Vacation season has slowed the flow of news about adoption in Russia, but there are interesting developments in business and politics.

In an intersection of both, Russia surprised the world financial community by proposing a former Czech central bank governor to head the International Monetary Fund. What was the surprise? The financiers thought they had a done deal in a French candidate (a former finance minister) who had been proposed by the European Union and seemed to have U.S. support. In nominating Josef Tosovsky, Russian officials called him the "right person at the right place at the right time". According to BusinessWeek,Moscow has wanted to see more competition for the top job at the IMF.

This week, Moscow has been hosting Russia's annual MAKS air show. Moscow News Weekly says Russia has been building the show as a counterpart to the Farnborough and to Le-Bourget air shows in Britain and France, respectively. And the effort seems to be paying off. Moscow News Weekly says 400,000 people attended the six-day event. And Boeing announced Friday that a Russian airline has signed a contract for four 737s. Boeing said the order, by Atlant-Soyuz Airlines, is worth $249 million. Atlant-Soyuz is owned by the Moscow government, and is seen as a key player in the regional airport expansion plan I told you about last week. In a separate announcement Thursday, Boeing said that Russia and the countries that grew out of the former Soviet Union will need 1,060 new aircraft over the next 20 years, making them a $70 billion market.

Speaking of expansion, a Russian lingerie chain is doing just that in Great Britain. Russian retailer Dikaya Orkhideya (Wild Orchid) has opened in London the first of what will reportedly be four stores in England. Analysts see the move as a market challenge to Limited Brands, the corporate parent of Victoria's Secret. For some unexplained reason, Dikaya Orkhideya, which is the leading lingerie chain in Russia and Ukraine, is calling its British stores Vendetta.

Russia's institute of maritime geological research confirmed an expansion of a different sort. According to newspaper reports, the institute says that samples taken from underneath the North Pole by a Russian submarine three weeks ago confirm that the sea floor there is part Russia's landmass.

And in unrelated news, Moscow's MTUZ theatre has been hosting its eighth annual clown festival. Sounds worth checking out if you are in town now.