In a letter addressed to Miller, a copy of which is available to Vedomosti, Penza Region Senator Andrei Vavilov argues that by developing the Vostochno-Urengoyskoye field, Rospan is extracting gas from a part of it to which it has no rights. Citing data from the state balance of mineral resources and an expert assessment approved by the State Reserves Commission, Vavilov claims that this field contains only the overlying Valanginian strata, but does not include the deeper Achimov deposits.

If there's one thing you can't deny our president, it's that he sticks to his habits. It's fundamentally important to him that when appointing a character to a key position, his name doesn't appear in all sorts of lists and expert polls. That's how it was with Speaker Mironov, that's how it was with Prime Minister Fradkov, now with Chaika, and, one would think, that's how it will be with his successor. The man loves to surprise, what can you do?

Nokia and Siemens will transfer their network equipment manufacturing units to the merged company. As a result, Nokia will focus on the production of mobile phones, and Siemens will remain an industrial conglomerate without high-tech divisions (the company spun off computer production into the Fujitsu-Siemens joint venture, and mobile phone production into Siemens-BenQ). After the announcement of the deal, Siemens shares on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange jumped by 7.8%, reaching 67.70 euros.

“The announcement was followed by a deathly silence. Employees were silent, trying to comprehend what they had just heard: their department was being outsourced. It gradually dawned on them that their career path had suddenly been blocked by a complex and dangerous obstacle,” is how researchers from Accenture describe a real-life example from business, rather than trying to intrigue readers.

The version of the Labor Code approved last Friday in its final, third reading basically changes the word “organization” to “employer” throughout the text. Thus, the situation has been corrected, in which labor relations could only arise between legal entities and individuals. “Now entrepreneurs without forming a legal entity can also be employers with all the ensuing obligations,” explains Igor Lebedev, a lawyer and labor law specialist.

In October 2005, Wenaas Holding acquired the Radisson SAS hotel on Nevsky Prospect (164 4-star rooms), and in the spring of this year it bought the Pulkovskaya hotel (840 4-star rooms). Experts estimate the investment in these properties at $50–70 million. The company has brought in Rezidor SAS to manage the Pulkovskaya, which will give the hotel its Park Inn brand. The Norwegian company's hotel business will soon be strengthened by two more objects.

In order to compensate for the operators' losses, it is proposed to transfer to them a portion of the funds collected from fixed-line subscribers for calls to mobile phones. Previously, the three largest operators - MTS , VimpelCom (Beeline) and Megafon - insisted on establishing an interconnect (inter-operator settlement rate) of 5 cents per minute (1.35 rubles).

Director of the Nizhny Novgorod branch of Ak Bars Bank Aleksandr Skornyakov believes that, first of all, Vladimir Kiriyenko's professional qualities played a decisive role in his appointment as head of the bank's council. Skornyakov describes his colleague as "a very intelligent, well-versed and competent specialist." "He is a completely independent leader, despite his early age. His work has never been marked by any administrative resources from his father," Skornyakov recalls.

There are a number of ideas in the minds of citizens, the implementation of which they will demand from the authorities, regardless of their political beliefs and income level. For example, any normal person wants the country to be free of corruption and for the activities of officials to become transparent. Therefore, anti-corruption measures are always at the forefront of the election slogans of future and current deputies and presidents.

According to Rosstat, in May industry grew by 10.6% compared to May of the previous year. Comparable growth was observed in August 2004 (plus 11.5%) and December 2003 (13.6%). In total, in the first five months of 2006 industry grew by 4.8%, and in the first quarter – by only 3%. “It’s hard to call it anything other than an explosion,” notes Trust Bank economist Evgeny Nadorshin. Last year's May was a disastrous month. Then, industry added only 1.1% compared to May 2004.

What's new The main change that is supposed to revolutionize the market is the introduction of the concept of a dominant group and the reduction of the market share that a company must possess to be considered a monopolist.

Multi-million dollar budgets for individual marketing or advertising campaigns are a rarity for the Russian financial market. In 2003, Rosgosstrakh spent an unprecedented $20 million on rebranding and advertising its products. And the Rosno advertising campaign, launched last year, cost the insurer, according to experts, about $5 million. The company does not regret the money spent. “In the consumer sector and on the financial services market, we are champions in brand recognition – it is 98%.

Russia today is undergoing an undeniably positive transformation, which is nevertheless accompanied by a decidedly negative trend. Ultimately, these forces, perhaps in complete contradiction, will determine Russia's future. The question is which of them will dominate the country's economic, social and political development.

Back then, in 1991, the legendary American string quartet “Kronos” was eagerly awaited in Moscow. It was only later that they began to visit us regularly and recently performed in Moscow with two concerts. But then, instead of the Americans, they were satisfied with the Swedes. Although, unlike the Americans, they were by no means universal and consciously limited themselves to pop and rock music. To be precise, Fleshquartet is not a “carnal” or “meat” quartet, but a “pig quartet”.

In the new company Rostovkapstroy, the PIK group will have a 51% stake, while Rostovgorstroy will have a 49% stake. “The idea to create a joint company arose two years ago, but we decided to first see how we would work together,” said PIK-Region CEO Sergei Kanaev. The two companies began collaborating in April 2004: PIK provided financing and advertising support, while Rostovgorstroy acted as the general contractor.