Early Putin biography gives insight into dark mood of distrust in president’s inner circle

PARIS - At a cafe on the Place des Vosges, Natalia Gevorkyan is picking at a salade verte and thinking about betrayal. It’s a central theme in the worldview of Vladimir Putin, the Russian president and a man who once spent many hours telling her of his life and his credo. It was natural for a KGB officer to suspect...

washingtonpost.com (2 hours ago)

Free Pussy Riot: Sir Paul McCartney in plea to Russia to release punk band members

The former Beatle has written letters to Russian authorities in support of the imprisoned anti-Kremlin activists

mirror.co.uk (3 hours ago)

Gerard Depardieu goes to Chechnya to film next movie

Russians often grit their teeth at the way their country is portrayed in Hollywood films: a grim, wintry post-Soviet wasteland peopled with mafia thugs, drunks, and Kremlin megalomaniacs.

yahoo.com (4 hours ago)

Prominent Chechen advocate shot dead in Turkish capital

ANKARA (Reuters) - A prominent figure in the Chechen diaspora in Turkey was shot at his Ankara office late on Wednesday, a North Caucasus refugee association said, the latest in a series of killings of Chechens and their sympathizers in the country in recent years. Many refugees and separatists have settled in...

yahoo.com (5 hours ago)

Bolotnaya case continues: Russian police search homes of more opposition activists

Russian police have searched the homes of two opposition activists as part of an investigation into the criminal case against protesters allegedly involved in unrest during the anti-Kremlin rally on Moscow’s Bolotnaya Square on May 6 last year.Read Full Article at RT.com

rt.com (6 hours ago)

New Parliament to be Built in Central Moscow – Kremlin

A new parliamentary center will be built in central Moscow, presidential property management administration chief Vladimir Kozhin said on Thursday.    

rian.ru (7 hours ago)

Russia wary of deeper nuclear arms cuts

Russia's top military officer has voiced skepticism about deeper nuclear arms cuts, saying they should require parallel cuts in non-nuclear precision weapons. Thursday's statement by chief of Russia's military General Staff, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, appeared to signal the Kremlin's reluctance to negotiate a new...

foxnews.com (7 hours ago)

Global Voices: The six personalities of Russia's Putin

Vladimir Putin emerged from the obscurity of a secret agent’s life when called to Moscow in 1997 by power-hungry oligarchs in search of a pliable accomplice to plant in the Kremlin.  In little more than two years, Putin was president of Russia and embarked on a mission to tame the wealthy cabal that hired him and to...

latimes.com (9 hours ago)

$1 Billion Spent on Gazprom Anniversary Party

Gazprom spent more than $1 billion on celebrations to mark the company's 20th anniversary this year, Interfax reported Thursday. In February, the Kremlin hosted a gala concert to celebrate the company's anniversary at a cost of $1.

sptimes.ru (10 hours ago)

When Winston Churchill met Joseph Stalin: suckling pigs and savage brews

A colourful description of how Winston Churchill spent a night drinking with Joseph Stalin in Moscow during a wartime meeting is contained in a letter from Sir Alexander Cadogan, a top official at the Foreign Office, contained in a highly classified document released on Thursday. He described how at mealtimes...

guardian.co.uk (21 hours ago)

Pussy Riot member launches hunger strike

A jailed member of the anti-Kremlin punk band Pussy Riot has begun a hunger strike to protest at a court decision to refuse her permission to attend her own parole hearing. Maria Alyokhina, 24, also forbade her lawyers from further representing her during the parole hearing, becoming the most high-profile prisoner...

guardian.co.uk (1 day ago)

PHOTO: Russian Officer 'Posed At Putin's Desk To Impress Girls'

Russia's federal guard service launched an investigation after photos appeared in the media of a disgraced former employee posing behind Vladimir Putin's desk in the Kremlin, an official said Tuesday. Pictures of the man, named Alexei Ustimchuk, sitting diminutively behind the giant desk in Putin's Kremlin office,...

huffingtonpost.com (1 day ago)

Russian officer 'posed at Vladimir Putin's desk to impress girls'

Russia's federal guard service launched an investigation after photos appeared in the media of a disgraced former employee apparently posing behind Vladimir Putin's desk in the Kremlin, an official said on Tuesday.    

telegraph.co.uk (2 days ago)

Russia angry over "stolen" Eurovision votes

BAKU/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Moscow has clashed with the European Union over human rights and with NATO over security. Now another longstanding European institution is causing anger in the Kremlin and tension between Russia and Azerbaijan: the Eurovision Song Contest.

reuters.com (2 days ago)

Russia angry over "stolen" Eurovision votes

By Lada Evgrashina and Steve Gutterman BAKU/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Moscow has clashed with the European Union over human rights and with NATO over security. Now another longstanding European institution is causing anger in the Kremlin and tension between Russia and Azerbaijan: the Eurovision Song Contest. Foreign...

