VTB: Russia gearing up for external pressure

08.12, 13:37

VTB Group, Russia’s second largest banker, boosted its net profit 87% in the first nine months of 2011 year on year. Higher efficiency, as well as healthy lending growth helped the Group to offset global trends.

01.09, 11:29

Russia’s second largest bank, VTB, has posted a 1H 2011 net profit of 53.6 billion roubles under IFRS.

20.11, 04:55

As Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan move a step closer to a Common Economic Space, a union bearing similarities with the EU, could they run into the same troubles? The man at the heart of the matter explained to RT how to avoid pitfalls.

Eurozone crisis

Published: 09 December, 2011, 14:03

Denis Sinyakov / Reuters

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TAGS: Russia and the global economy, Corporate news, Resources, Banking, Economy, Finance

While the EU struggles with the debt crisis which has almost spiralled out of control Russia is trying to distance itself by expanding export opportunities. Herbert Moos CFO of VTB says Russia will do well to learn from the EU experience.

Today: 13:29

Travelers flying from Russian airports may have to go 'cold turkey' as new regulations will force duty free shops to stop selling alcohol.

Today: 17:03

New Central Bank requirements for a minimum of capital could put dozens smaller Russian banks out of business. They have less than a month left to bring their capital up to mandatory 180 million rubles by January 1, 2012

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Winter joys to warm hearts of Muscovites

14.11, 23:32

A sub-zero temperature drop, snowstorms and strong winds are expected to hit Moscow on Tuesday night.

16.11, 22:27

The head of Moscow City Hall's environment department says pet owners should put shoes on their animals.

28.09, 21:46

Wintry weather has caught a number of large cities off guard in Russia's Far East and southern Siberia.

01.12.2010, 22:09

As the cold has started to bite hard, RT offers advice on how best-to-dress in these harsh conditions to withstand the frost without blowing a small fortune.

02.12.2010, 22:23

RT guides you though Moscow’s best skating and skiing facilities.

//

Published: 17 November, 2011, 22:13

Winter activities in Gorky Park of Culture and Leisure in Moscow (RIA Novosti/Valeriy Melnikov)

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TAGS: Winter sports, Prime Time Russia, Weather, Anya Fedorova, Neil Harvey

Moscow looks to be in for a big chill, as the real Russian winter is back on track.

Unlike recent years’ abnormally warm winters, white season 2012 is forecast to be far colder. In Moscow, there will be at least 10 days of -20C temperatures in January.

State meteorologists also say spring will be warmer than usual. They admit, though, that their long-term forecasts are right only 70 per cent of the time.

Apart from intense cold, the snowy weather has brought winter joys into the Russian capital earlier than before.

Famous Gorky Park's skating rink opens in just under two weeks.

The 15,000 square-meter rink is the largest in Europe. Apart from the main rink, there is also going to be space for kids and a mini-stadium for hockey players.

The current plus temperatures are not a problem, as the ice is artificial. This also means the skating season will last until mid-spring.

Another winter surprise is brand new approach to the illumination of Moscow streets.

The city authorities plan to take things to a whole new level, illuminating the Russian capital in different colors, depending on the season.

According to the plan, the streets will be lit up in blue and white in winter, and green and yellow during spring. Summer and autumn will see an abundance of red and purple lights respectively.

The authorities have already hired several companies that will be developing the color schemes. The new illuminations are expected to be ready by the end of 2012.

Implementing the idea will require hundreds of thousands of street lamps.

Today: 21:12

A Russian citizen convicted of espionage in Poland has been released on parole.

Today: 22:52

An unprecedented number of British businessmen are enquiring about setting up business in Russia, says head of Russo-British Chamber of Commerce Chris Gilbert.

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Legal merry-go-round over prison death

04.05.2010, 22:34

The investigator leading the case against a fraud suspect who died in a Moscow jail on April 30 has been charged with negligence.

02.11, 20:38

A gravely ill woman being held at a pre-trial detention center in Moscow has been told she must pay a record sum of $3 million bail before she can be released.

01.11, 21:31

Two former prison doctors have been charged with negligence in connection with the death in jail of the lawyer Sergey Magnitsky.

03.10, 14:39

A British newspaper says the UK Foreign Office has issued a visa ban on some 60 Russian officials believed to be connected to the death of investment lawyer and whistle-blower, Sergey Magnitsky.

