1.   Trading in securities backed by Gazprom shares will remain legal even after publication of the decree, analysts said.

2.   Anti-China and anti-government protests have remained legal after the handover.

3.   The ministry has said it could be legal only after Russian and other Caspian countries define the status of the Caspian Sea shelf.

4.   But a Hong Kong-based institute -- whose decision carries no official weight -- declared him legal after filming his action with slow-motion cameras.