Alexey Savatyugin invited investors to Sberbank and VTB The Russian government is actually ready to reduce the state share in the largest Russian banks, while maintaining a controlling stake. This was stated yesterday by Deputy Minister of Finance Alexei Savatyugin. “We confirm the state’s further withdrawal from the capital of banks,” Mr. Savatyugin said yesterday, speaking at the International Banking Forum. — Let's start with VTB.

Japanese right-wingers are unhappy with the Russian holiday Today in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk the international conference “Lessons of the Second World War and the Present”, dedicated to events in the Pacific and Far Eastern theater of military operations of the Second World War, ends its work. Yesterday, on the opening day of the conference, our people for the first time celebrated the memorial date established by presidential decree - September 2 - the Day of the End of the Second World War.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague yesterday denied accusations of homosexuality: "Any suggestion that I have ever had a relationship with a man is completely false." The scandal erupted after photographs were published in British newspapers showing the 49-year-old head of the British Foreign Ministry walking around London with his 25-year-old adviser Christopher Myers.

Dagestani police tracked down a militant in a public toilet Two high-ranking law enforcement officials were killed yesterday in the North Caucasus. As a result of sabotage by militants in Ingushetia, the head of the personnel department of the Sunzhensky District Department of Internal Affairs was killed, and in Dagestan, the head of one of the regional divisions of the FSB was killed.

According to federal authorities, food prices in the country are rising for no reason “There will be no shortage of products. Those who are trying to make money by causing panic will be dealt with by the FAS and the Prosecutor General’s Office,” this post on Dmitry Medvedev’s Twitter appeared yesterday after a meeting of the State Council Presidium he held in Saratov.

Menchov and Schleck are riding the last stage race for their teams Almost a third of the distance of this season's last road cycling stage race, the Vuelta a España, is behind us. Yesterday the sixth, flat stage took place, it was won by the Norwegian Tor Hushvod (Servelo), and in total there are 21 of them on the race schedule. The finish is on September 19 in Madrid.

Russian military graves in Port Arthur have been restored Yesterday, at the Museum of the Russian Armed Forces, the results of the project to restore military graves in Port Arthur (now the city of Lushun, China), where military operations with the participation of the Russian and then Soviet armies were conducted in both the first and second world wars, were summed up.

CONCERTS Tori Amos (USA). The American singer, accompanying herself on the piano, performs in Moscow for the first time. Crocus City Hall , September 3, 20.00. Brainstorm (Latvia). Milk , September 3, 20.00. "Christmas tree". “16 tons” , September 3, 21.00. "Crematorium". “Point” , September 3, 22.30. Garik Sukachev. Arena Moscow , September 4, 20.00. Faerd (Denmark-Sweden).

The north-west of European Russia will be in the rear of the cyclone. In most areas, short-term rains, heavy in places on Friday, short-term rains in places on Sunday, +9...+14оС during the day; on Sunday the air will warm up to +11...+16оС. In the Central region there will be rain on Friday and Saturday, +11...+16оС. In the south of European Russia +23...+29оС, in the east up to +34оС.

The Prime Minister gave instructions to the government following his trip to the Far East A long trip through the Far East and Siberia seems to have only given new strength and inspiration to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Yesterday's meeting of the government presidium, the first after returning to Moscow, turned out to be unusually full of specific instructions and decisions. Many conclusions were drawn directly from the impression of the trip - and literally at the request of the workers.

The date of the presidential elections in Belarus may be announced in the coming days at an extraordinary session of parliament. Election passions are heating up thanks to the growing conflict between Minsk and Moscow. Many Belarusian oppositionists are convinced that the Kremlin’s refusal to support Alexander Lukashenko gives a chance to an alternative candidate.

Tomorrow, on City Day, when the decision of the capital's mayor Yuri Luzhkov canceled the traditional grand opening of the holiday and reception, the mayor himself plans to take part in the opening of the ice palace in Strogin. President Dmitry Medvedev, whom the mayor of the capital actually deprived of the opportunity to participate in the holiday, will already return from a trip to Azerbaijan and, according to Vremya Novostey , may still hold a working event in Moscow.

The pro-Kremlin movement “Nashi” asked to vacate the premises Capital officials have expressed their outrage publicly at the activities of the pro-Kremlin movement “Nashi” - the youth organization occupies premises that small Muscovites lack. Yesterday it became known that the prefect of the Northern Administrative District of Moscow, Oleg Mitvol, made angry demands to the subtenants of the former departmental kindergarten on the 1st street of Yamskoye Pole with a demand to vacate the premises.

The company reported for the half year The mining and metallurgical group Evraz remained in the red for the first half of 2010, despite rising prices for steel products. According to IFRS reporting, the company's net loss amounted to $270 million (for the same period last year - $999 million). Meanwhile, analysts expected it to make $30 million in profit. Revenue increased by 37.5%, to $6.38 billion, and was also below forecasts.

Sergei Lavrov spoke at a meeting of Polish diplomats Yesterday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov completed a two-day working visit to Poland. The head of Russian diplomacy arrived in Warsaw at the invitation of his Polish colleague Radoslaw Sikorski with an unusual mission - in addition to bilateral negotiations, he was to take part in the annual meeting of Polish ambassadors and permanent representatives. This is the first time in the practice of Russian-Polish relations.