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Russian Gangster Jailed for Contract Killings in 1990s 'Aluminum Wars'

A Russian crime boss whose nervous blinking tic earned him the nickname "Pasha Strobe Light" was sentenced to nine years in prison on Monday.

Russian Women Jailed in New Twerking Scandal at WWII Monument

In the second twerking scandal to rock Russia in recent weeks, several women who were filmed dancing in front of a World War II monument in southern...

Russian TV Reporter Detained for Starting Fire for Report About Wildfires

A reporter for Russian state television network Channel One was detained by police for setting a brush fire to set the scene for his report about devastating...

Orthodox Church Launches Virtuous Music Channel to Compete With MTV

The Russian Orthodox Church has launched a music channel to serve as a virtuous Christian alternative to dozens of other such networks on Russian...

Siberian Man Faces 10 Years in Prison for Setting Forest Fire

A Siberian man faces up to 10 years in prison for maliciously setting fire to forestland, police said Wednesday, as local regions struggle with the aftermath...

Poll: Russians Haven't Been This Positive About Their Country in 5 Years

Russians are more positive about their country than they have been since the Public Opinion Research Center began surveys for its social sentiment index...

Russian Firefighting Boss in Wildfire-Ravaged Region Arrested as Putin Visits

Shortly after President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that officials should be held responsible for damage caused by recent wildfires in a southern Siberian...

Miss Russia to Be Photographed by Murder Suspect

Days after the Miss Russia competition was rocked by claims that the master of ceremonies brutally beat up his girlfriend, news reports said Monday...

Russian Mayor Disappears for Days to Escape Assassination Attempt

The mayor of the capital of Russia's Marii-El republic who went missing over the weekend said Monday his disappearance was part of an operation by authorities...

Belarussian President Won't Attend Moscow's Victory Day Celebration

Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko said Saturday that he won't attend Moscow's grand celebration of Victory Day on May 9 because he will be attending...

Former Soviet States Follow Russia in Banning Release of 'Child 44' Movie

The release of American-British film "Child 44," about a serial killer of children in the Soviet Union, has been canceled in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan...

Graffitist Who Painted Crucified Soviet Cosmonaut Yury Gagarin Faces Jail

A Russian graffiti artist who painted a mural depicting the first man in outer space — Soviet hero Yury Gagarin — crucified on a cross on Orthodox...

70-Year-Old Filmmaker Allegedly Murdered by Neighbor for Her Moscow Apartment

Three suspects have been detained in the murder of 70-year-old filmmaker and television producer Tamara Yakzhina, whose Moscow apartment was listed for...

Putin's Salary Doubled Last Year

Russia's two most powerful officials declared twice as much income for last year as they did in 2013, according to declarations posted on their respective...

Russian State News Reporter Fired After Saying FSB Shut Yekaterinburg Museum

A reporter for a state newspaper in Yekaterinburg was fired after writing that Russia's Federal Security Service closed down a major museum because...

Russian Birthday Ends in Tragedy as Man Shoots Up Neighborhood

A man in the Moscow region who was drunkenly celebrating his birthday shot a neighbor with a hunting gun then barricaded himself inside his house and opened...

Russian Captain on Trial for Allegedly Selling Military Secrets to Ukraine

A Russian military captain who worked at a state-owned ship repair company in St. Petersburg is on trial for treason for allegedly selling classified information...

Swedish Admiral Admits 'Russian Submarine' Was Actually Civilian Boat

A photo that a retired Swedish naval officer said showed a Russian submarine in Swedish waters last autumn was actually of a much smaller civilian...

Russia Prepares to Block Over 100 Porn Sites

Russian authorities intend to conduct the country's largest-ever block of pornographic websites, targeting at least 136 of them, federal Internet watchdog...

Russian Museum Closes Amid Scandal Over U.S. and British WWII Photos

A major museum in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg has closed for an "undetermined period" amid a scandal over an exhibition of World War II photos...

Spy Satellites Spotted 'Disguised as Space Junk'

Russia has discovered a group of spy satellites gathering Russian communications signals while masquerading as space junk.

