This was announced on Thursday by reporters Deputy Chairman of the State Directorate of the State Directorate Alexander Fedorov. According to him, during the year in Afghanistan, the representative office of the State Directory of Russia may be opened, RIA Novosti reports.

Dmitry Oreshkin, head of the Mercator Group, leading researcher at the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences, comments on the social situation on the eve of the presidential elections for Polit.ru. The most interesting social science question now seems to be this: what kind of “public sentiment” do we have, which, according to the president, was reflected in the last elections...

The US military hold four Iranian border guards and dozens of other Iran citizens in Iraqi prisons. This was announced on Thursday by a special committee for the liberation of citizens of the Islamic Republic. According to the committee, only in the Iraqi prison Abu Carib is now about 15 Iranians, not all citizens of Iran are freed from other prisons located in Iraq.

The Meshchansky municipal court of Moscow found Vasily Shakhnovsky guilty of tax evasion in the amount of 28.5 million rubles and sentenced him to one year in prison. However, due to the fact that the ex-head of the Yukos-Moscow "ceased to be socially dangerous", he was released in the courtroom. At the same time, the court recognized him as innocent under the second article of the charges of falsification of documents, Gazeta.ru reports.

For the first time after the election, the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev arrives in Moscow today (this is not his first foreign voyage in a new quality - before that was France). During the visit, meetings with the President and Prime Minister of Russia, the heads of the chambers of the Federal Assembly, ministers, regions, representatives of the business, as well as students and teachers of MGIMO, where Aliyev Jr. once studied and taught.

The head of the analytical department of the Center for Political Technologies, Alexei Makarkin, called the current decision of the Meshchansky court in the “Shakhnovsky case” with a landmark. “Thus, the state has demonstrated that it is not going to destroy the defendants in the Yukos case morally, sending them to ITL, but it will achieve their conviction.

The Prosecutor General’s Office is not going to appeal the verdict for Vasily Shakhnovsky, the prosecutor Dmitry Shokhin, a representative of the prosecution in this process, said. According to him, the state prosecution considers the verdict of the Meshchansky court against Vasily Shakhnovsky justified, RIA Novosti reports. "He was found guilty of tax evasion. This is the main thing. And to free Shakhnovsky from punishment is the right of the court," said Shokhin.

Vsevolod Brodsky A few years ago, everyone decided that to save the literary process, as a result of a vague post -perestroika decade, acquired the most bizarre forms should be with the help of Maynstim. We will create, they say, a weighty custody of good, albeit inaccessible authors, we will publish a hundred, say, good, albeit unremarkable novels - that’s the global heyday.

Karl Bildt European anxiety about the Russian policy, questions about changing the course in connection with the presidential election, as well as the problems of expanding the European Union are reflected in the article by Karl Bildt, the basis for which was his performance at the conference in Moscow regarding the first anniversary of the foundation of the journal Russia in Global Policy. Today, Polit.ru publishes this article in the heading of the life of ideas.

The State Duma apparatus will be reduced by more than 80 people, the speaker of the lower house of parliament Boris Gryzlov told reporters on Thursday after a meeting of the State Duma Council. “The device will work more effectively from this,” Gryzlov said. Now the number of the device is 1.8 thousand people.