“Warsaw Melody” was played at the Theater on Malaya Bronnaya One of the most popular plays of the Soviet era can again be seen in Moscow on Malaya Bronnaya, staged by Sergei Golomazov. And unexpectedly, Leonid Zorin's play - a good play, some argue, but seemingly forever tied to the Soviet era - turned out to be quite suitable for conveying a modern view of things.

Policemen traded their victim's freedom for a car In the Kuntsevo District Court of Moscow, a trial began in the case of two police officers accused of illegal detention and extortion of money under the threat of illegal arrest.

The Tajik President spoke about the secret On the eve of the international media forum that opened yesterday in Moscow (some Tajik journalists also took part in it), Tajik President Emomali Rahmon (pictured) held a meeting with local journalists on December 8. The participants became aware of the upcoming event only on the evening of December 7, however, about 50 Tajik journalists responded to the invitation of the head of state.

The creators of the biggest blockbuster of the season visited Moscow On the occasion of the upcoming premiere of James Cameron's Avatar (first of all, on December 15, the most anticipated film of the year will be shown in the United Arab Emirates as part of the Dubai International Film Festival, on the 16th it will be released in France, Belgium and Egypt, the next day in two more dozens of countries, including Russia, and on the 18th - in the USA and almost the rest of the world; the film will

Will “Liberman’s man” become Israel’s ambassador to Russia? The head of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, the irreconcilable head of the right-wing party “Our Home is Israel”, a native of Moldova, 51-year-old Avigdor Lieberman, may leave his post in the next two months. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz notes that the government's legal adviser, Menachem Mazouz, intends to make a decision on Lieberman's case before he resigns in February 2010.

The first museum of the famous confectionery product opened Last weekend, a new museum project was presented in Kolomna, which won last year’s “Changing Museum in a Changing World” competition of the V. Potanin Charitable Foundation. The authors of the project, Elena Dmitrieva and Natalya Nikitina, define it as “a museum of vanished taste.” The museum is dedicated to the once popular delicacy - Kolomna marshmallow.

Belarus wants to grow with Russia's help Today in Moscow, Presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Alexander Lukashenko will hold negotiations as part of a meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Russian-Belarusian union state. The agenda of the meeting includes 17 issues. Minsk considers the most important of them to be a discussion of joint actions to overcome the consequences of the global financial crisis.

The main expression of 2009 is chosen in Russia The “Words of the Year” competition, popular in many countries around the world, ends in December. It is designed to identify word-symbols that characterize the current state of society. The competition is being held in Russia for the third time, but for the first time the main word is being searched not in a close circle of expert linguists, but with the participation of ordinary citizens voting on the Internet.

Several Israeli military analysts, in interviews with local media, explained in their own way Russia’s desire to buy an additional batch of Israeli unmanned aerial vehicles. In their opinion, after purchasing the first batch in the spring of this year, the Russians were not able to create their own analogs of these devices and therefore will be forced to purchase drones from Israel again.

America's premier film festival turns 25 The concept of independence in cinema seems rather slippery. So Steven Soderberg said at the current Sundance: “Since 1975, Steven Spielberg has had so much money that he doesn’t depend on anyone. This is true independence." American films produced outside the major Hollywood studios are not doing nearly as well as Steven Spielberg.

Lawyers will defend CSKA's right to play in the Champions League playoffs The date December 18 has acquired a certain meaning for Russian football. On this day, the draw for the 1/8 finals of the Champions League will take place at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon. Russian CSKA will take part in it for the first time in its history.

A verdict has been handed down in the case of terrorist attacks in Moscow ten years ago Yesterday, the Moscow City Court handed down a verdict in the case of two terrorist attacks that occurred in Moscow back in 1999 - explosions at the Intourist hotel and at the Okhotny Ryad shopping center. Only one person died then, but over 50 were injured. These emergency situations caused a particular resonance because they occurred in the very center of the capital.

The UK is still trying to establish the world's toughest remuneration rules. Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling has announced plans to tax bank bonuses by up to 50%. As such, the Labor government is beginning preparations for next year's elections. Their rivals, the Conservatives, believe that the proposed method will not solve the problem of the huge deficit. British banks will pay a 50 percent tax on bonuses exceeding 25,000 pounds, or $41,000, Mr. Darling said yesterday.

In mid-December, the new NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen will make his first visit to Russia. This event will be closely watched throughout Europe and especially in Russia's neighboring countries. At the end of last week, the meeting of NATO foreign ministers ended in Brussels, and after a long break caused by the 2008 war in the Caucasus, meetings of the Russia-NATO Council resumed.

The situation in the western North Caucasus is not as simple as it seems Everyone has long been accustomed to the alarming news from Chechnya, Ingushetia and Dagestan: the sporadic war between militants and security forces has already become part of the local landscape there. North Ossetia, which experienced the Beslan tragedy five years ago, empathized with last year's events in Tskhinvali and is forced to deal with the dire problem of the Prigorodny region , looks like a kind of watershed.