October 31, 2008. The world’s biggest mobile phone giant, Vodafone and the largest mobile operator in Russia, MTS ( Mobile TeleSystems ) has inked a strategic, non-equity deal to share access to each other’s products and services. MTS would have exclusive access to Vodafone’s products and services and use its expertise in building third generation (3G) networks and mobile broadband products, the firm said. MTS is home to 87 million subscribers. Pictured: Vodafone’s Chif Executive, Vittorio Colao at the partnership agreement signing ceremony in Moscow
 

October 07, 2008. Financial Markets in Moscow Collapsed. Russia`s two leading stock exchanges were forced to close for several hours on Tuesday, after suffering massive falls in value. Falls on the dollar-denominated Russian Trading System (RTS) index and the rouble-denominated Micex (Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange) were the steepest declines for a market that was booming until recently. Since May, the RTS index has dropped more than 60%. Pictured: Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange - Micex
 

October 07, 2008. Russia Asks Britain to Extradite Former Oil Tycoon Mikhail Gutseriyev . Russia`s interior ministry said Mr Gutseriyev is wanted in connection with alleged illegal business activities and tax evasion, while Mr Gutseriyev in his turn accuses the Russian state of `unprecedented hounding`. Pictured: Russneft oil company president Mikhail Gutseriyev at the press conf. in Moscow.
 

October 03, 2008. US DOLLARS
 

September 26, 2008. Former governor of Chukotka, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich while his visit to Chukotka . (Roman Abramovich is well known as the owner of British Football Club Chelsea ). Roman Abramovich visits reindeer breeding farm , Roman Abramovich with chukchi people
 

September 19, 2008. Sochi-2008 International Investment Forum in Russia. Pictured: Prime-minister of Russia Vladimir Putin and President of Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov (r)
 

September 15, 2008. Alexander Rar, the director of the program for Russia and the CIS countries of the German Council on Foreign Policy makes his comments at the press conference in Moscow. Alexander Rar – Historiker, Politologe, Direktor des Departements fur GUS-Staaten des Deutschen Rates fur Aussenpolitik.
 

July 23, 2008. Norilsk Nickel Plant in Taimyr city of Norilsk . Nickel melting
 

July 17, 2008. Belarus part of the Druzhba oil pipeline system (in russian `Friendship` ; also had been referred as the Comecon Pipeline). Druzhba pipeline system is the world`s longest oil pipeline, it carries oil some 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi) from southeast Russia to points in Ukraine, Hungary, Poland, and Germany. Today, it is the largest principal artery for the transportation of Russian (and Kazakh) oil across Europe.
 

July 17, 2008. KazTransOil is the national oil transporter in Kazakhstan accounting to 80% of all oil transported in the country. The company operates more than 6.400 km of oil pipelines and 3.140 km of water pipelines. KazTransOil is a subsidiary of KazMunayGas, the national oil and gas company of Kazakhstan. Pictured: KazTransOil company`s pipeline system Tengiz - Black Sea is a part of Caspian Pipeline Consortium. It transports oil to Russian Black Sea Novorossiysk Marine Terminal. It reads on the pipe in russian language: Tengiz
 

July 17, 2008. Russian billionaire and founder of MDM Bank Andrey Melnichenko (pictured in his office in Moscow) becomes the owner of the world`s newest and luxurious motor yacht `A` (ex-Sigma). The yacht is his gift to his wife, Serbian model Alexandra Nikolic. (the price of the yacht is rumourly about $400 000 000 )
 

July 09, 2008. TNK-BP dispute is on. After the board of directors of TNK-BP Management have refused to dismiss the Russian-British oil venture company`s CEO, Robert Dudley, Russian tax authorities are aiming to check TNK-BP`s foreign employees tax duties. Pictured: TNK-BP star was fixed at Admiralteisky propect in St.Petersburg for TNK-BP`s charity activities in St.Petersburg
 

July 08, 2008. Tension between Russian and foreign shareholders of TNK-BP oil company resulted that a group of major Russian shareholders have called for TNK-BP`s British chief executive Robert Dudley to be removed from his post. Pictured: l-r TNK-BP`s British chief executive Robert Dudley , Russian major shareholders Viktor Vekselberg (c) and Alfa-Grroup boss Mikhail Fridman (r) at the press conference in Moscow. (Vekselberg and Fridman are among those share holders who insist on Dudley to leave his post)
 

June 17, 2008. Former Prime-minister of Great Britain Tony Blair attends Russia Investors Conference in Moscow
 

June 06, 2008. St. Petersburg, Russia. Hyundai Motor Company, South Korea´s largest automaker, began construction of its 100,000 units-a-year plant in St. Petersburg to establish a local production and sales base in Russia, which will be a stepping stone to expansion in the CIS and Eastern Europe. Russian government officials, executives and employees of Hyundai Motor attended the plant groundbreaking ceremony of Hyundai Motor Manufacturing RUS at Kamenka, St. Petersburg. Pictured: (l-r) vice chairman of Hyundai Motor Co. Suh Byung Kee , governor of St.Petersburg Valentina Matvyenko