POLITICS

The ruling United Russia party will hold a congress on May 26 to appoint outgoing president Dmitry Medvedev its chairman. Opinion polls show 11 percent of VTsIOM respondents have negative associations about the party. The same amount of respondents said the party cares about the people. Twenty-seven percent said the party’s role in politics will decline.

(Kommersant)

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin supported the United Shipbuilding Corporation in its conflict with the Defense Ministry over prices. The ministry now plans to toughen requirements for the corporation.

(Kommersant)

Italian energy giant Eni and state-owned Rosneft signed an Arctic oil deal Wednesday under the watchful eye of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that could lead to investment of up to $125 billion.

(The Moscow Times)

The government agreed with the Interior Ministry and will allocate an additional 10.7 billion rubles ($364.9 million) to pay wages to police officers in Moscow and the Moscow Region.

(Vedomosti)

Many travelers flying out of major Russian airports will soon no longer be required to remove their belts and shoes at security, and plans are afoot to relax the rules on carrying liquids on board.

(The Moscow Times)

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin approved a subway construction program for 2016-2020 with the Russian capital’s authorities to spend 500 billion rubles ($17 billion). The Moscow metro system that carries more than 9 million passengers per day will undergo a massive expansion by 2020, growing in size by 50 percent.

(Kommersant, The Moscow Times)

The real incomes of Russians in 2013-2015 should grow 4-4.5 percent annually, Prime Minister and President-elect Vladimir Putin said at a government commission meeting on budget planning.

(Vedomosti)

SOCIETY

State Duma Deputy Andrei Lugovoi, accused by Britain of killing Russian security service defector Alexander Litvinenko with radioactive polonium-210 in 2006, said he proved his innocence by undergoing a lie detector test provided by British experts.

(Kommersant)

The leader of the nationally acclaimed rock band DDT, who is known for his strong anti-Kremlin views, is accusing officials of scuttling a concert tour in several Siberian cities over politics.

(The Moscow Times)

STRANGE BUT TRUE

A man in the Altai Territory in west Siberia was found in a haystack over the weekend, having been spent a month there surviving on straw and snow after getting lost while under the influence.

(The Moscow Times)

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