By John Helmer in Moscow The Russian government and the association representing Russian grain exporters in Moscow appear to have backed down from claims that Egypt wrongfully seized several cargoes of Russian wheat last month. Until now, the public position, according to Arkady Zlochevsky, spokesman for the Russian Grain Union, was that Egyptian claims to […]

by John Helmer - Thursday, June 4th, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow You don’t have to be a child with an especially good memory to remember this one, which is pre-Mother Goose: Jack Sprat could eat no fat. His wife could eat no lean. And so between them both, you see, They licked the platter clean. What four hundred years of nurses, […]

by John Helmer - Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow De Beers has agreed to sell its controlling stake in Archangel Diamond Corporation (ADC) to a North American investment fund which aims to intensify the litigation campaign in the US and Europe against LUKoil and Archangelskgeoldobycha (AGD), the two Russian companies charged with raiding the Grib diamond pipe. At a […]

by John Helmer - Monday, June 1st, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow Russia’s Chief Prosecutor’s office has acknowleded that putting Somali pirates ashore for trial in Kenya is no longer an option, unless the Kenyan courts are replaced by a fully funded international tribunal. Responding to questions from Fairplay, Alexander Zvyagintsev, the deputy prosecutor-general, has issued the longest official statement on the […]

by John Helmer - Monday, June 1st, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow In the chapbooks of the medieval Finns, it was reported that pygmies lived in the Arctic Sea regions. The men there were dwarfed, so the Finns and Lapps thought, because of the effect of the North Pole and ice cap as a low-hanging roof over the world that made it […]

by John Helmer - Friday, May 29th, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow Sergei Vybornov, the chief executive of Alrosa since February 2007, is likely to be replaced, sources close to the company have told Polished prices.com. An announcement is expected to be made before the annual general meeting of Alrosa shareholders, scheduled for three weeks’ time, on June 20. Vybornov’s spokesman has […]

by John Helmer - Friday, May 29th, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS), Russia’s anti-trust watchdog, announced this week that it has opened an official investigation of the State Customs Service (FTS). The head of the FAS, Igor Artemyev, is a careful St. Petersburg apparatchik, who has made a 5-year career of running the anti-trust agency without getting […]

by John Helmer - Thursday, May 28th, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow The Mechel steel and coal group has failed for the second time in two months to agree with its bankers on repayment of a year-old $1.5 billion loan. The news, first issued in Moscow as trading commenced on the New York Stock Exchange, where Mechel is listed, dropped the share […]

by John Helmer - Tuesday, May 26th, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow Following the weekend European Union (EU) summit meeting with Russia in Khabarovsk, Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller warned yesterday in Moscow that if the Ukraine cannot pay the tab for past-due bills for gas, or for future deliveries for winter storage, and if the European Union won’t lend the money, […]

by John Helmer - Tuesday, May 26th, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow Fitch, the international ratings agency owned by the Paris-listed Fimalac, has issued a downgrade notice for Severstal, lowering its issuer default and senior unsecured ratings from BB to BB-. The agency has also placed Severstal on a further watch for the possibility of deteriorating financial information leading to a further […]

by John Helmer - Monday, May 25th, 2009
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