The Vologda City Court yesterday handed down a verdict in the case of the former general director of SeverAlko OJSC Alexey Yuzhakov. He was charged with “violent acts of a sexual nature,” “threats to kill,” and hooliganism. The court, having considered all the facts in the case, set out in the statements of the victims and supported by documents, found Mr. Yuzhakov guilty of all charges.

A roofing felt warehouse burned down on Monday night in 2nd Khoroshevsky Proezd in Moscow. The warehouse premises and territory belong to JSC Avtodenial, which in turn leased them out. One of the clients was the Techno-Nikol company, which was engaged in roofing work and stored a large batch of roofing felt in its warehouse. The fire that broke out quickly engulfed all the rolls and spread to the adjacent warehouse where animal feed was stored.

In the Kursk region, moonshiners will be hit with a ruble The Kursk region has declared a fight against moonshine. As the agency regions.ru reports, the leadership of the local police department submitted to the regional Duma the law “On administrative responsibility for the production and storage for the purpose of sale, sale of home-made strong alcoholic beverages in the Kursk region,” and deputies approved the law.

Taimyr threatens to leave the Krasnoyarsk Territory The Duma of the Taimyr (Dolgano-Nenets) Autonomous Okrug officially announced the district's intention to secede from the Krasnoyarsk Territory. They officially notified the regional governor Alexander Lebed and the regional legislative assembly about this yesterday.

The republics of the North Caucasus are fleeing from foreign misfortune Security measures have been strengthened in the North Caucasus. On all federal roads passing through the region, control during vehicle inspections has been tightened; luggage and cargo are checked with the participation of sniffer dogs. Explosives, according to Interfax, have not yet been found, but dozens of cars that were on the federal and international wanted list have already been detained.

Ulyanovskenergo is starting to be brought out of the crisis The Middle Volga Interregional Energy Management Company (SMUEK) presented yesterday at a meeting of the board of RAO UES of Russia a plan for bringing Ulyanovskenergo out of the crisis. In the next three months, SMUEK intends, first of all, to improve financial discipline in the Ulyanovsk energy system, because due to non-payments it suffers monthly losses of about $160 million.

A museum of anti-communism opened in Lithuania Last Sunday, an unusual exhibition opened in the Grut Forest, 5 km from the Lithuanian resort of Druskininkai. Over 60 monuments from Soviet times have been collected on 20 hectares of forest turned into a park.

Vladimir Putin will tell the country about the past and future Today, for the second time in his life, Vladimir Putin will fulfill one of his constitutional duties as President of Russia - he will address the Federal Assembly with his annual message. Apparently, this event will become the final point in the discussion of the results of the first year of Mr. Putin’s presidency, which he himself will set.

Andrey Ryabov, Carnegie Moscow Center: -- The presidential address will be more dominated by economic issues related to the need for structural reforms. They will be based primarily on reforms in the banking sector and housing and communal services, pension reform and, of course, reform of natural monopolies. The transition to the implementation of reforms will be announced.

Three giant financial groups were created yesterday in Japan as a result of the merger of a number of large banks. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMU) was formed as a result of the merger of Sumitomo and Sakura banks. The Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group (MTFG) includes Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Nippon Trust Bank and Mitsubishi Trust & Banking. Sanwa and Tokai banks merged with Toyo Trust & Banking to form the UFJ Group holding company.

114 real estate properties in Vladivostok were sold for next to nothing Deputy head of the Vladivostok administration Valentin Nechaev was charged with abuse of office on Monday, April 2. He was arrested last Friday as one of the main defendants in a high-profile but sluggish criminal case about fraud in the sale of municipal real estate. Searches were carried out in Mr. Nechaev’s office and apartment, during which documents were discovered that allegedly confirmed his involvement in the scams.

The Moscow prosecutor's office yesterday again appealed to deputies of the legislative assembly of the Krasnoyarsk Territory with a proposal to transfer to court the case of the ex-director of the Krasnoyarsk Aluminum Plant, member of the regional parliament Anatoly Bykov.

During the anniversary meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union of Russia and Belarus, the parties on Monday solemnly signed an agreement on the creation of the interstate financial and industrial group (IFIG) Aerospace Equipment. According to this document, eight Russian enterprises “combine their material assets” with two Belarusian ones for the joint development and production of on-board systems for aircraft and spacecraft.

Coulthard won his first race of the season Like the evolution of racing cars, the 2001 Formula 1 World Championship continues to go from strength to strength. After Malaysia, the racing caravan moved to Brazil, where the 3rd stage of the championship took place. The victory here went to David Coulthard in a McLaren. Saturday's qualifying developed according to the scenario that had developed over the years. The first 20 minutes were left to the “second echelon” pilots.

Russian sunflower oil cuts prices In April last year, the wholesale price for a bottle of the most popular imported sunflower oil in Russia, Oleyna, was at least 22 rubles. Today, even at retail, “Oleina” costs less - 20--21 rubles. The Rostov company “Yug Rusi”, which a year ago began operating Europe’s largest oil extraction plant and introduced oil under the “Golden Seed” brand, lowered import prices.