TODAY: Putin allies wait to pounce on Vedomosti; Duma deputy accuses colleagues of lying about assets; Putin threatens European gas cut-off; Moscow to expand military presence and boost defence budget; Rosneft launches legal challenges against E.U. sanctions; Navalny interview with Ekho Moskvy.

Following the signing of a bill that will limit foreign ownership of Russian mass media to 20%, a rumour is circulating that close associates of Putin are preparing to acquire Vedomosti – the largest newspaper outlet currently not under Kremlin control.  Under the new law, the owners of the Wall Street Journal and Financial Times will also need to sell or reduce their 33% stakes in Vedomosti by the end of 2016. ‘The Kremlin sees Vedomosti’s shareholders as foreign governments. The WSJ equals the U.S. and the FT the U.K. They want a Russian owner so they have someone to call.’  Glossy magazines will also be hit hard by the new law, prompting speculation as to ‘whether the culture of glamour is a threat to Russia’.  A State Duma deputy has accused 100 colleagues of failing to disclose their ownership of foreign assets, and thereby being in violation of a recent transparency law.  President Vladimir Putin arrived in Milan last night for peace talks with European Union leaders today, after threatening to reduce gas supplies to Europe if Ukraine should take any gas from transit pipelines to cover its own deficit this winter.  The European Energy Chief, Guenther Oettinger, said that if a gas cut-off were to happen, the only nation to suffer would be Estonia.  ‘If we work together, show solidarity and implement the recommendations of this report, no household in the EU has to be left out in the cold this winter,’ he said.