LUKOIL threatens to trade Mazeikiu Nafta for Scandinavia LUKOIL, which has almost lost hope of acquiring the Mazeikiu Nafta shares owned by YUKOS, is trying to at least slightly influence the negotiations on the sale. Chairman of the Board of LUKOIL-Baltic (owns the largest retail network in Lithuania - more than 100 gas stations) Ivan Paleychik said yesterday that his company intends to reduce by a third the volume of petroleum products purchased at the Lithuanian plant.

Only a third of citizens know about deposit insurance Only a third of Russians have a bank account; another 27% of citizens use these financial institutions to pay for utilities, transfer money and obtain consumer loans. More than 40% of the population does not use any banking services at all. And only 35% of citizens know about the existence of a deposit insurance system in Russia.

The head of Rosprom changed the IFC profile The head of the Federal Agency for Industry (Rosprom) Boris Aleshin said yesterday that there will only be one leasing company left in the domestic aircraft industry, enjoying state financial support. Now there are two such companies in Russia, and in both of them the official’s words were taken with skepticism. Mr.

Workers of the fine arts should also be rewarded - why are they worse than filmmakers with their “Nika” or writers with their “Booker”? But until recently, artists only received one nomination for the State Prize. And so, first, under the wing of the Art Moscow fair, a national award in the field of contemporary art “Black Square” appeared, established by the private company “EXPO-Park. Exhibition projects".

Free incoming calls will affect tariffs From July 1, 2006, we will stop paying for incoming phone calls, which will inevitably lead to the introduction of charges for all outgoing calls, including from home phones to mobile phones. Yesterday, the State Duma unanimously adopted the corresponding amendments to the law “On Communications” in the third and final reading. With the required 226 votes, 382 deputies voted “for”, there were no “against” votes, and two abstained.

The US Permanent Representative to the UN and the current Chairman of the UN Security Council, John Bolton, handed over to his Security Council colleagues on Tuesday an IAEA information package on Iran's nuclear program. There is no talk of any sanctions against Iran yet. On February 24, the head of Rosatom, Sergei Kiriyenko, will go to Tehran.

The Grandees of the Dark Continent are regaining their positions The African Cup taking place in Egypt is approaching its conclusion. The participants in the final match have been determined. The teams of Egypt and Cote d'Ivoire will compete for the main prize. Nigeria and Senegal will compete for third place. The sensational outcome of the continental qualifying tournament for the 2006 World Cup sharply revived interest in the African Cup.

Anxious in anticipation of Putin King Juan Carlos of Spain is an extremely punctual person. Russian journalists covering President Putin's two-day state visit to Spain, which began yesterday, were specifically warned about this.

Severstal consolidates the group's mining enterprises OJSC Severstal announced yesterday the start of consolidation of its mining assets and those controlled by the Severstal group (see information) . The first step towards the implementation of these plans will be the issue of an additional issue of shares of OAO Severstal in the amount of 72% of the current authorized capital of the company. These papers will be exchanged for shares of mining companies.

"Rostroy" expects that most regions will meet the "cost increase coefficient" for housing and communal services Russian officials sometimes display surprising optimism in trying to portray the industry they are entrusted with in a favorable light, even when serious problems arise in specific areas. The well-known formula about the “average temperature in the hospital” makes it possible not to notice complications in individual “patients” and calmly report to superiors.

According to the main version, soldiers of the special battalion “Vostok” fell victim to a domestic accident Today in Chechnya the first funeral will be held for the victims of a powerful explosion that on Tuesday evening completely destroyed the barracks of the Vostok special battalion in the Chechen village of Kurchaloy. As a result of the emergency, 13 people died - 12 contract soldiers and a woman cook. Another 35 people, four of whom are in serious condition, were hospitalized.

United Russia took up the task of complying with the legislation on compulsory motor liability insurance State Duma deputies continue to make attempts to toughen responsibility for failure to comply with the law on mandatory “motor citizenship”. Three members of the Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building, members of United Russia: Alexander Moskalets, Vladimir Pligin and Alexander Kharitonov, developed draft amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses.

The Moscow City Duma refused to fight with St. Petersburg for the Constitutional Court Deputies of the Moscow City Duma, elected from United Russia, found themselves in a very difficult situation yesterday. They were put in this position by Sergei Mitrokhin, who represents the opposition faction “Yabloko - United Democrats” in the capital’s parliament.

Leonid Roshal and the women of “Voice of Beslan” promised to sue each other The well-known children's doctor Leonid Roshal, who acted as a negotiator during the seizure of the Beslan school in September 2004, yesterday called on all remaining unquestioned witnesses not to participate in the “political show” into which, in his opinion, the trial of the only surviving terrorist Nurpashi Kulaev had turned. He came to this conclusion after being in the courtroom where he gave testimony.

On Thursday, an icy anticyclone from the Vologda region will travel to the Middle Volga, simultaneously capturing most of European Russia. The weather will remain frosty and mostly rainless. In the central regions during the day -17...-23оС, in some places up to -26оС, in the Tver, Smolensk and Moscow regions -14...-20оС. On Friday, as the anticyclone moves east, the winds will change direction to the south, the sun will often appear, and the frosts will weaken slightly.