Melnychenko Accuses Kuchma And Yuschenko Of Illegally Printing Hryvnia In 1999

KIEV, Ukraine -- Former presidential guard Mykola Melnychenko has accused former president Leonid Kuchma (1994-2005) and former National Bank of Ukraine chairman Viktor Yuschenko (1993-1999) of illegally printing hryvnia in 1999.

Melnychenko made the accusation in a statement posted on his website.

In connection with this accusation, Melnychenko called on Prosecutor-General Viktor Pshonka to file a criminal case against Kuchma and Yuschenko.

"I request that you file a criminal case against former president Leonid Danylovych Kuchma and former chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine Viktor Andriyovych Yuschenko for exceeding their authority during illegal printing of the national currency of Ukraine - the hryvnia - in the amount of UAH 2 billion ($250 million) on the eve of the presidential elections in Ukraine in 1999," Melnychenko said in the statement.

In the statement, Melnychenko cited his tape of a conversation between Kuchma and the then-chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine, Yuschenko, on the eve of the 1999 presidential elections.

According to Melnychenko’s materials, during the conversation Kuchma persuaded Yuschenko to print money and put into circulation one billion hryvnia ($125 million), without which Kuchma would not have been able to win the elections.

The materials indicate that Yuschenko did not want to print money because he understood the consequences of inflation, but Kuchma persuaded him by promising to appoint him as prime minister.

Yuschenko eventually agreed and printed two billion hryvnia ($250 million).

According to Melnychenko, these actions by Kuchma and Yuschenko significantly harmed state and public interests.

Melnychenko believes that the actions of Kuchma and Yuschenko constituted crimes punishable under Article 165 (abuse of authority or position), Article 166 (exceeding one’s power or authority), and special sections of the Criminal Code of 1960.

Melnychenko has sent to the Prosecutor-General’s Office the relevant statement and a compact disc containing a recording of the conversation that took place between Kuchma and Yuschenko in August 1999.

As Ukrainian News earlier reported, Kuchma asked the Prosecutor-General’s Office in June to reopen the case against Melnychenko.

The Prosecutor-General’s Office filed a criminal case against Kuchma on March 21 on suspicion of involvement in the murder of journalist Georgy Gongadze.

Kuchma is suspected of exceeding his authority by issuing illegal orders to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

It was earlier reported that Melnychenko considered the statement that it was necessary to reopen the case against him as an attempt to discredit him as a witness in the case against Kuchma.

The Prosecutor-General’s Office opened a criminal case against Melnychenko in January 2001. He was accused of abusing his power by revealing state secrets.

The Prosecutor-General’s Office closed the case in the first half of March 2005.

Ukraine Trial Could Be PR Windfall For Tymoshenko

KIEV, Ukraine -- Elegant and well-groomed, sometimes in shimmering white, sometimes in grey, she turns to her supporters squeezed into the few available public seats and calls out a formal salute: "Glory to Ukraine!"

"Glory to our heroes!" they reply, and the peasant-braided Yulia Tymoshenko takes her seat on the accused's bench of a Kiev courtroom.

The Tymoshenko trial — or "show" as her critics might say — gets underway.

Tymoshenko, a former prime minister, will not rise from her seat again until she leaves the court where she is on trial for abuse of office.

She will certainly not stand out of respect for the judge whom she disdains as a "puppet" in the pay of darker forces.

There are times when the tiny downtown courtroom seems too small a theatre to handle the Tymoshenko phenomenon.

The fire and resolve that made her the field-marshal of Ukraine's 2004 "Orange Revolution" which overturned a rigged presidential election appear undiminished.

But she is thinner in the face now and more tired in the eyes. Her lawyers say she is sick. Two weeks of overnight detention in Kiev's Luk'yanivska prison are telling.

But it is hard to know who to feel more sorry for: 50-year-old Tymoshenko or the boyish, bespectacled judge Rodion Kireyev who has been her target from the first day.

"There's a joke about a monkey sitting on a branch holding a hand-grenade. They are cutting the branch from under him. 'My' judge is the monkey with the grenade on the branch with the saw in his own hands," she wrote in a "tweet" from the courtroom.

At times, her performance obscures the seriousness of the charge — using her powers as prime minister to push through a deal with Russia in 2009 which, her critics say, saddled the country with too high a price for gas. If convicted, she could be sentenced to up to 10 years in jail.

She denies the charge.

The trial, she says, is a vendetta conducted by the clan of President Viktor Yanukovich, her arch-foe and the only person who merits more invective from her than judge Kireyev.

Many observers see the trial as a miscalculation by the Yanukovich administration, a poorly thought-out move aimed at ending Tymoshenko as a political force during the summer lull before the start of a difficult new political season.

Since being narrowly defeated by Yanukovich in a run-off for the presidency in February 2010, Tymoshenko has failed to rally a united opposition around her. She was in the doldrums.

But the trial thrust her back into the headlines and plays to her strong suit, an appetite for political theatre.

She thrives on the fray, has inexhaustible energy and holds a burning conviction that she alone can save Ukraine from what she describes as the "criminal" leadership of Yanukovich.

She has already pulled off a notable success.

The United States and the European Union, whose support Ukraine needs for economic recovery, have expressed concern about what looks like a politically-driven trial. They would like her to be released from detention.

Even Russia, not always on the same side as the West over Ukraine, has spoken out against the trial and defended the gas deal. Yanukovich has so far refused to intervene.

Playing the victim is what Tymoshenko does best.

When the judge placed her in police custody on Aug. 5, she declared: "You might as well shoot me now. Give her (the prosecutor) a revolver!" Another time, she expressed fears for her own safety in prison but promised her supporters not to end her own life.

Those "millions" who had invoked her name in prayers for her children had stiffened her readiness to serve Ukraine. "This is my DNA," she wrote in a "Letter from Prison".

This all plays well with the faithful, many of whom revere Tymoshenko and know her only as "Vona" (She).

Her right-hand man, Olexander Turchinov, slaps down any suggestion that she might have deliberately provoked her own detention for political purposes.

"People who say that have never spent every day in a police detention cell. I'd like to take them on a tour there to end this (talk) once and for all," he said.

Political analyst Mikhail Pogrebinsky said the trial had only resurrected her as a political force. "Those who advised the President failed to correctly calculate the consequences of this affair. It is a serious mistake," he told Reuters.

