Vitaly Portnikov : 20 years ago in the Belovezhskaya President of Russia Boris Yeltsin, President of Ukraine Leonid Kravchuk and chairman of the Supreme Council of Belarus Stanislav Shushkevich signed an agreement that launched the final collapse of the Soviet Union, the emergence of new 12 independent states on the political map of the world, and the creation of the CIS. How much, in principle, is this moment determining from the point of view of the development of the post -Soviet space?

The International Monetary Fund reduced the forecast of Russian GDP growth in 2011 from 4.3% to 4.1%, the head of the IMF mission in Moscow Yukh Kakhonen said. The assessment of the growth of the Russian economy in 2012 is also worsened - from 4.1% to 3.5%. In 2010, according to official data, the volume of Russia's GDP increased by 4%.

Protest of protest against falsifications in the elections to the State Duma, Petersburg, December 7, 2011 In St. Petersburg tonight, disagreeing with the announced results of the elections to the State Duma gathered again at the Gostiny Dvor. The agencies report that the action took place calmly - people talked, agreed on new meetings.

Leonid Kravchuk On December 8, it has been the twenty years of the signing of Belovezh agreements that put an end to the history of the Soviet Union. One of the key to the collapse of the USSR, many call the contribution of Ukraine and its first President Leonid Kravchuk.

Rod Blagievich The court in the city of Chicago sentenced the former Governor of Illinois Rod Blagoevich to 14 years in prison. He was found guilty at 18 points of prosecution. Rod Blagevich was elected the governor in 2002 and then in 2006. The Streal of Blagoevich in power ended in 2008, when he was arrested on charges of corruption. The state lawmakers declared impeachment to the governor and removed him from his post.

Manuel Norieg The former dictator of Panama Manuel Norieg will be extradited from France to his homeland on Sunday. Such a statement was made by Panama Foreign Minister Roberto Enricz. According to the minister, Norieg, whom the court in Panama found guilty of corruption and murder, will serve his sentence at home. Noriega has already spent more than 20 years in prison.

Tehran states that the US virtual embassy in Iran did not find support from Iranian citizens, launched two days ago on the Internet. In particular, the official representative of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ramin Mehmanparast made comments, according to which "the US virtual initiative will never redeem the mistakes made by Washington." The Virtual Embassy opened on the Web on Tuesday, and the very next day, users in Iran reported that access to the site was blocked.

After signing Belovezhsky agreements Today marks the 20th anniversary of the signing of Belovezh agreements that formally terminated the existence of the Soviet Union.

Facebook page A rally against falsified elections, scheduled for December 10, supported more than 20 thousand people on social networks. They expressed their desire to participate in the action. Radio Liberty will conduct direct video broadcasting on its website. The action acquires an increasing number of supporters.

US President Barack Obama US President Barack Obama said that the United States does not exclude any scenarios of the development of events around Iran. Speaking on Thursday in Washington, Obama did not specify which scenarios he had in mind, but noted that the United States will closely interact with the allies, including Israel, so as not to allow Iran to get nuclear weapons.

In Ryazan, the opposition supporters reached an unauthorized rally today, protesting against the official results of the State Duma elections. According to the police, 70-80 people gathered on the central square of the city, mainly young people.

Traiders in the trading floor of the Troika Dialogue, September 2011 The growth of imports to Russia has sharply slowed down. According to the data submitted by the Federal Customs Service on December 7, in general, in 10 months he was ahead of export growth by less than a quarter, although in the first half of the year this gap was twice as large. Just a few months ago, the leading increase in imports was considered one of the main factors of the ruble possible in the coming years.

According to the Palestinian news agency, Maan, the next negotiations between representatives of the Palestinian groups Fath and Hamas ended in the gas sector. Both parties announced the intention to achieve compliance with previously achieved agreements and form a government of national unity.