President Medvedev has asserted that the new civilian nuclear pact between the US and Russia ‘should not be politicized […] but treated as business’. Why food in Russia is becoming so expensive, from the FT. Reuters has a handy factbox on Russia’s 2011 IPO market. Oleg Deripaska’s automaker GAZ apparently hopes to reach deals with General Motors Co. and Volkswagen AG by the end of next month for Russia-based manufacturing. Forecasters predict that the ruble will reach an eight-month high this quarter as high oil prices and interest rates entice investors. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has pledged that the government will spend $3.8 billion on national space programs in 2011. Why Medvedev sees the downsizing of the state apparatus as a necessary financial decision, in the Moscow Times.