//

Published: 17 November, 2011, 21:12

Legal merry-go-round over prison death

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TAGS: Crime, Health, Scandal, Law, Prime Time Russia, Anya Fedorova, Neil Harvey, Jacob Greaves

Russia’s investigative committee has brought charges against a doctor whose alleged negligence caused a high-profile death in prison.

Fifty-three-year-old Vera Trifonova, head of a real estate agency, was arrested on fraud charges in December 2010. Despite having serious health problems, she was put into a pre-trial detention center. In April 2010 she died in custody.

The investigators say that a specialist from an independent medical center, Aleksandra Artamonova, forgot to remove a catheter from Trifonova’s vein, which caused a clot and led to the patient’s death. Should her guilt be proven, Artamonova could face three years in prison. An employee of the medical center told journalists that Artamonova had already lost her job.

Meanwhile, Trifonova’s family and lawyers say that the investigators are attempting to shift responsibility for the fatality.

“They are cynically hushing up the case,” said Vera Trifonova’s son, Vyacheslav Raikov. “To protect their colleagues, they are ready to blame the death on anybody, even independent doctors.”

A medical examination, Raikov said, had confirmed that Trifonova’s death was caused by the pre-detention facility’s failure to take care of the patient rather than through any fault of the doctor’s.

Lawyers point out that, during the detention, Trifonova was repeatedly sent to hospital, but whenever her condition improved, she was returned to detention.

The detention center’s management filed several official requests to the investigator asking him to release Trifonova on bail so she could receive proper medical assistance while awaiting trial. By that time, the suspect was already blind and could only be transported in a wheelchair; her lungs had filled with fluid. The investigator, however, ignored the requests.

Back in May 2010, Trifonova’s death caused a shake-up in Russia’s legal system. President Medvedev ordered Russia's Prosecutor General to closely look into the case. As a result, the investigator leading the case against was charged with negligence, while several senior officials connected to the case have been fired. The judge responsible for Vera Trifonova’s arrest faced removal.

Trifonova’s story was not the first such one in Russian legal practice. In November 2009, Sergey Magnitsky, a lawyer working for a foreign investment fund, also died in pre-trial detention. Despite the fact that doctors confirmed that Magnitsky was seriously ill, authorities failed to provide proper medical assistance. Sergey Magnitsky made several official complaints on the conditions he was kept in, but these cries for help went unanswered.

Today: 21:11

RT sheds light on unusual storylines behind Moscow’s numerous lanes and avenues.

Today: 21:12

A Russian citizen convicted of espionage in Poland has been released on parole.

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Russia’s Calendar Girls strip for charity

24.11.2010, 21:29

Russia's "Give Life" charity is marking four years of helping children overcome blood disorders.

29.12.2008, 09:51

New Year's Eve is a time for making wishes, but for thousands of children with serious illnesses there's just one request – to become healthy again.

11.06.2009, 14:06

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili has demanded that a four-year-old-girl be saved from almost certain death. The girl’s parents, who are Jehovah's Witnesses, were preventing hospital doctors from treating her.

Published: 09 December, 2011, 12:33

The Russian cast of the Calendar Girls show

TAGS: Theater, Russia, UK, Performance

Some women strip off for animal rights, some to support their favorite politicians, others to protest against discrimination. But Russia’s so-called “Calendar Girls”, are baring all to help some of the most stigmatized people in society.

­Most will associate the name Calendar Girls with the famous British play – later a hit movie – based on a true story.  It revolves around a group of middle-aged women, “members of a very ordinary Yorkshire branch of the Women’s Institute, who spark a global phenomenon by persuading one another to pose for a charity calendar with a difference.”

They decide to undress in a bid to do something positive by raising money to help a friend’s husband fight cancer.

The play, written by Tim Firth, premiered in Russia last fall, with audiences responding to the story with open hearts.

It took the play’s Russian cast nearly a year to make up their minds to follow in their characters’ footsteps and create a feel-good calendar of their own.

According to the project’s producer, Elshan Mamedov, the women had to wait for the right moment to strip off in a good cause.

“At some point, [the market] became deluged with calendars featuring nude bodies,” said Mamedov. “Some were posing in favor of something, others protesting, others supporting sports teams, or showing their love of a national leader… Some would strip down for no reason at all. So we had many doubts about it. But our wonderful actresses were really desperate to help the Life foundation,” the producer explained.  

