Politics Putin Plans for New Role By Anna Arutunyan While "shocking" was a frequently used word in the West to describe President Vladimir Putin's announcement that he would head United Russia's ticket in the upcoming parliamentary elections, the struggle for stability was a primary motivating factor behind what has now been dubbed the Putin Plan.

News In brief Russia, U.S. to Cooperate on Space Trips, Ukraine Calls on UN to Denounce 1930s Famine, Litvinenko Suspect Sues Russian Newspaper, Many Feared Dead as Plane with Russian Crew Crashes in Kinshasa

News Armed Men Caught on Way to Iraq By Kirill Bessonov In late September, police in the South Russian Orenburg Region detained four individuals whom they initially considered ordinary cattle rustlers. To the law enforcers' surprise, the detained appeared to be well armed Muslim extremists who claimed they were heading to Iraq to fight the American occupational forces.

Local Arson Suspected in Deadly Moscow Fire The Moscow News Nine people were killed and about 50 injured in a fire that destroyed the Institute of State and Corporate Management building on Tuesday. The following day, a fire official told reporters that the head of the institute had received threats in the past, and that the investigation was leaning toward the possibility of arson.

CIS Political Infighting Rattles Georgia TBILISI, Georgia (AP) - Georgia's hawkish former defense minister was detained on corruption charges Thurs­day, days after he alleged that President Mikhail Saakashvili had ordered him to kill a prominent businessman.

News Crime in brief American Sentenced to 9 Years, Man Arrested After Brawl on Aeroflot Flight, Mysterious Knife Robberies Hit Moscow

Local October Cheer By Tom Washington Think of Bavaria and you think of many things; mountains, lederhosen and Wagner, but above all beer houses and beer drinking. Germany is famous for its beers and the fervor with which the Germans drink it, which reaches its dizziest height in October at Munich's Oktoberfest.

Columnists Indiana Jones and the Hunt for a Russian Visa By Robert Bridge One of the unique aspects of surviving/living/just-getting-by in the City of 1,000 Billionaires is the quarterly/bi-annual/annual jaunt to some distant port of call where we foreigners stand in line with our money/paperwork/passports for hours just so we can make it back across the Russian border - sometimes even in the Winter. Oh boy! Where can I sign up?

Local Food Kiosks A Thing of the Past? Tom Washington and Olga Yakimenko Last Tuesday Mayor Luzhkov submitted a formal time-frame to the Moscow Government to remove food kiosks from the streets. In 2004, these establishments were banned around Metro entrances. Since then, there has been heated speculation that the shops would be forbidden on Moscow streets altogether.

News Crowne Plaza Invigorates Trade Center By Tom Washington Moscow is famed as a playground for the business elite. Oligarchs, oil tsars and foreign investors all converge upon this cornucopia of opportunity and its growing services, where business savvy can exploit the market and people will pay well for a good product.

Cinema British Cinema in Moscow By Olga Yakimenko In contrast to the young, only recently established American Film Festival that took place a little while back, New British Cinema has been going fairly strong, celebrating its eighth anniversary this year. James Kennedy, director of the British Council in Russia, has said that the aim of the festival was to being the best and most remarkable films, picked from the UK's freshest crop.

Local Moscow to Invest in Literacy, Reading By Sergei Dmitriyev Moscow will work out a program to support and promote reading among young people. The project is slated to cost 112 billion rubles ($5.5 billion), city officials told RIA Novosti.

News Military Looks to Tackle Draft-Dodging By Julia Duchovny A new conscription campaign began in the Russian military on October 1, in which the mandatory conscription term was reduced from two years to 18 months; there are plans to reduce it to just 12 months in 2008. But top military brass has said that the move will not affect the strength of the ranks.

Local Russia's National Drink Enjoying Comeback By Delphine Thouvenot Agence France Presse Moscow streets may be crowded with Bentleys as Russia races into its oil-fueled future, but that has not stopped a boom in a traditional Russian peasant brew that has even caught the attention of U.S. beverage giant Coca-Cola.

News U.S. Study Supports Russia's AMD Suspicions By Desmond Butler The Associated Press WASHINGTON - A number of top U.S-based physicists have concluded that the United States used inaccurate claims to reassure NATO allies about U.S. missile defense plans in Eastern Europe.