The owner of industrial holding Basic Element (BasEl), ranked the 62nd richest person in the world by Forbes magazine, is one of three major investors in the project.

He is joined by Peter Munk, founder and chairman of Barrick Gold Corporation, the world's leading gold producer, and Sandor Demjan, founder and major shareholder of TriGranit, the third largest European real estate investment, development and management company.

"The concept of the project is being developed now. Construction is scheduled to start in 2010," the daily said adding that the project would take around 10 years to complete.

Other participants in the project are the owners of the site as well as some of the Rothschilds.

The paper said the investment in the sea resort, set to feature yacht berths, hotels and villas, was several times larger than that in other construction projects involving Russian developers.

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FOUR DEAD IN VOLGA HIGHWAY 'WEDDING' CRASH

SARATOV, Russia _ Four people, including two wedding guests, have died in an accident in the Saratov Region in the Volga Area, a traffic police source said on Monday.

"The head-on collision... occurred when a 19-year-old car driver drove into the oncoming lane so that another passenger could film the vehicle containing the bride and the groom," the source said.

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VIEWERS OF EMBATTLED RUSSIAN ADULT CARTOON CHANNEL HOLD RALLY

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia _ Viewers of a Russian adult animation channel that is facing charges of promoting extremism are holding a sanctioned rally in St. Petersburg on Sunday.

In early September Russian prosecutors upheld a complaint from a religious group against the adult-oriented cartoon network 2x2, which broadcasts "South Park," "The Simpsons," "The Griffins," (known in the U.S. as "Family Guy") "Metalocalypse," and "Lenore the Cute Little Dead Girl," for their "overt propaganda of homosexuality and pedophilia." The 2x2 company was issued with a warning and the case was referred to court.

Several hundred young people gathered in St. Petersburg to express their support for the channel, although the rally organizers had filed an application with the city authorities for no more than 50 persons.

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OPPOSITION HAS NARROW LEAD IN SLOVENIA VOTE

BELGRADE _ The opposition Social Democratic Party is slightly ahead of the ruling Conservative Slovene Democratic Party after Sunday's parliamentary elections, the country's electoral commission said on Monday.