"Anyone will tell you that Tymoshenko is now in her element. She's a showman who is reaping the maximum PR from this spectacle . . . She is certain that she can stimulate a revolutionary mood in the country," said Pogrebinsky. "Who would write about Tymoshenko every day if it were not for this trial?"

Hundreds of her supporters brandishing flags adorned with the red heart symbol of her "Batkivshchyna" party spend days and nights in tents in a vigil outside the courthouse. The area reverberates to choruses of "Yulia! Yulia" as a motorised police escort sweeps her to and from court.

But the numbers involved are small compared with the protests of 2004 and nobody except Tymoshenko's most ardent supporters predicts another "Orange" upheaval.

Despite her huge popularity in some parts of the country, many of the young and middle-class people who rallied to her in 2004 are not prepared to turn out for her now.

"I think we definitely need a change of the present government, but I am not in favour of Yulia either. My friends think the same," said Tetyana, who runs a general food kiosk in an underpass near the courthouse.

So where does she go from here? And what is her game plan? Despite everything, serious issues are at stake.

Repercussions from the trial could influence Ukraine's policy directions in the short term at least, including relations with Russia and steps towards integration with the EU.

Tymoshenko may believe that, whatever the outcome, Yanukovich's credibility will be dented. Many commentators agree he faces a public relations defeat in the long run.

If she is jailed and then released under a pardon — a possible outcome — she will play that for all it is worth.

She spent several weeks in prison under former president Leonid Kuchma in 2001 — and emerged politically stronger.

She may be hoping to rally a united opposition around her and weaken the stranglehold that Yanukovich's Party of Regions has in parliament before next year's election.

Leaders from smaller opposition parties have attended hearings and World Heavyweight boxing champion Vitaly Klitschko, who heads the Udar party, broke off training in Austria and returned to Kyiv to show solidarity with Tymoshenko.

But one-time presidential candidate Arseny Yatseniuk, who heads the Front of Changes party, ruled out any merger of opposition parties just now although he saw the possibility of a parliamentary alliance among opposition forces.

Tymoshenko Trial Is Test Of Democracy In Ukraine

KIEV, Ukraine -- Nearly 20 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a grudge match between two political giants is testing democracy in Ukraine, the largest country to emerge from the Soviet Union, after Russia.

In a sidewalk camp outside a Kiev courthouse, photos of Yulia Tymoshenko are everywhere. But the former prime minister, with her trademark golden braids, is out of sight.

The closest her supporters get is in the evenings, when she is whisked back to her prison cell in a windowless gray police van.

One year after narrowly losing Ukraine's presidential elections, Tymoshenko is on trial, accused of abusing her powers when she signed a gas deal with Russia in her role as prime minister.

Outside the courtroom, is her chief of staff, Mykhaylo Livinsky. He says democracy is on trial. He says the losers of the Orange Revolution are now putting the winners on trial.

Back in 2004, Tymoshenko helped lead the Orange Revolution that annulled the fraudulent election of Viktor Yanukovych. But last year, Yanukovych beat Tymoshenko in elections widely seen as fair.

Now, her supporters see the trial as political payback that threatens democracy.

Olga Mola, 30, a school teacher, is camping on a downtown sidewalk, protesting the trial of her political heroine. She says that a guilty verdict would mean that Ukraine is a lawless nation.

But Ludmila Soloviova and other supporters of President Yanukovych say the fight against corruption has to start somewhere. She says it is not logical that a politician suspected of corruption cannot be put on trial simply because she is popular.

Ukraine Foreign Ministry Spokesman Oleg Voloshyn is getting used to combating criticism coming from capitals as diverse as Washington and Moscow.

"We are asked not to prosecute her just because she is an opposition leader? She is not Nelson Mandela. She is not Mahatma Ghandi. She is not Martin Luther King. She is nothing like that. She is suspected to be guilty of high treason of Ukrainian national interest," said Voloshyn.

Voloshyn says Ukraine's president does not control the nation's courts.

But Institute of World Policy Director Alyona Hetmanchuk says Ukrainians sympathize with underdogs. She says the trial is rehabilitating Tymoshenko, after her poor performance as prime minister.

She says Ukrainians and foreigners see this as a political case, not a criminal case. Like many analysts, Hetmanchuk sees the trial as the latest chapter in a long-running grudge match between the nation's two most powerful politicians.

Hetmanchuk adds thats the president's effort to get rid of his main political rival may backfire. Time in jail may boost Tymoshenko's popularity.

But a conviction, even followed by a suspended sentence, would render Tymoshenko ineligible to run for office in next year's parliamentary elections or the 2015 presidential election.

Ukraine To Allow Hryvnia To Fluctuate As Much As 5% A Year

KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine will allow the hryvnia to fluctuate as much as 5 percent annually to comply with International Monetary Fund demands, First Deputy Central Bank Governor Yuriy Kolobov said

“We have certain obligations to the IMF to increase the amplitude of the hryvnia fluctuation,” Kolobov said today at a press conference in Kiev.

“There are no grounds for sharp revaluation or devaluation.” The bank didn’t see any reason for the hryvnia to fluctuate annually either way by more than 2 percent to 5 percent, he added.

Ukraine’s central bank controls the hryvnia exchange rate by buying and selling foreign currency on the interbank market.

In July, the bank bought $837.8 million and sold $1.1 billion, allowing the hryvnia to depreciate 0.16 percent, according to Bloomberg data.

The hryvnia rose less than 0.1 percent to 7.9985 as of 5:32 p.m. in Kiev from 8.0000 yesterday.

Ukraine has $38.2 billion in gold and foreign currency reserves, Kolobov said.

The nation’s central bank hopes to reach an agreement with the IMF to unlock lending frozen for the sixth month, Kolobov said, adding that the Washington-based multilateral lending agency “doesn’t’ have any questions for the central bank.”

An IMF mission will visit Ukraine to review government policies from Aug. 29 till Sept. 9 as the country seeks $3 billion in assistance by the end of next month, Deputy Prime Minister Serhiy Tigipko said June 22.

Ukraine obtained its second IMF bailout in three years last July after the global recession cut demand for exports and the budget deficit swelled.

The country has so far received two payments totaling $3.4 billion.

A third, expected in March, was delayed after the government failed to raise the retirement age and increase household energy prices to help balance the budget, conditions set by the IMF.

“We followed our state budget agreements with the IMF, we set up a special regulator that is responsible for utility tariffs, we adopted a pension law,” said Anatoliya Myarkovskyi, first deputy finance minister, at the same press conference.

