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Top Investigator Accuses Krymsk Officials of Lying

The country's top investigator accused Krymsk town officials on Wednesday of falsely saying they had warned residents about the flood that killed at least...

Canadian Shot Dead in Dagestan Anti-Terror Operation

A former boxer with Canadian citizenship is among seven suspected militants killed over the weekend in a special anti-terrorism operation in Dagestan...

OSCE Calls for Sanctions Against Suspects in Magnitsky Case

Lawmakers with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe have called for sanctions against Russians implicated in the jail death of lawyer...

NGO Bill Questioned

Questions are mounting about the definition of "political activities" in a bill that aims to tighten the screws on foreign-funded NGOs after it passed...

Ukrainians Riot Over Russian-Language Bill

Ukrainians clashed with police Wednesday, a day after a bill that would place Russian on par with Ukrainian as the official language of 13 of the nation's...

TV, Film Industry Wants Social Networks to Be Liable for Content

The Film and Television Producers Association wants social networks to be responsible for the content that users upload, and the association is pressing...

SPIEF 2012: EU Loses Out to East at Economic Forum

Russia's relations with the EU usually earn the spotlight at the forum, but the dialogue skidded eastward Thursday as the Kremlin's vision of a Eurasian...

Tourism Brings Revenue and Conflict to Russia's Park System

Even before the October Revolution, Russia’s first protected natural area was set up around Lake Baikal in 1916, laying the foundation for a national...

150 Detained at Anti-Kremlin Rallies

About 150 people were detained Sunday as scores of people gathered for a series of anti-government demonstrations in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Newsmaker: Medinsky a Solid Party Man as Head of Culture

New Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky, a historian distant from the cultural world, is perhaps best known for writing a series of pro-Kremlin books...

Dozens Detained as Protesters Relocate

Round-the-clock opposition protests drew hundreds of people to the streets over the weekend for another creative stroll, and the police forced the camp...

Mysterious Photos Reveal an Unseen WWII

After the end of World War II, Paul Sadler returned home to Chicago with three German books and a photo album from the Dachau concentration camp.

Astrakhan Steals Protests' Thunder

This weekend marked the moment when the post-election opposition movement reached provincial Russia.

Shein Turns up Juice in Astrakhan

Hunger-striking former Astrakhan mayoral candidate Oleg Shein tempered his fast Thursday by drinking a glass of orange juice, but the post-election...

Election Officials Refuse to Overturn Astrakhan Vote

The Central Elections Commission and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that they see no reason to annul the results of a disputed mayoral...

Libya Asked to Free 2 Detained Russians

Moscow said Tuesday that it is seeking the release of two Russians on trial in Libya for allegedly aiding troops of former Libyan President Moammar...

Magnitsky Doctor No Longer Faces Charges

Criminal charges against a former prison doctor implicated in the death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky have been dropped because the statute of limitations...

Bloggers Spot Patriarch's Pricey Watch

The Moscow Patriarchate apologized Thursday for a photo editor's "absurd mistake," an image of Patriarch Kirill badly photoshopped to disguise his...

UTair Flight Rolled Wildly Before Crash

Aviation officials said Tuesday that a preliminary inquiry into the UTair flight disaster that killed 31 people in Siberia showed that the plane's...

31 Killed in Siberian Air Crash

A French-made plane operated by UTair crashed minutes after takeoff in Siberia on Monday morning, killing 31 people aboard but miraculously leaving...

Assailant in London Shoots Expat Banker

London police have confirmed that the man shot several times in the business area of the East End last week is former Russian banker German Gorbuntsov...

NTV Film Provokes Opposition Fury

Dozens of people were detained over the weekend in a series of Moscow protests fueled by a pro-Kremlin documentary on state-run NTV television that suggested...

Man Dies In 'Savage' Police Beating

Promises of police reform suffered another setback Monday with the announcement of the death of a Kazan citizen allegedly assaulted by local police...

Prison Guard in Shooting Spree

Raising new questions about the fairness of the legal system, a prison official who opened fire on customers in a Kamchatka store, injuring three...

Tambov Gang Boss Jailed for 15 Years

A Moscow court ruled Tuesday that notorious St. Petersburg gangster Vladimir Barsukov will spend the next 15 years behind bars.

Tearful Putin Declares Victory at Rally

Vladimir Putin reclaimed the presidency Sunday in a landslide victory, winning more than 64 percent of the vote, according to early results. But widespread...