Carnival Rides Shut Down at Moscow Park VDNKh Amid Ongoing Dispute

A Russian court has shut down several aging carnival rides, including the Ferris wheel, at popular park VDNKh in northern Moscow until the rides are...

Lavrov Says Crimean Tatars Have More Rights Under Russian Rule

Days after Russian authorities shut down the only television station run by Crimea's Tatars, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in comments carried...

Nazi Figurines at Iconic Moscow Toy Store Incite Criminal Inquiry

Moscow investigators have opened a criminal case over the sale of Nazi figurines at a landmark downtown toy store that was reopened last week after...

Amid Opera Scandal, Protesters Demand Russian Culture Minister Medinsky's Resignation

Spurred on by speeches from famed film director Andrei Zvyagintsev and recently fired theater director Boris Mezdrich, hundreds of protesters gathered...

British Ph.D. Student Forced to Leave Russia Amid Claims of Spying

A British doctoral student who was reportedly conducting research about the Soviet revolution in Russian state archives is returning home amid claims...

Russian Political Opposition Uniting for 2016 Parliamentary Elections

Russia's currently fragmented political opposition — which covers a broad spectrum of ideologies, from the far left to the far right — has agreed...

Moscow and St. Petersburg Lead Europe in Traffic Jams

Moscow and St. Petersburg lead Europe in traffic jams, with only Istanbul ranking higher in Eurasia.

Russian Orthodox Activists Throw Pig's Head at Prestigious Moscow Theater

A group of Russian Orthodox activists threw a pig's head at Moscow's prestigious Chekhov Moscow Art Theater on Wednesday in protest of a staging...

Russian Farmer Fined $200 for Dumping Manure Outside Bank in Protest

A farmer who dumped a "big pile of manure" outside a state bank in Russia's third-largest city to protest against the banking system has been fined...

Russian Schoolchildren Invited to Spend Holidays in North Korean Camps

A high-ranking North Korean diplomat in far eastern Russia has proposed that local schoolchildren spend their holidays in North Korean youth camps in a...

Russian Man's Visit to Kazan Police Leaves Him With Burst Intestine

A man in the Russian city of Kazan is seeking damages from federal and regional authorities after a police interrogation left him with broken ribs...

Russian Cat Famous for Stealing $1,000 of Fish Will Star in Moscow Talk Show

A cat famous for stealing $1,000 worth of fish and caviar from an airport shop in Vladivostok has arrived in Moscow to film the April 1 episode...

Russian Souvenirs Make Up to 500% Profit Online Despite Political Faceoff

Russia's relations with the West may have reached lows unparalleled in the post-Cold War era, but the trend for kitschy Russian souvenirs abroad appears...

Russian Tycoon Polonsky Wants $1 Billion From 20th Century Fox for Resemblance to Villain

Russian tycoon Sergei Polonsky, famous for his checkered past, intends to sue U.S. filmmaker 20th Century Fox for $1 billion because a new movie's...

Russian Lawmaker Defends Media's Right to Report on Cancer Suicides

The deputy head of the Russian parliament's constitutional law committee is challenging a state decision to force a news outlet to delete information about...

Mikhail Khodorkovsky Sets Conditions for His Return to Russia

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the self-exiled Russian tycoon-turned-opposition figure who spent 10 years in jail, says he will only return to Russia when it...

Russian Official Fired Over Results of Lie Detector Test

The governor of Russia's southern republic of Ingushetia has fired a high-ranking official based on the results of a lie detector test, the Interfax...

Putin Fires Disgraced Russian Governor Accused of Bribe-Taking

President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday fired the governor of Russia's far-eastern Sakhalin region, who faces up to 15 years in prison on a charge of large-scale...

Khodorkovsky Video Technician Detained in 'Provocation' Before Russian Forum

In what critics have decried as an act of provocation, a video technician was detained in Novosibirsk a day before he was scheduled to work on a...

