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Russia to Prosecute Crimean Tatar Protesters Over Unrest

Thousands of Crimean Tatars on Saturday responded to news that their spiritual leader had been banned from the peninsula by blocking several highways...

Creative Unions Seen to Back Kremlin Views

Last week, the State Duma gave its final approval to a bill introducing criminal penalties for "spreading lies" about the Soviet Union's role in World...

Navalny Gets 6 More Months of House Arrest

A Moscow court on Thursday extended opposition leader Alexei Navalny's house arrest for another six months in a high-profile fraud case widely believed...

Lavrov Lashes Out at Kiev and U.S. as Violence Persists

Acting Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov on Wednesday ordered that a military operation against armed pro-Russian protesters in the country's...

Pro-Ukrainians in Donetsk Warn Against Federalization

Pro-Ukrainian protesters and activists in eastern Ukraine have come out firmly against the pro-Russian protesters' push for federalization, saying...

Pro-Russian Protests Divide People in Yanukovych's Hometown

As pro-Russian protesters vacated government buildings in the Ukrainian town of Yenakiieve, the hometown of ousted President Viktor Yanukovych, residents...

Slovyansk Residents Fearful Amid Unrest

The eastern Ukrainian city of Slovyansk appeared calmer than some media reports suggested on Wednesday after Ukrainian authorities launched an anti-terrorism...

MT Journalist Detained by Armed Men in Slovyansk

A Moscow Times journalist was briefly detained Wednesday in Slovyansk by camouflaged men with assault rifles.

In East Ukraine Town, Residents Sharply Divided Over Pro-Russian Movement

Deep divisions were visible in the Donetsk region regarding whether to support the seizure of administrative buildings by the pro-Russian movement...

Human Rights Group to Close Over 'Foreign Agent' Label

The Constitutional Court has upheld the controversial law requiring some nongovernmental organizations with foreign funding to register as "foreign...

U.S. and Russia Trade Barbs Over Ukraine

As the U.S. on Tuesday accused Russia of sending "paid operatives" into Ukraine to destabilize the country, Ukrainian authorities said pro-Russian...

Ukraine Protesters Request Russian 'Peacekeepers'

Anti-government protesters in the Ukrainian city of Donetsk on Monday announced a referendum on joining Russia set for May 11 and called on Russian...

Putin Relative Accuses Russian Railways of Corruption

One of President Vladimir Putin's relatives, Roman Putin, has spoken out against alleged corruption at Russian Railways, a state company headed by one...

Bill to Toughen Law on Rallies Raises Concerns

United Russia deputy Alexander Sidyakin late Monday submitted to the State Duma a bill introducing prison terms for repeat violations of a law on public...

Ukraine Condemns Medvedev Visit to Crimea as 'Crude Violation'

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Monday paid a visit to Crimea in an apparent bid to fortify Russia's control of the region.

From Olympics to Crimea, Putin Loyalist Kozak Entrusted With Kremlin Mega-Projects

For almost seven years, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak focused on making sure Russia was prepared to host one of the country's biggest events in decades...

Kosovo? Hong Kong? Abkhazia? Few Precedents for Russia's Crimea Takeover

Russia's takeover of Crimea is the first acquisition of foreign territory by a major power in more than a decade, and some observers, lawyers and scholars...

Right Sector Leader Killed by Ukrainian Police

A member of the Ukrainian nationalist group that played a major role in the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych last month was killed by police...

Obama Seeks Support Against Russia as Ukraine Retreats

U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday began negotiations with European leaders over Russia's actions in Crimea, as Russia tightened its grip on the...

Russia Tightens Grip on Crimea

Russia consolidated control over Crimea on Wednesday as its troops stormed Ukraine's naval headquarters in Sevastopol and Vitaly Klitschko, leader of Ukraine's...

RT's YouTube Channel Temporarily Blocked

The YouTube account of Kremlin-funded television network RT, reportedly the most popular news channel on the video-sharing website, was suspended on Tuesday...

Amid Ukraine Crisis, Russia Puts the Squeeze on Independent Media

Fears of all-encompassing censorship were rife in Russia on Friday after several major opposition-leaning news sites and the blog of anti-corruption...

Thousands Attend Anti-War Rally in Moscow

Tens of thousands of people marched along Moscow's Boulevard Ring on Saturday to protest Russia's action in Crimea and the crackdown on independent...

Amid Ukraine Crisis, Russia Puts the Squeeze on Independent Media

Fears of all-encompassing censorship were rife in Russia on Friday after several major opposition-leaning news sites and the blog of anti-corruption...

