Moscow - Nothing could be a more visual throwback to the scarcity of Soviet days then the yawning bare shelves at some of Moscow's small grocery chains this week.
Kremlin critics have even voiced hope that such - so far limited - signs of economic crisis could turn the populace against former president-turned-premier Vladimir Putin.
"It's the crisis," affirmed a sales girl at grocer Samokhval behind a glowing refrigerated counter empty of all but frozen veggies. "They haven't stopped paying me yet, but it's all over the papers - the victims of the crisis."
With that she held up a tabloid expose of affected oligarchs headlined "The Rich Are Crying" in daily Zhizn.
Moscow/Minsk - Moscow will give Belarus a two billion dollar credit to purchase Russian natural gas Minsk cannot otherwise afford, the Belapan news agency reported Tuesday.
MMoscow - Five Russian soldiers were killed and six injured in an ambush in the Cacausus republic of Dagestan on Tuesday, Russian news agencies reported.
Moscow - Lybian leader Moamer Gadaffi will travel to Moscow on October 31 to meet with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev over weapons purchases and energy deals, business daily Vedemosti cited a Foreign Ministry source as saying.
Moscow - Nothing could be a more visual throwback to the scarcity of Soviet days then the yawning bare shelves at some of Moscow's small grocery chains this week.
Moscow - Russian energy stocks plummeted on deteriorating global oil prices Thursday with export monopoly Gazprom loosing two- thirds of its market value as indices hit three-year lows.