Extremism Probe Into Russian NGO Director Closed After Record Fine Paid

Russian authorities have decided not to open an extremism case against the director of St. Petersburg's Regional Press Institute, a day after she...

Ukrainian Arrested on Suspicion of Industrial Espionage in Russia

Russian authorities have arrested a Ukrainian citizen suspected of illegally acquiring industrial secrets that could have caused hundreds of millions...

Russia's Opposition Elite Shamed in Lewd Anti-Hebdo Comic Book

A comic book brimming with lewd images of Russia's leading opposition politicians and journalists has begun making the rounds in Moscow, news reports...

Poll: Russian Volunteer Fighters in Ukraine Enjoy Broad Support at Home

Sixty-five percent of Russians are supportive of their countrymen who are volunteering to fight alongside the rebels of eastern Ukraine, a recent...

Poll: Record Number of Russians Reject Emigration

Eighty-three percent of Russians say they're not interested in moving anywhere outside of the former Soviet Union, the Levada Center revealed.

Russia's Beloved Comedian Arkanov Dead at 81

Widely adored stand-up comedian and satirist Arkady Arkanov, who delighted Russian audiences for decades, died on Sunday in Moscow at the age of 81...

Russian News Outlet Forced to Delete Reporting on Spate of Cancer Suicides

Russia's media watchdog is pressuring a religion-focused news site not to report on why nearly a dozen people suffering from cancer committed suicide...

Killers of Russian Opposition Leader Nemtsov Were Paid $85,000 – Report

Russian investigators believe that the team suspected of killing opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was paid 5 million rubles ($85,000) to do the hit...

Moscow Teen Detained for Petitioning to Cancel Victory Day Celebration

Moscow police have detained an 18-year-old male suspected of posting a petition on a popular online social network to cancel the city's esteemed...

Controversial Russian Opera Director Agrees to Remove Risque Jesus Poster

A Russian opera director who recently faced charges of offending religious believers has agreed to take out of his show a poster apparently portraying...

Frenchman Smuggles Russian Wife Into EU in Suitcase

A 60-year-old Frenchman, apparently desperate to bring his young Russian wife to the European Union, was caught smuggling the woman into Poland in a suitcase...

Putin Spokesman Denies Russian President Is Out of Town for Birth of Love Child

President Vladimir Putin's spokesman denied rumors Friday that the president was out of town to attend the birth of his child.

Khodorkovsky Spokeswoman Finds Funeral Wreath at Her Door

As Putin's spokesman shrugged off a report of a hit list of Russian politicians and journalists Wednesday, the press secretary of Mikhail Khodorkovsky...

Religious Offense Charges Against Russian Opera Director Dropped

A Russian opera director who found himself mired in legal controversy after he provoked the ire of a local church leader was cleared of a charge of offending...

Egypt Investigates Russian-Language Porn Film Shot at Pyramids

Egyptian authorities have launched an investigation after a porn film emerged starring a Russian-speaking couple engaging in sexual activity near the...

Millions in Cash and Jewelry Seized From Disgraced Sakhalin Governor

Russian authorities have seized some $16.4 million in cash, hundreds of pieces of jewelry and even a $600,000 writing pen from residences of a Russian...

Russian Ex-Cop Gets 15 Years for Treason in CIA Spy Rock Case

A Russian court on Thursday sentenced a former police officer to 15 years in prison for sharing classified information with the U.S. Central Intelligence...

Russian Paramedics Caught Beating Incapacitated Patient (Video)

A team of paramedics caught on video beating an incapacitated patient and dragging him along a city sidewalk outside of a St. Petersburg apartment...

Russians' Average Monthly Salary Falls to $500 as Food Prices Skyrocket

Amid soaring inflation, the average monthly salary across Russia shrank to 31,200 rubles ($500) in January, Gazeta.ru reported Tuesday citing the Economic...

Russian Cops Bust Black-Market Machine Gun Racket

Russian authorities said Tuesday that they had busted a black-market weapons smuggling racket in possession of machine guns, semi-automatic rifles and grenades...