Deputies Submit Bill Abolishing Mayoral Elections

Lawmakers from pro-Kremlin parties United Russia and LDPR have submitted to the State Duma a bill abolishing popular elections of mayors and city...

West Warns Russia of More Sanctions

The West warned Tuesday that sanctions against Russia could be introduced as early as this week unless the Kremlin changes its position on the Crimea...

The Media War Behind the Ukraine Crisis

As the fate of Ukraine grows more uncertain by the day and Crimea looks set to become part of Russia, pro-Kremlin and Western media have accused...

Lavrov Not Satisfied With U.S. Proposals on Ukraine

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told President Vladimir Putin on Monday that Russia and the West were continuing to butt heads over the Ukraine...

Ukraine Nationalist Leader Faces Terrorism Charges

Russia's Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case on terrorism-related charges against the leader of a Ukrainian nationalist group widely...

Navalny Ordered Under House Arrest

A Moscow court on Friday put opposition leader Alexei Navalny under house arrest, triggering concerns among opposition activists that the Kremlin is...

Ukraine Warns Russia as Tensions Build

Tensions in Ukraine escalated further Thursday as ousted President Viktor Yanukovych claimed that he was still the legitimate head of state and requested...

Tensions in Ukraine Grow Amid Russian Military Drills

Russia's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday warned of growing extremism in Ukraine, and President Vladimir Putin ordered the Defense Ministry to conduct...

Russia Urges Dialogue on Ukraine Amid Military Fears

As uncertainty about Ukraine's future grew on Tuesday and fears of separatism in Crimea increased, President Vladimir Putin remained silent — fueling...

Russia Accuses West of Playing Geopolitical Game in Ukraine

Russia on Monday harshly denounced the political uprising in neighboring Ukraine, ominously predicting that "dictatorial and at times terrorist" methods...

Fearing Persecution, Bolotnoye Suspects Flee Abroad

When a judge delivers a verdict Friday in the high-profile Bolotnoye case, the defendants' cage will contain eight people. It might have held dozens...

More Pressure on Liberal Media as Ekho Moskvy Gets New CEO

Yekaterina Pavlova, a former deputy head of the pro-Kremlin Voice of Russia radio station, has been appointed chief executive of opposition-leaning...

Russian Opposition Envies Ukrainians' Willingness to Face Bullets

When Russian anti-government activists look over the border at the political standoff in Ukraine, they can not help but feel pangs of envy.

United Russia Slams Ekho Moskvy Over Blog Post

Vladimir Vasilyev, leader of United Russia's faction in the State Duma, on Tuesday urged Ekho Moskvy, an opposition-friendly radio station, to apologize...

Dozens Detained at Rallies Against Olympics

Dozens of people were detained over the weekend at numerous rallies protesting the Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Police Detain Dozens of Pro-Dozhd Demonstrators (Video)

At least 41 people were detained on Manezh Square on Saturday for staging a flash mob in support of the imperiled independent television channel Dozhd...

Dozhd Television Faces Closure But Strives to Stay Afloat

Dozhd, Russia's only opposition-oriented television channel, on Tuesday announced that the decision of large cable providers to drop it could lead to its...

First-Ever School Shooting Prompts Debate on Security

A 10th-grade student killed a geography teacher and a police officer and took children hostage at a Moscow school on Monday in Russia's first-ever school...

Protests in Kiev See Guns and Violence (Video)

As the ultimatum issued by the opposition to the Ukrainian president to call early elections or face chaos expired, the frontline between police and protesters...

Protesters Arrested After Standoff With Police Over Hotel Construction

About a dozen people were arrested late Wednesday after a standoff with police over the construction of a hotel in the Novokosino district of eastern...

Putin Says State History Textbooks Will Not Impose Ideology

President Vladimir Putin has defended planned standardized history textbooks, lashing out at some current teaching materials that he said criticize the Soviet...

Rosneft Faces Fines, Asset Freezes Over Yukos Claims

Rosneft is losing legal battles with foreign former Yukos-affiliated companies over debt claims worth at least $1.12 billion and faces fines and asset...

Critics Slam Ban on Working in Journalism as Gag Tool

Russian authorities have been accused of using many tools to silence independent reporters, but a wholesale ban on working in the media recently imposed...

'None of the Above' on Its Way Back to the Ballot

The State Duma's Legislation Committee on Monday approved a bill reintroducing the "none of the above" option in all elections except for those...

Kalashnikov Repented Over AK-47 Deaths to Patriarch, Report Says

Mikhail Kalashnikov, the late designer of the AK-47 assault rifle, said in a letter to Russian Orthodox Church head Patriarch Kirill that he felt sorry...

