Today in Russian Business – Aug 19, 2011

Moscow will lose 1,000 of its 24,000 civil servants next year.  Companies continue to vie for inclusion in the expanding Skolkovo Business Park, which has just welcomed its 100th member.  The former CEO of Bank of Moscow is seeking $4.8 million in compensation for breach of his employment contract.  The Superjet gets a lukewarm review at the Moscow Times, which is also keeping tabs on deal activity at the MAKS airshow.  The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development may contribute to the $12.6 billion road construction fund that state-run Avtodor is looking to raise over the next eight years.  The first deputy chairman of the central bank says that it’s too early to think about injecting liquidity into the market.  The declining performance and poor returns of BRIC investments are sparking speculation about the future of the grouping.  Rosnano says it is developing a plastic-based tablet computer to rival Apple’s iPad, and plans to begin mass production next year.  Vladimir Putin might denounce the U.S. as a ‘parasite’, but Russia has increased its holdings in U.S. debt by over 1,600% in the last five years, says Bloomberg.  Egypt bought 240,000 metric tons of Russian wheat.