Lately, the literary conversation that the old Countess Anna Fedotovna and her grandson Tomsky have in “The Queen of Spades” has constantly come to mind. “--Paul! - the countess shouted from behind the screens, - send me some new novel, but please, not one of the current ones. - How is it, grand'maman? - That is, a novel where the hero does not crush either his father or his mother and where there are no drowned bodies. I'm terribly afraid of drowned people!..

In the semi-finals of the Russian Championship, our coaches adequately compete with foreign ones The main feature of the current playoffs of the Russian championship, where the semi-final series is now in full swing, is the more than worthy performance of teams led by Russian specialists, who led their teams during the season instead of foreign coaches. We are talking about Dynamo Moscow, where Sergei Bazarevich replaced the fired Serb Svetislav Pesic, and about Ural Great.

The fate of GRU Colonel Oleg Penkovsky still raises questions 45 years ago, on May 11, 1963, an unusual trial took place in Moscow - against Colonel of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Soviet Army Oleg Penkovsky. After some time, according to the official report, the fate of the exposed spy was put to rest - with a bullet to the head. However, is this so? Volumes have been written about Penkovsky, who worked for the British and Americans for less than two years.

The evacuation of Russians was successful Tomorrow three dozen Russians will fly to Moscow from Damascus, where they were taken by buses from Beirut yesterday. There, since Thursday , clashes between supporters of the pro-Western government and the armed formations of the Shiite movements Hezbollah , Amal and their Christian ally General Michel Aoun have taken place, claiming at least 40 lives.

Vladimir Putin again headed the Russian government On the eve of one of the most significant holidays for Russia - Victory Day, May 8, the State Duma approved Vladimir Putin as Prime Minister. After leaving the presidency, he was unemployed for no more than a day. Moreover, the deputies did not just vote for a certain candidate, some average politician nominated for the post, but rather “confirmed Vladimir Vladimirovich as Prime Minister” without an alternative or much thought.

Serbian radicals are striving for power Today in Serbia the counting of votes cast yesterday in the early parliamentary elections will continue . The election campaign turned out to be unprecedented in intensity. The future configuration of the ruling coalition depends on each ballot. The balance of power foreshadows tense negotiations on the formation of a ruling majority in the assembly (parliament).

The Brazilian won in Istanbul for the third time in a row Ferrari driver Felipe Massa won another, third in a row, victory in the Turkish Grand Prix. McLaren's Lewis Hamilton finished second, while another Ferrari driver, Kimi Raikkonen, finished third. The fifth stage of the Formula 1 World Championship had several features even before the start. Firstly, Rubens Barrichello became the new record holder for the number of participation in the Grand Prix.

The dollar has entered a growth zone On the last day of trading before the holidays, the dollar in Russia rose sharply against the ruble. Today, the official exchange rate of the American currency is 23.88, which is 0.5% higher than the previous value. Around the world, dollar quotes at the end of last week rose to their highest level in the last two months.

Chronicle of sporting events At the European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland, the Russian men's team won gold medals. Nikolai Kryukov, Maxim Devyatovsky, Yuri Ryazanov, Sergei Khorokhordin and Anton Golotsutskov scored a total of 272.450 points and were ahead of their closest pursuers from Germany. Romanian athletes won bronze medals.

The Russian Prime Minister made his first appointments Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin presented proposals on the structure of the new government to President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday in the Kremlin. “Dear Dmitry Anatolyevich, as we agreed, the necessary documents have been prepared regarding the structure of the government and personal appointments, deputy prime ministers and federal ministers,” Putin said.

Yuri Luzhkov called on Russia to withdraw from the Treaty of Friendship with Ukraine Before the opening of yesterday's festive concert in Sevastopol on the occasion of the 225th anniversary of the formation of the Black Sea Fleet, Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov again invaded the sphere of foreign policy beyond his control and started talking about the statehood of the city. “This issue remains unresolved, and we will resolve it.

The European Union is trying to reconcile Russia with Lithuania and Georgia Western diplomats are making efforts to prevent the current round of Georgian-Abkhaz confrontation from escalating into a new armed conflict. The foreign ministers of Slovenia, Sweden, Poland and Lithuania are due to hold talks in Tbilisi on behalf of the European Union this afternoon. Their goal is also to reduce tension in relations between Georgia and Russia .

Ministry of Finance proposes to increase income tax benefits Highly paid citizens will soon be able to claim “children’s” deductions to the same extent as their low-income compatriots. The Ministry of Finance proposes to remove the salary limit of 40 thousand rubles in the Tax Code, upon reaching which, on an accrual basis during the year, the right to deduction is lost. Tax benefits for citizens with children today, in fact, apply only to those who earn relatively little money.

The Serbian government approved an oil and gas agreement with Russia At the last meeting before the parliamentary elections, the Serbian coalition government approved an energy agreement with Russia. After two failed attempts, acting. Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica put this issue to a vote, members of the government unanimously supported sending the document for ratification to parliament, the new composition of which will be formed following the results of the early elections held yesterday.

The program of the student festival “Your Chance” has been announced The Moscow International Festival of Graduation and Postgraduate Performances “Your Chance” will be held at the Theater Center on Strastnoy for a whole month, from May 15 to June 15, non-stop. The festival is being held for the fourth time, but never before has its program looked so impressive: in addition to theater universities in Moscow, St.