Today in Russian Business – April 9, 2012

Economic Development Minister Elvira Nabiullina has told a ministerial meeting that she is slashing Russia’s GDP forecast from 3.7% to 3.4%, due to a dwindling rate of investments in the economy.  Reuters reports that the Economy Ministry apparently expects $10-$20 billion to leave the country in 2012 in net capital outflows.  A tit-for-tat spat between Russia and Belarus over flights between the two countries has continued over the weekend, with Belarusian national airline Belavia threatening to stop Aeroflot’s flights between Moscow and Minsk, after Russia’s Transport Ministry announced its intention to ban Belavia from flying to Russia’s regions.  According to the Moscow Times, SUAL Partners (controlled by Viktor Vekselberg and Len Blavatnik) is suing Oleg Deripaska’s En+ Group and Glencore International, fellow shareholders in the world’s biggest aluminum producer United Company RusAl, in order to dissolve trading contracts.