St Petersburg, often perceived as a city of suspicion and double-dealing,
reached new heights of paranoia during Russia's April 1 extravaganza -- known
here as "Den' Durakov," or "Day of Idiots."
St Petersburg environmentalist Alexander Nikitin,
accused of treason, has finally been granted access to his defense attorney by
Russia's Constitutional Court.
Stanislav Shushkevich, ex-president of Belarus and
co-signatory of the recently denounced Beloverzhsky Accords, has branded the
Duma's censure of his actions a "sad fact."
Oblast Governor Alexander Byelakov ordered the oblast forestry committee to
restore the forest's former boundaries of the 936-hectare (2,300 acres)
Lindulovskaya Roscha forest, despite a regional court's ruling to reduce it to
one third.
St Petersburg Deputy Mayor Vladimir Yakovlev announced last Wednesday that he
has notified St Petersburg Mayor Anatoly Sobchak of his intentions to run
against Mr Sobchak for the city's top job.
Mikhail Syroyezhin was seized by FBI agents last November in Santa Monica,
California. His property, including a yacht worth around $300,000, was
impounded by the arresting officers.
St Petersburg's State Hermitage Museum announced it will
keep impressionist paintings taken by victorious Soviet soldiers at the end of
World War II, despite Germany's demands for their return.
Yabloko leader Grigory Yavlinsky, in a not very veiled reference to President
Boris Yeltsin and Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov, was recently quoted as
saying the above.
The multi-million-dollar high-speed railway project
between St Petersburg and Moscow took another step forward last week when
railroad authorities announced that the first train will be tested at the end
of next year.
Lufthansa has already begun operating its widely extended service, which
includes offering night flights to Frankfurt and increased flights to Europe
and the Americas
The St Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast administrations
are preparing a joint display for the Transport-Logistics exhibition at Leipzig
Fair, which will take place April 13-18 in Germany.
Svetlana Nikitina, the local head of the Federal Insurance Practices
Observation Service (GSN), said 16 companies lost their licenses for selling
policies beyond the jurisdiction of their permits and means of financial
protection.
APRIL 2 - APRIL 8, 1996
