Politics
A 22-year-old ex-star of a popular reality...
A 22-year-old ex-star of a popular reality show in Russia and her Ghanaian partner have been arrested in Moscow on charges of human trafficking, Russian investigators said on Tuesday.
(Adds details, background, Lavrov and Gryzlov quotes in paras 2-8)
(Adds details, background, Lavrov and Gryzlov quotes in paras 2-8)
A detailed check of the Large Hadron Collider...
A detailed check of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) running at a low energy has showed that it is "performing well," the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) said on its website Thursday.
All the bodies recovered from the wreckage...
All the bodies recovered from the wreckage of the Polish presidential plane, which crashed on April 10 near the western Russian city of Smolensk have been identified, an aide for the Russian health minister said.
A resident of Dagestan has claimed that...
A resident of Dagestan has claimed that he recognizes one of the women who carried out the terrorist attacks on the Moscow metro as his daughter Mariam Sharipova, the Moscow weekly Novaya Gazeta reported.
As investigators work to identify the cause...
As investigators work to identify the cause of an air crash near the Russian city of Smolensk on Saturday, in which Polish President Lech Kaczynski, his wife, and 94 top officials died, speculations about the issue remain a hot topic among Western experts.
A total of 97 people died when a plane carrying...
A total of 97 people died when a plane carrying Polish President Lech Kaczynski, his wife, and a delegation of senior officials crashed in west Russia on Saturday, Russia"s Emergencies Ministry said.
A week after the deadly twin bombings in...
A week after the deadly twin bombings in the Moscow metro, over 80 victims remain in hospital, a spokesman for the Russian health ministry said on Monday.
A yearly get-together for the hundreds of...
A yearly get-together for the hundreds of U.S. families, which have adopted children from Russia, will take place in the Russian Embassy in Washington on Saturday, an embassy representative said.
Belarus has made an advance payment for...
Belarus has made an advance payment for 1.126 metric tons of Russian oil for January, a spokesman for Belarusian petrochemical company Belneftekhim said on Friday.
Belarus has revised its commitment to build...
Belarus has revised its commitment to build a biathlon complex in Russia"s Winter Olympic 2014 host city of Sochi, a Russian business daily said.
Brazil will not bow to pressure by the U.S...
Brazil will not bow to pressure by the U.S. to support harsher sanctions against Iran over its controversial nuclear program, the country"s foreign minister has said, as quoted by BBC.
By Angela Stent, a nonresident senior fellow...
By Angela Stent, a nonresident senior fellow with the Transatlantic Relations program at the Atlantic Council, Director of the Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies in Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.
By Angela Stent, professor of Government...
By Angela Stent, professor of Government and Director, Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service; Senior Non-Resident Fellow, Brookings Institution; Vice Chair, World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the Future of Russia. Member, Council on Foreign Relations.
Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov is doubtful...
Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov is doubtful that a bomb attack, which derailed a Russian express train last week killing 26 people and injuring over 90, was carried out on orders from a wanted terrorist, Doka Umarov.
Former world No. 1 Maria Sharapova has to...
Former world No. 1 Maria Sharapova has to leave the 2010 Australian Open after her defeat on the opening day, but the Russian told her fans she was not discouraged and would fight on.
GENEVA, December 12 (RIA Novosti) - Switzerland...
GENEVA, December 12 (RIA Novosti) - Switzerland scrapped checks at land border crossings on Friday as the country joined the Schengen visa agreement.
Iran is counting on Russia to remain neutral...
Iran is counting on Russia to remain neutral regarding the UN Security Council"s possible adoption of new sanctions over the Islamic Republic"s nuclear program, the country"s top nuclear official said.
Iran"s first nuclear power plant, Bushehr...
Iran"s first nuclear power plant, Bushehr, will be launched in 2010, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday.
KIEV, May 9 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine"s president...
