Samvel Karapetyan's Tashir Group may invest US$ 50 million in the construction of shopping malls and exhibition centers in Sochi sea passenger port, reported the "Kommersant". One of city's businessmen said to publication, that the developer is planning to build a shopping gallery, which will house luxury-brand boutiques. And the company representative Marina Gaze confirmed that recently the group has become a co-investor of Sochi port reconstruction project. As she stated, Tashir Group received 2.3 hectares of land for long-term lease. As part of reconstruction project the company intends to build more than 25 thousand square meters of real estate. Boutique galleries will occupy about 7.5 thousand square meters, a multifunctional complex with retail and office space - 6.7 thousand square meters and the exhibition center will occupy 11.5 thousand square meters. Tashir Group didn't disclose the amount of project investment, but experts estimated it about US$ 50 million. According to the publication, the construction financing will proceed from the sale of company's real estate in Moscow.

Construction of Gazprom's 463-meter tall "Lakhta Center" in St. Petersburg will begin in October, the head of the Gazprom subsidiary in charge of the project said to information agency RIA Novosti. Gazprom received permission from the city to build the skyscraper complex on the shore of the Gulf of Finland earlier in August. The site is ten kilometers from the city center. An earlier proposal to build in downtown St. Petersburg, at Okhta Cape, had to be scrapped in the face of stiff public opposition. "Construction will proceed in phases," said Alexander Bobkov, the head of ZAO Okhta Public and Business Center, which is overseeing construction of the complex. "The tower itself will take the longest to build. I think we will break ground in October, since there are no legal or technical issues," Bobkov said. The 334 thousand square meter complex will serve as the headquarters for Gazprom's oil arm, Gazprom Neft, and other Gazprom subsidiaries. Construction is scheduled for completion in the spring of 2018. Bobkov did not specify the overall price tag for the project, but said one square meter is expected to cost US$ 2,5 - 3,5 thousand, much less than the estimated US$ 1.9 billion to build at the Okhta site.

As reported Russian media, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin officially appointed Ruben Mulkijanyan to the position of capital's Chief architect. Since 1996, the Moscow Committee of architecture was headed by Alexander Kuzmin, but on July 12 he resigned. After an unexpected announcement of Moscow's Chief architect's resignation, his deputy Oleg Rybin also wrote his resignation. After this the Moscow Mayor has officially appointed to this position an Armenian architect Ruben Mulkijanyan. Mulkijanyan began his career not in architecture, but in automobile industry. At first he worked in "ZIL", then in a motor-car factory. After studying at the Institute of Land Engineers he began to work at the Moscow Architecture and Urban Planning Committee's department of planning and development. Since then over 40 years he has been in various positions, and the last 5 years he was Moscow Architecture and Urban Planning Committee's chairman deputy. He participated in reconstruction projects such as "Olympic", "Dynamo", "Locomotive" stadiums, the building of Academic science and even the Great Theater. The experts' opinions, whether a temporary position to become permanent for the Armenian architect, are different. The group of architects believe that he can do the job well, as he had a great experience, another group-no. However Alexander Kuzmin is on vacation until August 14 and hence the election of a new chief architect in the offing.

The construction of Armenian cathedral in Moscow is planned to be completed by the end of 2012. As reported Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin press center, the Catholicos of All Armenians His Holiness Garekin II and the head of Russian Diocese Artur Chilingarov during their meeting announced, that the great opening ceremony of Armenian Cathedral will take place late in 2012. The temple construction site was allotted by the Moscow authorities in 1996. The construction is planned to be completed in 2001, but project was delayed till 2006. The architect of the religious complex is Artak Gulian, construction is funded by Armenian and Russian patrons. The whole Cathedral site is about 13.2 thousand square meters; the height of Cathedral is about 50 meters and the dome diameter - 21 meters. The main cross height is 7 meters, and the remaining 5 crosses rise by 4 meters each. The complex includes the Cathedral, the small church of "Holy Cross", educational, cultural, administrative and reception facilities and a museum.

According to information agency Interfax, on December 22 the vice president of "Tashir Group" Vitaly Efimkin announced, that the company planned to put into operation 11 buildings with total area 600 thousand square meters in 2012. As Efimkin said, 9 of 11 buildings will be shopping and entertainment centers "RIO", 2 of them in Moscow and 7 in other regions of Russia. Another two projects, which planned to be opened in 2011 are the 70 thousand square meters multifunctional recreation complex in "Moscow City" and the "Yaroslavl" hotel with total area of 18 thousand square meters. . According to Efimkin, "Tashir Group" in future may continue to open oceanariums in Russia. It is very successful project, as during the first month more than 250 thousand people attracted the first Russian oceanarium. . "Tashir Group" was founded in 1999. It is development and retailing company and to date manages more than 850 thousand square meters commercial real estate. It should be noted, that the company's turnover for 2011 will be US$ 2.8 billion, while in 2010 it amounted to US$ 1.725 billion.