Snowden's Legal Team Pushing for His Return to America

Nearly two years after American intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden arrived in Moscow, his international legal team is hard at work trying to secure...

Russian Ship Arctic Wolf Seized Amid Gunfire Over Poaching Crabs

Russia's coast guard fired warning shots and seized a fleeing Kamchatka-registered ship named the Arctic Wolf whose 27-member crew is suspected of poaching...

Ukrainian Woman With Nemtsov on Fateful Night Is Kept Under Armed Guard

Anna Duritskaya, the woman who was walking with Nemtsov when he was killed on Friday night, is currently the key witness in the case and is being...

20 Years After Murder of Russian TV Boss Listyev, 'Case Still Not Closed'

Sunday marked 20 years since the murder of Vladislav Listyev, head of one of the country's largest TV stations, and the Investigative Committee says...

Russian Music Student Kills Saxophonist Girlfriend for Texting Other Man

A 20-year-old music student in the city of Yekaterinburg has confessed to killing his girlfriend on the eve of Russian men's day because she was...

Russia's Inquiry Into Oil Exec's Deadly Jet Crash Handed Over to France

Russia has handed over to France the results of a preliminary investigation into the cause of a jet crash that killed a French oil executive in October...

Russian Man Strangles Fiancee After She Tells Him to Get a Job

A 29-year-old man who was living in a dormitory in the Russian city of Omsk strangled his fiancee to death because she wanted him to get a job,...

Russian Opera Director Faces Criminal Charge for Offending Religious Believers

A theater director in the Russian city of Novosibirsk is under investigation for allegedly offending religious believers with his staging of a Wagner opera...

Russian Culture Ministry Keen to Tax Internet Users

Russia's Culture Ministry is pushing for a tax on Internet usage by October, despite the presidential administration's earlier criticism of the proposal...

Ukraine to Compete With RT by Launching Channel 'Ukrainian Tomorrow'

Ukraine next month will launch a television channel called "Ukrainian Tomorrow" in an effort to counterbalance the Kremlin-funded network RT, Ukraine’s...

U.S. Porn Star Sasha Grey the Unhappy Face of Anti-Kiev Propaganda Meme

"F-ck propaganda," American porn star Sasha Grey tweeted on Wednesday. "I love my Russian fans, but this propaganda takes it too far."

Russia's Drug Tsar Invokes Mark Twain in Denying Agency's Closure

"Reports of my agency's death have been greatly exaggerated," Viktor Ivanov, the head of Russia's drug control agency, told reporters on Tuesday, in a...

Comic Book Teaches Moscow's Civil Servants Not to Accept Bribes

A comic book designed to grip readers' attention from beginning to end has been used to teach 30,000 Moscow civil servants not to take bribes, the Izvestia...

Pro-Kremlin Rally in Central Moscow Expected to Gather Over 10,000 People

The Anti-Maidan leadership said Monday that the organization is prepared to pay fines if more than the permitted 10,000 people show up to a march...

Quarter of Moscow's Restaurants Expected to Close Amid Economic Crisis

At least a quarter of the restaurants in Moscow are expected to close by the year's end, industry insiders say, as the country's constricting economy...

4 Hospitalized After Shooting at Moscow Bar Popular With Expats

Four people were reportedly hospitalized after a group of drunken men who were turned away from popular expat hangout Bourbon Street opened fire on the...

Russians Think Putin, FSB and Military More Powerful Than Parliament

Russians see President Vladimir Putin as the most powerful force in Russia, with the Federal Security Service (FSB) and the military trailing close...

Irishman Drugged and Robbed During Attempted One-Night Stand in Moscow

An Irishman was drugged and robbed of about $12,000 worth of cash, jewelry and other belongings by a woman he met at a Moscow nightclub, state news...

Russia Mulls Opening Exclusive Foreign Goods Shop for Diplomats

In an apparent nod to the Soviet era, Russia's Foreign Ministry reportedly wants a "duty-free" store to open in central Moscow that would cater to foreign...

