Moscow News

News 10/09/2010 Day of mourning for Russian car bomb victims (AP)
AP - Flags flew at half-staff in the southern Russian city of Vladikavkaz on Friday and stunned residents laid flowers in a square where a suicide car bombing killed 17 people and wounded more than 140.

10/09/2010 Toll rises, region mourns after Russia suicide blast (Reuters)
Reuters - The death toll from a suicide bomb in Russia's restive North Caucasus rose to 18 Friday as the stricken province observed a day of mourning and doctors fought for the lives of several critically wounded victims.

10/09/2010 Russia mourns bomb victims as death toll hits 17 (AFP)
AFP - The death toll from the deadliest militant strike for months in Russia's troubled Caucasus rose to at least 17 on Friday as the troubled region of North Ossetia observed a day of mourning.

10/09/2010 Obama condemns North Ossetia blast (AFP)
AFP - US President Barack Obama on Thursday condemned a suicide attack in the Russia Caucasus which killed 16 people and injured 100 more as a horrific tragedy.

09/09/2010 Obama condemns deadly Russia suicide attack (AP)
AP - President Barack Obama is condemning a suicide bombing that killed at least 17 people in southern Russia.

09/09/2010 Obama adviser nudges Russia on democracy (Reuters)
Reuters - Russia should uphold democratic rights and increase political competition if the Kremlin's plans to modernize its economy are to become reality, President Barack Obama's top adviser on Russia said on Thursday.

09/09/2010 Suicide bomber kills 15 at Russian Caucasus market (AFP)
AFP - At least 15 people were killed on Thursday and over 70 wounded when suicide bombing rocked a crowded central market in the Russian Caucasus city of Vladikavkaz, officials said.

09/09/2010 Car explodes near Russian market; 5 dead (AP)
AP - A car exploded Thursday near the central market of a major city in Russia's restive North Caucasus region, killing at least five people and wounding 20, officials said.

09/09/2010 Blast in southern Russia kills at least 4: reports (Reuters)
Reuters - A large blast hit near a market in the city of Vladikavkaz in Russia's restive North Caucasus on Thursday, killing at least four people, Russian news agencies reported.

09/09/2010 Fires flare up as Russia pledges better forest protection (AFP)
AFP - Forest fires flared again in Russia on Wednesday as President Dmitry Medvedev demanded better protection for the country's prized forests to avoid a repeat of this summer's disaster.

09/09/2010 Wildfires destroy over 400 homes in Siberia (Reuters)
Reuters - Wildfires swept through several villages in Siberia, burning down over 400 homes on Wednesday, Russia's Emergencies Ministry said, following a wave of blazes that killed over 50 people earlier in the summer.

08/09/2010 US says Moscow jailing of Russian activist 'regrettable' (AFP)
AFP - A top US diplomat on Wednesday expressed regret at the jailing of a prominent Russian right activist that forced the campaigner to miss a key meeting with visiting US officials.

08/09/2010 Russian airliner lands in forest, no one hurt (AP)
AP - Russia's top investigative agency has launched a probe into the emergency landing of a passenger jet that rolled into a forest without hurting anyone, officials said Wednesday.

08/09/2010 Gates: Any Russian arms cheating would backfire (AP)
AP - Defense Secretary Robert Gates assured lawmakers Wednesday he expects Russia to abide by a new nuclear arms treaty, but that even if Moscow cheats it won't gain any military advantage.

08/09/2010 U.S. diplomat raps Russia on jailing, free assembly (Reuters)
Reuters - A top U.S. diplomat criticized Russia on Wednesday over the jailing of a prominent human rights activist and urged the Kremlin to respect the right to free assembly.

08/09/2010 US 'regrets' jailing of Russian activist over demo: official (AFP)
AFP - A top United States diplomat on Wednesday expressed regret at the jailing of a prominent Russian right activist that forced the campaigner to miss a key meeting with visiting US officials.

08/09/2010 BP happy to talk to Russian firms about asset sales (Reuters)
Reuters - Oil giant BP is open to talks about selling assets to Russian companies as part of its $30 billion fund raising programme to help pay for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the group's Russia chief said on Wednesday.

07/09/2010 Russian minister: Slow response let fires spread (AP)
AP - Russia would have suffered less severe damage from wildfires this summer if authorities had engaged firefighting aircraft more quickly, a Cabinet member said Tuesday.

