Thanks to relative political stability and strong oil and gas prices, Russia's retail turnover more than quintupled from 2001 to 2011 and now exceeds US$600 billion annually. Data suggest that this sector is entering the steepest part of its growth curve. How will Russia's retailers face the challenges of this critical period of expansion? Will foreign retailers manage to get a slice of this growing pie?

• January 3, 2013

A major Iranian partner of Huawei Technologies offered to sell at least 1.3 million euros worth of embargoed Hewlett-Packard (HP) computer equipment to Iran’s largest mobile phone operator in late 2010, documents show.

• January 2, 2013

Kyrgyzstan's state-owned natural gas company says it is to be sold to Russia's energy monopoly Gazprom, raising hopes of an end to debilitating energy shortages in the impoverished Central Asian nation.

• December 24, 2012

Russia and India signed weapons deals worth billions of dollars today as president Vladimir Putin sought to further boost ties with an old ally

• December 24, 2012

U.S. President Barack Obama has signed into law legislation that grants permanent normal trade relations to Russia and Moldova while also paving the way for sanctions against Russian officials implicated in the death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.

• December 17, 2012

Iran plans to sign some new gas export contracts in the near future, the Iranian oil minister announced.

• December 15, 2012

Turkmenistan has all the prerequisites to increase the volume of gas production and exports in the coming years, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammadov said in his message on the occasion of the Day of Workers of Oil and Gas Industry and Geology, celebrated on Friday.

• December 14, 2012

Russian gas monopoly Gazprom has apparently ruled out building a subsea Sakhalin-Japan natural gas pipeline. That is not preventing continued talks on the ambitious project, which remains a bargaining tool in Russia's gas-price negotiations with China.

• December 14, 2012