A brief look at what is in the Russian papers today
POLITICS
Acting Moscow Mayor Vladimir Resin joined the ruling United Russia on Wednesday, getting the fast-track treatment a day after meeting with party leader and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Resin's decision fueled speculation among analysts and bloggers that he was on the shortlist of candidates for mayor, which United Russia needs to submit to President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday. (Moscow Times, Vremya Novostei, Vedomosti, Kommersant, Nezavisimaya Gazeta)
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who turns 58 on Thursday, will meet with St. Petersburg trade unions. He will celebrate his birthday with his near and dear at the end of the day. (Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
ECONOMY
The Russian government says businessmen should be ready for an increase in taxes in the next three years. Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said raising taxes is the only way to reduce the budget deficit. (Vremya Novostei)
TNK-BP is ready to spend $3 billion to buy its parent company BP's Algerian assets. Deputy TNK-BP CEO Maxim Barsky said Prime Minister Vladimir Putin supports the plans. (Vedomosti)
OIL & GAS
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday paid a one-day visit to Algeria at the head of a Russian delegation. Gas was the focus of talks, and one agreement was signed. Russia is pushing for a more active presence on the Algerian gas market. (Vremya Novostei, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
REAL ESTATE
Novosibirsk authorities will seek investors for the construction of a 10-billion-ruble ($336- million) industrial park. (Vedomosti)
CONSUMER
IKEA is changing its strategy in Russia to focus on existing stores rather than expansion to more sites, new IKEA CEO for Russia Per Wendschlag said Wednesday. No new sites will be opened in the next three to five years, he said. (Moscow Times, Vedomosti)
DEFENSE
Russia's Dmitry Donskoy nuclear submarine headed to the White Sea to hold the 13th test launch of the troubled Bulava ballistic missile, the administration of the northern Russian town of Severodvinsk said. The Bulava (SS-NX-30), a three-stage liquid and solid-propellant submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), has officially suffered seven failures in 12 tests. (Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
The Russian Navy is ready to rebuild a defunct military base in Vietnam from which it pulled out in 2002. Cam Ranh became the Soviet Union's largest foreign naval base in 1979. (Moscow Times)
SPORT
The Russian national football team arrived in Dublin, where on Friday they will clash with Ireland in a qualifying match for Euro 2012. (Sport Express, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
SCIENCE
This year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Richard F. Heck, Ei-ichi Negishi and Akira Suzuki for the development of palladium-catalyzed cross coupling. This chemical tool has vastly improved the possibilities for chemists to create sophisticated chemicals, for example complex carbon-based molecules. (Nezavisimaya Gazeta)
For more details on all the news in Russia today, visit our website at http://en.rian.ru.