KIEV, May 9 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine"s president and prime minister, bitter political rivals expected to run in presidential elections later this year, stood together on Saturday at the Victory Day parade in Kiev. On the 84th anniversary of the end of World War II, Viktor Yushchenko said he thought about the dead and the survivors, the victors and those who fought "on all fronts and in the resistance." The president gets most of his support in the nationalist west of Ukraine, where a regional parliament voted in March to remove a public monument to Soviet WWII soldiers and place it in a museum of Soviet totalitarianism, saying the statue had no historical or cultural value. "This is our shared, united, indivisible, holy and great victory", said Yushchenko, adding that the victory was won by Ukrainians together with other peoples. Western Ukraine was the stronghold of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, a nationalist group initially set up to protect ethnic Ukrainians from Poles that engaged in guerrilla fighting with Soviet troops and collaborated with Nazi Germans during the war. Although he did not mention it specifically in his speech, Yushchenko has sought recognition for the group, and a statue to one of its founders, Stepan Bandera, was unveiled in Lvov in 2007. Yulia Tymoshenko, who is seen as having moved closer to Russia since falling out with Yushchenko last year, congratulated veterans, emphasizing the victory over fascism. "I know that today affects you most of all, my dear war veterans," the prime minister said in a statement released by the government press service. "You are disturbed and painfully wounded by the worry that the exploits of millions of heroes, who protected the planet from fascism, is gradually forgotten, that the honor and the glory of the great victory is darkened daily by little disputes, and sometimes also ingratitude." "This categorically not the case," she declared. Yushchenko said almost no country was more affected by the war than Ukraine, and called for the country to come together. "More than 7 million Ukrainians were sent to the front in World War II. Each second one failed to return home. Every other one of the survivors became a disabled war veteran," the president said. "In the epicenter of the World War, Ukraine sustained practically the highest level of casualties and destruction." The actions of resistance groups on the Eastern front during World War II is a contentious issue between Moscow and some former Soviet republics, particularly the Baltic States, where some nationalists fought with the Nazis against Soviet troops. The relocation of the Bronze Soldier, a Soviet-era monument to the Red Army, in Estonia in 2007 sparked violent protests from ethnic Russians. One person was killed and several dozen injured in clashes with police. Moscow issued strong protests with some lawmakers calling for cutting diplomatic ties with Tallinn.
MOSCOW, August 1 (RIA Novosti) - A Gazprom...
MOSCOW, August 1 (RIA Novosti) - A Gazprom spokesman said Wednesday that the Russian energy giant expected "major new discoveries" of oil and gas reserves under the Arctic Ocean, and had large-scale prospecting plans for the region.
MOSCOW, August 1 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's...
MOSCOW, August 1 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's expedition aimed at symbolically claiming a vast section of the Arctic is approaching the point where the first-ever dive below the North Pole is to be made.
MOSCOW, August 27 (RIA Novosti) - Eight...
MOSCOW, August 27 (RIA Novosti) - Eight men detained last week on suspicion of hijacking the Arctic Sea cargo ship have been arraigned on piracy and kidnapping charges, Russia"s special investigations committee said on Thursday.
MOSCOW, December 1 (RIA Novosti) - The number...
MOSCOW, December 1 (RIA Novosti) - The number of people under 30 infected with HIV/AIDS is continuing to grow in Russia, the country's sanitary watchdog said on its website on the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day.
MOSCOW, February 24 (RIA Novosti) - Russia...
MOSCOW, February 24 (RIA Novosti) - Russia plans to change the ownership structure of property used by religious groups, a move that could make the Orthodox Church a major real estate owner and cut budget spending, a business daily said on Tuesday.
MOSCOW, January 29 (RIA Novosti) - Russia"s...
MOSCOW, January 29 (RIA Novosti) - Russia"s fifth-generation fighter performed its maiden flight on Friday.
MOSCOW, June 16 (RIA Novosti) - Two Moscow...
