In mid-December, Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service, or FAS, promulgated revised antitrust regulations that apply to the wholesale and retail market for electricity.

Forbes magazine increased Russia’s rating by 14 places in its list of the “best countries for business” in 2013. Now, Russia occupies the 91st position, a ranking between those of the Philippines and Paraguay.

Concerns regarding the Economic Development Ministry and the Finance Ministry not trying to attract additional funds in order to increase economic development.

The Russian Energy Ministry expects the price of oil to remain stable in the coming years, Energy Minister Alexander Novak said in an interview with the Rossiya 24 television network.

In its final investment decision, the French oil and gas major Total made a commitment to develop the onshore part of the Yamal LNG project within Russia.

The Secretary of Russia’s Security Council announced that the production of shale oil and gas has become a risk to the economic security of Russia.

Companies producing oil at Russia’s offshore fields achieved profitability rates of as much as 20 percent due to the elimination of the export duty by the Energy Ministry.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports from Sakhalin increased 21.6 percent since last year. From the beginning of 2013, the Sakhalin-2 project exported more than USD4.8 billion worth of LNG.

Morgan Stanley sold its commodities division, known as Global Oil Merchanting, to Rosneft’s subsidiary. Certain details are deliberately kept out of the public’s knowledge.

Evraz received the European Compliance Certificate (TSI) from VUZ, the certificate authority for rail transport (translated as the Railway Research Institute).

On December 24, 2013, Evraz’s Nizhny Tagil Iron and Steel Works (NTMK) absorbed 99.999 percent of Evrazruda. The two companies now comprise the Russian steel major Evraz Group.

Russian veterinary experts are to inspect U.S. poultry farms involved in exporting products to Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan in December 2013.

This year, students from the northern Russian city of Petrozavodsk got to attend an American police training academy in Massachusetts thanks to the collaborative efforts of law enforcement agencies.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin expressed his confidence as to the viability of the Sabetta port on the Yamal Peninsula, whose infrastructure is currently being constructed.

The Federal Oversight Service for Communication, IT, and the Media, commonly known as Roscomnadzor, issued a new directive for keeping personal information private.

The worldwide networking service and IP provider Alcatel-Lucent and the Russian telecom carrier Rostelecom have joined efforts in inaugurating the Europe-Persia Express Gateway project in Russia.

Russia’s state-controlled electricity generating company RudHydro started its transition to an integrated fiscal management system based on the SAP ERP platform.

According to the U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, cooperation in the area of missile defense still remains a viable possibility on the Russian-American agenda.