Russia has entered a new era of budget deficits The Ministry of Finance has summed up the preliminary results of budget execution for last year: despite a significant increase in spending since mid-autumn, the 2008 federal budget surplus remained stable and amounted to 1.7 trillion rubles. So far, the three-year budget for 2009 and 2010-2011 has been drawn up with a surplus of 1.9 trillion for this year, and then 1.4 and 1.5 trillion, respectively.

Patriarch Kirill nevertheless visited Rivne Despite the urgent “recommendations” of the Ukrainian authorities, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' nevertheless visited the western Ukrainian city of Rivne. The day before, the head of the Synodal Information Department of the Moscow Patriarchate, Vladimir Legoida, announced that the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church would refrain from coming to Rovno.

Social Democrats promise to eliminate unemployment in Germany It is possible to get rid of the scourge of unemployment in a single industrialized country - and Germany will become one by 2020. This deadline was outlined in a speech yesterday by the candidate for the post of Federal Chancellor from the German Social Democratic Party (SPD), 53-year-old Frank Walter Steinmeier.

Russian Yulia Efimova won with a world record On the last day of the World Aquatics Championships in Rome, Russian swimmers won the long-awaited medal of the highest standard. Yulia Efimova not only finished first in the 50m breaststroke, but also set a world record of 30.09 seconds. The 17-year-old schoolgirl beat American world record holder Rebecca Soni and Australian Sarah Katsoulis, who also surpassed Canada's Amanda Reason's former world record.

The fourth chapter of Sochi in the last eight months has been presented On January 20, something happened in Sochi that, according to observers, should have happened exactly a week ago: the governor of the Krasnodar Territory, Alexander Tkachev, personally introduced the former mayor of Anapa, 48-year-old Anatoly Pakhomov, to Sochi residents as the new acting head of the city. Previous acting Mayor of Sochi Dzhambulat Khatuov was appointed first deputy governor yesterday.

The support group for the Russian football team in Cardiff has already begun to dwindle The chief sanitary doctor of Russia, Gennady Onishchenko, has again become a troublemaker. This time, his concerns about the spread of swine flu in Russia affected domestic football fans. Yesterday Mr Onishchenko said that fans were not advised to attend the 2010 World Cup qualifying match between Wales and Russia, which will take place in Cardiff on September 9.

In the next 24 hours, short-term rains will occur in places in the north-west of European Russia in the atmospheric front zone; during the day the temperature will be +19...+24°C. On Wednesday the rain will stop, but the temperature will not change significantly. In the center of Russia, due to atmospheric instability, there will be short-term rains in places, with thunderstorms on Tuesday, daytime temperatures will be +18...+24°C.

The trial of a major Nazi group in St. Petersburg turns into Nazi propaganda The first six months of court hearings in the case of a large Nazi group have ended in the St. Petersburg city court. The jury went on vacation until September, having considered only four episodes out of 20 that the gang members are accused of. The meetings will continue on September 3.

Russians perform successfully in the Grand Prix The Russian women's volleyball team won two victories in three matches of the first weekend of the Grand Prix, an annual commercial tournament with the participation of the strongest teams in the world. The main prize is contested by 12 teams, which will play a total of nine matches at the preliminary stage. The Russians started in the Chinese Ningbo with a match against Korea and won in three games - 3:0 (25:23, 25:23, 25:15).

"Oxygen" on Moscow screens Oxygen, in the understanding of Ivan Vyrypaev, is not just a chemical element. This is something that exists (or does not exist) inside our neighbors on the planet, something for which you can swing a bayonet shovel and hit an ugly woman in the face or, conversely, carry a beautiful woman in your arms.

Tomorrow, Corazon Aquino, who served as President of the Philippines from 1986-1992, will be buried by her closest people near the grave of her husband, Benigno. He was assassinated in 1983 when he returned from the United States to challenge the 20-year dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos in elections. The widow raised the people to a non-violent revolution and won in 1986.

The state prosecution asked for a deadline for the ex-leadership of the Federal Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund Yesterday in the Moscow City Court, at the scandalous trial of the former leadership of the Federal Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund (FFOMS), state prosecutors asked for eight years in a maximum security colony for the ex-head of the fund, Andrei Taranov.

Russian experts propose creating a new methodology for assessing elections The association of non-profit organizations for the protection of electoral rights “Civil Control” wants to create a new methodology for assessing elections, which was announced at a press conference at the RIA Novosti agency.

The Central Internal Affairs Directorate fears the Moscow Ring Road will be closed The tension caused by the move of traders from the closed Cherkizovsky market to other trading areas in the capital almost backfired on the capital’s drivers.

Terrorist attacks in Chechnya do not stop Despite all the statements by President Ramzan Kadyrov that peace has reigned in Chechnya for a long time, and the fight against the militants remaining in the republic is going quite successfully, terrorist attacks continue to occur in the region.