Vladimir Putin considers large gold and foreign exchange reserves a guarantee of Russia's financial independence and is ready to put up with high exchange rate volatility in order to preserve them, Bloomberg sources said Russian President Vladimir Putin (Photo: RIA Novosti) Russian President Vladimir Putin is convinced that the presence of gold reserves and hard currency is the best guarantee of the country's financial independence, writes Bloomberg , citing high-ranking sources who discussed

Nana Gvichia, Deputy Chairman of the Smolny Tourism Committee (Photo: gov.spb.ru) Only 20% of all hotels registered in St. Petersburg were classified for star status before the 2018 FIFA World Cup. As Fontanka reports with reference to the deputy chairman of the Smolny Tourism Committee Nana Gvichia, at the beginning of February 79 hotels received the class. According to certification companies, there were about 110 at the end of the month, she added.

The key evidence in the “YUKOS case,” which Russia relied on in the trial in the United States, is contained in the register of shareholders of the liquidated company from the late 1990s.

Marches in Poland against the authorities and in support of ex-President Lech Walesa, who is accused of being an agent, may be connected with Russia's attempts to destabilize the situation in the country, an adviser to the current president said Participants in anti-government protests in Warsaw, Poland, February 27, 2016 (Photo: AP) Anti-government protests in support of ex-president Lech Walesa may be part of Russia's attempts to destabilize the situation in Poland.

The official euro exchange rate set by the Bank of Russia fell by 2.57 rubles. compared to the previous value, up to 80.5333 rubles. The official dollar exchange rate was reduced to 74.0536 rubles. Photo: Sergey Karpov/TASS The official euro to ruble exchange rate from March 2 was set by the Bank of Russia at 80.5333 rubles. - this is 2.57 rubles. less than the previous value. At the same time, the official dollar exchange rate was reduced by the regulator by 1.85 rubles, to 74.0536 rubles.

The Yekaterinburg prosecutor's office began checking the actions of collectors and employees of a microfinance organization who blocked the home of a child whose parents took out a loan. This was reported on the website of the Prosecutor General's Office. According to information that appeared in the media, at the end of February, collectors came to the borrowers’ apartment, where at that time there was only one young child, the prosecutor’s office notes.

The index of business activity in the industrial sector in China dropped to 49 points. The last time such a value was recorded was in November 2011 Photo: Reuters/Pixstream According to official statistics published on March 1, the business activity index (PMI) in the industrial sector of China fell to 49 points in February this year, reports Reuters . In January, this figure was 49.4 points.

Last week, aircraft from the Russian Aerospace Forces group in Syria covered the delivery of humanitarian aid to the city of Deir ez-Zor, besieged by militants. The official representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Major General Igor Konashenkov, told reporters about this on Tuesday, Interfax reports . The transfer of humanitarian supplies to Deir ez-Zor, located in northeastern Syria, took place under the auspices of the UN.

Actor George Kennedy died in the United States at the age of 91. His role in the films “The Naked Gun” brought him worldwide fame. George Kennedy died on Sunday morning local time, February 28, in Boise, Idaho. The actor's grandson Corey Schenkel announced this on his Facebook page, writes The Hollywood Reporter. George Kennedy gained worldwide fame after participating in the Naked Gun series of comedies, released in 1991 and 1994, where he played Captain Ed Hawken.

The Pentagon has signed two contracts totaling $160 million for the development of rocket engines that should replace the Russian RD-180. The development will be carried out by Aerojet Rocketdyne and United Launch Service Atlas 5 rocket launches from Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA (Photo: Reuters/Pixstream) The US Air Force has awarded two contracts totaling nearly $162 million to develop a rocket engine.

From March 1, 2016, rates on mortgage loans issued under the state program were increased from 11.4 to 12% per annum. Sberbank and VTB24 have already reported a corresponding increase Photo: Ekaterina Kuzmina / RBC Banks VTB24 and Sberbank increased rates on mortgages with state support by 0.6 percentage points - from 11.4% per annum to 12% per annum. The decision on this came into force on March 1, 2016.

US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke about new agreements with Russia on Syria. Among them is the refusal to publicly discuss information about alleged ceasefire violations and work together to eliminate them. US Secretary of State John Kerry (Photo: Reuters/Pixstream) US State Department head John Kerry said that he agreed with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov not to discuss alleged ceasefire violations in Syria.

Residents of Tajikistan should stock up on food and water due to the winter with little snow and possible drought. Officials came to this conclusion at a government meeting chaired by the president. Trade in products at the Green Market in Dushanbe in Tajikistan, 2013 (Photo: RIA Novosti) Residents of Tajikistan are advised to stock up on food, the press service of the country's president reported following a government meeting.

Throughout this week, every day we publish stories of ordinary people with their financial problems, and experts talk about how to solve them. Today - about where to get money to pay off loans Security officer Evgeniy. (Photo: Fedor Telkov for RBC) The crisis has hit all residents of Russia to one degree or another. We have collected stories of ordinary people with the most common financial problems.

An Airbus A319 of Rossiya Airlines en route to Ufa returned to Pulkovo Airport due to smoke in the cabin. The causes of the smoke are not yet known Emergency rescue operations at Pulkovo Airport. Archive photo An Airbus A319 of Rossiya Airlines, flying from St. Petersburg to Ufa, returned to the Pulkovo departure airport due to smoke in the cabin, Fontanka reports . The incident occurred on the night of March 1, around 00:25 Moscow time, the landing was successful.