Retired secret service agents attempt raid on VFS Global. Raid attempt is foiled.

Two days — that’s how long it took to sell out the 10,000-unit supply of the newest Apple tablets in Russia after the iPad 2 went on sale here, several months after it became available in the US.

As Russia struggles to improve its investment climate and attract more foreign direct investment, the country’s largest corporations are starting to resemble the nearly-forgotten Soviet economic plants, with incompetent management, lack of supervision, and very creative accounting, according to the report published in Moscow this week.

The Suleiman Kerimov Foundation has disbursed around $60 million to social projects in Dagestan and Russia.

Vladimir Potanin’s Interros, which owns a 25-percent stake in Russian miner Norilsk Nickel, will not take part in the major Norilsk’s shares buyback effort, announced by the company earlier this week, according to a source in Interros.

United Company Rusal and the management of Norilsk Nickel, the world’s largest producer of nickel, continued their bitter fight for control of the mining firm last week, as Norilsk shareholders rebuffed a request from Rusal to change the board of directors. It is a struggle that media observers have described as the Russian corporate scandal of the year.

The battle over the death of anti-corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky reached new heights this week, after former Magnitsky’s employer Jamison Firestone released another video on YouTube, exposing one of the prosecutors involved in the case.

The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) may soon be reviewing a possible connection between U.S. cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris and a circle of corrupt Russian government officials.

Russian aluminum tycoon Oleg Deripaska claims he wants to head the newly elected board of directors of Norilsk Nickel, causing tensions between Norilsk Nickel and the aluminum giant Rusal, Russian Reuters reported yesterday.

Slon.ru, Russian online newspaper, compiled the "Ikea index", the relative cost of the 32 Ikea products basket across 28 countries. According to the newspaper, the index shows the cost of doing business in the given country. And guess what: Russia's Ikea products are some of the most expensive in the world.

Back in the 19th century, it took approximately 5 weeks for a letter to arrive to St. Petersburg, Russia from California. 150 years later, it takes two months (if it ever arrives at all.)

Hermitage Capital Management, one of the major Russian investment banks, was forced to shut down and relocate to London, with several employees accused of fraud and put in prison. The bank alleged that it became victim of corrupt government officials and competitors with links to the Russian secret service, who helped to fake evidence and steal $230 million in taxes, paid by Hermitage.

Just as we suspected, this blog is being read by an amazing, cultured, affluent, well-traveled audience. They buy cars, paintings, airline tickers, televisions, soccer teams, personal jets and books, among other things. Now you can advertise your products and services for free on this blog. The only condition is that your products and services must be interesting and relevant for those who are interested in Russia.

We have to interrupt your blog briefly to keep you up to date with Russia's richest man Mikhail Prokhorov's news. This week he is planning to kick some yet to be identified ass. Since Prokhorov is not only the richest Russian ($19.5 billion), but also one of the tallest (6.75'), we have to take his words seriously.