Today in Russian Business – March 7, 2012

Monday’s opposition protest led to Russian stocks taking a nosedive yesterday, wiping out election gains.  Sberbank’s January and February profits show a 17% increase on the same period last year, but the bank is also dealing with its biggest share-price drop since early December.  Gender inequality in Russia’s boardrooms extends to companies refusing women candidates for interview, says this piece: ‘Among 50 major Russian public companies, men hold 93 percent of the board seats’.  Thanks to timely bets on Facebook, Alisher Usmanov is now Russia’s richest man, with a personal wealth of over $20 billion.  Rusnano is teaming up with U.S. venture fund Domain Associates on a $760 million investment into U.S. healthcare and pharmaceuticals firms.  Will Putin’s new term breathe new life into plans for the Eurasian Union and CIS integration?