10.9.2010 19:23 Show goes on at the Dubrovka theatre

 The stage is set again for the Dubrovka theatre, 8 years after 850 hostages were seized during a busy performance. With a disputed death toll of about 170 people the organisers of the forthcoming show Obyknovennoe Chudo (An ordinary Miracle) are facing down accusations that their choice of ven...

10.9.2010 17:28 Sound of silence

 Moscow is a noisy city, but for some the Russian capital offers only a deafening silence. Like many handicapped people here, the needs of the deaf and hard of hearing are poorly represented. That could be beginning to change as pioneering businessman Andrey Melnikov opens up Moscow’s fir...

10.9.2010 12:56 Medvedev takes the wheel

 The lure of the open road has proved irresistible for Russia’s leaders this summer – and following prime minister Vladimir Putin’s epic road trip it’s time for president Dmitry Medvedev to take the wheel.Not that his staff will acknowledge any link to the Lada Kalina wh...

10.9.2010 12:51 From hangovers to hard yards, Moscow's marathon returns

  Summer may be over but the snow and ice are still a long way off and the Moscow International Peace Marathon beckons with something for every level. Standards of preparation vary too, from the professionally fleet of foot to those looking to shake off a hangover and earn their post run m...

10.9.2010 12:36 Turning a blind eye to Russian bribes

 The Kremlin’s crackdown on corruption is giving an apparent OK to low-level bribery, with Duma deputies suggesting an amnesty on bribes below 3,000 roubles ($100).In a surprising move, the author of a revised bill is seeking to protect the likes of teachers and doctors – which he d...

10.9.2010 12:7 Moscow's airports face the squeeze

 Redevelopment of Moscow’s airports could mean short-term pain in the hope of long-term gains for passengers.Sheremetyevo is planning to build a third runway over the next 10 years, while Vnukovo could close completely for a time.Meanwhile, upgrading the existing tracks at Domodedevo will...

10.9.2010 10:56 No end in sight for Caucasus violence

 Another day, another bombing – and a solution to the carnage in the North Caucasus seems as remote as ever.The deaths of 19 people in an explosion at a busy market in Vladikavkaz on Thursday drew a characteristically robust approach from the Russian government.But there are conflicting ...

10.9.2010 9:58 Vladikavkaz market blast - death toll reaches 19

 At least 19 people were killed and more than 100 were injured after a car bomb ripped through a central market in the North Ossetian capital of Vladikavkaz on Thursday – the third deadly blast to hit the city’s busiest marketplace in 11 years.Police in the city say the explosives -...

10.9.2010 9:11 Spartak rout the Army Men

Always beware of your ex - Alexander Suglobov returned to CSKA in the colours of his new club Spartak and fired two goals past his former employers in a 5-1 win as the KHL season got underway in Moscow on Thursday night.His strikes, coupled with an assist on Mikhail Yunkov's third-period strike, led...

9.9.2010 23:15 Zemfira breaks the silence

ZemfiraSeptember 17, 8 pm, Crocus City Hall, pavilion 3 at Crocus Expo, MKAD, 65th – 66th km, m. MyakininoZemfira is considered one of the most talented pop/rock singers to have been discovered in Russia in the late 1990s and early 2000s.But unlike many others of her stature, she doesn’t...

9.9.2010 23:0 Nightlife highlights Sep. 11 - 17

September 11Nadja (Canada)9 pm: Aktovy Zal, 18 Perevedyonovsky Per., entrance No. 1, m. BaumanskayaThis duo plays so-called “ambient doom”, music that combines elements of metal, shoegazing, ambient, post-rock , experimental and neo-classical. 500 roubles.Wavetest (Switzerland)11 pm: Sol...

9.9.2010 22:47 Maxim Vengerov

Sept. 11, 7 pm, Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, 4/31 Triumfalnaya Ploshchad, m. MayakovskayaMaxim Vengerov, arguably the most sought-after violinist of modern times, is coming to Moscow – and not only is he conducting, he’s actually playing.After a shoulder injury forced him to take a break fr...

9.9.2010 22:45 port-royal

September 15, 8 pm, 16 Tonn, 6 Presnensky Val., bldg. 1, m. Ulitsa 1905 GodaThis Genoa, Italy-based band has been around since 2000. Formed by guitarist/keyboardist Attilio Bruzzone and pianist Ettore Di Roberto, for the past decade port-royal has been focusing primarily on the musical rather than l...

