<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="0.92">
<channel>
	<title>Dances With Bears</title>
	<link>http://johnhelmer.net</link>
	<description>John Helmer</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Wed, 08 Sep 2010 07:46:13 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<docs>http://backend.userland.com/rss092</docs>
	<language>en</language>
	<!-- generator="WordPress/3.0.1" -->

	<item>
		<title>RETRO TV &#8212; FORWARD RUSSIA! FIGHT THE ZIGZAGGERS! WATCH THAT PRAM!  CAPTAIN OBVIOUS, CROMWELL’S HEAD, AND THE FAT LADY OF NABUCCO SHRUNK TO SIZE!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[link 1 link 2 By John Helmer in Moscow The Valdai International Discussion Club is a collection of journalists, academics and erstwhile opinion-makers from countries whose hostility towards the Kremlin has traditionally been a problem. Neutralizing that sentiment has been the principal reason the club’s annual autumn trip to Russia and talk-show with Vladimir Putin [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://johnhelmer.net/?p=3932</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>RUSAL AND BLOWBERG TRY SELLING CHINESE MCNUGGET BONDS AND A BIG MACPASKA</title>
		<description><![CDATA[By John Helmer in Moscow The promoters of United Company Rusal at Bloomberg have kicked off a new marketing campaign for Oleg Deripaska’s heavily indebted aluminium company, disclosing this week that “Rusal is planning Russia&#8217;s first offering of bonds in China, spurred by McDonald&#8217;s Corp.&#8217;s debut sale in yuan.” A roadshow to test whether the [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://johnhelmer.net/?p=3918</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>CONSOLATION PRIZE FOR OUSTED OLIGARCH &#8212; RYBOLOVLEV GETS HIS AIRFORCE BACK FOR $130 MILLION</title>
		<description><![CDATA[By John Helmer in Moscow Even in ignominy or retirement, a big boy’s toys are worth playing with. Uralkali is Russia’s dominant producer of potash fertilizer and will soon merge with Silvinit to become the national potash champion, according to a government scheme first reported here on June 15. At the time, the head of [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://johnhelmer.net/?p=3910</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>THE PRICE OF RUSSIAN BREAD – THE BUKHARIN COCKTAIL IS STILL MORE INFLAMMABLE THAN THE MOLOTOV COCKTAIL</title>
		<description><![CDATA[By John Helmer in Moscow Runaway inflation and unemployment rates are the conventional killers of campaigns for reelection in the democracies, such as the US and the UK. But in the autocracies, the rising price of bread (or rice), leading to hoarding, usually does the trick. Joseph Stalin wasn’t mistaken to suspect that popular Communist [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://johnhelmer.net/?p=3901</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>RUSSIAN GRAIN TRADE GETS THE CAMEL’S NOSE INTO THE FOOD AID TENT*</title>
		<description><![CDATA[By John Helmer in Moscow An order of the Russian Government has this week lifted last month&#8217;s total ban on grain exports, but stopped well short of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin&#8217;s forecast that significant export shipments of Russian grain may be allowed later in the season. Putin said on Tuesday that Russia retains the capacity [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://johnhelmer.net/?p=3894</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>PUTIN VISITS NORILSK NICKEL, HANDS OUT WARNINGS – DERIPASKA GETS A PUTDOWN</title>
		<description><![CDATA[By John Helmer in Moscow Oleg Deripaska is preparing a series of presentations to institutional investors next week in Boston and New York, chaperoned by one of his largest creditor banks, BNP Paribas. Rarely has so unconvincing a lamb been led to market by so well-known a wolf; or such an odd couple asked to [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://johnhelmer.net/?p=3885</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>KUDRIN PRESSES GOKHRAN TO START SELLING STOCKPILE DIAMONDS TO COVER ALROSA  CONTRACTS</title>
		<description><![CDATA[By John Helmer in Moscow Russia&#8217;s Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, who also chairs the supervisory board of state diamond miner Alrosa, is considering selling rough diamonds from the state stockpile more than a year earlier than has been forecast by the stockpile agency, Gokhran. It is unclear whether Kudrin is trying to lower the price [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://johnhelmer.net/?p=3879</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>WE’RE BACK – WE’VE GOT THE HONEY, BUT CAN WE CUT THE MUSTARD?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[]]></description>
		<link>http://johnhelmer.net/?p=3875</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>DON’T SHOOT &#8212; WE’RE STILL ON HOLIDAY</title>
		<description><![CDATA[]]></description>
		<link>http://johnhelmer.net/?p=3871</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Holiday selection &#8212; MEDAL FOR THE MAN WHO FIGURED OUT HOW TO STEAL FROM A STRAY DOG – SHELTER  PAYS MORE MOOLA THAN SLAUGHTER</title>
		<description><![CDATA[30 July 2010 By Alexander Bratersky Moscow Times By the numbers, the authorities care about stray dogs as much as people. Moscow City Hall has allocated $190 per month for every stray dog that is housed in its animal shelters this year — the same amount that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has deemed as Russia&#8217;s [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://johnhelmer.net/?p=3851</link>
			</item>
</channel>
</rss>
