Moscow's Urban Planning and Land Commission has approved the cancellation of Glavmosstroi's contract to develop an area in the Kuntsevo district and payment of 10.964 million rubles ($342 million) in compensation to the company, a City Hall source said, RIA-Novosti reported, as cited by Vedomosti. In 2008, Glavmosstroi and City Hall agreed to cancel the project but in 2010 the developer filed a lawsuit seeking to get compensation.

Saudi Arabia pumped crude at the highest level in more than three decades in June, overtaking Russia as the world's largest oil producer during the month, according to the Joint Organization Data Initiative. (Bloomberg)

The growth of the Internet in Russia to its current 60 million users, the strong technical background of Russian software engineers and the sound entrepreneurial skills of local managers have attracted major money to the market. According to various estimates, more than 300 million euros ($371 million) is expected to be invested in information technology companies in Russia in 2012. So who is opening their coffers to make this happen?

Two leading agricultural analysts cut their forecasts for the grain harvest Monday after harvest data from two drought-stricken eastern growing regions reduced the outlook for the overall crop. SovEcon narrowed its grain forecast to 71 million to 72.5 million tons from a previous 70 million to 74 million tons after the start of harvesting in Urals and Siberia regions showed weak crop prospects.

The country's poultry output rose 22 percent to 285,000 tons in July compared with that of a year earlier, the State Statistics Service said. Meat from cattle climbed 11 percent to 107,000 tons in July, and pork production increased 16 percent to 76,300 tons, the service said in an e-mail Monday. The figures include byproducts.

Morgans Hotel Group will open a hotel in Moscow in 2015, the company said. The hotel, called Delano Moscow, will be situated in the Moscow City commercial district. It will be part of Capital Group's OKO project within Moscow City, a new development that will offer premium space designed for luxury living, business and entertainment.

Zaraisky district police were tipped off by a man who said he noticed the charming shrubbery and snipped a bit off for later use. A Moscow region pensioner is under investigation after police discovered 14 marijuana plants flourishing in her garden. The 70-year-old woman said she didn't know that the “pretty bushes” she was tending were marijuana plants, several of which were 2 meters tall, police said in a statement.

There was shock, if no real surprise, at the verdict against Pussy Riot on Friday. Despite whispers of leniency, I never doubted that a conviction and prison term would result. Not because they violated anything in the Criminal Code, which, as of this writing, is still freely available on the Internet.

Real estate investment firm O1 Properties has added to its portfolio of office centers by purchasing the Silver City business complex from British firm Evans Randall for $333 million, the companies said. Just inside the eastern arc of the Garden Ring on Serebryanskaya Naberezhnaya, the Class A office space is almost fully leased, the companies said. Its 42,000 square meters of rentable space are rented by a number of multinational companies.

Тhe worst calamities tend to befall Russia in August. It's been called the month of disasters, but it is rather a month of shrinkage. It seems that every August, Russia is diminished — in size, reputation and stature — both in the eyes of its own citizens and internationally. In August 1991, a failed coup by Communist hard-liners reduced the Soviet political police and its repressive apparatus to paper tigers, while also setting in motion the disintegration of the Soviet Union.

President Vladimir Putin said Monday that he hoped a long-running shareholder conflict at Norilsk Nickel will be resolved soon. "This situation has changed for the better thanks to the company's management and the owners' sense of social responsibility, although they have not yet resolved all their issues," Putin said during a meeting with coal and mining industry representatives in the Kremlin to mark Miners' Day, an upcoming industry holiday.

Property developer S.Holding is seeking to buy a housing complex and an office building from Unikor Group, Vedomosti reported, citing a copy of a letter sent by S.Holding to Unikor Group. In May, Unikor Group concluded a $282.50 million deal to sell the assets to Bin Group, which is owned by the family of tycoon Mikhail Gutseriyev and businessman Mikhail Shishkhanov. Alexei Shepel, the owner of S.Holding, said the developer would buy the assets if the deal with Bin Group was canceled.

the word's worth Fake News and Other Fallacies There are so many words for fakes in Russian, you'd think it was a national past time. 5 Min read

More than 500 people between the ages of 15 and 59 took part in last year's event, including swimmers from France and Finland. Leningrad region authorities have banned a yearly race in which participants compete to see who can swim the fastest riding an inflatable sex doll. The yearly competition, into its 10th year and known as the Bubble Baba Challenge, was set to take place Aug. 25 in the Leningrad region's Priozersky district.

Valentina Orlova Head of Intellectual Property and Trademarks Practice Pepeliaev Group The first half of 2012 cannot be said to be significant in terms of the further development of intellectual property legislation. That said, work has continued on amendments to the Russian Civil Code, with the corresponding draft law passed in its second reading.