Today in Russian Business – Nov 15, 2010

Economic aide Arkady Dvorkovich has said that Russia is aiming to complete negotiations to enter the World Trade Organization and become a member next year (though not if Georgia has anything to do with it, some would argue.)  ‘Silicon Valley companies could be indirectly helping a state many believe is leading the development of what Western governments see as the newest global security threat: cyberwarfare’: why Skolkovo is a risk for international companies, on RFE/RL.  Russian investigators have apparently opened a criminal investigation into the purchase by state agencies of Mercedes-Benz cars, months after Daimler, the vehicle’s maker, was fined in a US court after pleading guilty to offering bribes to officials to improve sales.  Alexander Lebedev has revealed that in the two days following the raid on his bank’s headquarters, more than $49 million was withdrawn by individuals and companies, a sum great enough to sink a retail bank.  Reuters reports that in the third quarter the growth of Russia’s GDP decreased considerably, in contrast to other emerging markets.  Could tycoon Shalva Chigirinsky be homeward bound?