POLITICS

The duties carried out by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aide Elvira Nabiullina, poised to become the country’s Central Bank chief, are likely to be taken over by her colleague and fellow presidential aide Tatyana Golikova.

(Vedomosti)

Opposition figurehead Alexei Navalny accused Russian senator Vitaly Malkin of having undeclared foreign property and of being a citizen of Israel. In February, Vladimir Pekhtin, a member of the ruling United Russia party and head of the parliamentary ethics commission, resigned for the duration of a probe into allegations that he owns real estate in the United States.

(Kommersant, Vedomosti)

A large Indian delegation will arrive in Moscow next week to lay the groundwork for a meeting later this month between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Vladimir Putin in South Africa. Singh and Putin will hold talks on the sidelines of a two-day BRICS summit, which opens March 26 in Durban.

(The Moscow Times)

Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili is ready to improve relations with Russia but has not given up plans to join NATO.

(Kommersant)

SOCIETY

The authorities’ anticorruption campaign has not led to a fast growth of popularity of President Vladimir Putin or Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, according to opinion polls by two pollsters. Social scientists say people want to see what results the anticorruption drive will deliver.

(Kommersant)

Russia's small Catholic community greeted the election of Pope Francis with elation and hopes that the new pontiff will continue to improve ties with the country's Russian Orthodox majority despite a rocky history and lingering disagreements.

(The Moscow Times)

The Supreme Court ruled that drivers injured in traffic accidents should be considered drunk if their blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level exceeds 0.5 grams per liter. The ruling runs contrary to the Administrative Offenses Code, which says anyone whose BAC is over zero is drunk.

(Kommersant)

IT

The Moscow government has measured the quality of mobile communications in the city. MTS had the bulk of failures in GSM networks, and VimpelCom accounted for most failures in 3G networks.

(Vedomosti)

SCIENCE

The idea of embalming the body of late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez seems to have flopped: Russian and German scientists said it is already too late for the procedure.

(Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Izvestiya)

The Federal Space Agency and the European Space Agency formally agreed to join forces to explore Mars in a project that will cost at least an estimated $1.8 billion. The Federal Space Agency will contribute equipment including rockets, and launch services for two missions as part of the ExoMars program.

(The Moscow Times)

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