07/09/2010 Russia signals '10 arms pact ratification up to U.S. (Reuters)
Reuters - Russia is ready to ratify a nuclear arms pact with the United States this year but the landmark treaty could face problems in the U.S. Senate, the Kremlin-backed speaker of parliament said on Tuesday.

07/09/2010 Putin hints at return to Russian presidency (AFP)
AFP - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said he had not yet decided to run for the Russian presidency but noted that Franklin D. Roosevelt had served four terms legally as US president.

07/09/2010 Eccentric Russian regional strongman to step down (AP)
AP - A Russian regional leader who claims to have visited an alien spaceship says he is retiring.

07/09/2010 Russia's Medvedev forecasts early grain ban removal (Reuters)
Reuters - Moscow on Monday gave another mixed signal about the duration of a grain export ban set initially from August 15 to December 31, but European Union grain markets continued to rise, apparently ignoring the latest twist.

06/09/2010 Russia's Putin says undecided about 2012 election (Reuters)
Reuters - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Monday that he had not yet decided whether to run in the 2012 presidential election.

06/09/2010 Russia boosts military cooperation with Israel (AFP)
AFP - The defence ministers of Russia and Israel on Monday signed an agreement on military cooperation, hailing the unity between Moscow and the Jewish state.

06/09/2010 Three killed, scores hurt in Dagestan suicide bombing (AFP)
AFP - A suicide bomber rammed a Russian military base Sunday, killing three people and wounding some thirty more in the North Caucasus region of Dagestan, law enforcement sources said.

05/09/2010 Relics of Russian saint, icons stolen (AP)
AP - A Russian news agency is reporting that three ancient icons, one of which contained relics of Russia's most venerated saint, have been stolen.

05/09/2010 5 killed in suicide attack on Russian base (AP)
AP - A suicide car-bomber killed five soldiers and wounded 40 others in an attack on a military base in Russia's violence-plagued republic of Dagestan on Sunday, officials said.

05/09/2010 Suicide bomber kills five in southern Russia (Reuters)
Reuters - At least five people were killed and 35 wounded on Sunday when a suicide bomber attacked troops at a firing range in Russia's southern region of Dagestan, sources in official security agencies said.

05/09/2010 5 killed, 39 injured in Dagestan suicide bombing (AFP)
AFP - A suicide bombing at a military installation in Russia's volatile North Caucasus region of Dagestan killed five people Sunday and wounded 39, Ria Novosti news agency said, citing a top security source.

04/09/2010 Car bomb in Caucasus wounds minister, kills driver (Reuters)
Reuters - A senior official in the province of Dagestan in Russia's Caucasus was wounded on Saturday and his driver killed by a bomb planted in their car, a police spokesman told Reuters.

04/09/2010 Eight dead as fires flare up again in southern Russia (AFP)
AFP - Forest and brush fires flared up again in Russia's southern farmlands, killing eight people and burning down more than 400 homes, officials said on Friday.

04/09/2010 Eight die as wildfires consume Russian villages (Reuters)
Reuters - Wildfires swept through dozens of villages in southern Russia, killing at least eight people and reducing more than 400 homes to smoldering ruins, officials said Friday.

03/09/2010 Zebra-painted horses walk Moscow intersections (AP)
AP - A peculiar sight greeted drivers in Moscow on Friday: zebras walking back and forth across some of the city's busiest intersections.

03/09/2010 Gazprom to double gas imports from Azerbaijan (AP)
AP - Russia's Gazprom on Friday clinched a deal to double supplies from Azerbaijan in a bid to expand its control over gas produced by former Soviet republics.

03/09/2010 4 killed in Russian forest fires (AP)
AP - Russia's emergencies ministry says forest fires in the country's south have killed four people.

03/09/2010 Russian fires start up again: ministry (AFP)
AFP - Forest and brush fires have flared up again in southern Russia, killing two people and burning down nearly 500 houses and buildings, the emergencies ministry said Thursday.

03/09/2010 New Russia wildfires kill 2 and consume homes (Reuters)
Reuters - A new wave of wildfires swept through villages in southern Russia on Thursday, killing at least two people and destroying hundreds of homes, officials and news reports said.

03/09/2010 Russia extends ban on grain exports until 2011 (AP)
AP - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Thursday he has extended Russia's ban on wheat exports until next year's harvest to ensure it has bounced back from a severe drought and wildfires that destroyed 20 percent of the crop this year.

