Russian inspectors were not allowed into Georgia Georgia yesterday refused to allow Russian inspectors into its military facilities. Russia's request was based on the agreement on building confidence and security measures in Europe, concluded ten years ago in Vienna under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). In 1999, OSCE countries agreed to regularly exchange detailed information about their armed forces.

The Ministry of Economic Development first spoke about the decline in GDP in 2009 The Ministry of Economic Development (MED) has prepared a new scenario for the country's development for the coming year - in accordance with new realities and the tasks set by the prime minister. As deputy head of the department Andrei Klepach said, GDP in 2009 will decrease by 0.2%, industrial production will fall by 5.7%.

The military education system in Russia is radically changing The reform of military education in Russia has made a zigzag. If quite recently the Ministry of Defense stated that instead of the existing 64 military universities there would be ten system-forming training centers, today the picture has changed greatly. On December 24, 2008, government decree No. 1951R was issued.

Experts are looking for a way to save monoregions Representatives of the expert community tried to develop an anti-crisis plan for Russian single-industry towns yesterday during a round table at the Institute of Contemporary Development. Analysts have long been saying that the economic crisis is dealing a painful blow to small towns, the majority of whose working population is employed at the only city-forming enterprise.

Russia and Cuba will try to translate their relations into economic terms Raul Castro, who replaced Fidel's brother as head of the Cuban State Council and Council of Ministers, will come to Moscow on an official visit at the end of January. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has already visited Cuba on a return visit (last November). The main subject of negotiations is money.

The head of one of the districts of the Nizhny Novgorod region has not gone to work for almost a year On January 27, at a court hearing in the city of Kulebaki, Nizhny Novgorod region, the case of early removal from office of the head of local government of the Kulebaki district Nikolai Ryabykin will be considered. This person went on leave in March 2008 and ceased to perform his duties. From that time on, Mr. Ryabykin did not appear in the administration.

Why is there no “current legislation” in Russia? The recently celebrated 15th anniversary of the Constitution of our state attracted the attention of the authorities to the Basic Law and legislation in general. The correct words that the law is above all and everyone is equal before the law accompany us all our lives. On the other hand, we often hear that laws in Russia do not work and are not enforced. Why? Maybe it has to do with the structure of the laws being adopted?

Russia will finally have a law on information openness of government agencies After six years of development and two years of consideration by the Federal Assembly, Russia will finally have a law on information accessibility of government agencies. On Wednesday, the State Duma approved the bill in the third reading, now it’s up to the Federation Council and the president. The law should come into force on January 1, 2010.