Putin Unveils $14.6Bln Tax Cut By By Anatoly Medetsky / Staff Writer Prime Minister Vladimir Putin unveiled a new $14.6 billion measure Thursday aimed at helping businesses withstand the current economic downturn, spending likely to further drain the Reserve Fund next year.

Liquidity Slips Into Everyday Lexicon By By Maria Levina / Special to The Moscow Times Liquidity, a term rarely heard outside of boardrooms and brokerages just months ago, has been making its way into kitchen-table conversations, as a financial crisis catalyzed by the integration of global financial markets has come to threaten the country’s recent prosperity.

UFG's Boris Fyodorov Dies, 50 By By Ira Iosebashvili and Maria Antonova / Staff Writers Boris Fyodorov, a Soviet-era adviser on free-market reforms and co-founder of the United Financial Group investment bank, died Thursday in London. He was 50.

Putin's Rating Strong Despite the Turmoil By By Nabi Abdullaev / Staff Writer Ten years ago, the approval ratings of then-President Boris Yeltsin nose-dived from already meager levels following the ruinous financial crash.

Navy Plans Pirate Patrol Near Africa By Combined Reports The Navy said Thursday that it would keep a presence off the coast of East Africa to patrol against Somali pirates.

News in Brief By Politkovskaya Trial DelayedGermans Get Transit RouteGeorgia Reports ShellingCzechs Likely to Back TreatyRussia Reassures Bogota

Happy Birthday: Space Station Is 10 By By Marcia Dunn / The Associated Press The planning couldn't have been better: 10 people in orbit for Thursday's 10th anniversary of the world's most elaborate and expensive housing project, the international space station.

29% Obama-Ignorant By Bloomberg More than a quarter of Russians don't know Barack Obama is the next U.S. president, according to a VTsIOM poll released this week.

Chichvarkin Stepping Down to Promote Right Cause By By Natalya Krainova / Staff Writer Yevroset chairman Yevgeny Chichvarkin said Thursday that he is stepping down from his position to focus on promoting the new Kremlin-backed pro-business party Right Cause, whose Moscow branch he plans to lead.

Road Accidents Rise as First Snow Falls By The Moscow Times The first snow of the year fell in Moscow on Wednesday evening and appears to have caused fewer accidents on the roads than in past years, although it did back up traffic and create long lines at tire service centers.

Norilsk Profit May Fall 75% in 2009 By By Nadia Popova / Staff Writer Norilsk Nickel’s profit may fall by as much as 75 percent in 2009 as demand has fallen in the midst of the financial crisis, the firm’s chief executive Vladimir Strzhalkovsky said Thursday.

S&P Lowers Rating Of Russian Standard By By Maria Levina / Special to The Moscow Times Standard & Poor’s docked Russian Standard Bank’s long-term rating by one notch Thursday, lowering it to B+ from BB- in the first downgrade of a major domestic lender since the financial crisis began.

Metalloinvest Cuts Output on Payment Arrears By Reuters Metalloinvest, the country’s largest iron ore miner, has slashed output of the steelmaking raw material as clients have fallen more than $350 million into payment arrears, its chief executive said Thursday.

Severstal Buys Canadian Miner By Reuters Severstal has taken control of Canadian miner High River Gold Mines by increasing its stake to 50.1 percent, the company's mining division said Thursday.

Uralkali Plunges on Output Cut By Reuters Uralkali shares plunged more than 30 percent in London on Thursday after the company slashed output in the final two months of this year and warned that it could reduce cash revenue by $650 million.

Central Bank Eases Auction Requirements By Reuters The Central Bank has eased requirements for banks allowed to take part in its collateral-free auctions to include those rated by Russian ratings agencies as well as by international ones.

Microsoft Gets New Russia Director By The Moscow Times Microsoft on Thursday appointed Nikolai Pryanishnikov, a former VimpelCom executive, to lead its Russia operations in a signal that the software giant might be contemplating a shift in strategy.

Medvedev Wants Kiev to Pay $2.4Bln By Combined Reports President Dmitry Medvedev ordered Gazprom to recover a $2.4 billion debt owed by Ukraine for natural gas deliveries, days after the gas producer hailed progress on a new supply accord.

Business in Brief By Astana Plans $21Bln BailoutNew York Court Fines AlfaS&P Predicts More PainNew Citi Russia ChiefSubway Plans ExpansionLUKoil to Buy Repsol StakeAcron Sets Price LimitFor the Record

Getting Rid of Guests By By Michele A. Berdy As we start to gear up for the long holiday season, it's time to go over some Russian departure etiquette at parties.

2011: My Space Odyssey By By Esther Dyson Most people who know of me think of me as an information-technology expert, someone who probably lives in California and invests in edgy Internet startups.