03/09/2010 Russian police raid opposition magazine (Reuters)
Reuters - Armed and masked Russian police raided an opposition magazine on Thursday, pressing journalists to hand over interview recordings used in reports on alleged abuse of authority by the much-feared OMON riot police.

02/09/2010 Putin says no grain exports before 2011 harvest (Reuters)
Reuters - Russia abruptly signaled Thursday it would extend a grain export ban until late 2011 and ordered authorities to prevent speculators driving up food prices after the worst harvest in years.

02/09/2010 US leasing firms orders 6 Russia's Superjets (AP)
AP - Producers of Russia's new regional passenger aircraft, the Sukhoi Superjet, said Thursday that a leading U.S. leasing firm has committed to buy six aircraft and has an option for four more.

02/09/2010 Gazprom's Q1 profits triple to $10.6 bln (AP)
AP - Russia's gas giant Gazprom said Thursday its net profit tripled to 324.9 billion rubles ($10.6 billion) in the first quarter of the year as the company capitalized on a cold winter in Europe.

01/09/2010 Germany charges Austrian with spying for Russia (AP)
AP - German prosecutors have charged a 54-year-old Austrian man with feeding Russia's spy agency with information and technical materials from the military and civilian helicopter industries.

01/09/2010 Survivors mark six years since Beslan massacre (AFP)
AFP - Thousands of mourners lit candles and laid flowers on Wednesday in this southern Russian town as they remembered over 330 people who died in Russia's most shocking hostage tragedy six years ago.

01/09/2010 Russian protesters defy Putin warning âÂ and meet tough response (The Christian Science Monitor)
The Christian Science Monitor - Defying a warning from Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that anybody trying to stage unsanctioned political rally would be "beaten on the head" by police, hundreds of mainly youthful protesters showed up Tuesday night at Moscow's fenced-off and police-barricaded Triumph Square to demand that Russian authorities honor their constitutional right of free assembly.

01/09/2010 Summary Box: Lukoil's 2Q profit drops 16 pct (AP)
AP - RESULTS: Lukoil, Russia's second-largest oil producer, reported a 16 percent drop in second-quarter profit to $1.9 billion due to a rise in export duties and cost inflation. Higher oil prices lifted sales to $25.8 billion from $20.1 billion a year earlier.

01/09/2010 Top US lawmaker condemns Putin protest threat (AFP)
AFP - A top US lawmaker on Tuesday denounced Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's recent warning that anti-government demonstrators at banned protests would get "a cudgel to the head" from police.

01/09/2010 Scores of activists detained at Russian rights protest (AFP)
AFP - Police broke up an opposition protest in Moscow and detained at least 70 activists Tuesday, days after Prime Minister Vladimir Putin vowed tough action against unsanctioned gatherings.

31/08/2010 EU lawmakers criticize Russian handling of rally (AP)
AP - Four EU lawmakers visiting Russia have attended an opposition rally in central Moscow and criticized police for arresting its organizer.

31/08/2010 Kremlin critic, others detained at Moscow protest (Reuters)
Reuters - Police detained Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov and several other people at a protest in Moscow on Tuesday in defense of the right to free assembly, which activists say is restricted by the Russian government.

31/08/2010 Lukoil's Q2 profit drops 16 pct to $1.9 Bln (AP)
AP - Lukoil, Russia's second-largest oil producer, said Tuesday its second-quarter net profit dropped 16 percent from a year ago to $1.9 billion due to a rise in export duties and cost inflation.

31/08/2010 3 Russian pilots kidnapped in Darfur freed (AP)
AP - Three Russian pilots snatched by gunmen in Sudan's restive Darfur region were freed by security forces after a clash with their kidnappers, the governor of the province told state media Tuesday.

31/08/2010 Burglars break into Russian investigators' office (AP)
AP - Russia's top crime investigation body says burglars broke into its Moscow offices, tied up a private security guard and opened 25 safes — but walked away with only a television and a surveillance camera.

31/08/2010 Russian police turn to crime (AFP)
AFP - Scandals involving police crime are becoming more and more frequent in Russia -- kidnapping, murder, torture and corruption among them -- casting doubts on President Dmitry Medvedev's ability to reform the tainted force.

