By John Helmer in Moscow

The spokesman for Alrosa, the state-owned Russian diamond miner, Andrei Polyakov, has made a statement this week to reporters that Alrosa is considering spinning off three of its diamond mining units, and selling a minority shareholding in each at an initial public offering (IPO). According to a news agency, Polyakov said: “It’s easier to sell shares of separate mining units as ZAO Alrosa itself has some legal constraints. It currently has a legal form of closed joint stock company, which is not suitable for share sale.” The Moscow business daily Vedomosti has reported Polyakov as saying Alrosa “can place at stock exchanges the shares of the subsidiaries Alrosa-Nyurba, Alrosa- Africa, and Severalmaz.” No choice of stock exchange or volume of shares to be sold has been made, the newspaper reported.
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by John Helmer - Thursday, January 21st, 2010
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Two thousand years ago, in the northern reaches of what is today called Scotland, the Picts frightened the Romans by a combination of superior fighting tactics, lurid body painting, and the size of their genitals. Defeat the Romans they did, as this medieval illustration shows. They also forced the Emperor Hadrian into building, further south, his famously expensive Wall to keep the Picts from getting in, and taking Roman cattle out.
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by John Helmer - Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
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by John Helmer - Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
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By John Helmer in Moscow

Mikhail Prokhorov has been honoured, he has announced, by the apology of the French government.

The Sunday Times of London reported this month that “three years after his arrest in the ski resort of Courchevel on charges of pimping [January 9, 2007], Mikhail Prokhorov, Russia’s richest man, has received an apology from the French authorities for embroiling him in one of the most ill-judged sex scandals of recent times….He was held in a Lyons jail for four days on charges of soliciting for prostitution. Furious at the ‘ludicrous accusations which damaged my reputation’ he launched a multi-billion-dollar lawsuit against the French state and demanded an apology. It finally came last month during a meeting between French and Russian officials, presided over by prime ministers Vladimir Putin and Francois Fillon. Prokhorov said: ‘That puts an end to this affair. I said from day one that this case was groundless and am now satisfied with the explanations given to me’.”
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by John Helmer - Monday, January 18th, 2010
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If you have received a recent communication from an English law firm or public relations enterprise, which you believe casts aspersions on John Helmer’s record, good name or professional reputation, you may have received a publication that is defamatory under the laws of England and actionable in the UK High Court for damages. Your letter, email, fax, tape, or digital record of a telephone conversation may be evidence of libel or slander. Send a copy to johnhelmer@johnhelmer.net, indicating whether you wish to remain anonymous, or a party to a claim against the sender and publisher. Unlock value! Truth is worth more than Shillings!
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by John Helmer - Sunday, January 17th, 2010
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by John Helmer - Friday, January 15th, 2010
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By John Helmer in Moscow

Gennady Timchenko, a powerful Russian businessman, was identified this week in Helsinki as behind International Petroleum Products (IPP), a small trader which won the first 100,000-tonne crude oil loading assignment at Kozmino, Russia’s new oil port on the Sea of Japan.

The news, which a Timchenko spokesman in London is at pains not to deny, reveals a shift in Timchenko’s oil trading geography from the western trades of recent years, into the Fareast and the Asian markets, possibly for the first time. Why Timchenko is trying to reduce Gunvor’s visibility in the oil flows out of Kozmino, and substitute the little known IPP instead, is not known. However, this is not the first of Timchenko’s many lawful and successful businesses which he has sought to keep from public view, even though publicly accessible records confirm the identities and the beneficial links.
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by John Helmer - Thursday, January 14th, 2010
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by Editor - Wednesday, January 13th, 2010
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By John Helmer in Moscow

The Russian Trade and Inspection Agency (Rospotrebnadzor) has initiated new chlorine limits for poultry processing, commencing this month. The effect will be to cut imports well below the quota levels announced last month, especially of US-produced chicken.

The new Russian chlorine limit is 0.3 to 0.5 milligrams per litre, which is also the potable water standard. The same regulation exists for the European Union (EU) produced poultry, so imports from the EU will not be damaged, an RPN source told Fairplay.
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by John Helmer - Tuesday, January 12th, 2010
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By John Helmer in Moscow

The share price of Canadian-listed, Russian-owned goldminer High River Gold (HRG:CN) has shot up by 65% since December 4, and last week hit 89 Canadian cents – its highest level since August of 2008. There has been no news to speak of, but there was a meeting, a month ago, with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Does he have the Midas touch?

The Prime Ministry isn’t saying how much time metals and mining oligarch Alexei Mordashov, who controls HRG, spent with Putin when they met in the latter’s office on December 4. But Mordashov has made so many mistakes, incurred such debts, and lost so much money, since the two of them last met intimately in May of 2006, there was plenty to talk about. “Good. Let’s talk in more detail”, said Putin, the instant before the public transcript was cut off.
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by John Helmer - Monday, January 11th, 2010
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