MOSCOW, June 16 (RIA Novosti) - Two Moscow police officers have been arrested on suspicion of attempting to extort a 1.5 million euro ($2.3 million) bribe from a bank in the Russian capital, investigators said on Monday. "Two suspects have been taken into custody," said Vladimir Markin, a spokesman for the Prosecutor General"s Office investigation committee. Although the Interior Ministry has not yet officially revealed the identities of the suspects, a law enforcement source said earlier that police majors Dmitry Tselyakov and Alexander Nosenko had attempted to extort 1.5 million euros from Inkredbank vice president Pyots Chuvilin. Chuvilin is also the general director of the Spartak Moscow hockey club. The two officers were detained at the beginning of last week and then formally arrested after a warrant had been issued by Moscow"s Basmanny District Court.
MOSCOW, June 5 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will...
MOSCOW, June 5 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will deploy two full-sized armies in Belarus during large-scale joint military exercises in September, the Russian chief of General Staff said on Friday.
MOSCOW, March 11 (RIA Novosti) - Nikolai...
MOSCOW, March 11 (RIA Novosti) - Nikolai Yurgel has been appointed as the new head of Russia's service overseeing healthcare and social development, the watchdog's press office said Sunday.
MOSCOW, March 26 (RIA Novosti) - Police...
MOSCOW, March 26 (RIA Novosti) - Police in central Russia have detained two people on suspicion of burning to death a beggar, the Investigation Committee of the Prosecutor General's Office said on Thursday.
MOSCOW, March 3 (RIA Novosti) - A criminal...
MOSCOW, March 3 (RIA Novosti) - A criminal case on charges of bribe-taking and abuse of office against a former high-profile investigator, Dmitry Dovgy, will be handed over for trial at the Moscow City Court on Tuesday, Russia's main investigative body said.
MOSCOW, November 17 (RIA Novosti) - Russia"s...
MOSCOW, November 17 (RIA Novosti) - Russia"s Energia space corporation has received a long-awaited loan worth 2.9 billion rubles ($106 million) from state-run savings bank Sberbank for spacecraft construction, the company said on Monday.The two-year loan will enable the company to continue producing the Progress cargo ships and Soyuz manned spacecraft used for missions to the International Space Station (ISS)."The deal was closed on November 14, 2008," Energia said. Energia President Vitaly Lopota earlier said the government had delayed the loan for several months over a liquidity shortage. He also said the funds for new spacecraft were allocated from the state budget and would be spent during the first year of construction, while two or three years were needed for a project to effectively produce and modernize Soyuz and Progress ships. Energia is one of Russia"s leading aerospace companies and an experienced developer and producer of aerospace hardware. The company has a good record of achievements, including the Soviet Union"s first satellites, the Vostok manned spacecraft, and the Mir orbiting space station. Energia is also the main contractor for the ISS"s Russian segment.
MOSCOW, November 2 (RIA Novosti) - The volume...
MOSCOW, November 2 (RIA Novosti) - The volume of natural gas deliveries to Denmark via the Nord Stream pipeline could later be increased to 3 billion cubic meters a year, the Russian prime minister said on Monday.
MOSCOW, November 8 (RIA Novosti) - A police...
MOSCOW, November 8 (RIA Novosti) - A police officer from the southern Russian city of Novorossiisk has been fired after posting a video on the web asking Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to launch a nationwide corruption probe, an Interior Ministry spokesman said Sunday.
MOSCOW, October 27 (RIA Novosti) - The International...
MOSCOW, October 27 (RIA Novosti) - The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is satisfied with the quality and pace of Sochi"s preparations for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, the IOC president said on Tuesday.
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti economic commentator...
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti economic commentator Oleg Mityaev) - Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende proposed that Russian and Dutch companies headed by Royal Dutch Shell should jointly develop the richest gas fields on the Yamal Peninsula located above the Arctic Circle.
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti military commentator...
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti military commentator Ilya Kramnik) – Russia’s new military doctrine, which is to come into force in 2010, has provoked a heated debate, first of all because it stipulates preemptive nuclear strikes.
MOSCOW, September 17 (RIA Novosti) - A U.S...
