FT: Putin asked Assad to leave / Vahid Salemi / AP A few weeks before his death, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Colonel General Igor Sergun, visited Damascus on a delicate mission: the Kremlin offered Syrian President Assad to leave his post. This was reported by the Financial Times, citing two high-ranking Western intelligence officials.

The Russian agenda remains on the periphery of Davos / WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM / swiss-image.ch / Moritz Hager The first Russian business breakfast was organized by Yulmart, and although it was called “Digital Revolution,” the discussion quickly came down to the question of whether Russian companies, at least from non-resource sectors, could be of interest to foreign investors and how they could be attracted.

Employees of a geological company conducting exploration work 35 km from the city of Snezhnogorsk (Krasnoyarsk Krai) died when a tractor fell through the ice. This was reported on the morning of Thursday, January 22, by the Main Directorate (GU) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for Krasnoyarsk Krai. "Taimyr police are investigating the circumstances of an accident in which two people drowned," the department wrote in a statement.

Gosling's character (bottom right) looks like he's about to get beat up, but now he's going to turn to the audience and explain to them why these people are wrong / OUTNOW.CH Of course, I can't really explain what's going on in the movie "The Big Short" myself. It would be good to go to the Vedomosti department and consult with our goddesses of finance. First, they know everything about hedge funds, CDOs, the mortgage market, and other tools for moving money from one virtual pocket to another.

The Kremlin has an "extremely negative" attitude toward the ban on entry to Moldova for several groups of Russian journalists. This was stated by the president's press secretary Dmitry Peskov at a briefing on January 22. "Of course, any restrictions on freedom of speech and the work of the media are unacceptable," he said.

XII Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam / Hoang Dinh Nam / AP The 12th Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) officially opened in Hanoi on Thursday. It is expected to determine the direction of development for the next five years and renew the country's leadership. Delegates will elect the party's central committee, which in turn will elect a new Politburo and general secretary.

Russian State Duma deputy Andrei Lugovoi does not intend to take any steps in connection with the report of British judicial authorities, which speaks of his involvement in the death in London of former Russian intelligence officer Alexander Litvinenko. "It seems to me that this is an internal matter for Britain, they are somehow competing with each other there...

The volume of direct investment in commercial real estate worldwide in 2015 amounted to approximately $700 billion, which is approximately the same as the previous year, according to a report from JLL. According to the company's experts, the total volume of investment transactions in the commercial real estate market worldwide in 2015 was only 1% lower than the same figure for the previous year ($704 billion) and 7% lower than the absolute record set in 2007 ($758 billion).

January 22, 2016, 20:47 / Finance VEB will receive help in February The government continues to look for options to support the state corporation of Alexander Prokopenko VEB will receive help in February / M. Stulov / Vedomosti Vnesheconombank Chairman Vladimir Dmitriev expects that comprehensive support will be provided to the bank by mid-February. “Support measures, I am sure, will be implemented before mid-February this year,” he said in Davos, Switzerland (quoted by Interfax).

January 21, 2016, 11:27 pm / Business Norilsk Nickel refused to continue the buyback During a collapse in commodity markets, a buyout cannot support the company's capitalization Vitaly Petlevoy Norilsk Nickel will no longer buy shares from the market / E. Razumny / Vedomosti “ Norilsk Nickel feels better than other companies, largely due to the devaluation of the ruble,” says RMG analyst Andrei Tretelnikov.

The Krasnodar Regional Court sentenced former air traffic controller from Sochi Petr Parpulov to 12 years in a maximum security prison for treason. As the convicted man's lawyer Oleg Eliseev told Interfax, the sentence was announced behind closed doors. The state prosecution had requested 13 years in prison for the controller. The trial has been held behind closed doors since September. The trial materials, including evidence from the defense, were classified "top secret," Interfax notes.

From January 25 , the Moscow Exchange will provide trading participants with the opportunity to enter into repo transactions with the central counterparty (CCP) with execution periods of up to seven days with settlements in US dollars and euros. this TASS reports with reference to a press release from the exchange.

January 22, 2016, 05:44 / Business Investments of the Silk Road Fund in Russia will exceed $2 billion after the purchase of 9.9% in Yamal LNG Vedomosti The volume of investments of the Chinese sovereign Silk Road Fund (SRF) in Russia as a result of the transaction to acquire 9.9% in Yamal LNG from the Russian Novatek will exceed $2 billion, Prime reports Russian with reference to an explanatory note to the -Chinese protocol.

January 21, 2016, 11:19 pm / Business Arab DP World invests more than $1.5 billion in Russian port infrastructure She will own 80% in a joint venture with the Russian Direct Investment Fund Anna Zibrova RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev / WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM / swiss-image.ch / Monika Flueckiger On Thursday in Davos, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and the Arab port operator DP World announced the creation of a joint venture (JV) DP World Russia.

Expenditures on road construction in 2016 will be reduced by 30%, Rosavtodor reported. Of the 140 billion rubles initially allocated for the construction of roads in the federal target program “Development of the transport system in 2010–2020,” 97 billion rubles remained. It is planned to use this money to build and reconstruct about 280 km of federal roads, Rosavtodor specified. 60 km less than originally planned during the budget discussion, adds a department representative.