Today in Russian Business – July 26, 2011

The grain export forecast has been raised to 20 million tons, as Dmitry Medvedev promises that the market is stable and the Grain Union raises its total harvest forecast to 92 million tons.  Medvedev also promised that farmers would not lose state subsidies if Russia joins the WTO.  ‘Medvedev’s new [media] plan sounds a lot like his old media plan.’  China will be a keen bidder when Russia tenders this year for the construction of a high-speed railway line between Moscow and St. Petersburg, says the FT, but will reservations about intellectual property rights deter Russia from partnering up?  Mikhail Senatorov, who owns print company Offset Print House 21, says his company is like ‘a fortress under siege’ due to fears that a feud with Oleg Deripaska will get him kicked off his current premises.  Are foreign architects receiving preferential treatment over their domestic counterparts?  The Moscow Times has a factfile on the car market, including details of main domestic and foreign providers.  Italian tyre-maker Pirelli is buying a factory in Russia.  The Moscow News compares Greek’s debt crisis to Russia’s 1998 default.  According to defense minister Anatoly Serdyukov, Russia is planning to modernize its Gabala radar station in Azerbaijan.