In the latest of the great newspaper wars of London, two lions of Fleet Street, Rupert Murdoch and Jonathan Harmsworth (the fourth Viscount Rothermere), have been outflanked by a former Soviet K.G.B. officer, Aleksandr Lebedev...

Tackling the monster that is the London newspaper market, Lord Rothermere must at times feel like a character in one of the Friday the Thirteenth films trying to dispatch the unstoppable Jason. No sooner has he buried six bullets in the chest of thelondonpaper, than a new foe rises up in the form of Alexander Lebedev and his bid to turn the Evening Standard into a free daily with a circulation of 600,000 from Monday...

The Russian billionaire businessman Alexander Lebedev is also the proprietor of London's Evening Standard newspaper, which has now become a freesheet. What motivates a Russian oligarch to buy a British evening paper? What kind of man is he...

He owns London's leading newspaper, which today goes free, and has been a guest at No 10, but who is Alexander Lebedev? We talk to those closest to him about his rise to prominence. Alexander Yevgenyevich Lebedev's first foray into the British social scene, with his cheeky smile and laceless Converse trainers, was like a breath of fresh air to a nation that tended to associate visiting Russian businessmen with assassination bids and hyper-inflation in the football transfer market...

Two leading opposition figures say they have given up on Russia's election system altogether ahead of regional polls on Sunday, saying it makes a mockery of President Dmitry Medvedev's pledge to boost democracy. Former prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov and former KGB spy Alexander Lebedev, now a banking and media tycoon, told Reuters that the campaign for Moscow city council elections had helped convince them it no longer made sense to run for office...

On 12 October 2009 The London Evening Standard will become the first quality newspaper in the world to go free. The number of circulated copies of the London Evening Standard will more than double from 250k a day to more than 600k a day. Alexander Lebedev, Chairman of Evening Standard Ltd, said: "I am confident that more than doubling the London Evening Standard's circulation and maintaining its quality journalism is what London deserves. An essential fabric of a free and democratic society is high quality journalism...

In last Friday's London Evening Standard, we announced that from Monday 12 October we will become the first quality newspaper in the world to go free. The response to the bold decision to increase circulation to 600,000 copies, making the quality paper accessible to more Londoners than ever before, has been welcomed by commentators and, most important of all, by readers...

If you build it they will come, top businessmen said as Prime Minister Vladimir Putin issued a plea for more foreign investment to speed up Russia's exit from the crisis...

Russian banking and aviation magnate Alexander Lebedev, owner of London’s Evening Standard, estimates that Russian bureaucrats have pocketed $500 billion in bribes in the past four years and corruption and red tape make Russia one of the worst places to invest on earth...

As I have recently become a father again at the age of 49 - my son Nikita is now four months old - my choice of where to holiday this summer was somewhat limited, as I often like to travel way off the beaten track. As a child I wanted to go and live with tribes in Borneo or Papua New Guinea whose way of living has been uninterrupted for thousands of years. We chose this year to rent a villa in Villefranche in the south of France...

Russia can only overcome a 'permanent crisis' of aging infrastructure and rampant corruption with a major Kremlin-backed reform program, billionaire businessman Alexander Lebedev said on Monday. Lebedev, an outspoken former KGB spy who made a fortune in banking, said the crisis had wiped the mirage that blinded many investors to Russia's true problems -- which he said were now more acute than during the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union...

While her husband fights for his political life, Sarah Brown put her best foot forward and dressed to impress at a star-studded charity fundraising ball. The Prime Minister's wife dashed from the D-Day beaches in Normandy to be at the glamorous Russian-themed Raisa Gorbachev Foundation gala in South-West London. She cut a stylish picture in purple as she joined entrepreneurs and guests from the worlds of the arts, showbusiness, politics and music for a lavish white-tie dinner at Hampton Court Palace...

The editors of Novaya Gazeta states that the shareholders of the newspaper - Alexander Lebedev and Mikhail Gorbachev - fulfill all their obligations, including financial ones, towards the stuff of Novaya Gazeta...

Alexander Lebedev, the new proprietor of the London Evening Standard, brought former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to the newspaper's offices this morning as he revealed he may in future float the title on the stock exchange. In chaotic scenes, and surrounded by photographers, cameramen and reporters, Gorbachev – a friend of Lebedev's – addressed staff in the Standard's newsroom, telling them Lebedev had his "full support"...

Mikhail Gorbachev today used a visit to the Evening Standard to call for a new era of international co-operation - and urged America to stop acting as the world's policeman. Speaking to the newspaper, the former leader of the Soviet Union revealed he is working on moves to reduce the world's stockpiles of weapons, gave his backing to Gordon Brown's attempts to solve the economic crisis and declared that David Cameron is not yet ready to take power...

