PEACE has unexpectedly broken out in one of Russia's longest-
running and most bitter boardroom battles. After five years, the
notoriously sharp-elbowed Alfa Group has settled its differences
with Telenor, a largely state-owned Norwegian firm that is its
partner in mobile-phone ventures in Russia and Ukraine, called
VimpelCom and Kyivstar respectively. Those will now be merged to
form a company worth $24 billion; Telenor and Alfa Group's
telecoms arm, Altimo, will have stakes of about 38% each in the
merged entity. Telenor's shares jumped 15% on the news, and
financial analysts hailed the deal as a boost for Russia's
reputation. In reality, it shows how limited the options of
persecuted foreign investors in Russia are.  The duo had been at
loggerheads since 2004, when Altimo suggested that VimpelCom
take over a Ukrainian rival to Kyivstar. Telenor demurred,
saying the price was too high. Altimo retaliated with a string
of lawsuits, to which Telenor responded in kind.  Then a company
called Farimex, which owns