Today in Russian Business – July 5, 2011

16% of the Russian population officially live below the poverty line.  The FT reports on the paradox of frozen wages and creeping inflation.  VTB is embarking on a series of roadshows in London and New York to ease concerns about its recent acquisition Bank of Moscow, which was deemed a success initially, but then required a $10 billion state bail-out.  The Russian Academy of Sciences will set up a ‘Soviet-style scientific town‘ in Novosibirsk for a cooperative of young scientists.  On the ‘core competence‘ of Russia’s microelectronics industry: ‘there are two possible futures for Russia: to shift toward software engineering […] or to focus on trying to catch up with the rest of the world.‘  Viktor Vekselberg, President of the Skolkovo Foundation, anticipates residents being able to move there in 2014.  The book for PhosAgro’s London IPO is already fully subscribed, with another week still to go before closing.  Europe’s authorization of a loan payout for Greece has helped boost Russian stocks.  On current gold trends.  United Russia and Russian Technologies are planning to set up a waste utilization company, despite ecologists’ opposition to government involvement in the waste industry.