The central bank, which bought more than $2 billion in the foreign exchange market last week, stopped participating in trading on Friday, sending the dollar sharply lower again. The official exchange rate of the Central Bank on Saturday-Sunday was 28.5514 rubles/dollar, having decreased by 0.5%.

The Ministry of Finance liberalizes taxation of small businesses On the two-year anniversary of the introduction of a special tax regime for small businesses - the so-called “simplified tax regime” - the government is preparing a surprise for small businesses.

Forecast for the coming days Cyclones rule the roost throughout the European territory of Russia. The North Atlantic one will come from Scandinavia, and the southern cyclone from the Mediterranean Sea will enter the Black Sea and then go to the Caspian Sea. The weather in their coverage area is cloudy with precipitation and gusty winds.

The calm before the storm has arrived in Belarus Belarus withdrew its draft resolution on the situation with democracy and human rights in the United States yesterday at the UN. By introducing such a project for discussion, the Belarusian delegation wanted to demonstrate to the international community that no country in the world is free from such problems.

Minibus drivers will be required to identify terrorists The Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Transport intends to radically change the approach to ensuring the safety of mass passenger transportation. Deputy head of the department Anatoly Voronin announced this yesterday. “From November 15 to December 1, Operation Minibus will be carried out throughout Russia, the purpose of which will be to inspect vehicle fleets and enterprises providing transportation by minibuses,” he said.

Yesterday, Armenian President Robert Kocharyan admitted that he is not optimistic about the prospects for resolving the Karabakh problem. He complained that Baku wants to negotiate exclusively with Armenia.

Ukrainian forward sets his sights on the Golden Ball Milan forward Andrei Shevchenko scored his 100th goal in Serie A in the last round of the Italian Championship and secured his team another victory in the domestic championship. And it is not known what the “red-blacks” would do without the Ukrainian striker. In Milan's last four matches, only Shevchenko has scored, thanks to which the Rossoneri continue the race for Juventus. Shevchenko's scoring exploits do not go unnoticed.

Banks are preparing to work with private depositors according to the new requirements of the Central Bank Financial authorities began active preparations for the launch of a project to insure bank deposits, establishing the necessary department for this and writing several new instructions for banks.

The Moscow City Internal Affairs Directorate does not have enough premises for illegal immigrants While the Russian President is making election promises to Ukrainian voters not to bother them in Russia for not registering for 90 days, the Moscow Main Internal Affairs Directorate has proposed to put the process of deportation of illegal guests of the capital on stream.

Industry is cautiously emerging from stagnation Yesterday, at the traditional meeting of the President with members of the Cabinet of Ministers, encouraging news was heard. “The decline in a number of industries continues, but in general the pause in the growth of industrial production has stopped and growth has begun,” reported Minister of Economic Development German Gref.

Howard Shore's Lord of the Rings symphony will be performed in the Kremlin On November 17 and 18, the Kremlin Palace welcomes the widest public.

The central bank remains intrigued about how rigorously it will screen market participants before they join the deposit insurance system, leaving bankers wondering whether everyone will make it through the upcoming selection process. Rosbank President Evgeniy IVANOV believes that 100-150 banks are worthy of attracting private deposits, while the rest should be assessed with special care by the Central Bank.

Ukraine proposes to cancel quotas for the supply of pipes to Russia Ukrainian pipe makers at the seventh international conference “Russian Metals Market” held yesterday proposed to “live together” and “in a new way” from January 1 next year - without quotas on the import of products. This caused dissatisfaction among Russian colleagues, who categorically do not accept the lifting of restrictions.

Luzhkov and Gromov fight noise The administrations of Moscow and the Moscow region entered into an almost feudal civil strife with elements of modern air warfare. The mayor of the capital, Yuri Luzhkov, launched an offensive against the Ostafyevo airport located in the region. And yesterday Governor Boris Gromov responded by laying siege to Vnukovo Airport, also located in the region but belonging to the city. Fortunately, the battle is still unfolding in a purely legal field.

Moscow, as the federal capital of democratic Russia, still does not have a sufficiently clear urban planning strategy for the development of its political center. The task has not been set to ensure interaction in the space of the legislative, executive and judicial authorities. The radial-ring layout of the capital, which emerged in the 15th and 16th centuries, reflected the absolutist system of Russian government.