Russian security forces unite from the rear Another step has been taken towards consolidating the resource base of security forces under the auspices of the Ministry of Defense.

He changes his name and business One of the most mysterious financial structures in Russia - the International Industrial Bank (IPB) - is changing its name, which appeared on the market more than ten years ago, and is launching its own retail project. Yesterday, the head of the board of directors, Bert Vos, announced the acquisition of a small Moscow bank for lending to the population and providing other services to private clients.

Alexander VOLKOV, a famous Ukrainian oligarch and member of the Rada, was one of the organizers of Leonid Kuchma’s victory in 1999. His political instincts did not fail him in the 2004 elections, when he sided with Viktor Yushchenko. Now Alexander Volkov, with whom Vremya Novostey’s correspondent in Ukraine Svetlana STEPANENKO speaks, is called the initiator of the scandalous visit to Ukraine of the disgraced Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky.

The Japanese quarrel with their neighbors Relations between Tokyo and Seoul have sharply deteriorated. Both countries lay claim to a virtually uninhabited rocky patch of land in the East Sea that Koreans call Dokdo and consider the ancestral land of their ancestors. On Japanese maps these 23 hectares of uninhabitable land are designated Takeshima. The Japanese consider the two volcanic islands to be their illegally occupied territories, which belong to Shimane Prefecture.

Russian taxpayers are increasingly successfully challenging tax assessment errors in the courts. Intentionally or not, fiscal authorities are increasingly making mistakes in their work to monitor the correctness of taxpayers’ calculations of taxes.

There was also a period in the history of East Prussia when it was directly subordinate to the Russian Empire. During the Seven Years' War, Königsberg and the province were occupied by the Russian army in 1758. Residents of Prussia swore an oath of allegiance to Empress Elizabeth Petrovna on January 24, 1758. The philosopher Immanuel Kant was among those who took the oath. Under the Russian crown, Prussia continued to live its normal life.

Dagestan investigators found something to ask Ramzan Kadyrov The Khasavyurt prosecutor's office yesterday extended for another three months the investigation into the scandalous incident that occurred in this Dagestan city in early January due to the detention of the sister of the First Deputy Prime Minister of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, Zulay.

The mayor of Chelyabinsk served for 14 years and was removed by voters In Chelyabinsk, the era of political stability and predictability is ending - last Sunday, the mayor of the city, Vyacheslav Tarasov, who headed the city administration for 14 years, lost the election to State Duma deputy and businessman Mikhail Yurevich. At the beginning, no one believed in the possibility of such a turn in the campaign.

America has achieved prolongation of life of a vegetative patient Only the intervention of the US Congress and George Bush personally saved the life of an ordinary American woman. Senators, congressmen and the president showed amazing unity with their people over the weekend, standing up for a woman who has been in a coma for 15 years. However, it is not only the role of such high authorities in the fate of a woman who has not regained consciousness that is unprecedented.

President He instructed the Ministry of Economic Development to closely monitor inflation rates. The head of the ministry, German Gref, reported that GDP growth in February amounted to 5.2%, in January-February - 4.4%. Industrial production growth was 5.1% in February, investment growth was 7.8%.

The new EU trade commissioner gets to know the Russian economy European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson visited Moscow for the first time since his appointment. There is no talk of any specific agreements yet. The main purpose of his trip was to meet his Russian colleagues. The visit program turned out to be very eventful.

Finished the season in most winter disciplines Last week, the final stages of the World Cup in biathlon, cross-country skiing, ski jumping and snowboarding took place, and all the winners and medalists of the world championships in figure skating and freestyle were determined. Even earlier, luge and bobsledders, masters of speed skating, short track speed skating and Nordic combined went on vacation.

At a time when the publishers themselves do not know which author they should “put on”, and therefore for the hundredth time they publish the boring Ian Pearce or churn out “brilliant” pamphlets of yellow-haired Englishmen who are up in arms against the “consumer society” that fed them - at a time like this “ without fish”, it’s better to dig up an opus of some hardened outcast on the shelves or take off the shelf an “overdue” novel of the last century with the stylish smell of real mothballs.

It will not be easy for United Russia to form a stable majority in regional parliaments Yesterday the preliminary results of the parliamentary elections in three Russian regions (Voronezh, Ryazan and Vladimir) became known. Legislative assemblies in all three regions were formed for the first time under a mixed system. Half of the deputies were elected from single-mandate constituencies, and the other half from party lists. The number of voters who came to the polls ranged from 30 to 40%.

The investigation into the kidnapping of Sergei Kukura has been completed The epic investigation into the sensational case of the kidnapping of First Vice-President of LUKOIL Sergei Kukura has reached the home stretch. Yesterday, the main defendants in this crime, Igor Ryabokon, nicknamed Harris, and Yuri Statsenko (Stets), finished familiarizing themselves with the investigation materials, and in the coming days they will be transferred to the court of the Smolensk region.