Still no news on the news we all most want to see, the next round of accreditations, but plenty of other news in Russian business and politics this past week.

Let's start with the latter. On Friday, Russian prosecutors charged one of the country's deputy finance ministers with planning to embezzle $43.4 million. Sergei Storchak, described in news reports as one of Russia's leading liberals, had been arrested the week before. According... more

One bit of adoption news this week, though not the accreditation news we are all waiting to see. A former office manager and bookkeeper for the Florence Crittenton League Adoption Agency is facing federal mail fraud and tax evasion charges after allegedly stealing more than $600,000 from the agency. The Lowell, Mass.-based agency, which handled adoptions in Russia, Guatemala and China, said in a statement that the theft was uncovered in April 2006 and that it "in no way, shape or form" affected any adoptions... more

Two employees at Children's Hope International have been found to have forged documents in connection with adoptions in Russia.

The story was first reported by Missouri television station KSDK on Tuesday evening. Children's Hope, which handles adoptions in almost every state in the U.S. through its 16 regional offices, posted this statement from its executive director, Dwyatt Gantt, about the forgeries... more

Today, I want to circle back to a point I made very briefly in the post on our trip to the Smithsonian: Explaining to the children that you have adopted from Russia that the United States and Russia have not always been the best of friends. (Apologies to my non-U.S. readers, but some of what I am going to say here will also be applicable to your countries.)

Don't worry, I'm not going to launch into some long dissertation about U.S.-Russian relations. There are folks who do that for a living, and... more

It turns out that last week's reports of a deal between Germany's Lufthansa airlines and Russian transportation authorities to move the carrier's cargo operations to Siberia is not a done deal. According to Reuters, German officials are saying on Friday that Lufthansa's flyover rights have been extended to February while Russians and Germans work out a longer-term agreement. Just one big catch: The Russian side told Reuters they were only studying the proposal.

Maybe a sigh of relief at Ford... more

Russia's December 2 parliamentary election leads the news this week. Election officials certified 11 parties to vie for the elections while sharply limiting the number of foreign observers to watch the polling. There may not be much to watch: Most political analysts expect the United Russia list to win the bulk of the seats in the State Duma, which is the lower house of Russia's legislature. President Vladimir Putin announced on... more

Those of us who have been to Russia already know the drill. Your driver is taking you to the orphanage where the most stressful day of your life awaits, when the car is pulled over by the highway police. Oh, what now, you think. What piece of paperwork have I forgotten to bring?

But the stop has nothing to do with you and everything with what a group of Russian citizens are now saying is wrong with the nation's police force. The road cops are yanking your driver's car off the road purely and simply to extract a little cash. It happened to me once on each of the three trips... more

Jimmy Carter may be envious: One week after Russian President Vladimir Putin took complaints about inflation on a televised town hall-style show, Russia's top food companies agreed to a government plan to freeze prices. The store tab for bread, eggs, vegetable oil and sugar will be frozen through the end of January, along with the price of some cheese and milk products .The Kremlin called the producers' agreement voluntary, but some economists criticized the move as a return to Soviet policies. Then again, price freezes weren't... more

President Vladimir Putin spent three hours in front of the television cameras on Thursday, taking and answering questions from citizens on a wide range of economic, social and political issues. According to the official Russian government Web site, Putin answered more than 60 questions during the show, which came from people in Vladivostok, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Voronezh region, Arkhangelsk region, six other regions and Kazakhstan. The government site doesn't yet have the transcript posted, but promises one will... more

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates got an earful when they visited Moscow on Friday. Russian President Vladimir Putin again blasted America's plan to base a missile defense system in eastern Europe--this time with the TV cameras rolling and the American officials in the background. “Of course, we can some time in the future decide that some antimissile defense should be established somewhere on the moon,” The New York Times quoted... more