POLITICS

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Monday dismissed the possibility of Ukraine joining the post-Soviet trade bloc of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan on special terms.

(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)

Russian President Vladimir Putin believes the Cypriot government’s plans to impose a one-off levy on all bank deposits as part of a bailout deal to get much-needed loans from international creditors would be “unfair, unprofessional and dangerous.”

(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)

A highly public spat between a prominent lawmaker and a well-connected journalist about "political prostitution" and threats against journalists reached new heights on Monday, with each urging the government to punish the other.

(The Moscow Times)

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

The Russian government’s new aim is achieving economic growth by 5-6 percent annually in the next 10 years.

(Vedomosti)

Morgan Stanley joined the ranks of those predicting a sluggish period for the Russian economy Monday as it cut its 2013 growth forecast to below 3 percent.

(The Moscow Times)

Russian corporate and individual depositors are likely to lose about 2 billion euros, if the Cyprus government imposes a levy on bank deposits, as they are estimated to have about 20 billion euros deposited with the island nation’s banks.

(Vedomosti)

The euro plummeted on Monday amid investors’ growing concerns over the Cyprus bailout deal and fears of an escalation of the eurozone debt crisis.

(Kommersant)

DEFENSE

China has ousted Britain from the world’s top five weapons exporters.

(Vedomosti)

Washington's decision to scrap the last phase of the planned NATO missile shield for Europe fuelled hopes that US-Russian relations may improve now that a major stumbling has been removed.

(The Moscow Times)

SOCIETY

Orthodox activists stormed Moscow's Darwin Museum on Sunday, tossing leaflets with creationist slogans into the lobby and planting a "God Created the World!" flag on the roof.

(The Moscow Times)

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