Moscow press review for December 30, 2011
MOSCOW. Dec 30 (Interfax) - The following is a digest of Moscow newspapers published on December 30. Interfax does not accept liability for information in these stories.
POLITICS & ECONOMICS
Lawyer and founder of the anti-corruption website Rospil, Alexei Navalny was named politician of the year. Navalny's Internet campaign against United Russia became a real factor in the December parliamentary elections (Vedomosti).
Russia in 2011 faced the unprecedented phenomenon of huge capital outflows amid high oil prices. The net capital outflow is expected to decrease but continue in 2012 amid foreign debt payments and the new factor of political risk (Vedomosti).
The year began with revolutions in North Africa and ended with the emergence of a revolutionary mood in Russia. Street protests are gaining more and more momentum and have already pushed the authorities to announce political reforms (Vedomosti).
OIL & GAS
The main result of the past year for Russian gas giant Gazprom was the launch of the Nord Stream gas pipeline to Europe. What Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko once called Russia's "most idiotic project" became the main trump card in negotiations with its neighbors, though it cost Gazprom at least $30 billion (Vedomosti).
UTILITIES
Instead of fully liberalizing Russia's electricity market in 2011 as hoped, the authorities tightened the screws. Disappointed investors now doubt that they will recover their investments in the next ten years (Vedomosti).
RETAIL & CONSUMER MARKET
The founder and chief executive of leading Russian retailer Magnit, Sergei Galitsky was named businessman of the year. Magnit remained Russia's largest retailer by number of outlets and even carried out a successful SPO amid the market slump in December (Vedomosti).
The past year was an "arms race" among Russian retailers to open as many stores as possible in a short period of time. Now, with Russians cutting back on spending, retailers will have to focus more on consumers and what they want (Vedomosti).
The Russian government has prepared a legislative base for a decisive fight against excessive alcohol consumption, which will be broadened to not only include vodka and other spirits, but also beer and other low-alcohol beverages (Vedomosti).
TELECOMMUNICATIONS, MEDIA & TECHNOLOGY
The founder and chief executive of social network V Kontakte, Pavel Durov was named professional of the year. Asked by the Federal Security Service to block the accounts of six opposition forums, Durov refused, saying that caving in to political pressure would give competitors the upper hand (Vedomosti).
The battle for frequencies to provide mobile services in the LTE high-speed wireless standard did not end in 2011, but the year may have been decisive for the development of 4G networks in the country. Scartel, which provides services under the Yota brand, came out as an interim winner (Vedomosti).