The State Duma simplifies the procedure for taking away unused agricultural land from citizens The agrarian lobby of the State Duma and the Federation Council, having successfully completed the attack on retailers through the adoption of the law “On Trade”, decided to open a second front - against land owners who interfere with the expansion of large agricultural production.

The President approved the Food Security Doctrine Yesterday, President Dmitry Medvedev signed the Doctrine of Food Security of Russia. The fundamental and conceptual document has yet to be provided with a plan of specific measures to implement the very ambitious goals set by the doctrine. According to the doctrine, in ten years the share of domestic meat on the market will be 85%, milk - 90%, sugar - 80%.

Vladimir Ashkenazy and Evgeny Kissin received the most prestigious music award Russian-born conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy and pianist Evgeny Kissin (pictured) were unable to attend the 52nd Recording Academy Awards ceremony yesterday. Award in the section “Best instrumental recording with orchestra. Classics" for the live London recording of Prokofiev's Second and Third Piano Concertos (Philarmonia Orchestra, EMI Classics) will be given to them at a later date.

Scientists in search of extraterrestrial life One of the main tasks facing astronomy has long been the search for Earth-like planets in other solar systems, where, at least theoretically, life can exist. Such planets are called exoplanets. Michel Mayor, professor of astronomy at the University of Geneva, surprised everyone by promising to find an Earth-like exoplanet in the very near future.

French and Russians in search of identity “Is there a historical identity for France?” -- the famous French scientist Pierre Nora gave his lecture on this topical topic yesterday in Moscow at the Russian State University for the Humanities. A researcher who critically examines the problems of national history recalled his long-standing idea about “places of memory.” This concept includes archives, museums, monuments, national holidays and the like.

The law on trade regulation that has come into force is not supported by enforcement mechanisms On February 1, the main provisions of one of the most controversial bills of recent years - the law “On the Fundamentals of Regulation of Trade Activities in the Russian Federation” - came into force. It was assumed that the implementation of the law would, if not reduce, then at least significantly limit the rise in food prices.

The State Duma is finalizing the law on polygraph testing of officials and law enforcement officers The head of the State Duma Security Committee, United Russia member Vladimir Vasilyev, supported the idea of ​​checking the honesty of Russian officials using a polygraph - a device better known as a lie detector.

Cartel reduces production after falling oil prices For the first time in almost six months, the countries of the Organization of Petroleum Exporters (OPEC) began to reduce production. This is due to the bearish trend on commodity markets that has persisted for several trading sessions in a row. However, only Saudi Arabia and Venezuela have taken such precautionary measures so far.

Alexander Khloponin retained the Krasnoyarsk Territory for his team The list of candidates for the post of governor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory was presented yesterday to President Dmitry Medvedev by the United Russia party.

The mass consciousness of Russians needs liberation from the myths of Soviet history On January 27, the Perovsky Court of Moscow upheld the claim of Great Patriotic War veteran Viktor Semenov and the Nashi movement against journalist and human rights activist Alexander Podrabinek for the article “As an anti-Soviet to anti-Soviet people.” The court assessed the moral damage to the veteran at 1,000 rubles. instead of 500 thousand, which the plaintiffs sought.

The Russian economy finished 2009 better than expected Rosstat continues to summarize the statistical results of the past year. Experts highlight the main achievement of the authorities: the crisis in 2009 did not hit the population as hard as it could have been. Even though, according to data released yesterday by Rosstat, GDP fell by 7.9% last year, the biggest drop since 1994, real incomes rose.

The Russians completed the rescue mission A court in Port-au-Prince, the capital of the island nation of Haiti, yesterday formally charged ten US citizens detained on the night of January 30 on suspicion of attempting to smuggle 33 Haitian children aged between two months and 12 years.

Citi is ready to go smaller Once the first, and now the third largest American bank, Citigroup may sell its division specializing in private asset management. On the one hand, the bank is solving its financial problems, and on the other hand, it is actually fulfilling the instructions of US President Barack Obama, who demands reducing the size of leading Wall Street banks and separating investment businesses from them.

Tymoshenko leads in the West, and Yanukovych “in the country as a whole” These days, Kyiv's landscapes look sparse, especially compared to previous elections and even against the backdrop of the first round of the presidential election that took place on January 17. There is no longer that riot of political advertising, there are no longer all those colorful posters with tempting promises. Of the 18 presidential candidates, only two remain.

This week, Parisian public prosecutor (prosecutor) Jean-Claude Marin is appealing the decision of the Paris Correctional (Criminal) Court, which on January 28 acquitted former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin in the Clearstream case. The prosecutor believes that the new trial should take place at the end of this year or at the beginning of 2011. The first took place in September-October 2009.