POLITICS

The Russian Central Election Commission said of three candidates, who collected two million signatures in their support, only Mikhail Prokhorov is almost sure to run in the polls. Irkutsk Governor Dmitry Mezentsev will be denied registration. Liberal stalwart Grigory Yavlinsky faces exclusion from the March 4 presidential election after many signatures submitted to register his candidacy were ruled inadmissible by the Central Elections Commission.

(The Moscow Times, Kommersant, Moskovskie Novosti, Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Izvestia)

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin lashed out at nationalists who call for cutting off government funding to the Northern Caucasus as well as those who want to create regional separatist parties, saying their positions could lead to the collapse of Russia.

(The Moscow Times, Kommersant Moskovskie Novosti, Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Izvestia)

Citing a busy schedule, President Dmitry Medvedev has postponed a meeting with his human rights council for the fourth time, prompting outcry from members of the body.

(The Moscow Times)

The opposition said it would boost the number of observers at the presidential polls to one million

(Izvestia)

Russia is technically capable of organizing fair elections but so far lacked the political will, the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) said in its final report

(The Moscow Times, Izvestia)

EU Foreign ministers approved an embargo on Iranian oil exports

(Kommersant, Moskovskie Novosti)

About 68 percent of Croatians voted in favor of joining the EU in Sunday’s referendum. With a turnout of less than 50 percent, many politicians declared the referendum illegitimate

(Kommersant, Izvestia)

The likelihood of a military solution to the Syrian political crisis, including a foreign invasion, has increased after President Bashar al-Assad rejected an Arab League plan to transfer power to his deputy and make way for a national unity government

(Kommersant, Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Izvestia)

ECONOMY

Inflation in the eurozone stood at about 3% on average in the past year. The figures, though bigger than the target of just below 2 percent, will allow the European Central Bank to conduct a more flexible monetary policy

(Kommersant)

OIL & GAS

Ukraine intends to gradually reduce the volume of gas bought from Russia starting from 2013, Ukrainian Energy and Coal Industry Minister Yury Boyko said.

(The Moscow Times)

AEROSPACE

Lev Zeleny, the head of the Russian space research institute, called on the Russian space agency Roscosmos to go ahead with further research of Mars and its satellites after the failure of the Phobos-Grunt mission to the Martian moon Phobos. Russian scientists propose a simplified variant of the interplanetary mission to be launched by 2018

(Moskovskie Novosti)

REAL ESTATE

The Houses of Parliament could be sold to Russian or Chinese investors because the building is slowly sinking into the Thames and repairs could cost the taxpayer up to 1 billion pounds

(Kommersant, Izvestia)

DEFENCE

Russia’s K-152 Nerpa nuclear-powered attack submarine has been officially handed over to the Indian Navy

(Kommersant, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)

Russia plans to produces more than a hundred new military transport Il-476 jets by 2020

(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)

SOCIETY

Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko, pop singer Alla Pugachyova and presidential spokeswoman Natalya Timakova took the top three spots on a list of the country's most influential women published Monday by radio station Ekho Moskvy

(The Moscow Times)

State Duma Deputy Adam Delimkhanov is no longer being pursued by Interpol as a suspect in the killing of former Chechen strongman Sulim Yamadayev

(The Moscow Times, Kommersant)

A year after a deadly blast in the Domodedovo airport, which claimed the lives of 37 people, investigation into the case has finally been completed

(Kommersant, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)

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