Russian President Vladimir Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov declined journalists' request to give advice to Communist Party presidential candidate Pavel Grudinin on shaving off his moustache. In an interview with journalist Yuri Dud, Grudinin promised to shave off his moustache if his result in the presidential elections was less than 15%. Peskov explained that he had no right to advise Grudinin in this situation.

Russia and Belarus are developing a “plan B” in case the agreement between the countries on mutual recognition of visas is not signed and ratified by the summer, when Russia will host the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Kommersant newspaper reports , citing sources in government agencies of the two countries.

In the presidential elections on March 18, 70.88% of voters cast their ballots for Vladimir Putin in Moscow, and 75.01% in St. Petersburg after 100% of the ballots were counted, city election commissions report. In the last elections in March 2012, Putin received 46.95% of the votes in Moscow and 58.7% in St. Petersburg. Thus, Putin’s results in Moscow improved by 1.5 times and in St. Petersburg by 1.3 times. In Moscow, 12.47% of voters voted for Pavel Grudinin (9.04% in St.

NATO is calling on Russia to disclose information about the program to create the nerve agent Novichok, which was allegedly used to poison former GRU Colonel Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. This is stated on the official website of the alliance.

March 19, 2018, 18:23 / Politics / Photo Photo.

March 19, 2018, 12:05 / Business The court returned the lawsuit against the Penelope tanker to NCSP undefined Vedomosti The Moscow Arbitration Court returned the claim of the Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port ( NCSP ), filed against the Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport (Rosmorrechflot) and the captain of the port of Novorossiysk, Evgeniy Tuzinkevich, according to the court file.

IBM experts have selected five technologies that will have the greatest impact on our lives and businesses over the next five years. In their opinion, these technologies will be blockchain, unbiased artificial intelligence, quantum computing, cryptography, and robotic microscopes based on artificial intelligence (AI), the press release says . IBM prepares a forecast for the development of innovations in science and technology every year.

Varvara Grankova To be effective in today's corporate world, you need to be able to motivate the people around you. But how do you get your colleagues to support your initiatives and accept your ideas? And how do you get people to turn to you for advice and follow your instructions? What the experts say Influence is valuable, says Dorie Clark, author of the book Entrepreneurial You.

French President Emmanuel Macron congratulated the current head of state Vladimir Putin on his victory in the presidential elections, as reported on the Kremlin website . The leaders of the two countries discussed the situations in Syria and Ukraine by telephone. The French president also called on the Russian leader to "shed light on the circumstances" of the poisoning of former GRU Colonel Sergei Skripal in Salisbury. This is stated on the website of the Elysee Palace.

March 18, 2018, 23:38 / Economics Exclusively by subscription Russian investors did not use Eurobonds to return capital to their homeland The new issue was of interest mainly to foreigners Elena Medvedeva Tatyana Lomskaya Finance Minister Anton Siluanov borrowed from foreigners / Evgeny Razumny / Vedomosti President Vladimir Putin suggested that large businesses invest up to $3 billion in domestic Eurobonds at a meeting with entrepreneurs at the end of 2017.

BM Bank, owned by VTB , ceases operations in Ukraine. This is stated in a message from the credit institution. In 2014, the Ukrainian authorities introduced sanctions against banks with Russian state capital. The decision to abandon activities in Ukraine is explained by the “strategy to optimize the presence in Ukraine” approved by the shareholders of the VTB Group. “BM Bank will fully fulfill all its obligations... and above all, its obligations to the bank’s clients.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a government decree on subsidizing loans for the purchase of wooden houses. "And one more topic - it is important both economically and socially. It is related to improving the housing conditions of our citizens," he said today at a meeting with deputy prime ministers. Medvedev noted that many families would like to live in their own homes made of modern environmentally friendly materials.

Rosselkhoznadzor has strengthened control over the quality of products of animal origin after identifying some inconsistencies. We are talking about products manufactured by Russian enterprises included in the register of the Customs Union. This is stated in the service message . In particular, the products of Timashevsky Dairy Plant (controlled by PepsiCo), Chicken Kingdom (owned by the Cherkizovo group), and SK Korocha CJSC (owned by Miratorg) came under increased control.

Voter turnout for the presidential elections was 67.47% after 99.83% of ballots were processed, the Central Election Commission told Interfax. The final turnout and preliminary voting results will be announced at 10:00 Moscow time. After 99.81% of the protocols have been processed, the current head of state, Vladimir Putin, wins the Russian presidential election with a result of 76.67%.

Director of the Department of Collective Investments and Trust Management of the Central Bank of Russia, Philip Gabunia, may be appointed to the position of Director of the Insurance Market Department of the regulator, Interfax reports , citing a source in the insurance market. “The appointment could take place by May. There is no intention to merge departments; we are talking about internal rotation. The decision has not yet been documented,” the source said.