Money raised from the nude pictures will go to the Life charity to help drug and alcohol addicted people, and support those recently released from jail as they go through rehabilitation.

08.12, 19:42

Neither his Songs of Innocence, nor Songs of Experience helped him emerge from dire poverty and heavy debt. Britain’s genius visionary William Blake had only one exhibition during his lifetime. It is now Russia’s turn to pay tribute to the artist.

Today: 14:53

Ever heard of a bus that could take you to within one stop of … the moon? The only bus to perform that feat was the vehicle which whisked the first man in space, Russia’s Yury Gagarin, to the historic launch site of his “Vostok” craft back in 1961.

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Hollywood holy Moscow party

12.10, 15:51

If you are a lazy bones longing for easy money and love partying all night and going to bed with the lark, we have the ideal job for you. A salary of $150 a day is on offer for simply sleeping in a gallery in your pyjamas from 10am to 9pm…

11.10, 23:40

Housepainters in Novgorod carried out an unusual act of vigilante justice on an illegally-parked BMW.

Published: 17 November, 2011, 19:37

Hollywood celebrities landed for a bash in Russia’s main cathedral (Photo by Gennady Avramenko)

TAGS: Celebrity, Russia, Lifestyle

Hollywood celebs, loud music and liquor are probably not what one might associate with Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral. But an art center in this place of worship has hosted an A-list soiree with the likes of Clive Owen, Anastasia and Megan Fox.

­The occasion? A presentation of the new Vertu smartphone. Arriving at the venue, guests crossed themselves before braving stringent face control. Many looked surprised at their holy whereabouts, having clearly ordered cabs to bring them to the address. Little had they known that the trendy art center was at the capital’s top cathedral. 

Ever since the notorious venue opened its doors in 2009, it has scored itself a controversial reputation. Many find buying antiques and attending social events under the sacred vaults of a church quite odd. In fact, some guests invited to the Vertu bash soon left in disgust.

The specially hired bouncers also looked quite out of place. Yet inside, this was a jet-setting party like any other. Even the humiliating wait some had to endure while the slow guards searched the guest list for their names was not an issue. All were intent on staying until the worshiped Hollywood stars showed up.

God bless Vertu.

Today: 16:50

There's something about a man who sees life through the lens of a camera, be it a panavision or a panasonic: the ability to create an image that speaks a thousand words. Stanley Kubrick made it in the movies, but first he did it in photography.

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Vityaz don’t need coach to win

09.11, 21:45

The coach of KHL side Vityaz Chekhov, Andrey Nazarov, has apologized for attacking Belarusian fans with a hockey stick during his team’s away game at Dynamo Minsk.

07.11, 16:14

The head coach of KHL side Vityaz, Andrey Nazarov, has attacked Belarusian fans with a hockey stick during his team’s away game at Dynamo Minsk.

09.11, 14:07

KHL rookies HC Lev of Slovakia, who became the league’s first team from outside the former Soviet Union, promise to win more games as soon as they get used to the high level of competition and the smaller ice of their new arena.

01.11, 19:15

The involvement of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was required to finally solve the financial problems of Russian hockey’s most titled club, CSKA Moscow.

Published: 17 November, 2011, 16:11

Spartak Moscow's Mikhail Mamkin (L) goes against Vityaz Chekhov's Mikhail Anisin in the KHL (RIA Novosti / Anton Denisov)

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Despite having to get by without head coach Andrey Nazarov, Vityaz Chekhov, who are rock bottom in the KHL’s Western Conference, have claimed a 3-2 away victory against Spartak Moscow.

­Things have not been going well recently for Vityaz, as they took on Spartak Moscow. They have the second-worst record in the KHL, while the club is more famous for their fights on the ice rather than the quality of their hockey.

And if things couldn't get any worse, head coach Andrey Nazarov, was banned for two games, after striking out at fans last time out in Minsk after his team's bench had had objects thrown at them.

However, the Chekhov side's netminder says the incident was perhaps blown out of proportion.

“I think everyone is thinking something different,” Matthew Dalton, Vityaz keeper, told RT. “For us Canadians, we kind of used to it a little bit. It doesn’t really scare us or anything. That kind of stuff happens all the time back at home. It’s different here. It’s a different mentality here. But it was interesting, you know.”