The financial situation at the state-run energy company NAK Naftogaz Ukrainy is the “hottest” topic in current discussions with the IMF, he said.

The IMF wanted Ukraine’s government to raise natural gas prices for households to eliminate Naftogaz’s budget deficit so it doesn’t put pressure on the state budget.

Myarkovskyi said the government’s budget deficit reached 8.6 billion hryvnia ($1.1 billion) in the first seven months of the year, more than three times less than in the same period a year earlier.

Inflation will reach around 10 percent this year before slowing to 7 percent to 8 percent next year, Kolobov said.

Ukraine Wants European Future - Yanukovych

KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine plans to develop good relations with Russia, but sees its future in Europe, President Viktor Yanukovych wrote in an article published on Friday.

"Despite difficulties, the key step has been made: we have finally made up our mind with our future. The European choice has become the basis of Ukraine's foreign political identity, and European values the basis of our development," Yanukovych said in the Ukrainian newspaper Zerkalo Nedeli Ukraine.

The Ukrainian leader said he is convinced his country will become an EU member "in about ten years," but added that European progress is "impossible without good, neighborly relations with Russia."

Russia is concerned about Ukraine's European integration attempts and has offered its neighbor a gas price rebate to persuade Kiev to approve a merger of Russian energy giant Gazprom and Ukraine's national energy company Naftogaz.

The move has been opposed by the Ukrainian authorities, who say this would undermine Ukraine's sovereignty.

Experts in Ukraine and abroad have warned that Kiev's bid for European integration could face problems due to the ongoing trial of ex-premier Yulia Tymoshenko.

Tymoshenko is facing abuse of office charges over the signing of a 2009 gas contract with Russia that the current Ukrainian authorities say is disadvantageous. Tymoshenko and her supporters say the charges are politically motivated.

Ukraine Wants European Future - Yanukovych

KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine plans to develop good relations with Russia, but sees its future in Europe, President Viktor Yanukovych wrote in an article published on Friday.

"Despite difficulties, the key step has been made: we have finally made up our mind with our future. The European choice has become the basis of Ukraine's foreign political identity, and European values the basis of our development," Yanukovych said in the Ukrainian newspaper Zerkalo Nedeli Ukraine.

The Ukrainian leader said he is convinced his country will become an EU member "in about ten years," but added that European progress is "impossible without good, neighborly relations with Russia."

Russia is concerned about Ukraine's European integration attempts and has offered its neighbor a gas price rebate to persuade Kiev to approve a merger of Russian energy giant Gazprom and Ukraine's national energy company Naftogaz.

The move has been opposed by the Ukrainian authorities, who say this would undermine Ukraine's sovereignty.

Experts in Ukraine and abroad have warned that Kiev's bid for European integration could face problems due to the ongoing trial of ex-premier Yulia Tymoshenko.

Tymoshenko is facing abuse of office charges over the signing of a 2009 gas contract with Russia that the current Ukrainian authorities say is disadvantageous. Tymoshenko and her supporters say the charges are politically motivated.

Communist outcry over opposition clampdown

Opposition parties are feeling the squeeze on advertising and as elections draw nearer the Communist Party is taking the matter to the ministry of justice.

Their eye-catching and damning poster, deriding Prime Minister Putin’s party as an outfit of “crooks and thieves,” has come under concentrated flak and so the reds are leading the charge to challenge the government.

The communists say that the clampdown comes as United Russia resorts to administrative coercion to get the 60 per cent result it is used to, fearing a dismal 30 or 40 per cent if political processes are left to their own natural devices.

The crooks and thieves reference breaks the rules forbidding “expletives, obscene or offensive images, comparisons or expressions,” officials say. “The committee did not like the word crooks but, according to any Russian dictionary it does not belong to any category of obscene language,” Alexei Fedorov, first secretary of the Communist Party Regional Committee in Tomsk Region, told Kommersant. He likened the ban on his party’s slogan to censorship.

“We wanted to hang a banner with a portrait of [Communist leader Gennady] Zyuganov and the slogan, ‘How do you live under capitalism’?” Lyudmila Vorobyova, first secretary of the Regional Committee for Tver Region, told Kommersant. “But they refused us. Businessmen were afraid of the consequences.”

The party’s arm in Nizhny Novgorod also complained. The party will appeal to the ministry of justice in each case, a party lawyer said.

The smarting communists said that “without administrative resources” it would be impossible for United Russia to get the numbers they hoped, “they are not ready for the modernization that President Medvedev speaks of,” Igor Lebedev, leader of the parliamentary party in the lower house said.

Fellow oppositionists in a Just Russia have cited problems of their own in Kursk, Chelyabinsk and Novosibirsk Regions, blaming United Russia’s ambitions to get a high electoral percentage. Oleg Mikheyev, head of A Just Russia’s electoral headquarters said that business people had been threatened with losing their businesses if they cooperated with his party.

Only United Russia and Yabloko have not reported problems with election advertising. Sergei Mitrokhin, Yabloko leader, said he had chosen the better part of valor as he didn’t want to risk not being registered in the run up to the polls.

Georgy Chizhov, vice president of the Centre for Poltical Technologies says that administrators’ jobs have become so caught up with the United Russia web of power that it is no surprise they manipulate elections to keep their positions.

But United Russia said the problems their competitors facde had nothing to do with the elections. “Of course, there are instances where there is administrative anger. But the victims often create the problems themselves to draw attention to themselves,” Alexei Chesnakov, head of the Public Council of United Russia’s General Council

Moscow on track for better commuter trains

Commuting in Moscow Region is about to get easier and more comfortable following a deal to build a new fleet of double-decker trains.

Russian Railways announced the contract on Friday and the first trains will be built in 2014 after senior deputy president Valentin Gapanovich signed off on the technical requirements of the new rolling stock.

The deal is set to consign the aged and uncomfortable elekhtrichkas to the scrap heap, replacing them with modern, faster trains.

And instead of being herded cattle-style into over-crowded carriages, passengers should find higher capacity and three seating classes offer more comfortable travel.

The new commuter train is a joint-venture project between Russian leading train building company Transmashholding and French Alstom (Alstom owns 25 per cent of Transmashholding).

One of the key features of the new trains is that they won’t require extra work to adapt the existing rail infrastructure.

