Yesterday the fairly successful government of Mikhail Kasyanov was forced to admit that it still had at least one mistake. Energy Minister Alexander Gavrin spoke at the cabinet meeting and stated that the accumulation of fuel reserves by the autumn-winter period of 2000-2001. It's going worse than in previous years. As a high-ranking source in the White House told the Vremya Novostei newspaper, the reasons for poor supplies lie not only in the lack of finances and the problem of non-payments.

The launch of the sixth - and last - hydraulic unit took place yesterday at the Zagorsk pumped storage power plant. Thus, the first station of this type came into operation in Russia (it is intended to level the daily load schedule). The principle of operation of the Zagorsk pumped storage power plant is as follows: at night, when consumption is lowest and electricity generation is inexpensive, the units operate as pumps, pumping water to a height of 100 meters.

Rostov governor is angry The administration of the Rostov region yesterday signed a general agreement on cooperation with Alfa Bank. The signing ceremony was not without a fly in the ointment: Governor Vladimir Chub expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that Alfa Group (which includes Alfa Bank) joined the fight for a controlling stake in one of the largest enterprises in the Don - the Taganrog Metallurgical Plant (Tagmet). .

Vnesheconombank (VEB) and the Ministry of Education signed a cooperation agreement yesterday. The ministry and the bank will jointly develop and implement projects and programs in the field of education. The priority areas have been identified as improving education management, developing a system of open education and creating a national system of multi-level training of specialists for innovative activities.

Russia proposed to Ukraine to limit exports The Russian Ministry of Economic Development and Trade officially notified the Ukrainian Ministry of Economy about the possibility of introducing anti-dumping sanctions against the import of Ukrainian steel pipes to Russia. The Russian side proposes to reduce supplies for a three-year period to volumes that ensure equalization of competition conditions on the Russian market.

Duma postpones budget consideration date After a long separation due to the summer parliamentary holidays, deputies will finally be able to see each other today at the first plenary meeting of the autumn session of the Duma. Parliamentarians must approve a rough lawmaking program for the fall, as well as a work calendar for September. Meanwhile, it is possible that the main issue of this session - the budget for 2001 - will no longer be included in the September plan.

Sixteen people were slightly injured on Thursday night as a result of an explosion in the very center of Moscow. At 3.45 on the Garden Ring, not far from the building of the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime, a Zhiguli car stopped. A man dressed in black jumped out of the car, ran up to a group of prostitutes on duty along the road and threw a hand grenade at them. Then he jumped back into the car and disappeared. Fifteen women and one man were slightly wounded by shrapnel.

Russian Ice Hockey Championship in the Super League . Saturday, September 9. "Dynamo" (Moscow) - "Molot-Prikamye" (Perm) (television broadcast on the TVC channel, starts at 12.50) , "Lokomotiv" (Yaroslavl) - "Metallurg" (Novokuznetsk), "Torpedo" (Nizhny Novgorod) -- "Vityaz" (Podolsk), "Lada" (Tolyatti) -- "Severstal" (Cherepovets), "Salavat Yulaev" (Ufa) -- SKA (St.

World oil prices hit records for the third day in a row. Yesterday on the London Stock Exchange the price of a barrel of Brent oil reached $34.5. This has not happened since October 1990, since the crisis in the Persian Gulf. However, yesterday the rise in prices for “black gold” slowed down somewhat. This happened on the eve of the OPEC meeting opening on September 10 in Vienna, where a decision will be made to increase crude oil production by 500-700 thousand barrels per day.

Czech prison for Russian bandit - hotel Only about 20% of organized criminal groups operating in the Czech Republic are of “domestic” origin, while the main actors on the local stage of organized crime are “guest performers” from abroad. This conclusion was made by Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Pyotr Ibl.

Clouds are gathering over the builders of the Moscow Ring Road. This time, employees of the RUBOP of the Moscow Region brought new charges against the head of Construction Department-933, Romik Khachaturyan. So far he has been charged with theft of money allocated for the construction of the Vidyakovo-Kryukovo highway, but detectives have every reason to suspect that he could have profited well during the construction of the Moscow Ring Road.

Gallery "Nashchokin's House" opened the season with an exhibition of portraits of the 18th century The day-to-day existence of most Moscow galleries is dark and confusing. It is difficult for an uninitiated viewer to understand the true reasons for the appearance of a particular exhibition.

Formula 1 World Auto Racing Championship. Grand Prix of Italy. Autodromo Enzo and Dino Ferrari in Monza. Saturday, September 9. Qualifying races (television broadcast on the RTR channel, starting at 0.45). Sunday, September 10th . Main race (RTR, 15.55). The track in Monza, where the 14th stage of Formula 1 will take place, is considered the fastest in the world.

Russia will strengthen the UN at any cost Leaders of world powers, gathered in New York for the Millennium Summit under the auspices of the UN, closely watched yesterday's meeting of the Security Council, which adopted its resolution in the middle of the day. Its essence boils down to a fundamental dispute about the role and prerogatives of the United Nations in international politics.

Before leaving prison, Günter Schabowski will exercise his legal right to rest It came as no surprise to anyone that Günter Schabowski, the former first secretary of the Berlin district committee of the Honecker SED, sentenced to three years in prison, will soon be officially released again. On Wednesday evening, the ruling burgomaster of Berlin, Eberhard Diepgen, announced his decision to pardon two accused in the case of murders at the Berlin Wall - Schabowski and Kleiber.