Decision Looms in $100Bln Yukos Lawsuit

Businessman Leonid Nevzlin said that he would continue a $100 billion legal battle with the Russian government over the assets of defunct oil firm Yukos...

Specter of Soviet Union Haunts Ukraine at Protests

As street protests in Kiev over President Viktor Yanukovych's U-turn on a planned deal with the European Union appear to be waning after several weeks...

Reform Will Lead to Death of Russian Science, Academicians Warn

Requesting money for a project that violates the laws of physics is something you would expect from an institution run by government officials, say...

Legendary Designer of Kalashnikov Rifle Dead at 94

Mikhail Kalashnikov, the designer of the AK-47, the world's most famous assault rifle, died in Izhevsk, Udmurtia, on Monday at the age of 94.

Pussy Riot Yes, Khodorkovsky No

On Wednesday, the State Duma passed a bill that would grant amnesty to some people considered "political prisoners," but critics have dismissed the amnesty...

Lavrov Shrugs Off 'Hysteria' in Kiev

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attended an OSCE summit in protest-stricken Kiev on Thursday but kept quiet about the largely anti-Russian sentiment...

Kiev Protesters Bring City to Standstill

Ukrainian protesters on Monday called President Vladimir Putin their biggest foreign enemy and said only Russian intervention could save Ukrainian President...

Constitutional Amendments Sought to Remove Ban on Official State Ideology

A United Russia party lawmaker has drafted amendments seeking to remove the ban on state ideology and international guarantees of human rights and liberties...

Investigators Open Negligence Case Against Serdyukov

The Investigative Committee said Thursday that it opened a criminal case on suspicion of negligence against former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov...

Ukrainian Protests Compared to 2004 Orange Revolution

Protests against the Ukrainian government's decision to delay an association deal with the European Union last week in favor of closer ties with...

Hunger-Striking Bolotnoye Defendant Ends Protest

Bolotnoye trial defendant Sergei Krivov has called off his hunger strike on Friday after more than two months of refusing to eat.

Astrakhan Lawmaker Stabbed at Moscow Hostel

A Just Russia deputy Oleg Shein was hospitalized Thursday after being stabbed at a Moscow hostel in an incident that opposition politicians are saying...

Navalny's Party Holds Founding Congress for Third Time

Opposition politician Alexei Navalny formally joined the People's Alliance party and was elected its leader on Sunday when it held its founding congress...

McCartney Urges Putin to Release Greenpeace Activists

Ex-Beatles star Paul McCartney on Thursday published a letter to President Vladimir Putin, urging him to help release the 28 Greenpeace activists...

Lawmakers Approve Bill to Merge Top Courts

The State Duma on Tuesday approved in the first reading a bill seeking to merge the Supreme Arbitration Court into the Supreme Court, as the former warned...

Russia, U.S. to 'Investigate Cases' Against Magnitsky Act Targets

Russian and U.S. law enforcement agencies plan to jointly investigate embezzlement and money laundering cases against a number of those targeted by the...

City Hall Accused of Spying on Opposition Deputies

Moscow's City Hall was accused Thursday of collecting compromising material on independent municipal deputies, triggering a scandal that some have called...

Ethnic Affairs Ministry Mulled as Anti-Migrant Sentiment Rises

A day after hundreds of detentions at numerous nationalist rallies across the country, media reports circulated Tuesday that the government is considering...

Major News Outlet's License Revoked Over 'Profanity'

A Moscow court Thursday revoked the license of the Rosbalt news outlet over alleged profanity in two videos it posted, including one by punk group...

Navalny's Bid to Reform Utilities Sector Headed for Rejection

Two commissions of the Moscow City Duma on Tuesday recommended against registering opposition leader Alexei Navalny's bid to submit a bill on utilities...

Economist and Kremlin Critic Aleksashenko Moves to Washington

Former Central Bank deputy chairman Sergei Aleksashenko has left Russia and will work at Georgetown University in Washington D.C., he said by e-mail Tuesday...

Opposition Rally Marks Lull in Protest Movement

Thousands of people marched along the Boulevard Ring in central Moscow on Sunday in support of suspects in the Bolotnoye case and other people...

Top Officials Reject Idea of Visa Regime for Ex-Soviet Countries

The Federal Migration Service's chief proposes tougher measures to control illegal immigration but dismissed the idea of introducing visas with Central...

Riot Called a Result of Growing Anti-Migrant Sentiment

In response to a violent race riot in southern Moscow over the weekend, federal and city authorities announced new measures to fight illegal immigration...

United Russia Congress Spurs Speculation About Putin's Role

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, also the leader of United Russia, said at the ruling party's 14th congress that it had reasserted its position, though...