Artyom Ledenev, spokesman for Transmashholding, said that the design ensured there was no need to extend station platforms or rebuild bridges over the lines.

He added that passenger flow could increase by 80 per cent with the new rolling stock, which will be developed specially for Russian Railways.

The new trains, similar to those operated in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and other European countries, will have up to 12 coaches and will be driven by a locomotive at each end.

The top speed of 160 km per hour is 30 per cent faster than the current rolling stock can manage, and Transmashholding promises greater comfort for commuters.

First class cars will have mix pairs of seats with single “airline-style” places, and passengers will have individual screens in front of them. Standard class will offer pairs of seats while Economy will resemble a more comfortable version of the existing elektrichka lay-out, according to a press release.

Other features of the commuter trains will include double VIP-seating compartments with a “grand luxe” class compartment for passengers in wheelchairs and accompanying persons, a snack-bar, and baggage storage for bulky luggage.

All carriages will have air-conditioning, have bio-toilets and CCTV.

The two locomotives will be produced at the Novocherkassk Electric Locomotive Plant, while passenger carriages have been commissioned from a factory in Tver.

“We will have the heart of the trains - locomotives built here in Novocherkassk,” Alexei Parkhomenko, a spokesman for Novocherkassk Electric Locomotive Plant, said on the phone.

“These locomotives will be able to work in minus 40 degrees Celsius and never freeze like normal elektrichkas,” a source close to the joint-venture project between Transmashholding and Alstom informed.

Russia: privatization ongoing

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was presented new proposals for the privatization plan. The plan included thirteen more companies, and the government plans to withdraw from the capital of a number of strategic assets, such as "RusHydro" and "Rosneft". During the transitional period the state will still retain the "golden share".

According to the updated plan, starting from 2012 the Russian Federation will start withdrawing from the authorized capital of OAO "SCF", JSC "Sheremetyevo International Airport", OAO "Inter RAO UES" VTB "RusHydro", and OAO "Rosneft". The completion of the project is scheduled for 2017.
One of the biggest assets is the NK "Rosneft". The analysts are not convinced that the market will show a great interest in buying large blocks of shares of the company. Its market capitalization currently exceeds $80 billion.

In addition, the Brazilian Petrobras announced plans for a major sale of assets of the $13.6 billion state-owned company, so the market will have a surplus of "oil" supply.
New to the privatization list are "Zarubezhneft" State Transport Leasing Company, and IDC. In case of "Zarubezhneft" the government intends to preserve the "golden share" giving the right of veto.

The government is also planning to retain the right to veto for the JSC "United Grain Company", "RusHydro" and "Alrosa". The sale of the largest diamond mining company will be carried out in coordination with the sale of shares owned by Yakutia. There is a possibility that proceeds from privatization will be allocated for the development of the infrastructure of the Republic, "Interfax" reports.
However, the government of Yakutia considers it necessary to preserve the ownership of 25% plus 1 share by Russia and Yakutia. This asset, as well as the underrated according to analysts "RusHydro" will find its buyers pretty quickly. Among the contenders for the hydropower assets are EDF, Enel and many other companies.

"Agricultural Bank" and OJSC "Rosagroleasing" will be sold with a consideration of the state goals, for which state organizations with a different legal form will be allocated.

It is also planned to think about the national security in the event of a sale of the company formed as a result of reorganization of OAO "Svyazinvest" and OJSC "Rostelecom". In the spring of this year, "Rostelecom" finally joined eight subsidiary companies of "Svyazinvest". With respect to convertible assets, the decision should be "subject to the settlement of the issue of accessibility networks for public use, including through the use of the "golden share ".

Key Russian airline "Aeroflot" plans to maintain the status of the national carrier. Now, the state controls 51.17% shares of "Aeroflot".
Since 2012 the Government intends to begin selling interregional subsidiary companies of "IDC Holding". A campaign to increase the investment attractiveness of these companies has been planned.

It is suggested to consider a reduction of the government share in a number of companies. In particular, to a controlling stake (50% +1 share) in the authorized capital of JSC "United Shipbuilding Corporation" and JSC "UAC".
The report presented by Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov allows for the reduction of the shares of the Russian Federation to 75% + 1 share in OAO "Scientific Production Corporation" Uralvagonzavod ", JSC" Russian Railways ", OAO" UES FGC "and OAO "AK" Transneft "in 2012.
The government responded the same way to the "self-promotion" of "Rosnano". In 2012, it is proposed to privatize up to 10% of the company's shares to attract a strategic investor.

Millions of impoverished Indians may inundate Russia

India dreams to get rid of tens and maybe even millions of its own citizens and deliver them to Russia. This idea was voiced yet again by Indian officials during the recent Moscow-Delhi video conference. The conference was organized and was dedicated to to the state of affairs in the BRICS organization (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).

A question was raised during the conference about a possible immigration of a considerable part of the Indian population to Russia. Alexander Apokin, an expert with the Center for Macroeconomic Analysis particularly stated the following: "If some people in India will find money and labor resources to work in Russia, it will be a promising development of events. Hundreds of millions of people will be able to find work."

Tatiana Shaumyan, the director of the Center of Indian Research of the Institute of Oriental Studies, said that such methods are already being practiced towards the Chinese in the Far East of Russia. "The Chinese use that. They bring capital and people and they work here," she said.

The Indians may face certain problems if they move to Russia. Russian winters can be too cold for them, not to mention the fact that they do not know the Russian language, Shaumyan added.

It is not the first time when Indian officials talk about a possibility of sending millions of Indian nationals to Russia. In 2010, Indian officials offered to simplify the migration regulations with Russia. They also say that some countries suffer from climate change and need to redirect their human resources to other countries of the globe which suffer from the shortage of their own human resources.

Yevgeny Khakimullin, an expert on tourism to India, said in an interview with Pravda.Ru that if some Russian officials support the above-mentioned propositions, then it only means that those officials have never been to India.

"Those who say that hundreds of millions of Indian migrants will bring a lot of good to Russia have most likely never been to India. They don't know anything about the country either. First and foremost, the Indians can handle cold weather very well. One may not doubt about the fact that they will get along with Russian winters well. It is naïve to believe that there is no cold weather in India. It can be very cold there, especially near the Himalayas.

"The Indians are sounding out opportunities for the time being, but they will continue to promote their idea more decisively in the future. One way or another, Russia should say no to these ideas even if the country gets criticized for xenophobia. Water and land - all of that are strategically important national resources. These resources belong to our generations, which we have no right to bargain away. The last thing that Russia needs is to become a semblance to the filthy and stinky Indo-Gangetic plain. The memories of my visits to those Indian territories give me shivers.