Putin Says Critics Want to Rig Vote

As thousands of opposition-minded Russians prepare to monitor the presidential election, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin accused the opposition Wednesday...

Putin Plan Targets Population Drop

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin unveiled his plan on social policy Monday, focusing on how Russia will boost its dwindling population amid a demographic...

Putin Article Advocates 'True Democracy'

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin published the fourth in a series of newspaper articles Monday, and in it, the odds-on favorite to win the presidency...

Investigator Expresses Doubts About Authenticity of Footage

Most of the videos purportedly showing violations committed during the December parliamentary elections were "edited" and distributed online from the...

Putin Says He's Prepared for Runoff

Prime Minister and leading presidential candidate Vladimir Putin acknowledged for the first time Wednesday that he might face a runoff in the March...

Opposition Fumes Over Secret Tape

Opposition politicians Gennady Gudkov and Vladimir Ryzhkov said Wednesday that they would seek criminal charges against those responsible for secretly...

NTV Journalist Forced Out After Censorship Spat

Prominent journalist Pavel Lobkov has been forced out of state-controlled NTV television after he unsuccessfully tried to broadcast footage about vote-rigging...

Police Bust Caviar Stash in St. Pete Morgue

Just as a Thanksgiving dinner does not count if there is no turkey, a Russian New Year's party is not complete without caviar. Even if it is a morgue party...

Udaltsov Arrest Comes at Bad Time

Radical opposition activist Sergei Udaltsov will meet the new year in a Moscow prison, a city judge decreed in a ruling that sparked protests outside the...

40,000 Sign Up for Saturday's Rally on Sakharova

They are arriving at Prospekt Akademika Sakharova with balloons and ribbons, to protest against the government and demand fair elections — again. PLUS:...

Rights Council: Free Khodorkovsky

In a stinging rebuke of the justice system, the Kremlin's human rights council said Wednesday that former Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his business...

Strasbourg Awards Dubrovka Hostages $1.6M

Almost a decade after the deadly Dubrovka theater siege, the European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday fined the Russian government about 1.25 million...

IKEA Mired in Bribery Scandal

The Interior Ministry has charged a former senior IKEA executive in absentia of trying to extort $360,000 from a prospective tenant at the Teply Stan Mega...

Naryshkin, Zhukov Head to Duma

A government shuffle advanced Thursday with Kremlin chief of staff Sergei Naryshkin and Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov stepping down to take...

Sputnik Designer Dead at 99

Boris Chertok, a legendary rocket designer who was a key figure in the Soviet-era space program, died Wednesday at the age of 99.

Vlast Editor Fired Over Putin Insult

Censorship fears surfaced Tuesday after billionaire Alisher Usmanov, who owns the Kommersant Vlast weekly, fired its editor-in-chief over an obscene photo...

State TV Puts Neutral Spin on Duma Vote Protests

Much to the surprise of observers and regular Russian television viewers, state-run channels gave substantial coverage to Saturday's anti-government...

Protest Called Amazing, What’s Next?

Saturday's rally in Moscow marked an "amazing," even unprecedented, event for modern Russia. Yet though euphoria was palpable in the air, it came with...

In a First, Enemies March Side by Side

In the hours before Saturday's rally, fears were voiced that police might detain people who arrived at the initially authorized venue, Ploshchad Revolyutsii...

Foes Walk Side by Side to Rally Against Kremlin

A march from Ploshchad Revolyutsii, the original site of Saturday's protest, to the approved site at Bolotnaya Ploshchad offered a rare scene: activists...

Lavrov and Rogozin Rap NATO Missile Shield

Officials clashed at a NATO-Russia meeting over a missile defense shield in Europe, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterating a Kremlin threat to...

Urals Polling Station Kicks Out MT Reporter

Elections monitor Natalya Rakhimova spent her morning watching people plow their way through snowdrifts to get to their polling station and vote in a...

Teen Suicide Rate Ranks 3rd Highest

Russia has the third-highest number of suicides among teenagers in the world — followed only by Kazakhstan and Belarus — a troubling statistic...

Baby Box Saves First Unwanted Infant

For the first time in the country's history, an infant was given up for adoption through a baby box — a modern take on a medieval device for mothers...

'Reset' Is Threatened By Missiles

President Dmitry Medvedev warned Wednesday that Russia would quit the New START nuclear arms reduction pact with the United States if America continues...

Vote, Spoil, Rally: Opposition's Duma Choices

It's a hard time for opposition voters in Russia.
With the State Duma elections just two weeks away, it would seem that voters unhappy with United...

