The Central Bank reduced the refinancing rate to a historic low The Bank of Russia made the first attempt to turn the refinancing rate into a real instrument of monetary regulation. Today it is falling from 21% per annum to a historical low of 18%. “At this rate we will carry out currency swap operations and provide one-day settlement loans, this is the first step towards making it a real refinancing rate,” says First Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank Oleg Vyugin.

In Volgograd on Friday evening, an attempt was made on the life of the chairman of the regional arbitration court, Anatoly Ermolaev. The killer, a middle-aged man in a light jacket, was waiting for the judge at the entrance of his house at the intersection of the most “prestigious” streets of the city - Sovetskaya and Alley of Heroes. When Mr. Ermolaev, along with his wife and son, drove up in his Volga at about 8:30 p.m., the killer came out to meet them and fired a pistol several times.

A city that doesn't exist is captured in 19th-century photographs In his classic book Camera Lucida, Roland Barthes calls photography “a prophecy in reverse.” “Perhaps,” writes the philosopher, “we have an irresistible resistance to any belief in the past, in History, which does not take the form of myth.

The second largest audit company in the world, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, has appointed a new leader. On Saturday, the board of directors approved the candidacy of William Parrett to head the company. Previously, he headed one of the company's American divisions. 57-year-old Parrett began his career at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu in 1967, and since 1977 he has become a full partner.

One of the most scandalous officials, the head of the State Fisheries Committee (GKR) Evgeniy Nazdratenko, was removed from his post. So far, Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov has signed an order on temporary removal, but the newspaper’s source in the government claims that Mr. Nazdratenko has virtually no chance of returning to this post. No one in the government will defend him.

Alexander Lukashenko signed a decree “On the sale of shares of open joint-stock companies belonging to the Republic of Belarus,” opening the way to the denationalization of key petrochemical enterprises. The date for holding tenders for the sale of shares has not yet been set, but they may take place in the coming months.

The Tallis Scholars ensemble performed at the Bolshoi Theater Since the moment that chamber concerts in the Beethoven Hall of the Bolshoi Theater lost the subtitle “Password: Fidelio,” that is, from the beginning of the 2002/03 season, the performance of the English choir Tallis Scholars is perhaps the most status evening of the cycle. A variety of rarities are the specialty of the menu here, but Tallis Scholars will beat anyone to the title of rarity.

Hockey. Russian Championship. Super League. 42nd round. "Amur" - "Lokomotiv" - 1:3, "Dynamo" - "Molot-Prikamye" - 3:0, "Metallurg" NK - "Severstal" - 1:1, "Siberia" - "Mechel" - 1:2 (OT), "Salavat Yulaev" - "Lada" - 2:0, "Metallurg" Mg - "Avangard" - 2:3 (OT), CSKA - "Wings" Sovetov - 7:0, SKA - Spartak - 6:1, Neftekhimik - Ak Bars - 4:6. The leaders are : Lokomotiv - 95 points, Severstal - 89, Ak Bars, Avangard - 83 each. The stubborn battle for places in the final eight continues.

Income from the core activities of Russian communications organizations in 2002, according to operational data from the Ministry of Communications, increased by 33% - to 270 billion rubles. Including the income of traditional telecom operators, whose services are regulated by antimonopoly legislation, last year reached 127.5 billion rubles, income from services to the population - 125.2 billion rubles.

FIA President continues to help the poor As a result of the work of FIA President Max Mosley, the world of Formula 1 has been in a fever for many months. Mosley monitors the process closely and does not allow teams to recover from the turmoil caused by his decisions. Another point of the rules has appeared. Now the car will start with the amount of fuel that is left after the qualifying race. If the teams fail to veto this proposal, racing strategy will change beyond recognition.

Communists believe that United Russia stole their patriotism Last weekend was marked by high communist activity. It started with the fact that last week the Communist Party of the Russian Federation celebrated its tenth anniversary. On Friday, the Communists were congratulated on this holiday by “Walking Together”, who, apparently, after the war with the writers, languished for a long time from the lack of attention to themselves.

The Moscow City Telephone Network (MGTS) last week placed its third issue of coupon bonds at a record low rate in the history of circulation of its bonds on the MICEX. Thus, MGTS was able to win the trust of investors and borrow “long-term” and truly cheap money, which it needed to solve strategically important problems. One of them is the reconstruction of the network, which the Moscow operator plans to complete in the next few years.

Today, the European mini-football championship starts in the two Italian cities of Aversa and Caserta, which will last until February 24. The title of the strongest team in the Old World will be contested by eight national teams, divided at the first stage into two groups: “A” - Italy, Czech Republic, Russia, Slovenia and “B” - Spain, Portugal, Belgium and Ukraine.

Alexander Gerasimov will become Nikolai Senkevich’s new deputy The post of First Deputy General Director of NTV for Information and Broadcasting agreed to be taken by Alexander Gerasimov, who was previously Deputy General Director for Information and Socio-Political Broadcasting of the REN TV channel, as well as the presenter of the information and analytical release of the “24” program. As a source in Gazprom told a correspondent of the Vremya Novostey newspaper, the arrival of Mr.

The King of Romania loved women and hated Hitler With great fanfare, the remains of the former King of Romania, Carol II, and his third wife, Elena Lupescu, were transported from Lisbon to Bucharest. At home, their ashes were reburied in the Curtea de Arges monastery, 130 km from Bucharest: King II with military honors - in the royal tomb, his wife - in the monastery cemetery.