Mr Lebedev, who is keen to offer Evening Standard journalists shares in the business, told the Daily Telegraph that an initial public offering is being discussed. He also said that he is also close to forming an editorial advisory board of key global figures and Mikhail Gorbachev - who this morning visited the Evening Standard’s Kensington headquarters with Mr Lebedev to address staff – is keen to join. Mr Lebedev is still in talks with other potential board members, which include Harry Potter creator JK Rowling...

London Evening Standard journalists are unhappy over the presence of London Lite staff in morning editorial meetings. Evening Standard staff have described the arrangement as a "cuckoo in the nest", now that the 50p Evening Standard is 75.1% owned by Russian billionaire Alexander Lebedev, and only 24.9% owned by Daily Mail & General Trust, which owns London Lite...

The Evening Standard newspaper voiced confidence on Monday that it has a "golden future" under its new Russian owners, while vowing editorial independence from them. "Today is the start of a new chapter at the Evening Standard," wrote the afternoon daily's newly-installed editor Geordie Greig, under a picture of former KGB spy Alexander Lebedev addressing staff in the newsroom...

A "cheerleader" for London. A "life-affirming, aspirational newspaper". Not words you'd normally use to describe the Evening Standard, which during its years as the plaything of Associated Newspapers would regularly splash with sub-Mail shockers about illegal Moroccan migrants and the danger they pose to Londoners' house prices...

Business secretary Lord Mandelson has described the takeover of the London Evening Standard by former KGB agent Alexander Lebedev as "not ideal". He also questioned what the Evening Standard's deceased former proprietor would have made of the decision of the Daily Mail and General Trust to sell a controlling stake in the paper in January...

Businessman Alexander Lebedev, who bought London's Evening Standard newspaper in January, is planning on expanding his media holdings yet again – this time with a Moscow-based, English-language radio station. The station will target the "over 1 million potential listeners in Moscow who speak English" and give him an additional platform for criticizing Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the billionaire said Friday in comments to The Moscow Times and in an interview with the Guardian newspaper that was displayed on its web sitе...

Having concluded his deal to buy the London Evening Standard, the Russian oligarch Alexander Lebedev (pictured) has asked the British media to stop talking about his former job as a Soviet spy. In an interview broadcast on ITN News yesterday, he said: "I personally would advise to use 'foreign intelligence' [rather] than KGB, which is a notorious concept in people's minds...

The Evening Standard is poised to review its media planning and buying account, currently held by Starcom. Starcom is understood to have held the account for in excess of ten years. It is unclear whether the agency will be invited to repitch. According to sources, with incoming owner Alexander Lebedev at the helm, the title expects media spend to rocket to £10m this year as it looks to arrest declining sales and take the fight to the London freesheets...

The Russian oligarch who has purchased the London Evening Standard made an appeal for the British media to refrain from branding him as a former agent for the KGB. Alexander Lebedev said the term gave a misleading and outdated impression of his background...

The London Evening Standard is exploring a new distribution model that would see copies of the 50p paper handed out for free or heavily discounted at key locations late in the evening, according to sources. Its strategy, which is being trialled with an eye to launching in March, would complement sales by Evening Standard vendors, which finish in the hour from 6pm...

The London Evening Standard has confirmed Geordie Greig will be its new editor after Russian billionaire and former KGB agent Alexander Lebedev's purchase of the paper is completed at the end of the month. Veronica Wadley, Standard editor for seven years, will leave the company...

The Evening Standard has appointed Tatler editor Geordie Greig as its new editor, replacing Veronica Wadley who has been at the helm since 2002. Greig, 48, has around 20 years experience in newspapers and has previously worked for the Daily Mail, Sunday Today and The Sunday Times. He has been editor of society magazine, Tatler, since 1999...

Tatler's Geordie Greig has been nominated to become the Evening Standard's new editor, it was announced today. Mr Greig, 48, whose newspaper experience stretches to almost 20 years, has worked for the Daily Mail, Sunday Today and The Sunday Times. His first job was at the South East London and Kentish Mercury in Deptford, London...

Geordie Greig is to take over as editor of the Evening Standard when Alexander Lebedev takes control of the title in the middle of this month. The editor of the Tatler replaces Veronica Wadley, who had edited the London newspaper since 2002. Close to the Russian oligarch and his son Evgeny, Mr Greig was widely expected to take over once the purchase was agreed...

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev Thursday met staff of an opposition newspaper whose reporter was murdered earlier this month, the Kremlin said...

Alexander Lebedev, the Russian millionaire who bought London's Evening Standard newspaper last week, said on Thursday that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's strategy for economic recovery is based on cronyism and is fueling corruption. "We have two Putins," Lebedev said. "There are lots of words, but the system doesn't work."...

Alexander Lebedev comments current political and economic situation on Bloomberg TV, 29th of January, 2009...

Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday condemned the killings nine days ago of a prominent human rights lawyer and journalist, in a clear departure from the Kremlin’s previous handling of politically tinged murders. In the Russian president’s first show of support, he met Dmitry Muratov, editor of Novaya Gazeta, the paper where Stanislav Markelov and Anastasia Baburova worked, and Mikhail Gorbachev, the former Soviet leader and co-owner of the paper...