Anti-American Sentiment Reaches 25-Year High in Russia

Russians are more anti-American than they have been at any point in the past 25 years, according to a recent opinion poll

Number of Western Foreigners in Russia Drops by Half a Million

The total number of Western foreigners in Russia, including tourists, reportedly dropped in January by about half a million year-on-year amid deepening...

Russian Lawmakers Want Germany to Pay Reparations for World War II

Russia's lower house of parliament is setting up a working group to calculate how much money to demand from Germany for World War II reparations...

Putin Beats Brad Pitt in World's Most Admired Man Ranking

Russian President Vladimir Putin is the world's 11th "most admired" man and — surprise! — the most admired one in his home country, Britain-based...

Russian Women Lock Lips to Shock Author of Anti-Gay 'Propaganda' Law

A snapshot of a pair of lesbian-rights activists smooching in front of anti-gay lawmaker Vitaly Milonov on an Aeroflot flight has gone viral since...

Khodorkovsky Backs Navalny for 100,000-Strong Protest in Moscow

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once Russia's richest man, appears to have teamed up with firebrand opposition activist Alexei Navalny to organize a massive protest...

Russian Exit From Council of Europe Could Jeopardize Death Penalty Moratorium

As Russia considers exiting the Council of Europe after its voting rights were suspended for the second year in a row last week, the fate of Russia's...

Siberian Pop Singer Fawns Over Putin in Ode About Ukraine (Video)

As Western leaders ramp up pressure against Russia for its support of rebels in eastern Ukraine, a patriotic pop singer in Siberia has a message...

Russia Demands U.S. Release Suspected Spy

Russia's Foreign Ministry demanded that U.S. authorities release a Russian state banker arrested in New York on suspicion of spying as bilateral ties...

Tsarist-Era Russian Names Making a Comeback

The most popular first names in Moscow over the past century and those currently gaining in popularity reveal an inverse dynamic, with several pre-revolutionary...

Russia's Largest Watchmaker Refuses to Sell to 'Decadent' West

Russia's oldest and largest mechanical watchmaker says it will stop selling its most prestigious watches abroad as long as the "decadent" West continues...

Crime Blotter: Businessman Car-Bombed; Moscow High-Speed Chase; Robber Kills Armored Car Guards With Assault Rifle (Video)

Russian police were kept busy over the weekend between a car bombing in Siberia and a high-speed chase in Moscow, while a search remains under way...

Escaped Russian Serial Killer Caught in Ukraine

A notorious serial killer and rapist who escaped police custody last month in northwest Russia's Leningrad region was detained in southern Ukraine...

U.S. Consulate in St. Petersburg Smoke-Bombed on Eve of July 4th

As U.S. citizens in Moscow took extra precautions this year while celebrating the 238th anniversary of their country's independence, activists in St...

Fraudsters Beset Putin's Annual Call-In Show

Fraudsters have set up websites that falsely claim to be shortlisting questions for President Vladimir Putin's annual call-in show on Thursday in exchange...

Senior Russian Politician Slams U.S. for Inciting Conflict in Kiev

Dressed in the camouflage uniform of an Army colonel, the firebrand leader of Russia's nationalist Liberal Democratic Party on Tuesday accused the United...

U.S. Sanctions Against Russian Scientists 'Punish Entire Scientific Community'

Sanctions that the United States has imposed on Russian scientists as retribution for Russia's annexation of Crimea "punish the entire scientific...

Russia Pulls Voice of America Radio Off Air

Russia has pulled Voice of America radio off the air by not renewing the U.S.-funded station's contract, state media reported, citing a senior official...

Russia Warns Kiev of 'Civil War' in Eastern Ukraine

Russia's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday warned Kiev that amassing troops in eastern Ukraine has the potential to "unleash civil war," a day after the U...

Russian Man Urinates on Eternal Flame, Faces 5 Years in Jail

A Russian man who extinguished a World War II memorial's eternal flame by urinating on it faces five years in jail for desecration, local media reported...

Putin's Annual Call-In Show Set for April 17

President Vladimir Putin is expected to hold his annual call-in show on April 17, Russian media reports said Monday.