However, despite a scoreless first period, things would start well for the visitors as they would take the lead through Mikhail Anisin, whose slapshot managed to beat Spartak goalie Aleksey Yakhin from close range.

The Muscovites were soon level as Slovakia's Marcel Hossa restored parity for the home side midway through the second period.

With just six minutes remaining, Hossa grabbed his second to put the Red-and-Whites on the verge of victory.

However Vityaz had other ideas and would make it 2-2 just 30 seconds later, with Fedoseev getting the vital goal to give his side the chance of getting a much needed win in overtime.

In the end, the side from Chekhov would not need the extra period, as they would settle the game with just a minute left.

Spartak committed too many men forward and the visitors took full advantage as Anisin added his second of the game on the break away to give Vityaz the points.

“We only won those five games, but we have beaten some pretty good teams,” Dalton said. “I think we showed to people that we can play hockey too if we want to. We aren’t just a bunch of hooligans and fighters. So hopefully, we can get something on again. But you know it is tough. Every team in this league is good. It’s not like any game is an easy games, especially for us. We have to work hard to be successful.”

Delight for Andrey Nazarov, who was forced to watch the game from the stands, while his side managed to snap a two game losing streak with that 3-2 victory.

Today: 12:00

Russia’s junior hockey squad have lost to the WHL All-Stars 5-3, allowing the Canadian Hockey League to take the lead in the Super Series.

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Is pizza your favourite vegetable?

23.09, 18:37

Baptist Town, Mississippi is the home of blues — and one of the poorest communities in America.

18.10.2010, 23:04

American food policy has resulted in increasing rates of obesity, particularly among lower-class and minority populations.

17.10.2010, 08:49

Americans are the 'biggest' people in the world - the World Health Organization says over 60 per cent of the U.S. population is obese.

//

Published: 17 November, 2011, 21:44

Is pizza your favourite vegetable?

TAGS: Health, USA, Education

What's in a name? Well quite a lot when it comes to designating which foods will be served at lunchtime in America's schools. Under pressure from the frozen foods industry, US lawmakers have decided to allow pizza sauce to be counted as a vegetable.

Pizza and French fries are among the foods which will stay on the menu after Congress voted to prevent them being restricted. The decision – which is a kick in the teeth to President Obama's hopes of making schools meals healthier – could be approved later this week.

Republicans in favour of the decision have lauded it as a victory over big government, praising the defeat of ‘overly burdensome and costly regulations’, hailing ‘greater flexibility for local school districts’.

Unsurprisingly, industry lobby the American Frozen Food Institute has come out in support of the move, saying the decision ‘recognises the significant amounts of potassium, fibre and vitamins A and C provided by tomato paste and ensures that students may continue to enjoy healthy meals such as pizza and pasta.’

But according to Margo Wootan, Director of Nutrition Policy at the Centre for Science in the Public Interest, this ruling puts pizza manufacturers ahead of kids’ nutrition. In her opinion ‘Pepperoni pizza is not a vegetable.’
So why has Congress said that the sauce on a pizza is enough to put a slice of Pepperoni on a par with asparagus? According to Ms Wootan, it’s all down to a ‘loophole’ which, although usually determining a serving of vegetables as 8 tablespoons, sets the amount as just 2 – which is what you will find on a slice of pizza. She says the vote shows ‘Congress basically stepped in to protect industry's ability to continue to sell two of the most unhealthy foods in the school lunch program: pizza and French fries.’
Why is a slice of Pepperoni bad for kids? One slice provides roughly half of the saturated fats a teenager should eat per day (5 grams), not to mention the 280 calories in each slice.
With childhood obesity at epidemic levels in the US, 14% of adolescents who choose pizza as an alternative to vegetables may prove to be a smart move for the frozen foods industry, but not for America's increasingly-diabetic youth.

17.11, 20:20

RT’s New York crew has witnessed NYPD using LRADs, or sound cannons on Occupy Wall Street protesters. Eyewitnesses at the site have tweeted police fired as protesters sang the US national anthem .

Occupy Wall Street 17.11, 22:03

Masked youngsters have attacked police in Athens as tens of thousands poured onto the streets to protest the unity government’s public spending cuts and steep tax hikes.

