Contemporary art in Russia still remains on the periphery of public (and therefore mass media) attention. At the same time, contemporary art itself is developing and existing quite happily: private museums and foundations are opening, art fairs are being held successfully, State centers of the corresponding profile are functioning throughout the country, works of domestic “contemporary” artists are being sold at Western auctions.

In a week, Russian President Vladimir Putin, as Vremya Novostei learned from informed Arab sources, will hold important negotiations in Moscow with influential leaders of the Arab world. This is the famous Lebanese politician Saad Hariri, the son of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who died almost three years ago in a terrorist attack in Beirut .

Natural gas in Germany from the point of view of science and practice How much does Germany spend annually on a successfully functioning energy industry? How many jobs have been created in the German energy sector and how protected are they from crisis situations? And what role does natural gas play in a green and future-proof energy supply?

The Privat group in search of oil and political compromising evidence Pavel Ovcharenko, who returned after a three-year break to the management of Ukrtatnafta CJSC as a result of the raider takeover of the enterprise by the Privat group, held an on-site meeting with journalists in Kremenchug. Observers regarded this as a continuation of the tactics of the Privat group, aimed at turning the raider conflict into political intrigue.

Sharapova lost to Belgian Henin in the Madrid final World number one Justine Henin won the prestigious final tournament in Madrid for the second year in a row, where $3 million was at stake, of which the winner received a million. In the last match of the season, the Belgian tennis player was opposed by the Russian Maria Sharapova, who settled in eighth position in the ranking. The final match, which lasted 3 hours and 25 minutes, brought victory to Henin - 5:7, 7:5, 6:3.

Badri Patarkatsishvili is ready to compete for the presidency in Georgia Today, the internal political scandal in Georgia will continue , which attracted the attention of the entire world community and negatively affected relations between Moscow and Tbilisi.

There is not enough money for the Swedish Consulate General in the Kaliningrad region Due to a lack of money, the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs may significantly limit funding for the Consulate General in the westernmost Russian region - the Kaliningrad region. The same consulate that was opened with fanfare almost a year and a half ago .

Belgian Ballet on Dance inversion The beginning week will be the main one for the Dance inversion festival - tomorrow the national ballet of the Czech Republic will appear at the Musical Theater (with it Mariinsky prima Diana Vishneva will appear on stage in one of the one-acts), and closer to the weekend the Portuguese will present one of their national legends in dance.

Protectionism is the wrong answer The protection of national industrial enterprises from public funds is justified only in cases where national security is affected or there is an immediate threat to the existence of the enterprises themselves. Political justifications related to national production alone are not enough. A principled position that completely rejects foreign public funds hurts Germany in the long run.

Ukraine has been proposed a new formula for gas supplies Deputy Chairman of the Board of Gazprom Alexander Medvedev (pictured) at the end of last week in an interview with the Russia Today TV channel said that the Russian concern considers an acceptable price for gas of $160 per thousand cubic meters for supplies to Ukraine in 2008. “The most important thing is that this price suits Ukraine.

Against the background of increasing cooperation between Russia and the European Union in the energy sector, the level of mutual trust in recent years has strongly smacked of the spirit of the Cold War. What is the reason for the growing distrust of Europeans in energy cooperation with Russia?

Oscar nominations announced The distribution of the main nominations for the Academy Awards, which will be awarded for the seventy-ninth time, does not seem to have brought any particular surprises. The contenders for the title of best film of the year are “Babel” by Alex González Iñárritu, “The Departed” by Martin Scorsese, “Little Miss Sunshine” by Jonathan Dayton and Valeria Faris, “The Queen” by Stephen Frears... But there was a strange twist.

Sociologists measured Russian civil society Russian civil society, unlike Russia itself, can be “understood with the mind and measured with a common yardstick.” In any case, this is what sociologists and political scientists believe, who gathered last Friday at a conference at the State University - the Higher School of Economics.

“Politicians Through the Eyes of the Media,” a joint project of Vremya Novostei and the Medialogia company, are ratings of the political figures most actively discussed in the Russian media.

Deputies have simplified the registration of ownership of dacha and garden plots Owners of dacha and garden plots, it seems, have waited for a real “dacha amnesty” : almost at the end of their work, deputies of the current State Duma last Friday managed to adopt amendments that seriously simplify and reduce the cost of registration of real estate ownership.