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev Thursday met staff of an opposition newspaper whose reporter was murdered earlier this month, the Kremlin said. Medvedev met former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, a co-owner of the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, and editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov, the Kremlin said in a statement...

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev discussed on Thursday the recent shootings in Moscow of a lawyer and a Novaya Gazeta journalist with the paper's editor, as well as its co-owner, ex-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Lawyer Stanislav Markelov was shot dead on January 19 in downtown Moscow. Novaya Gazeta journalist Anastasia Baburova was also wounded in the attack and died a few hours later in hospital...

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev expressed his condolences to the family and colleagues of Anastasiya Baburova, a 25-year-old reporter shot dead on a downtown Moscow street earlier this month. Medvedev made the remarks after inviting former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, a part-owner of Novaya Gazeta, and editor Dmitry Muratov to the Kremlin today, the newspaper’s spokeswoman, Nadezhda Pursenkova, said by phone...

Evgeny Lebedev has been meeting staff at the London Evening Standard, the paper in which his Russian businessman father Alexander bought a controlling stake last week. Yesterday the 28-year-old held an informal lunch with senior Standard executives and writers, who reported being "reassured" by his comments about the Lebedevs' plans for the paper...

Alexander Lebedev, the Russian oligarch who last week bought 75.1pc of London's Evening Standard, has revealed he will be forced to close the title in three years if his turnaround plan is not a success. Speaking exclusively to The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Lebedev, who is to spend £25m revamping the title, said he has seen his wealth halve in the past six months and will not be able to commit to the title for more than three years if markets continue to fall...

One question that has been curiously underplayed in the purchase of London's Evening Standard by Alexander Lebedev, the Russian billionaire, is this: should a British newspaper be owned by a foreigner? In almost any other country this would be a highly charged issue – it is inconceivable that the French would allow an overseas company to buy Le Monde, the Italians La Stampa or the Spanish El Pais...

When it comes to selling newspaper titles, one of the great Fleet Street guessing games is: who first leaked news of the deal - and why? There were some pretty sharp intakes of breath at Associated Newspapers when the gossip started to get out that Alexander Lebedev was to buy the London Evening Standard...

Carlos Slim's move to take a greater stake in the New York Times is the latest example of western media companies attracting investors from emerging markets. Last week Russian oligarch Alexander Lebedev confirmed that he was buying control of the London Evening Standard...

Alexander Lebedev said Thursday that he would use the Evening Standard to help Prime Minister Vladimir Putin fight corruption, although he said he would need to invest "tens of millions of pounds" into the loss-making newspaper "for at least two years"...

The new owner of the London Evening Standard, Alexander Lebedev, yesterday said that he has grown so concerned for safety at his Russian newspaper that he has asked the authorities if staff can carry guns. Novaya Gazeta's lawyer Stanislav Markelov, and Anastasia Baburova, a 25-year-old trainee journalist, were gunned down in the centre of Moscow by a masked killer while walking towards the metro from a press conference on Monday...

Alexander Lebedev, the Russian billionaire and former KGB agent, outlined his plans for London's Evening Standard at a news conference in Moscow yesterday. He said there would be changes at the paper and promised to funnel "tens of millions of pounds" into the loss-making title over the next two years...

The new Russian owner of the Evening Standard promised to invest millions of pounds to guarantee the newspaper's survival. Former KGB agent Alexander Lebedev said that he had no political agenda in buying the newspaper and added that he considered it a "social mission" to try to revive the loss-making London daily...

A former Russian spy who bought the London Evening Standard newspaper has said he is happy to be checked for his suitability to own the title...

Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, will have to decide whether a former KGB officer is a fit and proper person to own a British newspaper after the Evening Standard was sold to Alexander Lebedev yesterday...

Alexander Lebedev takes control of the Evening Standard newspaper as he sorts out his debts back in Russia...

Alexander Lebedev was far from jubilant on Wednesday after the official announcement of his takeover of the Evening Standard...

DMGT announces today that its newspaper division, Associated Newspapers Ltd, has agreed the sale of a majority interest in the Evening Standard for a nominal sum to Evening Press Ltd, a company formed by Alexander Lebedev and his son Evgeny Lebedev and owned by Lebedev Holdings Ltd. A new company, Evening Standard Ltd, will be established that will own the Evening Standard and in which Associated will be a minority shareholder with 24.9%...

London - Daily Mail & General Trust has agreed to sell a 75.1% stake in the Evening Standard to Russian oligarch Alexander Lebedev...

Alexander Lebedev looks the last person in the world one would like to own the venerable London Evening Standard. He is a Russian oligarch – not my favourite breed of men. He worked as a young man for the KGB – not my favourite organisation...

State Duma Deputy Alexander Lebedev is transferring his stake in Russia's largest aircraft leasing company to a British-registered charity to protect the shares from government interference, Kommersant reported Wednesday...