30/08/2010 Putin hits the open Russian road to woo his far-flung countrymen (The Christian Science Monitor)
The Christian Science Monitor - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who showed last week that he is always up for an adventure, is currently touring Russia's remote and rugged far east in a bright yellow Lada Kalina, provided by AvtoVAZ, Russia's largest carmaker.

30/08/2010 Summary Box: China-Russia crude pipeline starts up (AP)
AP - OPEN FOR BUSINESS: Russia has opened its section of a crude oil pipeline from eastern Siberia to China, a major step in expanding energy cooperation between the neighboring powers.

30/08/2010 Russia's Putin says he plans to stay in politics (AFP)
AFP - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Monday that he plans to maintain an active role in Russian politics for years to come, but would not reveal whether he will stand in 2012 presidential elections.

30/08/2010 Putin hints will return to Kremlin in 2012 (Reuters)
Reuters - Russia's paramount leader, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, hinted on Monday he would return to the presidency in 2012 for six more years and said democracy protesters marching without permission deserved to be beaten.

30/08/2010 Putin belittles Russia's political opposition (AP)
AP - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin disparaged Russian dissidents in crude street language in an interview Monday and said they would keep getting beaten if they kept holding unauthorized rallies.

30/08/2010 Skinheads hurt 19 in attack on Russian rock festival (Reuters)
Reuters - Around 100 skinheads attacked crowds of revelers at a Russian rock festival on Sunday, injuring 19 people, Russian media said on Monday.

30/08/2010 Moscow death rates 'up 50% in heatwave' (AFP)
AFP - Russia's health ministry on Monday confirmed that mortality rates rose 50 percent in Moscow during the country's worst ever heatwave, the first official confirmation of a spike in deaths.

30/08/2010 Sudan says 2 Russian pilots kidnapped in Darfur (AP)
AP - Gunmen in Darfur kidnapped two Russian pilots working for a company transporting food for international peacekeepers, Sudanese media reported Monday.

30/08/2010 Russian nursing home fire kills 9 people (AP)
AP - A blaze that killed nine people at a Russian nursing home early Monday apparently started when an elderly resident doesed himself in gasoline and set himself on fire, investigators said.

30/08/2010 Nine dead in Russian retirement home blaze (AFP)
AFP - Nine elderly people died and one was injured Monday when flames swept through a retirement home in the Tver region northwest of Moscow, a local official of the emergencies ministry said, quoted by Russian news agencies.

30/08/2010 China-Russia crude oil pipeline begins operations (AP)
AP - Russia has opened its section of a crude oil pipeline from eastern Siberia to China, a major step in expanding energy cooperation between the neighboring powers.

30/08/2010 Report: 100 Russian skinheads attack concertgoers (AP)
AP - Scores of bare-chested skinheads attacked a crowd of about 3,000 people at a rock concert in central Russia on Sunday, beating them with clubs, media reports said.

30/08/2010 12 suspected rebels killed in Chechnya: president (AFP)
AFP - Twelve suspected militants and two law enforcement officers died in a shoot-out in Chechnya in Russia's volatile North Caucasus on Sunday, Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov said.

29/08/2010 Twelve rebels killed raiding Chechen leader's village (Reuters)
Reuters - Chechen police killed 12 rebels as they repulsed a raid on the Moscow-backed president's home village on Sunday, authorities said, in an attack that broke a period of relative calm in the Russian republic.

29/08/2010 Putin opens Russian side of oil pipeline to China (AFP)
AFP - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Sunday opened the Russian section of a long-awaited oil pipeline that will carry Russian crude to China in a bid to diversify its oil exports away from Europe.

29/08/2010 19 dead in shootout in Russia's Caucasus (AP)
AP - A shootout between the Chechen president's personal protection detail and suspected separatist insurgents left 19 people dead early Sunday, including five civilians, officials and media reports said.

29/08/2010 Ten suspected guerrillas, one policeman killed in Caucasus (AFP)
AFP - Russian forces killed 10 suspected guerrillas, including one of the plotters of the March Moscow metro bombings that killed 40 people, officials said Saturday.

29/08/2010 In Chechnya, A Blood Feud Ends--and a Despot Digs In (Time.com)
Time.com - The men of gun-loving Chechnya, long Russia's most rebellious province, are not known for turning the other cheek. So many observers were baffled last week when the region's most notorious feud ended without a fight.

28/08/2010 14 militants, 2 policeman killed in Russia (AP)
AP - At least 14 suspected militants and two police officers were killed during security raids in Russia's volatile North Caucasus, police said Saturday.

