POLITICS
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden met with President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday at the start of his official visit to Russia and oversaw the signing of a deal between U.S. aviation giant Boeing and national carrier Aeroflot worth more than $2 billion. (Kommersant, Vedemosti, Moscow Times)
The Kremlin will this year hand out 1 billion rubles ($350 million) to nongovernmental organizations through six NGOs that critics say are too close to the state. (Moscow Times)
Russia and Georgia will resume talks on Thursday on Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organization. It will be the first direct bilateral contact between the two countries since the break of diplomatic ties after a brief war in August 2008. (Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Nezavisimaya Gazeta)
The current visit of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden to Russia is widely considered a preparation to an official visit to Moscow by U.S. President Barack Obama later this year, which could see real progress on the controversial issue of the European missile shield. (Nezavisimaya Gazeta)
Alleged Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout says the Russian authorities have never responded to his requests for legal assistance in a case that could put him in U.S. prison for life. (Kommersant)
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin floated the idea on Wednesday of using tankers for natural gas deliveries from Russia to Europe across the Black Sea, sparking questions about the plan to lay the South Stream pipeline (Moscow Times)
Russia may soon become the only supplier of natural "black caviar" on the global market. (Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
Russia's state-run arms exporter, Rosoboronexport, expects to make up to $9.5 billion in arms sales in 2011. Last year Russian arms exports totaled $8.6 billion. (Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Vedomosti)
CRIME
A blast tore through a bus stop late on Wednesday near Moscow's training center for the Federal Security Service, injuring no one, police and the National Anti-Terrorism Committee reported. The search for clues and evidence has been suspended until Thursday morning. (Moscow Times)
ENERGY
Russia may win the race to transport natural gas from Central Asia to Europe with the help of new technologies. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has suggested that the Energy Ministry should consider construction of a new gas liquefying plant on the Black Sea. (Nezavisimaya Gazeta)
SOCIETY
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin proposed allowing employees of private security firms to search suspicious-looking passengers at airports and railway stations. At present only police officers have the right to do so. (Kommersant)
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