MOSCOW, September 17 (RIA Novosti) - A U.S. district court sentenced on Wednesday wealthy businessman and charity founder Andrew Mogilyansky to eight years in prison for having sex with teenage girls, the Philadelphia Inquirer said.
MOSCOW. (Yury Zaitsev, for RIA Novosti)...
MOSCOW. (Yury Zaitsev, for RIA Novosti) - At its recent meeting, the Presidential Commission for Modernization and Technological Development of Russia"s Economy called for developing a transport-energy module with a megawatt-class nuclear propulsion unit.
Muscovites are lighting candles and laying...
Muscovites are lighting candles and laying flowers near the Polish embassy on Sunday to mourn the victims of the devastating plane crash that killed Polish President Lech Kaczynski, his wife and several other top officials.
NHL star Alexander Ovechkin expects to play...
NHL star Alexander Ovechkin expects to play Canada in the Olympic ice hockey quarterfinals, and says the Russian team will have to play as one to win.
PARIS, April 8 (RIA Novosti) - France is...
PARIS, April 8 (RIA Novosti) - France is ready to increase investments and its economic presence in Russia to strengthen the two countries' partnership during the world financial crisis, the speaker of France's parliament said on Wednesday.
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia...
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, will on Saturday arrive in Egypt on a three-day visit.
Poland"s attorney general is due in Moscow...
Poland"s attorney general is due in Moscow on Wednesday for a two-day visit that Warsaw hopes will speed the handover of evidence in the fatal crash of the Polish president"s plane in western Russia in April, a spokesman said on Tuesday.
Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev...
Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev met on December 18 on the sidelines of the climate change summit in Copenhagen to discuss nuclear reductions.
(Recasts, adds additional info. after para 6)
(Recasts, adds additional info. after para 6)
Russia and France have started talks on...
Russia and France have started talks on the purchase of four French Mistral-class amphibious-assault ships, President Nicolas Sarkozy said after talks with his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev.
Russia does not support a final document...
Russia does not support a final document distributed after an international nuclear conference in Iran that gathered top officials and experts from 60 countries, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Friday.
Russia is lowering oil export duty on its...
Russia is lowering oil export duty on its Urals blend from the current $270.7 to $253.7 per metric ton from March 1, following trends on global oil markets.
Russia is prepared to help Chile hit by...
Russia is prepared to help Chile hit by a powerful earthquake killing 78 people, the Kremlin press service said on Saturday.
Russia is ready to render various assistance...
Russia is ready to render various assistance in overcoming the current political turmoil in Kyrgyzstan, a Russian deputy foreign minister told the head of the Kyrgyz interim government on Monday.
Russian champions Rubin Kazan were paired...
Russian champions Rubin Kazan were paired with Israeli club Hapoel Tel Aviv after Friday"s draw in Nyon, Switzerland.
Russian investigators are studying the records...
Russian investigators are studying the records of talks between the pilots of the crashed Polish president"s plane and ground air controllers, a spokesman for the Investigative Committee said on Sunday.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has signed...
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has signed a decree on Interior Ministry personnel cuts, the Kremlin press service said Thursday.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has submitted...
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has submitted to the State Duma a draft law on bail for people accused of economic crimes, the lower house of parliament said Monday on its website.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday...
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday listed five main components of the fight against terrorism in Russia"s North Caucasus region.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called...
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called on Friday for an investigation into the use of funds allocated for preparations for the Vancouver Games, saying the failure cannot be explained merely by biased judging.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is...
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is due to pay working visits to Austria April 24-25 and Italy on April 25-26, the government press service said in a statement on Tuesday.
Russian Supreme Court"s judicial chamber...
Russian Supreme Court"s judicial chamber for civil cases upheld a decision to ban a southern Russian branch of the Jehovah"s Witnesses.
Russia"s broadly defined monetary base expanded...
Russia"s broadly defined monetary base expanded 3.9% to 5.218 trillion rubles ($174 bln) in November, the Central Bank reported on Wednesday.
Russia"s lower house of parliament, the...