28/08/2010 Long lost Jesus icon in Kremlin restored to view (Reuters)
Reuters - An icon of Jesus embedded in a Kremlin gate used by Soviet leaders but bricked over in the 1930s during communist times was restored on Saturday to public view.

28/08/2010 Ten rebels die in Caucasus clashes: report (Reuters)
Reuters - Russian troops killed at least 10 rebels in the North Caucasus in the past two days in two operations in the mainly Muslim region, Russian media said on Saturday.

28/08/2010 Putin visits site of Russia's new launch center (AP)
AP - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says Russia will be launching its manned space missions from a new launching pad in the Far East in 2018.

28/08/2010 VIP road impunity spurs rage in Russia (AFP)
AFP - Roadside cameras mysteriously failed to record a fatal collision involving the car of a top oil executive. The daughter of a regional official escaped jail after her car ploughed into a busy sidewalk.

28/08/2010 PR police arrest runaway Russian in homicide case (AP)
AP - A Russian man who walked out of a Puerto Rico courtroom before a judge could consider a negligent homicide charge against him has been detained at the airport.

28/08/2010 Peru: Peruvian in Russia spy swap faked records (AP)
AP - A Peruvian journalist deported by the U.S. to Russia in a spy swap was accused on Friday of falsifying documents in Peru, and a prosecutor said she will be questioned by police if she returns.

27/08/2010 Russian spy courts new scandal with racy photo shoot (AFP)
AFP - Flame-haired and squeezed into a body-hugging cocktail dress, Russian spy Anna Chapman Friday emerged from the shadows in a racy photo shoot and walked straight into a new scandal.

27/08/2010 US registers concern over jailing of Russian activist (AFP)
AFP - The United States said Thursday it was "concerned" and "disappointed" that a Russian court sentenced a human rights activist to three days in prison for taking part in a peaceful protest.

27/08/2010 Russia jails top rights activist over protest (Reuters)
Reuters - A Russian court on Wednesday jailed a leading rights activist and Kremlin critic for three days for taking part in an unsanctioned protest in Moscow, one of the organizers of the protest said.

27/08/2010 Visteon forms JV with Russian company (AP)
AP - Auto parts supplier Visteon Corp. said Thursday that it has formed a joint venture with a Russian company, Avtopribor, to provide vehicle cockpit electronics to the Russian auto market.

26/08/2010 Russian says Bout "ballyhoo" may hurt reset with U.S. (Reuters)
Reuters - The extradition of suspected arms smuggler Viktor Bout to the United States could undermine warming ties between Moscow and Washington, a Russian Foreign Ministry official said in an article published on Thursday.

26/08/2010 Russian ruling party appeal to Medvedev over motorway (AFP)
AFP - Russia's ruling party on Thursday made an unprecedented appeal to President Dmitry Medvedev to stop the building a motorway through a forest, days after a protest fronted by a rock musician.

26/08/2010 Canada intercepts two Russian bombers (AP)
AP - Fighter jets were scrambled to intercept two Russian bombers in the Arctic as they approached Canadian airspace on the eve of a visit from Canada's prime minister who will observe an Arctic military exercise, a spokesman for the prime minister said Wednesday.

26/08/2010 Putin fires darts at gray whale from crossbow (AP)
AP - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin fired darts from a crossbow at a gray whale off Russia's Far Eastern coast on Wednesday in the latest in a series of man-versus-nature stunts designed to cultivate the image of a macho leader.

25/08/2010 Five suspected rebels killed in Dagestan: officials (AFP)
AFP - Russian authorities killed five suspected rebels in the volatile North Caucasus region of Dagestan who opened fire on police as they attempted to stop their car, officials said on Wednesday.

23/08/2010 1 Russian border guard dead, another missing (AP)
AP - One Russian border guard was killed and another who disappeared with him remained missing in the country's volatile south, the border guard service said Monday.

23/08/2010 Two thousand defy ban on Moscow rock protest (AFP)
AFP - Some 2,000 people Sunday crammed into a Moscow square amid a heavy police presence for a banned rock concert to protest plans to build a motorway through a forest outside the Russian capital.

22/08/2010 Kremlin critic Nemtsov detained at Russia rally (Reuters)
Reuters - Police detained opposition politician Boris Nemtsov, a vocal critic of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, and about 20 other people on Sunday when they tried to march down a main Moscow avenue without permission.

