Victor Yushchenko awarded Stepan Bandera the title of Hero of Ukraine The new Russian ambassador, Mikhail Zurabov, is finally due to arrive in Ukraine this morning. He was appointed to this post back in August 2009, but President Dmitry Medvedev decided not to send the ambassador to his destination until there were signs of improving relations between Moscow and Kiev - in fact, until the defeat of President Viktor Yushchenko.

Major and colonel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were accused of trying to bribe anti-corruption fighters The capital's department of the Investigative Committee, as Vremya Novostei learned, is completing its investigation into yet another scandalous case of police corruption.

The jury of the Stanislavsky Prize announced the laureates for the fifteenth time. This time, the prize in the nomination “For Contribution to the Development of the Russian Theater” went to two people at once - choreographer and teacher Vladimir Vasiliev and director Mark Zakharov.

Iraq announced an increase in its oil reserves by 25% The reserves of “black gold” in Iraq are not 115 billion barrels, as expected, but 143 billion. This was announced yesterday by the country’s Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani. According to him, the main contribution to such a significant increase was made by the Zubair and West Qurna fields. Iraq can now claim third place in the world in terms of proven reserves, taking it away from neighboring Iran with its 137 billion barrels.

September 1 -- October 1, 2010 “Politicians Through the Eyes of the Media,” a joint project of “Vremya Novostei” and the “Medialogia” company, are ratings of political figures who are most actively discussed in the federal press and on central TV channels.

Sergei Lavrov called for getting rid of phobias At the very beginning of February, Russia and the United States will resume negotiations on concluding a new Treaty on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms.

Rosokhrankultura plans to transfer up to 16 thousand monuments to denominations The Ministry of Economic Development assures that two hundred churches and other “religious objects” (as well as the land plots on which these “religious buildings” are located), which should be transferred from federal ownership to religious organizations by the end of the year, “will fall into the proper hands.” . Deputy Minister of Economic Development Igor Manylov once again recalled this yesterday.

Russia will continue to maintain relations with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas). “This is relevant now, when the problem of Palestinian unity is becoming more acute,” said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. He made it clear that without unity among the Palestinians, it would be impossible to achieve conditions for the resumption and success of negotiations between the Israeli and Palestinian authorities.

Visa and MasterCard companies are closer to resolving the conflict with the US Department of Justice, which back in 1998 accused payment systems of violating antitrust laws. If the parties agree, banks will be able to have more choice when issuing credit and debit cards, and their users will not be charged additional fees. The Ministry of Justice initiated a lawsuit against Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. 12 years ago in response to complaints from several American financial institutions.

Bosnian Muslims took a step towards the Serbs The final results of Sunday's general elections could be announced today in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Voters, as before, voted mainly according to national preferences. In the Bosnian Muslim camp, 54-year-old Bakir Izetbegovic (pictured), considered a moderate, caused a sensation by defeating 65-year-old nationalist Haris Silajdzic.

CONCERTS Ensemble of Oleg Kireev (saxophone). "Union of Composers" , 20.30. Haleo (Cuba). Latin American rhythms, youthful enthusiasm and tropical temperament at Cool Train Club , 21.00. The Jumping Cats. A combination of blues with all related genres such as swing, funk, surf and many others. "House by the Road" , 21.00. CLASSIC MGASO p/u P. Kogan. L. van Beethoven. Soloist L. Teuscher (soprano, Germany). Tchaikovsky Concert Hall , 19.00. Dialogue of great cultures. Russia - France. P.I.

Russian intrigue in the South Caucasus Today in Sochi, at the invitation of President Dmitry Medvedev, his Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan will meet. No sensations are planned, which, however, is consistent with the plans of all parties involved in the settlement process.

Belarusians accuse Russians of violating the agreement Russia's introduction of duties on oil supplies to Belarus is “illegal,” said the head of the Belarusian State Customs Committee, Alexander Shpilevsky, at a press conference convened last Saturday. This is the first such harsh statement by an official representative of Minsk since the beginning of this year, when problems arose with oil supplies to Belarus. President Alexander Lukashenko has not yet made public statements on this issue.

Greece is ready to exceed its budget deficit reduction plan The Greek government is ready to continue cutting wages and subsidies, as well as significantly increasing taxes. As Finance Minister Giorgos Papakonstantinou said yesterday when presenting the draft budget for 2011, the deficit will be reduced to 7%. According to analysts, this will significantly worsen public sentiment, but will inspire investors.

The presidents of Russia and Ukraine promised to connect the countries with a bridge and a high-speed railway Dmitry Medvedev and his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yanukovych met yesterday in Gelendzhik, where they took part in a meeting of the first interregional economic forum of the two countries. In order for interaction between the two countries to develop properly, Mr.