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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

In Rostov-on-Don, several people were detained suspected of committing the murder of the former commercial director of the Rostselmash plant, Anatoly Bodover, his wife and daughter. The corpses of Anatoly Bodover and his wife Olga Viktorova were discovered at their home on March 20 this year. They were shot in the head. No valuables were stolen from Bodover's home. On the same day, in the evening, on the territory of the Zadonye gardening farm, the corpse of Mr.

ZMZ cut off oxygen to GAZ Yesterday, the Zavolzhsky Motor Plant (ZMZ), owned by Severstal, stopped shipping engines to the Gorky Automobile Plant (GAZ), controlled by Siberian Aluminum. As the management of ZMZ explained their actions, on March 31, the contract for the supply of engines between the engine plant and GAZ expired. The parties did not manage to conclude a new agreement in time. However, by evening the situation returned to normal. Deliveries of engines to GAZ have been resumed.

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 insurance lobby in the State Duma seems to be closer to fulfilling its cherished dream. Yesterday, the budget committee approved the bill “On compulsory insurance of vehicle owners,” and on April 5 it will be considered at a plenary meeting. The project obliges everyone who buys a car to immediately insure civil liability in case of an accident. However, it is not indicated how much you will have to pay.

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.

Nuclear transit in Russian Russia will need about 20 years to equip all its customs offices with equipment for detecting radioisotope materials if the pace of equipping border customs inspection points with such devices remains the same. This was stated at a meeting of the coordination council dedicated to the fight against illegal “nuclear transit” that opened yesterday in St. Petersburg.

The Trans-Siberian Railway is again on the verge of stopping. Negotiations that took place yesterday between Krasnoyarsk power engineers and railway workers on repaying the debt for supplied electricity ended without result. About a month ago, Krasnoyarskenergo warned the management of the Krasnoyarsk Railway (KZD) that, due to large debts, it intended to limit the supply of electricity.

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.

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.