"The persistent desire of the Indian side to get rid of hundreds of millions of people is very easy to understand. First and foremost, it goes about the population of the plains of Indus and Ganges rivers, which makes up 700,000 million. Most of those people live in horrific anti-sanitary conditions. You have to see it with your own eyes to realize that. Those who have not been to those areas can watch "The Slumdog Millionaire" to get the picture. In the movie, they build skyscrapers over the slums. In real life, though, the slums do not go anywhere, and Russia runs the risk of bringing all of that over.

"The situation has become even more serious due to the climate change. It became much hotter in India than before. Forty percent of Himalayan glaciers have disappeared. Droughts occur more frequently than before too. The Indians have nowhere to go. They face a serious threat of national famine, so they are trying to put the cart before the horse. They will continue to put pressure on Russia at this point. Why Russia you may wonder? Because Russia is virtually the only country in the world where there is a lot of uninhabited land that is good to live on.

"There are people in Russia who say that the decrease of the population is a national catastrophe. In this case, they believe, it could be good to attract migrants from other countries. But we have a lot of them already.

"The worst thing about it all the the fact that the Indians who may come to live in Russia are not needed in their homeland. Those IndianIndia dreams to get rid of tens and maybe even millions of its own citizens and deliver them to Russia. This idea was voiced yet again by Indian officials during the recent Moscow-Delhi video conference. The conference was organized by RIA Novosti and was dedicated to to the state of affairs in the BRICS organization (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).

A question was raised during the conference about a possible immigration of a considerable part of the Indian population to Russia. Alexander Apokin, an expert with the Center for Macroeconomic Analysis particularly stated the following: "If some people in India will find money and labor resources to work in Russia, it will be a promising development of events. Hundreds of millions of people will be able to find work."

Tatiana Shaumyan, the director of the Center of Indian Research of the Institute of Oriental Studies, said that such methods are already being practiced towards the Chinese in the Far East of Russia. "The Chinese use that. They bring capital and people and they work here," she said.

The Indians may face certain problems if they move to Russia. Russian winters can be too cold for them, not to mention the fact that they do not know the Russian language, Shaumyan added.

It is not the first time when Indian officials talk about a possibility of sending millions of Indian nationals to Russia. In 2010, Indian officials offered to simplify the migration regulations with Russia. They also say that some countries suffer from climate change and need to redirect their human resources to other countries of the globe which suffer from the shortage of their own human resources.

Yevgeny Khakimullin, an expert on tourism to India, said in an interview with Pravda.Ru that if some Russian officials support the above-mentioned propositions, then it only means that those officials have never been to India.

"Those who say that hundreds of millions of Indian migrants will bring a lot of good to Russia have most likely never been to India. They don't know anything about the country either. First and foremost, the Indians can handle cold weather very well. One may not doubt about the fact that they will get along with Russian winters well. It is naïve to believe that there is no cold weather in India. It can be very cold there, especially near the Himalayas.

"The Indians are sounding out opportunities for the time being, but they will continue to promote their idea more decisively in the future. One way or another, Russia should say no to these ideas even if the country gets criticized for xenophobia. Water and land - all of that are strategically important national resources. These resources belong to our generations, which we have no right to bargain away. The last thing that Russia needs is to become a semblance to the filthy and stinky Indo-Gangetic plain. The memories of my visits to those Indian territories give me shivers.

"The persistent desire of the Indian side to get rid of hundreds of millions of people is very easy to understand. First and foremost, it goes about the population of the plains of Indus and Ganges rivers, which makes up 700,000 million. Most of those people live in horrific anti-sanitary conditions. You have to see it with your own eyes to realize that. Those who have not been to those areas can watch "The Slumdog Millionaire" to get the picture. In the movie, they build skyscrapers over the slums. In real life, though, the slums do not go anywhere, and Russia runs the risk of bringing all of that over.

"The situation has become even more serious due to the climate change. It became much hotter in India than before. Forty percent of Himalayan glaciers have disappeared. Droughts occur more frequently than before too. The Indians have nowhere to go. They face a serious threat of national famine, so they are trying to put the cart before the horse. They will continue to put pressure on Russia at this point. Why Russia you may wonder? Because Russia is virtually the only country in the world where there is a lot of uninhabited land that is good to live on.

"There are people in Russia who say that the decrease of the population is a national catastrophe. In this case, they believe, it could be good to attract migrants from other countries. But we have a lot of them already.

"The worst thing about it all the the fact that the Indians who may come to live in Russia are not needed in their homeland. Those Indians who can afford a better life travel to developed Western countries, such as Britain and Canada. Russia will only have to welcome endless crowds of impoverished inhabitants of the slums. If this idea comes true to life, it will kill Russia.

"The Indian government will try to get rid of the dangerous burden. There are many fundamentalists among Indian Muslims. It is simply enough to take a look at them to understand that. For example, practically all women over 12 years of age wear niqabs - the clothes that completely cover their face, body and even their fingers. The level of the inter-religious violence in the country is very high. All of that may come to Russia if Indians begin to migrate here.

"Taking into consideration the speed of the growth of the Indian population, one may say that they will inhabit everything in Russia very quickly. It is incredibly silly to believe that those people will be able to develop the Russian agriculture. Some apparently believe that the Russians can't do it. I'd say to this that they have very good harvests in Orenburg, in Kuban and on Don.

"Let's take, for example, other countries that lie on the altitudes similar to those of Russia. They are Canada, USA's Alaska and Scandinavia, for instance. The combined square of those countries is comparable to Russia's territory, with approximately the same amount of arable lands. However, there are only 60 million people living in those counties. It seems OK for them, they are happy about it, and their GDP is twice is large as that of Russia. Russia needs to learn the lessons that Britain has recently been given instead."

Visa facilitation with EU to help Ukrainian migrant workers return home more often

The facilitation of the visa regime with the EU will help Ukrainian migrant workers return home more often, because the procedure for the re-registration of documents will not be complex.

"If we manage to achieve visa facilitation [with the EU], it will be good for Ukraine, because this will not only simplify the procedure of visits [as tourists or for any other purpose], but also facilitate the possibility for migrants to return home. Perhaps, part of the migrants who leave for Europe will return to Ukraine," Director of the Institute of Demography and Social Studies Ella Libanova said at a press conference in Kyiv on Friday.

