Government funds aircraft construction The government allocated funds to two leasing companies in pursuance of a decision taken in 2001 on state support for aircraft production. As the government information department reported yesterday, as a result of this operation the state share in the capital of OJSC Ilyushin Finance Co. (IFK) and OJSC Financial Leasing Company (FLK) will increase.

Lokomotiv and Dynamo put on a real show in Moscow The organizers of the Final Four of the Russian Men's Volleyball Cup did everything to make the past weekend a celebration of the popular game. But even in their wildest dreams they could not have imagined the drama with which the fights developed.

The Basmanny court thought about the future location of Mikhail Khodorkovsky The Basmanny Court of Moscow yesterday could not decide whether it is worth leaving the former head of Yukos Mikhail Khodorkovsky under arrest or whether he is trustworthy and can be released before the “main” trial on the essence of the charges brought against him on his own recognizance.

The regiment commander's sentence was removed for the Mi-26T crash The North Caucasus Military District Court yesterday overturned the November 5 verdict against Lieutenant Colonel Anatoly Kudyakov, whom many considered the “switchman” sent to the dock to answer for the Mi-26T transport helicopter shot down by Chechen militants. Along with the helicopter that crashed to the ground after being hit by a missile in August 2002, 127 military personnel were killed.

The price of vodka will increase in the new year Next year there will be much less strong alcohol on sale, and its price will increase immediately after the New Year. Such data were presented yesterday by alcohol market experts at a round table meeting on the problems of the alcohol industry. All these changes will affect products with an alcohol content of more than 9%. Moreover, the problem will affect not only consumers, but also the treasury.

Yuri Luzhkov began reshuffles in the Moscow government On the eve of the next meeting of the capital's government, the leaders of the three prefectures of Moscow learned that from now on they are not obliged to be present at Tverskaya, 13. Yesterday, Yuri Luzhkov dismissed the prefect of the Central District Gennady Degtev, the prefect of the Western District Vladimir Kiryushin and the head of the Eastern District Boris Ulyanov.

The English novel is now popular among Russian publishers. Its commercial benefits are obvious. Unlike their colleagues from the continent, the British give out the plot scheme first of all. This scheme is stable and unshakable. True, after devouring a dozen English novels, you begin to get confused and mix up the plots, since they are all somewhat similar. Sketchy, first of all.

Germany even transfers money to the heirs of former prisoners The Fund for Mutual Understanding and Reconciliation begins today the next payment of monetary compensation to former Russian prisoners of Nazi concentration camps and ghettos, as well as citizens deported to German territory for forced labor.

It was decided to starve out the militants holed up in the Dagestan mountains The epic of catching a large detachment of Chechen militants in the mountains of the Tsuntinsky region of Dagestan, which a week ago the command of the federal forces called a matter of several days, is beginning to take on an increasingly protracted and at the same time mysterious character.

Berezovsky visited Tbilisi legally The National Security Council of Georgia yesterday published clarifications received from London regarding Boris Berezovsky's visit to Tbilisi on the night of December 3. According to Acting Secretary of the National Security Service Jemal Gakhokidze, the British side confirmed that the travel documents in the name of Platon Elenin, which the oligarch presented when crossing the Georgian border, were issued quite legally.

If you explain year after year at the end of December why Art Moscow is better than Art Manege, and the XL gallery is more interesting than the Tsereteli Museum of Modern Art on Petrovka, you might hang yourself. Therefore, there is a minimum of comments on the results of the year. Let's save space. The best exhibition is “Dionysius” at the Tretyakov Gallery. Science and enlightenment finally found each other there. The best project of Russian Contemporary Art is “Art-Klyazma”.

MAP filed a case against the FEC, Gazprom, Mezhregiongaz For the first time, the Ministry of Antimonopoly Policy began to suspect three large structures, practically state-owned, of violating the law - the Federal Energy Commission (FEC), Gazprom and Mezhregiongaz.

The governor of the Sverdlovsk region could not replace his sworn enemy The mayor of Yekaterinburg Arkady Chernetsky retained his post for another four years. According to the voting results in the second round of elections, the head of the city received 54.05% of the votes of Ekaterinburg residents, and his rival, the former first deputy mayor and now Sverdlovsk Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Osintsev - 38.89%. 6.29% of voters voted against all candidates.

Pavel Nedved won the Golden Ball Yesterday the winner of one of the most prestigious personal awards in European football, the Ballon d'Or, became known. As expected, it was the Czech Juventus midfielder Pavel Nedved. Since 1956, the weekly France Football has annually chosen the best football player on the continent. And for the first time it was a Czech player. A leak that it was Nedved who would win the Ballon d'Or appeared in the media two weeks ago.

The main sporting events of the coming 2004 for Russian fans will, without a doubt, be two competitions held once every four years - the Summer Olympic Games in Athens and the final tournament of the European Football Championship in Portugal. Almost all of June and the beginning of July we will be watching the battles at Euro 2004, and after a short break we will again cling to the television screens to cheer for our Olympians.