"The death of Patriarch Alexy II is an extremely sad and tragic occurrence"
"The death of Patriarch Alexy II is an extremely sad and tragic occurrence. Alexy II was a beloved and revered Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. He was a lucid personality. This is a great loss. Not only was he the greatest person in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, but he was also an outstanding statesman. He made a substantial contribution to cooperation between various religious confessions. It won't be an exaggeration to say that he maintained good and friendly relations with the representatives of all traditional Russian confessions. He accomplished a lot for the sake of asserting a new Russian statehood."
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin met with Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan
"I would like to note with satisfaction that bilateral relations are developing rather successfully in virtually every area, including the energy sector. We are implementing ambitious projects and maintain large-scale cooperation. I am convinced that your visit will be very business-like, useful and constructive."
"This year, experts have registered dynamic development of bilateral trade and economic contacts. Trade is steadily going up; this year, it has increased by almost 17%. Russian investments are promoting the Armenian economic upsurge. They have already exceeded $1.6 billion."
Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting on the economy
"Whatever we do should concentrate on man. We must focus attention on helping honest workers who coped with their housing and other problems as best they could but are now in dire straits through no fault of theirs. I outlined those acute issues and additional steps to settle them yesterday. Now, I want to analyse them in greater detail and describe proposed practical patterns to implement everything I mentioned yesterday."
Mr Zubkov described the contacts between the two Governments as very fruitful, noting that mutual trade had increased by 1.5 times since the beginning of the year compared with the same period of last year.
“None of the Russian investors have abandoned their commitments to Olympic facilities construction in Sochi,” Mr Kozak said.
Events for 4 december 2008
"Conversation with Vladimir Putin"
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the leader of the United Russia party, answered questions directed to his public reception officers or asked by telephone, in the form of text messages and through the website. The question and answer session was broadcast live by Rossiya and Vesti channels and the Mayak and Radio Russia stations.
"There have been many questions, and they are vital for people. Quite often, these are critical questions, but they reflect exactly what worries people. I'm indeed grateful to the Russian people for these questions, for the open conversation we had about real problems that the man on the street encounters."
The Commission backed the proposal to assign a special code for electrical trains with a maximum speed of not less than 250 kmph and to establish for them a zero customs import duty on a temporary basis (for 9 months) (the current rate is between 5 and 10%).
