Yaroslavl Refinery sold to an unnamed buyer Slavneft got rid of 51.86% of the shares of the oldest oil refinery in Russia - the Yaroslavl Oil Refinery named after. Mendeleev . The corresponding auction took place last Monday. True, who got the legacy of the great Russian scientist and at what price remains a mystery, since none of the leading oil companies have confirmed their participation in the auction.

The Ministry of Finance does not exclude the possibility of introducing a tax on luxury real estate Homeowners are once again frightened by rumors of a government fiscal attack on their property. The government is ready to specify the law on real estate tax that is being prepared for adoption.

Moscow promised not to expel 80 British diplomats Yesterday, the Russian Foreign Ministry responded to the accusations and sanctions against Moscow voiced the day before by British Foreign Secretary David Miliband. First, the Russian position was outlined by Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko, and then it was formalized in the form of a ministerial comment.

Libyan authorities overturn death sentence on Bulgarian nurses Last night there was a radical turn in the case of the Bulgarian nurses convicted in Libya . Relatives of 439 child victims said they no longer demand the death penalty for five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian pediatrician sentenced to death in 2004 for infecting their children with AIDS.

The European Union threatens to solve the problem without Russia Yesterday, the European Union threatened to withdraw the process of determining the status of the Serbian region of Kosovo from the jurisdiction of the UN Security Council. This will be possible if Moscow does not agree in the coming days to support the draft resolution drawn up by the US and the EU. Russia has already stated that it refuses to accept this project .

Cartoon advert outraged British pagans The wit of advertisers with enviable consistency sometimes ensures not only the success of the products they promote, but also contributes to high-profile scandals. In the UK, an attempt to attract attention to the appearance of a new series of the cartoon "The Simpsons" has already caused protests from the pagan community - albeit small, but, apparently, quite active.

An open conflict - such is the current Russian-British relationship after London presented an official demand for Lugovoy's extradition and after Moscow's official refusal to do so. At the end of Tony Blair's premiership, there seemed to be talk of Great Britain's intention to reduce cooperation with Russia in trade. Then it seemed they decided not to cut back.

Yesterday, the Belarusian president replaced the leadership of the KGB. The former head of the special service, Stepan Sukhorenko, was dismissed “due to a transfer to another job.” His new appointment has not yet been announced. Deputy head of the KGB Vasily Dementey was also removed from his post. Major General Yuri Zhadobin, who until now headed the presidential security service, became the new chief of the KGB.

The Orthodox community demands to rename the streets and demolish the Mausoleum Leningradsky Prospekt should be renamed Peterburgsky, and Leningradskoye Highway, respectively, Peterburgsky. The same name must be assigned to the Voykovskaya metro station. The Lenin Mausoleum should be demolished , the red stars from the Kremlin towers should be replaced with double-headed eagles, and the monuments to the Bolshevik leaders should be destroyed.

Russians are fighting for tickets to China for tournaments in individual game events At the upcoming XXIX Summer Olympics in August next year, competitions in 12 team sports will be held. We talked about the selection mechanism, Russia's lost and still available chances to compete in Beijing in team disciplines (basketball, handball, volleyball, football, softball, baseball, field hockey, water polo) in the issue of our newspaper dated June 21.

A criminal case was opened against the famous lawyer Boris Kuznetsov The Moscow City Prosecutor's Office yesterday officially announced the initiation of a criminal case against the famous Moscow lawyer Boris Kuznetsov , accusing him of disclosing state secrets. This became possible after last week the Tverskoy District Court found signs of a crime under this article in the actions of the defense lawyer.

Alexey Gordeev promises price increases Last week, news from the fields became the center of everyone's attention. Pro-inflationary forecasts for the development of the situation in agriculture, plus the already occurring rise in prices on the wholesale market, and subsequently in retail, alarmed not only buyers and local authorities, but also the country’s top leadership. During these same days, the government was considering the state agricultural development program for 2008-2012.

The accident near Lvov alarmed the Ukrainian opposition Yesterday, Ukraine became aware of a dangerous man-made disaster that occurred the day before at about 17:00 in the Lviv region. On the Krasnoye-Ozhidov route, 15 tanks with yellow phosphorus, which were being transported from Kazakhstan to Poland, overturned. Due to the leakage of the substance, two spontaneous combustions of tanks occurred: six broke out immediately after the disaster, and several more yesterday afternoon.

Watch from July 19 on Moscow screens “The Lives of Others” (Germany, 2006, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck). Perhaps the most famous and successful German film of recent times, winner of the 2006 Oscar in the category “Best Non-English Language Picture,” seven national German film awards in major categories and more than thirty film awards of various rankings.

To issue securities for loans to small businesses, banks need standards As early as next year, at least two Russian banks may issue securities secured by payments on loans issued to small businesses. Trust banks and Sobinbank announced their intentions to securitize portfolios of such loans. True, the law “On Securitization” has not yet been adopted, which means that banks will only be able to issue Eurobonds.