POLITICS
Russian Present Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have different views of what is happening in Libya. Putin has compared a UN resolution sanctioning foreign military action in Libya to a "medieval call for a crusade,” a statement that Medvedev said was “absolutely inexcusable” and “unacceptable.”
(Vedomosti, Kommersant, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
The international operation against Libya’s Col. Muammar Gaddafi picks up steam. The bombing of Gaddafi’s compound in Tripoli by coalition forces have made the Libyan authorities believe that the genuine goal of the operation is changing the Gaddafi regime. The United States have dismissed the allegations, while its allies in the coalition have indicated that they were not just empty words.
(Kommersant)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is visiting Egypt and Algeria to compare notes with the countries’ leadership on the situation in Libya
(Nezavisimaya Gazeta)
The Son of the Desert, who has been in power in Libya for almost 42 years, Gaddafi has his own philosophy of life and power.
(Vedomosti)
An interview with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates about Russian-U.S. relations, missile defense and the U.S. role in the international military operation in Libya.
(Vedomosti)
In a bizarre twist, the Justice Ministry has failed to distinguish between sea rovers and copyright infringers by refusing to register the Russian version of the Pirate Party, a global movement with seats in the European Parliament.
(The Moscow Times)
SOCIETY
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has fired six police generals. No reason was given for the dismissals but they are seen as part of the ongoing police reform that aims to trim the police force by 20% to about 1.1 million by 2012.
(Izvestia, Rossiiskaya Gazeta, The Moscow Times)
BUSINESS
VTB has raised its share in Bank of Moscow to a controlling stake, and Suleiman Kerimov has joined VTB as a shareholder by buying a 3.88 percent stake from Goldman Sachs.
(The Moscow Times)
Sberbank, Russia's biggest bank, may pay $2.5 billion for a 20-percent stake in Metalloinvest, a leading Russian mining and metals company co-owned by tycoon Vasily Anisimov.
(Vedomosti)
DEFENCE
Russia’s rearmament program for 2011-2020 was the focus of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s attention during his Monday visit to the town of Votkinsk, a center of missile construction. The program is expected to cost the Russian government a record 20 trillion rubles ($707 billion).
(Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Kommersant)
ECONOMY
A biannual report compiled by the London-based think tank Z/Yen and released Monday suggests that no one should be holding their breath over Moscow's transformation into an international financial center. Moscow ranked 68th out of 75 in the Global Financial Centers Index and did not feature in the 10 centers likely to be most significant in the coming years.
(The Moscow Times)
OIL&GAS
Germany's BASF on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding with Russia's gas giant Gazprom to enter the South Stream pipeline project. The deal will add more weight to the project, analysts say.
(Vedomosti)
Two competing bills are adding to the confusion around regulation of Russia's burgeoning offshore oil industry, to the frustration of both oil companies and environmentalists. The rival drafts are a response to calls from industry and environmentalists for clearer legal guidance following the disastrous Gulf of Mexico oil spill last year.
(The Moscow Times)
CRIME
The Federal Anti-Monopoly Service promised an investigation Monday after a Moscow-based military unit kicked off a tender offering a whopping 46 billion rubles ($1.6 billion) to private contractors to maintain its fleet of foreign-built cars and buses.
(The Moscow Times)
Commercial rivalry is studied as one of possible reasons for a terrorist attack on Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport in January, which killed 37 people.
(Vedomosti)
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