The volume of trade between Russia and the United States in 2009 has decreased significantly as a result of the world-wide economic crisis and the consequences it held in store for both countries. According to the Foreign Trade Division of the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2009, the volume of trade was only USD 21.7 billion.

Fitch Ratings changed its assessment of the Russian economy from “negative” to “stable,” affirming long-term domestic and foreign currency issuer default ratings as BBB. Short term foreign currency issuer default rating was set at F3, while the country ceiling indicator was fixed at BBB+.

The initial capacity of the 1 220-mm (48 in) pipeline is 600 thousand barrels per day. By 2016 the capacity of the pipeline will be increased up to 1 000 thousand barrels per day, and by 2025 up to 1 600 thousand barrels per day.

Russia’s largest non-state-owned oil company Lukoil revealed plans to increase its hydrocarbon production to 2.7 million bbls per day by the end of the current decade. At the same time, the company decided to cut back its investment projects from USD 75 billion to USD 60 billion.

The largest Russian oil company OJSC Rosneft plans to increase the recovery of oil and gas condensate by 4.4 percent in 2010 compared to the results of 2009. The total volume of production should reach 117.6 million tons.

In January 2010, American company Exxon Neftegaz Limited, which is the operator of Sakhalin-1, reported completing two inclined wells at the Odoptu field in the offshore zone of Sakhalin Island. The wells are 9 kilometers deep. The plan is to have 7 wells drilled at Odoptu.

Political analysts unanimously agree that the first year of Barack Obama’s work in office had a positive effect on bilateral relations between Russia and the United States. According to Vyacheslav Nikonov, head of the Politics Foundation, the climate in the relationship “noticeably improved.”

The results of a recent poll conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Study Center shows that the majority of Russian citizens approve the work of President Barack Obama. The poll was conducted in 42 Russian regions in mid-January 2010.

The State Duma of the Russian Federation will in the near future adopt legislative measures to prohibit stockpiling radioactive waste in the country. The lower house of the Russian parliament voted in favor of the bill banning nuclear waste accumulation in the first reading.

Russian officials met with their Turkish counterparts in Moscow to discuss the construction of the Samsun-Ceyhan oil pipeline on January 13, according to R.F. Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin. Russia expects to be actively involved in the project. The ownership share that Russia will have in the venture has not yet been agreed upon.

Russia’s nuclear materials and nuclear services exporter Techsnabexport estimates that in 2010 it will supply uranium products worth USD 1 billion. Atomenergoprom, the only shareholder of Techsnabexport expects three contracts for the delivery of nuclear fuel to be signed soon.

Rusal, the world’s largest manufacturer of aluminum and alumina, paid its creditors 2.143 billion dollars from the proceeds received as a result of its initial public offering at the Hong Kong stock exchange, the NYSE, and Euronext in Paris.

In 2010, passenger vehicle sales in Russia are expected to go up 15 percent to 1.6 million cars. The new forecast was prepared by Stanley Root, a partner of PriceWaterhouseCoopers. According to the less-likely pessimistic scenario, sales of automobiles may decrease by 5 percent to only 1.3 million.

Discussions between Russian regulators and a U.S. task force on the issue of poultry supplies to the R.F. market helped American officials understand Russia’s position. Talks were being conducted in the latter half of January 2010.

Russian regulators are seriously considering altering the system for allocating meat importing quotas. Andrei Slepnev, Russia’s Deputy Minister for Economic Development, said that a method for distributing the quotas through an auction may be introduced.

Spiritual Diplomacy attempts to resolve conflicts between nations and within state borders by relying on the peoples’ spiritual values. This may be the only remaining strategy that provides a true key to the survival of the human race.

The formation of Russia’s cultural centers for different types of handicrafts took many years and even centuries. The mastery of craftsmen, the uniqueness of each particular style, and the cumulative artistic talent developed over a long period of time. One such unique cultural craft center is Vyatka.

Major General Aleksey Konnov is the Deputy Director of the Strategic Missile Troops Academy. Before assuming his new position, Maj. Gen. Konnov served as a commander of a missile regiment, a commander of two missile division, and, most recently as the deputy commander of the missile army.