She noted that it was hard to get a work visa for the EU to work there legally.

"Therefore, if people get a chance to work more or less legally, they are afraid of losing this chance and don't return," Libanova said.

She said that about half of Ukrainian migrant workers worked in Russia.

"If we talk about the EU countries, Ukrainians most often go to Italy, the Czech Republic, Poland, Spain, Greece, Portugal and Hungary. Unlike Russia, where circular migration dominates, when Ukrainians work and return home, they go to the EU countries to live," she said.

"For permanent migrant workers, it's a way of life, rather than a way to earn money," Libanova said.

She said that the scale of labor migration in Ukraine was stable.

Ukrainians abroad send nearly EUR 2 billion to Ukraine every year.

Life of Ukrainians worsens, but far from poverty of late 1990s

Despite a recent fall in standards of living, the number of Ukrainians who do not have enough money for food (17.5%) is still three times less than in late 1990s (52%), the director of Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS),Volodymyr Paniotto, said in an interview with the Dzerkalo Tyzhnia. Ukraine weekly newspaper.

"The poverty peak in Ukraine was in 1998. Then 52% of population said that they do not have enough money for food. During crisis, Ukrainians even did not reach the indicator: first they spent their deposits and in April 2009 they reached a certain level of poverty (20.8% of those who did not have money for food). In December 2010, 13.7% of respondents said that there was no enough money for food and by March 2011 their number grew to 17.5% [due to a recent increase in prices]," the sociologist said.

The KIIS said that in the past six months the number of those who can afford buying some expensive goods (such as a TV set or a refrigerator), but cannot buy everything they want fell from 7.1% to 4.9%. The number of those who can afford buying everything fell from 0.2% to 0.1%.

"In theory, the situation should have improved, as governments of many countries announced recovery from crisis and slight growth. However, the price growth in our country hit everyone," Paniotto said.

Yanukovych administration starts using economy class cars

Head of Presidential Administration of Ukraine Serhiy Liovochkin and Andriy Portnov, an adviser to the Ukrainian president, do not use state-provided vehicles, while the rest of officials started using economy class cars, the head of the chief department for access to public information at Presidential Administration, Denys Ivanesko, has said.

"In autumn 2010, Presidential Administration bought 36 Skoda Octavia cars, and now they are used by leadership of Presidential Administration and its departments," he told Interfax-Ukraine on Saturday.

Ivanesko said that Mercedes cars that were earlier used by the administration's leadership are now used by the state department of affairs and will service foreign delegations.

"Thus, executive cars are used less, and this means saving of funds for petrol and servicing," he said.

He said that Presidential Administration is planning to save more budget funds in the future.

Russia, Ukraine ‘Heading For New Gas Conflict’

MOSCOW, Russia -- Russia warned neighbour Ukraine yesterday against acting unreasonably amid reports that the two sides were approaching a gas war similar to a 2009 standoff that briefly cut supplies to EU states.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Ukraine’s Viktor Yanukovych held a summit in Sochi on Thursday aimed at easing tensions that have grown over the last months over gas prices and Ukrainian moves to promote EU ties.

But the meeting ended with a conspicuous lack of any statement beyond formal protocol and a source in the Kremlin told Russian news agencies yesterday that Ukraine was acting out of line.

The official accused Kiev of trying to politicise the gas dispute and flatly rejected the idea of Ukraine getting special privileges instead of formally joining an economic union Russia has formed with Belarus and Kazakhstan.

“The Russian side underscored the need to follow the existing agreement on gas cooperation and not to politicise the issue,” the unnamed Kremlin source said.

The official added that Ukraine could only join the Russian-led customs union “as a full-fledged participant” and not as a special member who could also negotiate special trade terms with the European Union.

Sources and Russian press reports said Medvedev’s talks with Yanukovych were originally supposed to have taken place on July 31 in Ukraine but the Kremlin scrapped the visit due to the tensions.

The last gas conflict ended when Ukraine in 2009 signed a 10-year gas supply contract with Russia’s Gazprom that it is now trying to re-negotiate because it is being charged more than some richer European states.

An official in Kiev firmly told the Kommersant business daily: “We are morally preparing for a possible repeat of the gas war.”

Germany Upbraids Ukraine Over Arrest Of Former Prime Minister Tymoshenko

KIEV, Ukraine -- The German government criticized Ukraine for the arrest of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and the treatment of members of her government, saying it will watch events in the former Soviet republic “very closely.”

Germany’s commissioner for human rights, Markus Loening, warned the Ukraine that the arrest and charges against the former premier, which include alleged obstruction of justice and excessive payments for Russian natural gas in 2009, call into question the country’s pledge to observe the rule of law.

“It is regrettable that the many trials against members of the previous government take on the appearance of selective and politically motivated justice,” Loening said in a statement distributed by the German Foreign Ministry in Berlin today. “The arrest of Yulia Tymoshenko, the former prime minister and current opposition leader, has only bolstered this appearance.”

A Ukrainian court today declined to hear Tymoshenko’s appeal challenging her arrest, a week after she was detained.

The District Court in Kiev ruled she had violated court procedure and sought to obstruct a trial in which prosecutors allege she abused her power and agreed to pay too much to buy Russian natural gas in 2009.

Ukraine To Cut Gazprom's Umbilical Cord?

LONDON, England -- Kiev has been assiduously looking for ways to break out of its dependency on Russian energy imports, and now it looks as if this may in fact be coming true.

Sometimes it's not easy being Russia's neighbor -- just ask Ukraine.

Ever since the 1991 implosion of the USSR, Ukraine's relations with Russia have appeared between coldly formal and outright hostility, with a major irritant being the increasingly high prices Gazprom charges for natural gas.

Gazprom, in turn, needs access to Ukraine's pipeline network in order to reach its profitable European customers.

Faced with this symbiotic relationship, Kiev has been assiduously looking for ways to break out of its dependency on Russian energy imports, and now it looks as if this may in fact be coming true.

The head of Ukraine's state geology and subsurface resource service Gosgeonedr Eduard Stavitsky said, "Today, the state fund of subsurface resources is about 1.1 trillion cubic meters of gas and about 130-150 million tons of oil with gas condensate. In from seven to 10 years, Ukraine will be able to fully supply itself with gas and oil, excluding the purchase of imported energy resources."