Tajiks May Back Down on Pilot

Tajikistan appeared ready to cave in to Kremlin pressure, as prosecutors asked a court to reduce harsh sentences against a Russian pilot jailed on murky...

Kremlin Says Tajik Hunt Not Political

Kremlin pressure on Tajikistan continued Monday as President Dmitry Medvedev denied that the deportation of Tajik migrants from Russia was a tit-for-tat...

Suspect in Mayor Shooting Acted in 'Desire of Fame'

Police have detained a suspect in the shooting death of Sergiyev Posad's mayor in August and believe he was driven by a desire for fame.

Iran Lobbies for Russian Support

Iran is making a strong push to secure Moscow's backing in a global diplomatic fight, asking Russia to build more nuclear reactors in Bushehr and permission...

Kazakhstan Facing Islamist Insurgency

Kazakhstan authorities acknowledged Wednesday that an Islamist insurgency has spread to the republic from the North Caucasus, fueled by restrictions...

Pilot Grounded for Marijuana

This is not what "getting high" is supposed to mean in aviation.
A Moscow-bound jet with 192 passengers on board was grounded in the Far Eastern city...

Killer Named After Lenin Goes on Trial

He was named after Lenin, learned to love Lermontov in Moscow, drew inspiration from Frederick Forsyth, and turned down the KGB in favor of the Islamists...

Party Links Voting To Funding – Again

A United Russia official in Udmurtia speaking at a televised event threatened funding cutbacks for a local town unless it voted for his party in the upcoming...

Planned Road to 'Putin's Ski Resort' Worries UNESCO

UNESCO and environmentalists are alarmed over a government plan to construct a paved road through a UNESCO World Heritage Site to an elite ski resort...

Medvedev Promises to Expand Cabinet as Prime Minister

President Dmitry Medvedev has promised to expand the Cabinet and to "seriously reconstruct" United Russia as prime minister next year. Medvedev's comments...

Airline Delays Flight for Its Tardy Executive

The Tatarstan airline acknowledged on Monday that its Kazan-Moscow flight was delayed for about an hour on Sept. 30 because the plane was waiting...

Dvorkovich Seeks Job in Medvedev Cabinet

President Dmitry Medvedev's aide Arkady Dvorkovich said he does not plan to stay in the Kremlin after the 2012 presidential election and hopes to join...

Foreign Ministry Complains About U.S. Warships

The Foreign Ministry on Thursday warned that a U.S. agreement to deploy warships off the Spanish coast as part of a NATO-wide anti-missile shield...

Magnitsky Foe Held On Bribery Charges

A police investigator implicated in the prosecution of Hermitage Capital lawyer Sergei Magnitsky has been charged with extorting a $3 million bribe...

Medvedev Sacks a General

A week after ousting the finance minister, President Dmitry Medvedev continued a government shuffle Monday by dismissing a general who reportedly...

Medvedev Says Putin Is More Popular and Authoritative

President Dmitry Medvedev has defended his decision to shelve his political ambitions in favor of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, saying Putin deserved...

Police Take Lawmaker's License

State Duma deputy Gennady Gudkov, a member of A Just Russia, who has campaigned for drivers' rights, lost his own license Thursday for violating traffic...

Anti-Drug Tsar Says, ‘Plant Cannabis’

The country's top anti-drug official said Wednesday that a good way to boost the agricultural sector would be to cultivate plantations of cannabis...

Navalny's Posh Car Bill Makes It to Duma With Communists' Support

The Communists beat the other political parties to a proposal by whistleblower Alexei Navalny, who called to prevent officials from buying cars worth more...

Prokhorov Blames Kremlin for Party ‘Coup’

Billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov called dozens of reporters to a hastily organized news conference in his ninth-floor office on Wednesday to declare that...

Top Court Hands Khodorkovsky Rare Token Victory

Former Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev were illegally held in detention for six months during their trial last...

Last Surviving Lokomotiv Player Galimov Dies in Hospital

Alexander Galimov, the sole surviving player from the Yak-42 crash that wiped out the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl ice hockey team last week, died on Monday...

Kremlin Offers to Subsidize Lease of New Planes

The Kremlin proposed to increase fines for flight safety violations and subsidize the lease of new aircraft following last week's Yak-42 crash that killed...

Medvedev Orders Airline Overhaul After Lokomotiv Tragedy

President Dmitry Medvedev declared on Thursday an urgent overhaul of domestic airlines following the Yak-42 plane crash that killed 43 people, robbing...

