POLITICS
Russia has suggested introducing visa-free travel for Russian passengers travelling to Europe on regular flights in another attempt to achieve any progress in deadlocked talks over the issue with EU officials. (Kommersant)
Moscow and Washington are so far apart in their positions on the missile defense issue that the much-anticipated Russia-NATO summit in Chicago in 2012 could be cancelled. (Kommersant)
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
A long-anticipated gas deal with Beijing will not be signed during a two-day visit by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to China which starts on Tuesday. (Vedomosti, Izvestia)
The Russian economy may enter stagnation sooner than expected. The weakening of the ruble, increased capital flow, dismissal of the finance minister, and the deteriorating economic situation in Europe are fuelling negative expectations among businesses and population in the country. (Kommersant)
Russia may help Europe to overcome the ongoing financial crisis by buying out part of Spain’s debt. (Moscow News)
Russia and China are planning to set up a direct investment fund worth $4 billion. An agreement is expected to be signed during the visit by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to China on October 11-12. (Kommersant)
The Moscow authorities are planning to buy new trains for the metro from foreign manufacturers. Germany’s Siemens said it is ready to invest 1 billion euro in the project. (Moscow News)
Russia’s labor market has shown signs of stagnation on the rumors of the second wave of economic crisis in the country – employers stopped raising salaries and employees abandoned the active search for new employment in September. (Vedomosti)
Russian airlines will experience a shortage of jet fuel by the end of October if they do not receive at least 180,000 of fuel from the state reserves, Deputy Transportation Minister Valery Okulov said. (Rosiiskaya Gazeta)
DEFENSE
Russian Deputy Economic Development Minister Andrei Klepach said on Monday that the state defense order for 2011 had not been fulfiled despite reassurances by Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov. Negative results are expected next year as well, Klepach said (Moscow News)
NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, U.S. Admiral James Stavridis and Russia's Chief of the General Staff Nikolai Makarov have failed to overcome the deadlock in Russia-NATO talks on European missile defense during their meeting in Moscow on Monday. (Rosiiskaya Gazeta)
The Russian Defense Ministry has announced winners of the tender on the development of domestic unmanned aerial vehicles – St. Petersburg-based Tranzas company and the Sokol company based in Kazan. (Vedomosti)
Russia will scrap all its outdated T-64 tanks by the end of 2011. Older T-55 and T-62 tanks were scrapped last year. (Izvestia)
SOCIETY
A Moscow think-tank studying how to fight against traffic jams has criticized the Moscow authorities over the introduction of traffic lines dedicated to public transport. Experts from the center predict that this measure would lead to a traffic collapse and protests by drivers in the capital as early as in November. (Kommersant)
Russian consumers are tightening their belts in expectation of the looming economic downturn in the country. Consumer spending has been steadily declining in the past few months, top retailers report (Izvestia)
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