Today in Russian Business – Feb 17, 2010

The Kremlin is due to release its list of state-owned companies that are due for privatization in ‘a few weeks‘, but sales will not happen until the economy revives, in a bid to receive fair prices for the assets, says presidential aide Arkady Dvorkovich.  How’s this for innovation: a 17-year old Russian has been identified as the creator of a new webcam chat website, attracting the attention and praise of US venture capitalists.  Sergei Lavrov says that Russia has increased its arms sales to Latin America in recent months for ‘purely commercial‘ reasons.  This article suggests that the news that IKEA fired two executives in St Petersburg over bribery allegations could ‘jeopardise‘ the company’s image.  eBay has announced that it will launch new online retail platforms in six countries by the end of next month, including Russia.