Eurozone crisis

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Poland grants parole to Russian spy

06.01.2010, 17:40

A Russian citizen, allegedly working for Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate, has been detained in Poland, reports Dziennik Gazeta Prawna newspaper. The detainee has reportedly lived in Poland for 10 years illegally.

06.11, 22:23

The London-based suspected spy, Ekaterina Zatuliveter, 26, compromises another government official after a German Foreign Ministry employee sends hundreds of emails “to Russia with love”.

05.11, 12:57

The man behind the Rise of the Planet of the Apes, British director Rupert Wyatt, is set to shed some cinematic light on the mysterious case of the poisoned former Soviet KGB officer Aleksandr Litvinenko.

//

Published: 17 November, 2011, 21:12

Poland grants parole to Russian spy

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TAGS: Russia, Europe, Prime Time Russia, Anya Fedorova, Neil Harvey

A Russian citizen convicted of espionage in Poland has been released on parole.

Tadeush Yukhnevich was arrested in 2009 and served two-thirds of his three-year sentence. He is accused of gathering information about Poland's military defenses.

The investigation was conducted in secrecy, so the story leaked into the mass media only in 2010.

Prior to his arrest, Yukhnevich had been doing business in Poland for over 10 years. Investigators say he was in regular contact with Moscow using special equipment disguised as home appliances.

Yukhnevich was also allegedly recruiting new agents.

At the trial, he denies all the accusations. In May 2011 the lawyers filed an appeal, but it did not succeed. According to the verdict Yuhnevich was to be released in the beginning of 2012.

It is yet unknown whether Yukhnevich will be deported from Poland after release.

Today: 21:12

Russia’s investigative committee has brought charges against a doctor whose alleged negligence caused a high-profile death in prison.

Today: 22:13

Moscow looks to be in for a big chill, as the real Russian winter is back on track.

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US puts up $5 mln for info on Russia most wanted

01.05.2010, 16:22

Russian authorities are dismayed at the conspicuous absence of Doku Umarov, the architect of last month’s brutal attack on the Moscow Metro, on Washington’s annual list of terrorists.

26.01, 02:03

Thirty-five people have been killed in an explosion at Moscow’s Domodedovo airport according to the airport spokesperson. Up to 180 are said to have been injured in what the Investigative Committee believes to be a terrorist attack.

Global terrorism 24.06.2010, 02:39

The US has finally designated one of Russia's most wanted men, Doku Umarov, as a terrorist. He is the man who took responsibility for masterminding the deadly Moscow Metro bombings in March.

Published: 17 November, 2011, 16:02

Doku Umarov (AFP Photo)

TAGS: Crime, Russia, Politics, Terrorism, Law, USA

The US has offered a $5 million reward for the information leading to the location of Russia’s most wanted Chechen terrorist leader, Doku Umarov.

“Proceeding from Russia’s Supreme Court ruling and under an appeal by the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office on the acknowledgement of the so-called Caucasus Emirate, led by Doku Umarov as a terrorist organization, the US Secretary of State put him on the list of the most dangerous terrorists and announced a $5 million reward for the information about his whereabouts,” Russian Deputy Prosecutor General Viktor Grin said on Thursday, as cited by Interfax agency.

The Chechen warlord claimed responsibility for a number of terrorist attacks on Russian soil, including the explosions at Moscow Domodedovo Airport and the Moscow Metro, as well as the Nevsky Express train attack.

Speaking at a Moscow conference on the suppression of extremism and terrorism, Grin noted that lately Russian courts have pronounced 27 organizations as extremist and 19 organizations as terrorist. He underlined that countering terrorism is a priority for Russian prosecutors.

In May this year, it was already reported that the US would pay a reward for information about Doku Umarov, who had been designated as a terrorist in America about a year before the announcement.

According to the US Department of State, Umarov “is the senior leader and operational commander of the North Caucasus-based Caucasus Emirate group, whose stated goal is to establish an Islamic emirate through violence in the North Caucasus, Southern Russia, and Volga regions of the Russian Federation, with Umarov as its Emir.”

Today: 12:58

A PACE rapporteur for Belarus has expressed concern over the fate of jailed ex-presidential candidate Andrey Sannikov, who has reportedly disappeared, and demanded that Minsk immediately clarify the situation.

Today: 16:19

The danger of local armed conflicts along Russia's borders exploding into full-scale nuclear war has grown following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia’s chief of staff said on Thursday.

Russia-NATO relations

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