22/08/2010 Russian police detain opposition leaders (AP)
AP - Police prevented about 100 opposition activists from marching through Moscow on Sunday with a giant Russian flag and detained three of their leaders, including prominent politician Boris Nemtsov.

22/08/2010 Russian activists defy concert ban (AFP)
AFP - Russian activists pressed ahead with plans to stage a banned rock concert on Sunday to rally opposition to routing a highway through a forest, despite worries that police would disperse the gathering.

21/08/2010 Hundreds in Kaliningrad protest Putin government (AP)
AP - Hundreds of residents of Kaliningrad, Russia's Baltic exclave, have gathered on a central square to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's government.

21/08/2010 Russia says Moscow bombing organizer killed (Reuters)
Reuters - Russian authorities said a chief organizer of twin suicide bombings that killed 40 people in Moscow's metro in March was killed by security forces on Saturday.

21/08/2010 Official: Moscow subway attacks plotter killed (AP)
AP - The man suspected of organizing suicide bombings that killed 40 people on the Moscow subway in March was killed in a shootout with Russian security forces on Saturday, officials said.

21/08/2010 Russia kills Moscow metro attacks mastermind (AFP)
AFP - Russian security forces Saturday killed a top militant suspected of organising the deadly attacks on the Moscow metro and who was reportedly married to one of the female suicide bombers.

21/08/2010 Russia probes cause of Petersburg power blackout (AFP)
AFP - Russia began probing Saturday the cause of a breakdown at an electricity substation that triggered a massive power cut in Saint Petersburg, its worst urban blackout in half a decade.

21/08/2010 Russia's Putin sacks top forestry aide after fires (Reuters)
Reuters - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Friday sacked Russia's top forest official over criticism that he did little to combat deadly forest fires that were unleashed by a record heat wave and blanketed Moscow in smoke.

20/08/2010 Massive power cut hits Saint Petersburg: official (AFP)
AFP - A massive power cut hit Russia's second city Saint Petersburg Friday, turning off lights and halting public transport in the city centre, officials said.

20/08/2010 Russia lifts fire emergency in three regions (AFP)
AFP - Russia on Friday reported further success in containing the fires that ravaged the country for weeks as temperatures in Moscow plunged to 10 degrees Celsius, following its worst ever heatwave.

20/08/2010 Russian base in Armenia to stay through 2044 (AP)
AP - Russia secured a longterm foothold in the energy-rich and unstable Caucasus region Friday by signing a deal with Armenia that allows a Russian military base to operate until 2044 in exchange for a promise of new weaponry and fresh security guarantees.

20/08/2010 Russia 'has no plans to import grain this year' (AFP)
AFP - Russia, hit by a record drought which has destroyed a quarter of its crops, has no plans to import grains this year, the agriculture ministry said Friday, rejecting reports it would do so.

20/08/2010 Russia to hold open tender for helicopter carrier (AP)
AP - Russia will hold an open tender for two warships of the class it had planned to buy from France without inviting other bidders, the Russian defense minister said Friday.

20/08/2010 Heavy downpours help Russia's firefighters (AP)
AP - Heavy rain has drenched the Russian capital, helping firefighters battle the remaining wildfires on the city's outskirts.

20/08/2010 Reports: Russia leases nuclear sub to India (AP)
AP - Russia has reportedly leased a nuclear-powered submarine to India.

19/08/2010 Russian leader says to "eliminate" cafe attackers (Reuters)
Reuters - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev promised on Thursday to "eliminate" those behind this week's car bomb in the volatile North Caucasus region.

19/08/2010 Russia to boost safety at nuclear sites after fires (Reuters)
Reuters - Russia is to step up safety at its nuclear facilities after wildfires threatened to engulf one center, raising fears of a radiation leak, the head of the state nuclear corporation said on Thursday.

19/08/2010 Russia gives plane crash evidence to Poland (AP)
AP - Russia handed Poland's top military prosecutor Thursday thousands of pages of evidence on the plane crash in April that killed Polish President Lech Kaczynski and 95 other people.

19/08/2010 Russia marks 50th anniversary of space dogs flight (AP)
AP - Russia is marking the 50th anniversary of the space flight of two mongrel dogs — Belka and Strelka — who became the first living creatures to circle the Earth and come back alive.