Teekay Tankers is ready to invest $2 billion in the development of shale gas in Ukraine by 2020.

Shell has already prepared a project for extraction at the Yuzovsky gas field and is ready in the next three years to pump several billions of dollars into opening it, hoping within 10 years to be extracting around 8-10 billion cubic meters of gas per year there.

In Western Ukraine, investors, particularly Chevron, are showing interest in the Olessky field, straddling the Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Ternopol regions, covering around 2,700 square miles.

According to Ukrainian Deputy Fuel and Energy Minister Serhiy Chekh, Ukraine's state-run Naftogaz energy company is drafting an agreement with global oil and gas group Shell to develop the Black Sea shelf.

Chekh said Ukraine could boost oil and gas production in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov but it would require significant investment, but nevertheless Ukraine plans to raise oil output on the Black Sea shelf to 2.9 million tons a year by 2015, including gas condensate.

If Ukraine is in fact able to achieve energy independence, it will rob Moscow of one of its major bargaining holds over Kiev.

Quite aside from the fractious issues involved in the transiting of Gazprom natural gas through Ukraine, another issue that has roiled Russian-Ukrainian relations for the past two decades still remains unresolved, Russia's continuing use of the Crimean port of Sevastopol for its Black Sea Fleet.

In the past Moscow has played hardball over continued use of the port, most notably by using its "natural gas weapon."

Given energy's centrality to the country's prosperity, this has proven a major obstacle for many of Ukraine's previous political leaders, including Viktor Yushchenko.

More than any other former Soviet state, Moscow desires a "friendly" Ukraine.

Among other things this means for Ukraine, no NATO membership, a high priority of President Yushchenko.

Should Kiev step out of line, Moscow still has a number of cards to play, including the country's ethnic Russian population, roughly 17 percent of the country's citizenry.

For the European Union, however, Ukrainian self-sufficiency in energy production could prove to be a significant lessening, as it could put an end annual brinkmanship laid by Russia and Ukraine over natural gas exports, which has disrupted winter supplies over the past several years.

A World Champion Who Could Be a Contender In Ukraine

KIEV, Ukraine -- AS Vitali Klitschko strode down a street in Kiev this week, all heads swiveled to take in his enormous physique. Handsome, in a brutal fashion, with bulging veins in his neck, he reached out to greet well-wishers with hands the size of dinner plates, ones best known for knocking out 39 opponents in a professional boxing career.

But Mr. Klitschko, the reigning World Boxing Council world heavyweight champion, was not here in the capital for his next fight, and he was not greeting his fans.

In his booming voice, he was talking about Ukrainian politics, invoking an unending stream of boxing analogies that has proven alluring here.

His opposition party, The Punch, won seats in local legislatures in 15 of Ukraine’s 24 regions last fall.

Nationally, his aides say, polls show support for the party from about 4.5 percent of likely voters — not overwhelming, but enough to clear a 3 percent threshold to qualify for parliamentary elections scheduled for next year.

Mr. Klitschko, who fought his first bout for the world title against Lennox Lewis in Los Angeles in 2003, is now fighting to rally Ukraine’s fractured opposition.

He is pro-European integration and favors Ukrainian as a national language.

But his central appeal seems to be that he is strong and tall, and that he has never held public office in Ukraine before.

Political experts and diplomats say the perpetual infighting among the Ukrainian political class, on display last week when prosecutors arrested the leading opposition politician Yulia V. Tymoshenko — during a trial on what her supporters say are trumped-up charges — has so disillusioned the electorate here that people are eager for new faces in politics.

Mr. Klitschko, who halted his twice-daily routine of running, lifting and sparring last week to rush back to Kiev from his training site in Austria to speak out against Ms. Tymoshenko’s arrest, says he is in politics in hopes of reviving the jaded opposition here.

“It’s just not normal when one after another opposition politician ends up in jail,” Mr. Klitschko said in a recent interview, alluding to what rights advocates say is a sweeping purge of opposition figures by the government of President Viktor F. Yanukovich.

He was quick to add, however, that he was supporting political freedoms, not Ms. Tymoshenko personally.

“Of course we understand that Tymoshenko is not holy,” he said. “There are negative aspects of her behavior. The current government and the opposition that has periodically traded places are worthy of each other.”

In one indication of the opportunity for new figures, polls here indicate that roughly 35 percent of likely voters are undecided.

Many are former supporters of the coalition that came to power after the street protests known as the Orange Revolution, Mikhail B. Pogrebinsky, director of the Center for Political and Conflict Studies, said in an interview.

“The popularity of the government is falling but people don’t want to vote for the Orange group,” Mr. Pogrebinsky said. “An opportunity is here for a new figure.”

In contrast with Ukraine’s neighbors Belarus and Russia, in the nearly 20 years since independence was declared in Ukraine on Aug. 24, 1991, numerous political parties have put down roots.

Some support local causes like western Ukrainian nationalism and closer ties with Russia on the Crimean Peninsula. Others are more national in scope, or pro-business, while many are splinter groups centered on personalities like Ms. Tymoshenko.

Parliament is a kaleidoscope of six political parties and two dozen independent members.

Ukraine is also more diverse than Belarus, split between a pro-Russian east and pro-European west.

That means that even if Mr. Yanukovich is attempting a political consolidation here similar to what Vladimir V. Putin carried out in Russia, as his critics contend, it is likely to be a drawn-out struggle.

Mr. Yanukovich, for his part, says prosecutors are merely cracking down on corruption.

Paradoxically, the arrest of Ms. Tymoshenko seems to have breathed new life into the opposition, as a dozen parties formed a temporary alliance, the Dictatorship Resistance Committee, to protest the arrest.

Mr. Klitschko, the son of a Soviet air force general, is a bona fide boxing great.

He is one of only four fighters to win a version of the world title three different times — Muhammad Ali, Mr. Lewis and Evander Holyfield are the others.

He and his brother, Wladimir, also a boxer, are sports heroes in Ukraine.

In seeking to make a splash in politics, Mr. Klitschko is following a path blazed most recently by Manny Pacquiao, a world champion in several weight classes and a congressman in the Philippines, who is rumored to be considering a run for president there.

Mr. Klitschko, who is 40, speaks four languages and holds a Ph.D. in sports science — leading him to promote himself professionally as Dr. Ironfist on his Web site — has had a slow start in politics, losing twice in races for mayor of Kiev.

