By John Helmer, Moscow Russians have always appreciated a good strong watch, and until the collapse of the Soviet Union the domestic watch industry competed effectively against most foreign brands. But the past two decades have almost destroyed the value Russians themselves attribute to such domestic watch brand-names as Polyot and Vostok. The conspicuous display […]

by John Helmer - Wednesday, March 16th, 2011
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By John Helmer, Moscow United Company Rusal has triggered three recent pollution crises in Ukraine, Russia and Guinea, and in the latest one, frozen red dust from alumina refining operations at the Ukrainian city of Nikolaev coated a five square kilometre area last week, making it look to residents like a Martian landscape.

by John Helmer - Friday, March 4th, 2011
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By John Helmer, Moscow Data: The latest report from Emerging Portfolio Fund Research (EPFR) of Boston shows that funds investing in Russian listed stocks reported net inflows for the week ending March 2. The total invested was $139 million. The last time I reported on the funds flow was a fortnight ago, when the Financial […]

by John Helmer - Friday, March 4th, 2011
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Reuters 2/3/11 CONAKRY – Guinea’s President Alpha Conde on Tuesday enlisted the help of billionaire investor George Soros to review the resource-rich West African nation’s mining code and fight corruption in the sector.

by John Helmer - Thursday, March 3rd, 2011
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By John Helmer, Moscow Oleg Deripaska will fail to swing Norilsk Nickel’s international shareholders into voting for his slate of candidates for the new board of directors at Norilsk, according to a report and proxy vote recommendation by Institutional Shareholder Services/Risk Metrics, a Washington, D.C.-based advisory specialist.

by John Helmer - Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011
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By John Helmer, Moscow The Jackal’s Wedding is an old Bedouin expression. It means that the beasts will love each other so long as their fallen prey is ample enough to feed the pack. And if there’s no meat, they will attack each other.

by John Helmer - Thursday, February 17th, 2011
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By John Helmer, Moscow Alisher Usmanov’s enthusiasm for the earnings in the bush has always been more infectious than his success in getting his hand on the bird.

by John Helmer - Wednesday, February 16th, 2011
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By John Helmer, Moscow It is the most famous argument in favour of suspending disbelief in the history of the United States. Every year the trillion-dollar retail sector of that country turns several billions of dollars in profits by merchandising the belief through the cash register. That is, the belief in Santa Claus, first raised […]

by John Helmer - Monday, February 14th, 2011
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By John Helmer, Moscow The key figure behind years of allegations against three Russian partners — Oleg Deripaska, Michael Cherney (Mikhail Chernoy), and Iskander Makhmudov — appears to have turned turtle, and sought a meeting with Cherney in Israel late last month.

by John Helmer - Thursday, February 10th, 2011
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By John Helmer, Moscow In the Naughty-Boy School of Government, it is required for the boys to apply for the master’s permission to sit; stand; ask a question; refill their inkwells, and leave the room to answer the call of nature. In the history of the great English Public Schools, a great deal of bladder […]

by John Helmer - Monday, February 7th, 2011
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