by John Helmer - Monday, November 8th, 2010
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By John Helmer, Moscow If you’re wandering in the desert, and there isn’t enough water to go around, you need to be able to tell your friends at the well from your foes. The ancient Hebrew tribes found that circumcising their members was a particularly reliable device. They didn’t have to punch the Identification Friend […]

by John Helmer - Sunday, November 7th, 2010
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by John Helmer - Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010
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By John Helmer, Moscow US statutes require the registration of American agents who are acting for foreign companies or foreign individuals in an attempt to influence US legislation, political debate, or government decision-making in favour of their clients’ interests. Camouflage and concealment are unlawful, and can verge on espionage in the minds of some US […]

by John Helmer - Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010
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By John Helmer, Moscow Does he or doesn’t he? Is S&M best practice in his management thinking — cutting-edge in the literal sense? Mikhail Prokhorov has a funny way of answering questions about his tastes, and ingratiating himself with reporters at the same time. When interviewed recently by a special reporter for the New York […]

by John Helmer - Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010
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“One oligarch, One divorce, Two abysses”, Pierre-Alexandre Sallier, Le Temps, Geneva, October 30, 2010 — translated from the French In Geneva, the wife of Dmitri Rybolovlev demands half of his wealth of 12 thousand million Swiss francs ($12.1 billion) Their separation plunges Swiss justice into the heart of the battle between the Kremlin and the […]

by John Helmer - Monday, November 1st, 2010
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By John Helmer, Moscow Now children, this is a story of the boy who was so keen to go on holiday, he packed his bag too soon. The three insiders familiar with the matter, on whom Bloomberg relies, seem to have got the story wrong, at least so far as the timing of Alexei Mordashov’s […]

by John Helmer - Friday, October 29th, 2010
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By John Helmer, Moscow Evraz, Russia’s largest steelmaking group, has announced this week the creation of a special internal committee on health, safety and environment, and will appoint a new vice president to supervise these issues. A company statement says it “is focused on increasing the level of industrial safety, labour protection and care of […]

by John Helmer - Friday, October 29th, 2010
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By John Helmer, Moscow One of every ten dollars Alrosa is hoping to borrow from investors this month has been provisionally set aside to advertise Alrosa at the next three Olympic Games – London, Sochi, and Rio de Janeiro. This is the largest purse of Russian philanthropy, advertising, or giveaway ever publicly offered to western […]

by John Helmer - Thursday, October 28th, 2010
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By John Helmer, Moscow An order by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to extend the current ban on wheat, rye, barley and corn exports until July 1 next year — announced last week — will make an exception to allow Russian millers and traders to ship milled flour abroad. Allowing 1.4 tonnes of wheat to make […]

by John Helmer - Wednesday, October 27th, 2010
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