Russia"s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, passed in the third and final reading on Wednesday a government bill extending a ban on human cloning.
Russia"s proposal to merge its state-run...
Russia"s proposal to merge its state-run Gazprom and Ukraine"s national energy company Naftogaz merits attention and will be studied by the government, Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said on Wednesday.
Russia will fulfill its obligations under...
Russia will fulfill its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol, the presidential advisor on climate issues said on Friday.
Russia will impose a full customs duty on...
Russia will impose a full customs duty on oil deliveries to Belarus starting January 1 after the failure of bilateral talks on Thursday, the Russian government"s press service said.
South Korea has proposed to Russia’s...
South Korea has proposed to Russia’s Pacific Island of Sakhalin to join a large-scale project to enhance the environmental safety of industrial production, the regional governor’s press office said on Thursday.
Swedish women"s curling team defended its...
Swedish women"s curling team defended its Turin Olympic gold medal, snatching the victory from Canada in the extra end of the Vancouver Olympic final.
The Chilean authorities imposed a curfew...
The Chilean authorities imposed a curfew in country"s central Biobio and Maule regions following the Saturday"s earthquake which claimed hundreds of lives, the Spanish EFE news agency said on Monday.
The commander of the Russian Ground Forces...
The commander of the Russian Ground Forces has arrived in Russia"s Far East to inspect the preparation for upcoming strategic military exercises in the region.
The death toll in Saturday"s powerful earthquake...
The death toll in Saturday"s powerful earthquake in Chile has risen to 147 from earlier reported 122, authorities said.
The first tanker with 100,000 metric tons...
The first tanker with 100,000 metric tons of oil will arrive at a Russian Far East port in the last week of December, symbolizing the launch of a major new pipeline, the pipeline operator said on Friday.
The flow of magma of the Icelandic Eyjafjallajokull...
The flow of magma of the Icelandic Eyjafjallajokull volcano has decreased 10 times in comparison with the first hours of its eruption, scientists from the Geophysics Institute of the University of Iceland said on Wednesday.
The future of the European continent is...
The future of the European continent is impossible without taking into account its Christian heritage, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church said Monday.
The heads of Russia"s main religious faiths...
The heads of Russia"s main religious faiths condemned on Monday the two Moscow subway blasts that killed least 37 people and injured dozens.
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange has delayed...
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange has delayed considering an application from Russia"s aluminum giant RusAl for a $2.5 billion initial public offering (IPO) on the bourse, two sources close to banking quarters said on Monday.
The majority of warships in the Russian...
The majority of warships in the Russian Black Sea Fleet have been in service for over 30 years and would not be fit for sea missions by 2015, a Russian newspaper said.
The New Serbian Orthodox Patriarch will...
The New Serbian Orthodox Patriarch will be elected on January 22 by the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the church"s website said on Friday.
The new U.S. adoptive approach for European...
The new U.S. adoptive approach for European missile defense includes the possibility of using a Russian radar system as part of an integrated system, NATO"s top military officer has said.
The Russian foreign minister has urged the...
The Russian foreign minister has urged the Palestinian Hamas movement to stop firing rockets on southern Israel from the Gaza Strip, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
The world"s most powerful atom smasher has...
The world"s most powerful atom smasher has been restarted, the Symmetry magazine reported Sunday.
Training centres to prepare priests for...
Training centres to prepare priests for deployment to Russian military units will open in the near future, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia said on Tuesday.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych on...
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych on Thursday defended the Russian Navy base deal extending Russian naval presence in the country until 2042, saying the naval base deal is a small price for establishing better Russia-Ukraine ties.
U.S. space shuttle Endeavour successfully...
U.S. space shuttle Endeavour successfully landed at a space center in Florida after it undocked from the International Space Station on February 20, NASA said.
VALENCIA, September 24 (RIA Novosti) - The...
VALENCIA, September 24 (RIA Novosti) - The Arctic Sea cargo vessel and the Russian warship escorting it are believed to have left the Canary Islands, a source at the Las Palmas port said on Thursday.