“In boxing and politics you cannot predict results,” Mr. Klitschko said. “You should be ready to go 12 rounds. But if you win in the first round, you should be ready to be the winner quickly.”

Like many in Ukraine, his politics have traced the arc from enthusiasm to disillusionment with the Orange Revolution.

In headier times, he defended the world title against Danny Williams of Britain in December 2004, while wearing an orange cloth, and then dedicated the victory to Ukrainian democracy.

After a news conference in Kiev on Tuesday, Mr. Klitschko folded his 6-foot-7 frame into a black Toyota Land Cruiser and sped across Kiev for meetings with foreign diplomats, driving past street demonstrations in support of Ms. Tymoshenko.

A too forceful stance might be a misstep, his political advisers said, fearing that too close an alliance with the Orange coalition could be a political liability.

He expressed a philosophy closer to that of another politically aware boxer, Mr. Ali: float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.

“The one who punches doesn’t win,” Mr. Klitschko said. “The one who dodges punches wins.”

For his round of meetings on Tuesday, he wore a pinstriped charcoal suit.

In the elevator of his office building, secretaries swooned in his presence.

His party, though, says he is more popular with men, particularly sports fans.

Before last week’s shift in the political landscape here, Mr. Klitschko had been in Austria training for a match against Tomasz Adamek of Poland, scheduled for Sept. 10.

Because tickets have already been sold, he said, the fight will go ahead.

In response to Ms. Tymoshenko’s arrest, however, he will train part time in Kiev to remain close to the political turmoil here.

“Neither Tymoshenko nor Yanukovich are politicians of tomorrow,” Mr. Klitschko said.

Asked what a boxer had to offer his country, he offered what he said was a paraphrase of the French film director Claude Lelouch. “Boxing is the cruelest sport, but the one that is most like life.”

China, Ukraine Agree To Step Up Military Exchange, Cooperation

KIEV, Ukraine -- Senior Chinese and Ukrainian military officials agreed during talks here Thursday to advance military exchanges and cooperation between their two countries.

Gregory Pedchenko, chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, told Chen Bingde, chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army of China, that although they are far apart in distance, China and Ukraine -- both peace-loving countries -- have maintained very friendly relations, with broad prospects for bilateral cooperation.

He said that Chen's visit is the first to Ukraine by a chief of the General Staff of the Chinese armed forces in 10 years.

The Ukrainian side attaches great importance to the visit, and is willing to take it as an opportunity to further strengthen mutual understanding and trust between the armed forces of the two countries, and strengthen their exchange and cooperation in various fields.

Speaking on the same occasion, Chen said that since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Ukraine 20 years ago, political mutual trust between the two countries has kept strengthening while bilateral cooperation has brought about remarkable achievements in all fields, bringing real benefits to the two peoples.

During a successful visit to Ukraine in June, Chinese President Hu Jintao and his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yanukovych jointly established China-Ukraine strategic partnership, not only showing the orientation of comprehensive development of bilateral relations, but also strengthening a firm political basis and bringing about unprecedented opportunities for the development of relations between the armed forces of the two countries.

Chen said that his current visit is intended to implement the consensus reached between the two leaders, further enhance mutual understanding, strengthen mutual trust and promote cooperation.

The Chinese side will, proceeding from the principle of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, take steps to promote multiform and multilevel development of friendly cooperation between the armed forces of China and Ukraine in various fields, Chen said.

During the talks, the two sides also exchanged views on the construction and reform of armed forces, and on subjects of the fulfillment of non-war military operations by armed forces.

Chen and his delegation arrived here for an official goodwill visit on Aug. 8.

Tymoshenko Fears Death In Prison

KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine's former prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, says she is afraid she will be killed while she is in prison.

Tymoshenko, 50, expressed her fears in a statement she issued just before an appeals court in Kiev Friday turned down her request for bail, the EUobserver reported.

Tymoshenko is being tried for signing an allegedly illegal gas supply contract with Russia while she was prime minister.

She was ordered held without bail because she refused to stand before a judge and for heckling witnesses; she faces 10 years in prison if convicted.

Asked if she fears for her safety, Tymoshenko said, "Of course I do. I am aware of the Stalinist saying that you get rid of the man, you get rid of the problem. There have been too many 'accidents' in the past like the supposed suicide of former interior minister Yuriy Kravchenko, who somehow seemed to have shot himself in the head twice."

Kravchenko was found dead in March, one hour before he was to testify about the decade-old unsolved murder of a journalist.

Tymoshenko's critics said she betrayed Ukraine to Russia in return for Kremlin support, and her actions undermined Ukraine's hope of joining the European Union.

Hotel prices face summer slump

At the very peak of the tourist season Moscow hotels are cutting their prices in a bid to attract guests as the travelers eye up other relaxation destinations.

The bulk of visitors to the capital come on business trips and so in summer, when business is on holiday, rooms from economy to luxury class get cheaper.

Capital-based five-star hotels offer the biggest cuts in the hot season with discounts reaching 30-40 per cent in some cases.

“Moscow doesn’t have a sufficient tourist-flow and so instead of the seasonal price-rise in other cities Moscow’s hoteliers have to lower the cost of lodging,” Marina Usenko, head of the Russian department at Jones Lan

But the high prices that hoteliers charge mean they can’t complain about making ends meet, even discount rates make them a profit, Stanislav Ivashkevich, deputy-director for hospitality industry development at CB Richard Ellis said.

Rooms for holders of thinner wallets have also become less pricy as two and three star hotels reduced prices by 14 per cent.

While the authorities are trying to turn Moscow into an attractive tourist spot through working together with big tourist-package sellers and with hotels, according to Sergei Shpilko, the city’s tourism committee head, other towns and metropolises have re-located their marketing efforts to the web.

“Cities such as London or New York make great investments in creating and updating web-resources,” Polina Frolova, Sales and Marketing Director, IFK Hotel Management said.

“The Team or Editor of web-sites like these not only post a schedule of what’s happening in the city, they tell stories, they encourage people to communicate, to share their own experience, to share photos,” she added.

And it’s not just Moscow, it’s the whole country that needs to be marketed properly, she said, and measures should be taken across the board.

“We need to consider infrastructure: hotels, transport, navigation in the city in both alphabets, Cyrillic and Latin, visa legislation, etc.,” Frolova said.

The Russian government announced plans earlier this year to launch the website“Welcome to Russia”, with the help of federal and local tourism officials, although no progress has been seen so far.