Amnesty Sought for Officials Who Fabricated Criminal Cases

Kremlin human rights council head Mikhail Fedotov on Thursday proposed an unusual provision for an upcoming amnesty marking the 20th anniversary of the...

Courts Toss Navalny's Lawsuits

Several Moscow courts Monday threw out lawsuits filed by opposition leader Alexei Navalny to contest the results of the Sept. 8 mayoral vote, while...

Navalny Says Experts Prove Forgery in Montenegrin Firm Scandal

A forensic services firm hired by opposition leader Alexei Navalny has concluded that his signature was forged in the registration documents of a Montenegrin...

United Russia Lawmaker Backs Amnesty for Bolotnoye Suspects

A key United Russia lawmaker said Tuesday that he supported granting amnesty to suspects in the high-profile Bolotnoye case, echoing recent comments...

Surkov Return May Signal Softer Kremlin Line

The appointment of former "gray cardinal" Vladislav Surkov to a post in President Vladimir Putin's administration has prompted a flurry of speculation...

Navalny Supporters Claim Beaten by Police

Supporters of opposition leader Alexei Navalny said they were detained and beaten up by police Saturday.

Prokhorov's Future Hazy as Elections Approach

Civil Platform leader Mikhail Prokhorov's future seemed uncertain Monday as he denied a report that he would leave politics, while analysts said the billionaire...

Commission Keeps Navalny in Race, but With Warning

The Moscow Elections Commission has issued a warning to mayoral candidate Alexei Navalny in connection with allegedly illegal campaign materials, dispelling...

Human Rights Group Evicted (Video)

Private security guards and riot police have evicted For Human Rights, a human rights group, from their Moscow government-owned office, stirring new fears...

Opposition Candidates Woo Municipal Deputies in Mayoral Race

In a preview of what to expect in the fight for post as Moscow mayor, several opposition candidates presented their campaign platforms to municipal...

U.S. Athlete at Center of Putin Booing Scandal Backs Bolotnaya Suspect (Video)

U.S. mixed martial artist and anarchist activist Jeff Monson, who participated in a fight at which then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was apparently...

Q&A: Baltika Boss Isaac Sheps Likes to Be Challenged

Isaac Sheps, CEO of Russia's largest brewer Baltika, says that his job is "selling fun." The fun materializes when a waiter brings several pints of an...

59 Detained as Opposition Seeks to Revive Occupy Movement (Video)

Fifty-nine protesters were detained in Moscow this week as the opposition attempted to revive the local Occupy movement that started last May, according...

Elderly Woman on Crutches Among 30 Detained at Protest (Video)

Thirty demonstrators, including a woman on crutches who was over 70 years old, were detained Saturday at an unauthorized protest in support of suspects...

24 Detained at Rally for Bolotnoye Suspects

Twenty-four protesters were arrested Saturday on Red Square at an unauthorized rally against the ongoing investigation into violence at anti-Kremlin...

Protest Movement Inspires a Flood of Anti-Kremlin Art

"Do you dare come to the square where the regiments are waiting … between the Senate and Synod?"

Deputy's Threats Against Newspaper Trigger Internet Dispute

State Duma Deputy Andrei Isayev on Friday appeared to threaten Moskovsky Komsomolets staff, coming under fire from journalists and activists and triggering...

Balashikha Residents Protest Urban Planning Policy

Several dozen residents of Balashikha, a Moscow suburb, marched peacefully over the weekend to protest a local urban development plan that they say...

Udaltsov's Birthday Party Ends in Police Clashes

A gathering of about 70 people outside the southern Moscow apartment of opposition leader and radical leftist Sergei Udaltsov, who is under house...

Bloggers Promise to Boycott Yves Rocher

Bloggers and activists launched a campaign to boycott French cosmetics producer Yves Rocher after the firm filed a complaint against Glavnoye Podpisnoye...

Taunting and Laughter Fill Opposition Rally

A circus-like atmosphere pervaded a crowd of protesters who joked about the police, Christian believers and even each other as they marked the first...

Eyewitness Report: Activists Flee From Police Bus After Rally

Five people were detained Saturday at an unauthorized rally in support of political prisoners, with three of them managing to flee brazenly from a police...

Consumer Group Dismisses Extremism Charges

The Society for Consumer Rights Protection on Monday dismissed charges of extremism as it steps up its campaign against retail trade at Christ the Savior...

Rosneft, Eni Sign Oil Exploration Deal

Oil major Rosneft and Italian energy company Eni on Monday signed a landmark deal to finance oil and gas exploration at three offshore blocks.

Putin Says Wealth Gap is Unacceptable

President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Russia's rich-poor divide is unacceptably wide and promised renewed efforts to decrease the gap in earnings...