With Crash, Russia Has Deadliest Airspace

In the worst sports-related disaster in decades, one of Russia's best ice hockey teams, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, was decimated Wednesday in a plane crash that...

'Missing' Brazilian Found Copying Holy Texts in Siberia

Five years ago, Brazilian citizen Ustina Chernishoff made her home in the Siberian taiga, doing random chores and copying by hand the holy texts of a...

WikiLeaks: Putin's 'Personal Gripe' With Estonia Result of WWII Betrayal

Estonian farmers betrayed the father of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to the Nazis during World War II — and this is what is fueling tensions between...

Triple Suicide Bombing in Chechnya Embarrasses Kadyrov

A triple suicide bombing has rocked Grozny, killing nine people and badly embarrassing Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov on the final day of the Muslim...

WikiLeaks: Russian Foreign Ministry 'Bastion' of Sexism and Low Pay

"Sexism" and "low pay" are the name of the game at the Foreign Ministry, and the country's middle class is growing but remains devoid of a political...

Space Failures Raise Uneasy Questions

This year, Russia has celebrated the 50th anniversary of Yury Gagarin's first flight with much pomp. But a series of spacecraft-related incidents over...

'Secret Witness' Detained in Politkovskaya Killing

Investigators have detained the suspected organizer of the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya in 2006 — who, it turns out, was a mumbling secret...

Putin Ally Takes Over as Governor as Matviyenko Quits

Georgy Poltavchenko, a former KGB officer and staunch ally of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, emerged Monday as the prime pick for the St. Petersburg...

Bread and Circuses Beckon Matviyenko Voters in St. Petersburg

Two St. Petersburg districts rolled out bread and circuses to lure voters to polling stations Sunday, all but ensuring that Governor Valentina Matviyenko...

Blondes Courting First Lady

A first lady's ceremonial duties are many, but Svetlana Medvedeva may claim the oddest of all should she accept an invitation to chair the first national...

Gorbachev Says Putin's Time Is Up

Two days short of the 20th anniversary of the failed coup d'etat against him, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eagerly relived the twists and turns...

St. Pete Police Confiscate Newspapers Criticizing Matviyenko

Days ahead of municipal by-elections that are to launch St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko into the Federation Council, local authorities...

Inquiry Blames Negligance, Errors for Riverboat Tragedy

The Bulgaria riverboat was flooded with 125 tons of water a minute last month because of an incompetent crew, a negligent ship owner and the captain's...

FSB Foiled Sapsan Train Attack

A group of North Caucasus insurgents attempted to bomb a Sapsan bullet train last month, but their plot was foiled by the Federal Security Service...

2 Prison Doctors Charged in Death of Lawyer

The Investigative Committee has filed the first charges in connection with the death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, 20 months after he died and two weeks...

College Head Ousted for ‘Ghost Students’

The president of a prestigious medical school in Moscow was sacked Wednesday and may face criminal charges after his school enrolled hundreds of "ghost...

Wreckage of Missing Plane Found

Debris from a 48-year-old cargo plane that disappeared from radar screens in the Magadan region has been found strewn across five kilometers of hilly...

An-12 Vanishes Over Taiga With 11 on Board

The oldest An-12 cargo plane in Russia's civilian fleet went missing over the Magadan region with 11 people on board Tuesday, shortly after the pilot...

Lavrov Derides Saakashvili as 'Pathological'

Russia's top diplomat called Georgia's president "a pathological case" who was "very badly brought up" on Monday, signaling no easing of tensions between...

Med School Denies 'Ghosts' Are Frauds

A top medical school in Moscow is deeply mired in a scandal over this year's new students — three-quarters of whom either don't exist or never applied...

Prosecutors: River Fleet 'Complicated'

Faulty paperwork, lack of staff and even counterfeit software are some of the things that endanger travelers on the country's waterways, prosecutors...

Tula Murder Motives Not Yet Clarified

Investigators seemed at a loss Tuesday for a motive in the slaying of a family of five in Tula, wavering between a business dispute gone awry and revenge...

Putin Scales Up a Wall at Seliger

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Monday scaled a wall, cautioned against the abuse of Twitter, and pledged to lose half a kilo by next summer....

Medvedev’s Impossible Airplane Ban

Two fatal plane crashes within weeks have prompted President Dmitry Medvedev to put on his tough face and call for the grounding of the Soviet-made...