“We are strong supporters of a free and independent press, and we greatly admire the Evening Standard as an iconic publication with its pedigree of fine journalism and commentary,” Lebedev, a 49-yearold former State Duma deputy, said in a statement. The new owner’s business interests include banking, agriculture and construction and a blocking stake in Aeroflot.

B2B Media, a Moscow multimedia publishing house specializing in professional media, plans to sell its Finansovy Direktor (Financial Director) magazine to Action-Media, another professional publishing house. The deal, estimated at $1.3m-1.5m, is to be closed in two months, the Kommersant business daily wrote in February. B2B Media will also sell it’s social network site E-xecutive to a pool of investors, while five other projects will be closed. Demand for advertising in Russia will fall 11 percent in 2009, predicts Group M, the media division of WPP, the world’s largest communications holding. Russian advertisers will cut back their activities in all media except Internet contextual advertising. Against a 2008 ad spend which increased 18% to 275 bn rubles, a 2009 spend of 244 billion rubles is projected. The most impressive statistics on the ad market are in the Internet. Internet Advertising increased 55 percent in the first nine months of 2008 to 4.5 bn rubles.

Point of Purchase Advertising International (POPAI) at the end of last year conferred their “New Media Award” on Tony Yammine who is starting the implementation of Cabtivate Networks project of 10.000 screens in 10.000 cabs in all over UK.

Vladimir Makarov, head of the Moscow Advertising Committee, the authority that controls sales of city advertising space, is being investigated on suspicion of embezzling over 130 million rubles, abuse of office, including the use or threat of violence or use of weapons. If charged and convicted he faces up to 10 years in jail. Makarov said investigators were reviewing a deal that his committee made with a company in 2004.

Meanwhile the city’s chief architect, Alexander Kuzmin, has ordered the removal of billboards from historic areas around the Kremlin, Kolomenskoye Park and Novodevichy Convent.