19/08/2010 Cold front ends heat spell over western Russia (AP)
AP - A cold front has hit western Russia,ending the exhausting two-month heat spell and clearing skies over Moscow from suffocating smog.

19/08/2010 All cafes ordered shut in Chechnya during Ramadan (Reuters)
Reuters - The spiritual leader of the Muslim region of Chechnya has ordered that eateries shut down completely for the month of Ramadan, sparking outrage from activists and residents who say it violates Russian law.

19/08/2010 Pakistan, Russia back Afghanistan at rare summit (AFP)
AFP - The presidents of Pakistan and Russia, two states with a history of difficult relations with Kabul, on Wednesday backed the Afghan government's fight against rebels at a rare summit meeting.

18/08/2010 Deadly Russian heatwave declared over (Reuters)
Reuters - Russian meteorologists said on Wednesday Moscow's deadly heat wave was ending after two months of searing weather which took a high human and economic toll.

18/08/2010 Karzai says Afghanistan needs Russia's support (Reuters)
Reuters - Afghan President Hamid Karzai sought President Dmitry Medvedev's help for his nation on Wednesday, two decades after Moscow ended a disastrous conflict there that cost the lives of about 15,000 Soviet troops.

18/08/2010 Smog lingers over Russian capital (AP)
AP - The number of wildfires in Russia has shrunk significantly, but clouds of acrid smog generated by them still hung over the Russian capital Wednesday.

18/08/2010 Medvedev talks with Afghan, Pakistani leaders (AP)
AP - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday offered Pakistan support in dealing with catastrophic floods as he hosted the leaders of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan for talks on efforts to stabilize the region.

18/08/2010 Moscow on security alert after North Caucasus bombs (Reuters)
Reuters - Moscow police were on heightened alert on Wednesday after two bomb blasts hit Russia's volatile North Caucasus, causing dozens of casualties and renewing fears of insurgent attacks in the heartland of Russia.

18/08/2010 Russian cruise ship collides with barge (AP)
AP - A Russian cruise ship carrying hundreds of U.S. and German tourists collided Wednesday with a barge on the Volga River, but no one was hurt, officials said.

18/08/2010 Russia hosts Karzai, Zardari for Afghan summit (AFP)
AFP - Russia on Wednesday hosts Pakistan's embattled President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan leader Hamid Karzai for a regional summit expected to focus on security in Afghanistan.

18/08/2010 Heat probably killed thousands in Moscow: scientist (Reuters)
Reuters - Moscow, a metropolis of over 10 million people, has suffered intense heat since late June, with day temperatures sometimes nearing 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

18/08/2010 Car bombing wounds 23 in Russia's south (AP)
AP - A car bomb exploded outside a cafe in a restive region of southern Russia on Tuesday, injuring 23 people, police said.

18/08/2010 Suicide bomb and cafe blast rock Russia's Caucasus (Reuters)
Reuters - A blast rocked a cafe in Russia's North Caucasus and a suicide bomber killed a policeman on Tuesday, dealing a blow to Kremlin efforts to contain a spreading Islamist insurgency.

17/08/2010 Romania to expel Russian diplomat (AP)
AP - Romania's foreign ministry on Tuesday told Russia it would expel a top diplomat, a day after Moscow detained a Romanian diplomat accusing him of spying.

17/08/2010 Russia halves fires area as weather chills (AFP)
AFP - Russia on Tuesday claimed to have reduced by half the area ablaze from its worst ever wildfires and averted any threat to a nuclear facility as a record heatwave finally relented.

17/08/2010 Second deadly blast rocks Russia's Caucasus: reports (Reuters)
Reuters - A blast rocked a cafe in the city of Pyatigorsk in Russia's volatile North Caucasus on Tuesday, killing an unknown number of people, the Itar-Tass news agency reported, citing local authorities.

17/08/2010 One killed in suicide blast in Russia's Caucasus (AFP)
AFP - A young man blew himself up Tuesday near a checkpoint in Russia's Caucasus region of North Ossetia, killing himself and a policeman, in the region's first suicide attack this year, officials said.

17/08/2010 Smog again creeps into Russian capital (AP)
AP - Acrid smog caused by smoke from wildfires around Moscow has returned to some parts of the Russian capital even though firefighters have scored successes in containing the blazes.

17/08/2010 Russia detains Romanian diplomat for spying (Reuters)
Reuters - Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said it detained a senior Romanian diplomat on Monday after he was caught trying to obtain military intelligence.

