Today in Russian Business – July 1, 2010

Today heralds the start of the Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus customs union: the Moscow Times reports there is some confusion as to its logistics.  According to Bloomberg, Belarus will meet with the two nations on July 5 to discuss whether it will join; Ria-Novosti suggests that Minsk has in fact already ratified the customs code.  Sheremetyevo Airport director Mikhail Vasilenko has accused Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov of deliberately blocking a road that leads to the airport in order to promote another airport, Vnukovo, which is owned by City Hall.  KazakhGold Group has announced a $9.4 billion deal to take control of its parent company Polyus Gold making it the largest producer of the metal among the former Soviet republics.  Russia’s failure to deliver S-300 surface-to-air missile systems to Iran means Tehran may seeks its weapons elsewhere, most likely in China, spelling a major loss in income, Ria-Novosti reports.  The governments of Russia and France may apparently swap stakes in their automakers.  The cash-for-clunkers scheme could be extended to trucks, Reuters reports.  Siemens has pledged to deepen cooperation with Russian Railways in the near future.  Manufacturing growth climbed to a two-year high in June.