9.9.2010 22:44 Those Dancing Days

September 10, 9 pm, Ikra, 8a Ul. Kazakova, m. KurskayaAt first sight, this Swedish five-piece girl group might look like another easy come, easy go teenage band.However, even though all its members were still secondary school students when Those Dancing Days was formed, they have been able to stick ...

9.9.2010 22:38 Movies in English Friday September 10 – Thursday September 16

Babies (France, 2010)Pyat Zvyozd Novokuznetskaya: Fri. to Wed. 5:40 pm, Thu. 3:30 pmA documentary about one year in the life of four babies from Mongolia, Namibia, San Francisco and Tokyo.In English, Japanese and Mongolian.Brothers (USA, 2009)Pyat Zvyozd Novokuznetskaya: Fri. to Wed. 11:25 am and 5:...

9.9.2010 22:29 Machete

Those who’ve been following the work of director Robert Rodriguez should know what to expect in his new feature – a lot of action, blood and gore.And this is the case with “Machete”, the story of Machete (Danny Trejo), a renegade former Mexican Federale.Machete, we learn, was...

9.9.2010 22:26 Russia’s “Silent Souls” makes a big noise at Venice Film Fest

 The Russian film “Silent Souls” is considered a serious contender for the Best Film prize at the Venice Film Festival, where it received a 12-minute standing ovation from the festival audience on Saturday.Quentin Tarantino, head of the festival’s jury, was among those who jum...

9.9.2010 22:23 Model Vodianova to star in a movie

 Top model Natalia Vodianova is to play the main protagonist in a movie for the first time, Swiss paper Le Matin reported this week.Filming for the movie based on Swiss writer Albert Cohen’s novel “Belle du Seigneur” is to begin next month in Switzerland, the paper reported. I...

9.9.2010 22:8 Great grechka hunt

Expats may have learned to live without maple syrup or Worcestershire sauce, but now locals are struggling to get hold of a Russian favourite – buckwheat.The disappearance of the staple food, known as grechka, is being described as the Great Grechka Shortage of 2010.Correspondents from The Mos...

9.9.2010 21:43 Is Russia looking backwards or forwards?

Some 90 Russia experts from around the world brainstormed about whether Russia should move “forward to Asia” or “backward to Europe” within the wider context of “Russia’s history and future development” at this year’s session of the Valdai Discussion C...

9.9.2010 21:30 Auditing the auditors

To you or me it may seem quite obvious that Yukos, the oil company run by jailed tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, did some dodgy things in its time.Things that might be spotted by an eagle-eyed accountant, perhaps.But apparently, to some in the Western media, it’s a big shock.The received wisdom i...

9.9.2010 21:26 Banker killed, Yukos auditor ‘caves’

Yukos audits withdrawnJailed oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s defence team has accused auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers of caving in to pressure from Russian authorities when it withdrew its audit opinions on Yukos financial statements spanning 10 years, The Wall Street Journal reported.The leg...

9.9.2010 21:19 Dumped! The aid that didn’t reach fire victims

After facing the worst wildfires in decades, Russians banded together, volunteering to put out fires themselves and gathering aid for thousands of people who lost their homes. But the efforts sparked a humanitarian scandal, with officials asking themselves why tons of donated goods – clothing,...

9.9.2010 21:2 Suburban bliss

Aroma20/30 Ul. Krzhizhanovskogo, korpus 1, 543 5426, m. Profsoyuznaya, www.aromamoscow.ruOpen daily 11:30 am-midnightIndian is one of a few foreign cuisines that are prepared well in Moscow. There are some great restaurants such as Darbar’s and Maharaja, for example, which for years have been ...

9.9.2010 20:57 Restaurant news

The Flat Iron Bar & Roadhouse has your health in mind with some pre-winter vitamin therapy as part of its Apple Symphony promotion.The special offer sees the presentation of a new apple-oriented menu, with apple-filled salads and soups plus mains seasoned with apple sauces and dressings.The rest...

9.9.2010 20:36 Adventures in Altai

The lakes and mountains, deserts and rivers of Russia’s Altai Republic make a spectacular destination. In this remote wilderness on the borders of Mongolia and Kazakhstan one finds the relics of old shamanic religions that are still practised today and prehistoric rock carvings above meadows f...