by John Helmer, Moscow  @bears_with Death can be a coincidence, but not in the Russian aluminium business. So when Dmitry Bosov died of a pistol shot at his home near Moscow on the evening between May 5 and May 6, and Anatoly Bykov was arrested by federal agents in Krasnoyarsk on May 7, everyone with well […]

Filed under: Aluminium, DwB, Oligarchs by Editor - Tuesday, May 12th, 2020
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By John Helmer, Moscow Russia has grown up; Derk Sauer (lead image), boy scout for American, Dutch and NATO plots for Kremlin regime change since Boris Yeltsin left office, can’t. Under cover of Russian frontmen, he has bought back the Moscow Times, and put his son Pyotr in charge of opinion. The opinion is the […]

Filed under: Media, Moscow Times, Skripal by Editor - Wednesday, April 10th, 2019
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By John Helmer, Moscow At the very beginning of his presidency, in March 2000, Vladimir Putin said the state – he meant himself – should be “equidistant” from the oligarchs. He also promised “compliance with [market] rules, without offering any advantages or privileges or preferences to anyone”. The president, Putin added, “should stand above this […]

Filed under: Oligarchs by Editor - Tuesday, December 29th, 2015
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By John Helmer, Moscow President Vladimir Putin’s summons to the oligarchs for dinner on December 18 turned out to be a teddy bears’ picnic. And why not – they got all they came for, and more. The country outside got decidedly less, but for the time being how little is a state secret.

Filed under: DwB, Oligarchs, Russian Politics, Telecomms-IT by Editor - Tuesday, December 23rd, 2014
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By John Helmer, Moscow An attempt by Siberian Anthracite, a little known Russian coal producer, to list and sell its shares on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) collapsed today, just hours after Reuters reported the sale was going ahead. According to the report from the Reuters Moscow Bureau, the initial public offering “has been subscribed […]

Filed under: Media, Mining, UK-Russia by John Helmer - Friday, July 12th, 2013
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By John Helmer, Moscow It isn’t known whether Dmitry Shatokhin (right), the chief executive, board chairman, and apparent control shareholder of Siberian Anthracite, reads the news. Not the commodity price reports showing that the demand and price for the coal he is selling are falling. Rather, the news that President Vladimir Putin, along with the […]

Filed under: Coal, Mining, UK-Russia by John Helmer - Wednesday, June 19th, 2013
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By John Helmer, Moscow Charlie Drake’s hit song has been celebrating its fiftieth anniversary in London, where it was created and first recorded, not far from the law courts on the Strand. Play it before you read another word, and listen carefully to the lyrics.

Filed under: Oligarchs, UK-Russia by John Helmer - Tuesday, November 8th, 2011
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By John Helmer, Moscow In the long history of English justice, it has happened before that candidates for the seats of the highest court in land have been obliged to rehearse their talents and qualifications before the monarch on his throne (aka the Crown). And not only their qualifications, technical and professional, but also their […]

Filed under: Oligarchs, UK-Russia by John Helmer - Monday, October 17th, 2011
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