Exhibition by Sergei Golovach at the Fine Art gallery The story of the Pierre and Gilles exhibition received its unexpected continuation in Moscow. At the opening day of the famous duo at the Big Manege, photographer Sergei Golovach approached me and asked me to pay attention to Pierre and Gilles’ 1999 work “The Hole”: an Asian-looking sitter poses as a macho cowboy in some stylishly shabby basement. Seven years later, in 2006, this guy Leo became the hero of Golovach’s photo series.

Bogdanchikov invites only Russian companies to offshore fields Difficult to develop offshore oil and gas fields, apparently, will be developed only by structures close to the state.

Minsk is preparing a directive on frugality The Belarusian government yesterday reviewed a draft presidential directive on savings and frugality aimed at adapting the economy to increased energy prices . The document systematizes proposals to reduce the country's dependence on Russian energy supplies, the share of which is currently about 90%, and by 2020 should be no more than 65%.

And democratization in Kazakhstan Today, the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, will deliver a message to the people of his country at a joint meeting of both chambers of parliament - the Senate and the Majilis. Today marks the end of a three-day visit to Astana by US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher (pictured) . The coincidence of these two events is by no means accidental.

At the just completed International Defense Exhibition and Conference IDEX-2007 in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, one of the most noticeable and rich expositions of Russian enterprises belonged to the Almaz-Antey air defense concern. What did the holding’s enterprises bring to this arms show, how do our samples compare to their foreign counterparts, how will the Russians surprise the world in the near future?

The Ukrainian gas pipeline is calling Germany Today, Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych will arrive in Germany on an official visit, the directives of which he approved from Viktor Yushchenko - by this the prime minister recognized the president’s right to formulate a foreign policy course. In Berlin, Yanukovych will meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel, members of the government and business circles.

OPORA is trying to qualitatively change small businesses in Russia Every year, the all-Russian organization of small and medium-sized businesses OPORA gathers a forum to find answers to the most pressing questions for small businesses. The 2007 Forum, which will take place today, is called “Small and Medium Enterprises in the Development of Industry and Technology”.

VTB Group has created its own collection agency VTB has created its own collection agency, Debt Center VTB-24. It was formed on the basis of a previously existing debt collection division and will initially work only with overdue debt of retail VTB-24. Later, the agency plans to offer its services to other banks. Market participants believe that the separation of debt collection into a separate company indicates the group’s desire to increase the recovery of overdue debts.

SIBUR and NOVATEK create a joint venture SIBUR has found a partner to implement one of its ambitious investment projects. Yesterday it became known that the president of the Gazprom group company, Dmitry Konov, and the head of the gas company NOVATEK, Leonid Mikhelson, signed a framework agreement to create a joint venture for the construction of a polypropylene plant in Tobolsk.

A music biennale will be held in Moscow The concept of the Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Performing Arts - an undertaking at first glance that is both esoteric and, in a good way, ambitious - lists as its starting point the First Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art, which “made a breakthrough and changed ideas about Moscow cultural life.” But “the performing arts occupied a very modest place in it,” explains a release from the organizer of the new project, the Moscow House of Music.

Ullrich is forced to end his racing career German cyclist Jan Ullrich, winner of the most prestigious stage cycling race in the world, the 1997 Tour de France, who finished second on the Great Loop five times (three times behind the even more legendary American Lance Armstrong), announced his retirement. Ullrich’s departure from big-time sports, which he announced at a specially convened press conference in Hamburg, was a forced decision.

The coach of the Russian national team came out of a tax scandal with a suspended sentence Russia's third traditional misfortune - the national football team - was deprived of its last chance to attribute its failures to objective circumstances in the form of Dutch justice. Yesterday, the court of the Dutch city of Den Bosch did not put the head coach of our team, Guus Hiddink, in prison for tax evasion . He was only fined 45 thousand euros and sentenced to suspended imprisonment for six months.

Russia is trying to interest Japan in innovative projects Yesterday, Mikhail Fradkov began his official visit to Japan with a short audience with Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko.

Alekperov and Fedun will help Chubais overcome YUKOS' veto on the creation of TGK-8 Top managers of LUKOIL - President Vagit Alekperov and his deputy Leonid Fedun - began to prepare for an additional issue of shares in Territorial Generating Company No. 8 (TGK-8), which the energy company plans to carry out at the end of this summer. Gg.

Yuri Luzhkov already knows how to repurpose a casino On the eve of the presentation of his next book - the essay “On Love”, which will be published simultaneously in Russian and Georgian, the mayor of the capital Yuri Luzhkov became concerned that Muscovites read little. And those who do read choose the wrong literature for themselves.