The Levellers – John Wildman, John Lilburne, William Walwyn, Richard Overton et al., 1645-49
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by John Helmer - Thursday, July 8th, 2010
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By John Helmer in Moscow

On July 6, Sergei Generalov, chief executive and controlling shareholder of Far Eastern Shipping Company (Fesco) announced plans to hold a private placement of newly issued shares.
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by John Helmer - Thursday, July 8th, 2010
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The Australian foreign ministry, known as the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), has released 350 pages of documents in connection with the investigation in Canberra of the attempted attack on John Helmer, which took place on December 28. A total of 178 documents with classifications ranging from CONFIDENTIAL to SECRET SENSITIVE have been released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.
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by John Helmer - Wednesday, July 7th, 2010
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By John Helmer in Moscow

Russia’s fast-expanding shipping mogul, Roman Trotsenko, chief executive of the state-owned United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), has told Fairplay that reports he is about to buy Nordic Yards, or invest in a joint venture, are false. That may be true; or then again, Trotsenko may be bargaining over the purchase price.
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by John Helmer - Tuesday, July 6th, 2010
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By John Helmer in Moscow

Kosh-Agach is a steppe word meaning ‘so long, tree’. It’s the world’s end, the driest and direst place in fareastern Russia at a remote corner where the frontiers of Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and China meet. It is also the location of a large reserve of rare metals, including cobalt. So rare is cobalt that since 2008 Russian law doesn’t allow foreigners to dig it out of the ground, sell it, or export it without special permission.
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by John Helmer - Monday, July 5th, 2010
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AND FOR SKILL IN ARRANGING POLITICAL PAYOFFS, OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE, TAX EVASION, MONEY LAUNDERING, EXTORTION, AND BRIBES, ACCORDING TO WHAT THE BUTLER OVERHEARD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkNdn42_wN4

Note: for further information on Madame Bettencourt, her confidante, her butler, the tapes, and the court proceedings at Nanterre, use this link.

by John Helmer - Sunday, July 4th, 2010
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By John Helmer in Moscow

Business aviation, that elite division of the Mile High Club that is more luxurious and more private than first-class, has been a poor investment since the crash of 2008. A great many jets have been on the market, including the Boeing 737 Business Jet (BBJ) that is owned by Suleiman Kerimov. According to information provided by aircraft brokers, this one is currently for sale for $46.95 million.
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by John Helmer - Friday, July 2nd, 2010
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By John Helmer in Moscow

Gennady Onishchenko (picture) would flog a dead horse to protect domestic product market share against foreign imports, and that’s as good as protecting Russian consumer health, even better perhaps.

Onishchenko saved Russians from the perils of Belarus milk last June and then in January he rescued the state from American chicken and pork.
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by John Helmer - Thursday, July 1st, 2010
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By John Helmer in Moscow

Severstal has announced a transaction which returns the Italian steelmaker Lucchini to Alexei Mordashov, the controlling shareholder of the Severstal group, who originally bought the asset and then re- sold it to his company in 2005-2006.
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by John Helmer - Thursday, July 1st, 2010
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By John Helmer in Moscow

Dodon was the power-mad, menopausal tsar in the opera, Zolotoi Petushok (Le Coq d’Or, Golden Cockerel), by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and he is making his comeback in St. Petersburg. This time the role is being played by Valery Gergiev (image), who usually keeps to the conductor’s podium in the orchestra pit, or in his office as the Mariiinsky Theatre’s administrative and artistic director. Never underestimate the ambition of leading lights of the Russian stage to play tsar, Stalin, or Dodon.
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by John Helmer - Wednesday, June 30th, 2010
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