By John Helmer, Moscow

A crack, though not yet a spill, has appeared in the Russian government’s plan to link state-owned oil producer Rosneft with BP in a multi-billion dollar joint venture for oil search in the Kara Sea.
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by John Helmer - Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011
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By John Helmer, Moscow

Alrosa, the world’s number-1 diamond producer, has released a new planning document outlining production, earnings and diamond reserve targets after the start of three new underground mines, suggesting higher earnings than were calculated last year, and much longer mine life.
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by John Helmer - Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011
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By John Helmer, Moscow

As names go, Berezovsky is commonplace in Russia, though not as common in Russia as Brown is in the US or UK.
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by John Helmer - Monday, February 21st, 2011
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By John Helmer, Moscow

The paucity of materials on Russia in the Wikileaks archive revealed so far is odd, considering the significance of Russia as a potential threat in the US Government’s global threat assessments.
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by John Helmer - Friday, February 18th, 2011
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By John Helmer, Moscow

The Jackal’s Wedding is an old Bedouin expression. It means that the beasts will love each other so long as their fallen prey is ample enough to feed the pack. And if there’s no meat, they will attack each other.
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by John Helmer - Thursday, February 17th, 2011
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By John Helmer, Moscow

Alisher Usmanov’s enthusiasm for the earnings in the bush has always been more infectious than his success in getting his hand on the bird.
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by John Helmer - Wednesday, February 16th, 2011
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By John Helmer, Moscow

The Russian government’s price watchdog, the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS), confirmed today that a new complaint charging unlawful price-fixing for steel sheet has been received. The complaint has been filed, according to FAS spokesman Victoria Livanova, by Chelyabinsk Pipe (Chelpipe, ChTPZ) against Severstal and Magnitogorsk Metallurgical Company (MMK). Industry sources claim that TMK, Russia’s largest pipemaker, has also filed a complaint against the two steel sheet suppliers.
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by John Helmer - Tuesday, February 15th, 2011
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By John Helmer, Moscow

It is the most famous argument in favour of suspending disbelief in the history of the United States.

Every year the trillion-dollar retail sector of that country turns several billions of dollars in profits by merchandising the belief through the cash register. That is, the belief in Santa Claus, first raised in a letter by Virginia O’Hanlon (left image), an 8-year old, to the editor of the New York Sun in September of 1897 – well before she was due to receive her presents. The original editorial in response to her letter can be read below.
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by John Helmer - Monday, February 14th, 2011
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By John Helmer, Moscow

China’s appetite for iron-ore to make steel is one of the engines driving the entire industrial world. No mystery there, and no news.
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by John Helmer - Sunday, February 13th, 2011
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By John Helmer, Moscow

How real is the downturn in Russian company valuations and the sell-off in Russian stocks ?

Here’s what the Financial Times reports today, following the cancellation in London of the three Russian IPO’s – Koks, Chelyabinsk Pipe, and now Nord Gold:
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by John Helmer - Friday, February 11th, 2011
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