yahoo.com (2 days ago)

Four killed in Dagestan blast as Moscow plot 'foiled'

Four people have been killed and close to 50 wounded by twin car bombs in Russia's restive Dagestan region, while the Kremlin also announced it had foiled a major plot to attack Moscow.

abc.net.au (2 days ago)

Media Tycoon Gets Surprise During Trial

By Maria Tsvetkova MOSCOW, May 20 (Reuters) - Russian media magnate Alexander Lebedev received unexpected support from a prosecution witness on Monday and told a court that charges laid against him over a televised punch-up were invented by state prosecutors. Lebedev, the financial backer of Britain's Independent...

huffingtonpost.com (3 days ago)

Kremlin orders Russian pollster to register itself as 'spy'

Russia's only independent polling agency, the Levada Center, may face closure after Russian prosecutors ordered it to register as a "foreign agent" – a term that's synonymous with "spy" in Russian – under a new law designed to clamp down on nongovernmental organizations that receive any amount of funding from abroad...

yahoo.com (3 days ago)

U.S. Lawyer Booted From Russia for (Allegedly) Refusing to Serve as Kremlin Spy

wired.com (3 days ago)

Russia wants Bill Browder on Interpol list

The Russian authorities have escalated their attack on Bill Browder, the British hedge fund boss spearheading an anti-corruption campaign against the Kremlin, by asking Interpol to place him under surveillance.    

telegraph.co.uk (3 days ago)

Russian independent pollster targeted in 'foreign agent' crackdown

Russia's only independent pollster has said it might have to shut its doors following a government demand that it register as a foreign agent. The Levada Centre, which carries out sociological studies and regularly rates Russia's top politicians, is the latest target for prosecutors seeking to enforce a new law...

guardian.co.uk (3 days ago)

Russia targets pollster for 'political activity'

Russia's only independent polling agency says it may have to close after prosecutors targeted it for 'political activity.' Levada Center on Monday published a letter from prosecutors who said its polls and publications are "aimed at shaping public opinion on government policy" and demanded it cease publication until...

foxnews.com (3 days ago)

EU Criticizes Russia's 'Worrying' Human Rights Situation

BRUSSELS, May 19 (Reuters) - The European Union criticised Russia's human rights record on Sunday, saying it was increasingly concerned at a wave of restrictive legislation and prosecutions against activists. The 27-nation bloc cited the cases of protesters arrested at a demonstration on the eve of President...

huffingtonpost.com (3 days ago)

Accused CIA Spy Leaves Russia

MOSCOW — The U.S. Embassy employee accused of spying in Moscow flew out of Russia on Sunday, five days after he was ordered to leave the country, NTV television reported. The Kremlin-loyal TV station broadcast video Sunday evening showing Ryan Fogle going through passport control and security at Sheremetyevo...

huffingtonpost.com (4 days ago)

American accused of spying leaves Moscow, Russian TV reports

The U.S. Embassy employee accused of spying in Moscow flew out of Russia on Sunday, five days after he was ordered to leave the country, NTV television reported. The Kremlin-loyal TV station broadcast video Sunday evening showing Ryan Fogle going through passport control and security at Sheremetyevo International...

foxnews.com (4 days ago)

Former Russian spy 'would give evidence' to public inquiry into killing of Alexander Litvinenko

A key witness in the investigation into Alexander Litvinenko’s killing, who helped the murdered dissident compile a report on a senior businessman with strong ties to the Kremlin, is willing to give evidence at a public inquiry, The Independent has learnt.

independent.co.uk (4 days ago)

Ryan Fogle leaves Russia after being accused of operating as CIA spy

The US embassy employee accused of spying in Moscow flew out of Russia , five days after he was ordered to leave the country, according to reports. The Kremlin-loyal NTV station broadcast footage showing Ryan Fogle going through passport control and security at Sheremetyevo international airport. He also was...

guardian.co.uk (4 days ago)

Russian TV: American accused of spying flies out

MOSCOW - The U.S. Embassy employee accused of spying in Moscow flew out of Russia on Sunday, five days after he was ordered to leave the country, NTV television reported. The Kremlin-loyal TV station broadcast video Sunday evening showing Ryan Fogle going through passport control and security at Sheremetyevo...

bostonherald.com (4 days ago)

Putin Versus None-Of-The-Above

  Two years have elapsed since my last visit to Moscow. It remains one of the ugliest and least hospitable cities on this earth. Its traffic jams, if anything, have grown worse. Moscow new architecture is Stalin-McDonalds kitsch. Skyscrapers feature Kremlin turrets, rounded middles or corners, or round structures...

forbes.com (4 days ago)

Alexander Litvinenko widow accuses Britain of striking deal with Moscow

Inquest into poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko close to collapse after coroner ruled he could not hear evidence about Kremlin's alleged role.    

telegraph.co.uk (5 days ago)