17/08/2010 Russia's Medvedev asks tycoons for wildfire help (Reuters)
Reuters - President Dmitry Medvedev asked Russia's business elite Monday to help rebuild villages destroyed by fierce wildfires after rain and strong winds looked set to end weeks of unprecedented heat.

17/08/2010 Russia expels Romanian diplomat for spying (AFP)
AFP - Russia's FSB security agency on Monday detained a Romanian diplomat for spying, and he was ordered to leave the country within 48 hours, an agency spokesman told AFP.

17/08/2010 Russia expels Romanian diplomat accused of spying (AP)
AP - Russian authorities said a Romanian diplomat was caught spying Monday and given 48 hours to leave the country.

16/08/2010 Russia beats back fires as weather changes (AFP)
AFP - Russia on Monday said it was beating back the country's worst ever wildfires, including one close to a secret nuclear site, as thunderstorms and torrential rain drenched parts of the parched country.

16/08/2010 Putin's party abandons unpopular Russian governor (Reuters)
Reuters - Eager to cool anger in a province that saw one of the largest opposition protests in years, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's ruling party said Monday it would not re-nominate an unpopular governor for a new term.

16/08/2010 Official: Russian disaster sign of global warming (AP)
AP - Russia's heat wave, drought and wildfires — which have killed dozens of people and destroyed millions of acres (hectares) of wheat — are another indication that global warming is causing more weather extremes around the world, a Russian official said Monday.

16/08/2010 Storm rips through northwest Russia (AFP)
AFP - Tens of thousands in northwest Russia were left without electricity when a storm ripped through the region after weeks of drought, with the bad weather set to hit Moscow.

15/08/2010 Poisonous smog returns to Moscow (AP)
AP - The poisonous smog that contributed to a higher death rate in Moscow last week returned to Russia's capital Sunday, officials said.

15/08/2010 Fires threaten Russian nuclear site as smog returns (AFP)
AFP - Russia on Sunday reported success in reducing fires burning close to its main nuclear research centre but in Moscow shifting winds brought the acrid smell of smog back to the capital.

15/08/2010 Fire near Russian nuclear site as smog returns (AFP)
AFP - Russia on Sunday reported success in reducing fires burning close to its main nuclear research centre but in Moscow shifting winds brought the acrid smell of smog back to the capital.

15/08/2010 Russian grain export ban comes into force (AFP)
AFP - A ban on Russian grain exports ordered by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin came into force on Sunday, with the government battling to keep down prices of basic foodstuffs amid a record drought.

15/08/2010 US aid arrives as Russia says no nuclear risk from fires (AFP)
AFP - The first planeloads of US aid for the Russian wildfire tragedy arrived in Moscow on Saturday as officials said a fire raging close to a top nuclear facility did not risk causing an atomic catastrophe.

15/08/2010 Russia to consider fate of grain export ban after October 1 (Reuters)
Reuters - Russia plans to discuss after October 1 whether to extend a grain export ban into next year, First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov told Reuters, after a severe drought ruined vast tracts of the country's grain crop.

14/08/2010 Fire situation improves around Moscow (AP)
AP - The number of wildfires in the Moscow region fell sharply overnight, but hundreds of blazes continued to rage in other areas of Russia, and officials warned Saturday that some of them are in hard-to-reach regions.

14/08/2010 Kremlin, Belarus strongman trade barbs in new spat (AFP)
AFP - The Kremlin and the strongman president of Belarus on Saturday locked horns in a new clash raising questions about the future of one of Russia's most enduring post-Soviet alliances.

14/08/2010 US aircraft carrying Russia fire aid land in Moscow: TV (AFP)
AFP - Two US transport aircraft carrying aid including water tanks and fire-protective clothing arrived in Moscow on Saturday to help Russia battle its worst ever wildfires, state television said.

14/08/2010 US sending aid to help Russia firefight effort: White House (AFP)
AFP - US President Barack Obama told his counterpart Dmitry Medvedev that he was sending firefighting equipment and other aid to help Russia battle wildfires that have ravaged parts of the country, the White House said Friday.

13/08/2010 Missiles deployed in Abkhazia two years ago: Kremlin source (AFP)
AFP - Russia has had S-300 anti-aircraft missiles deployed in Abkhazia since its forces briefly invaded Georgia two years ago to protect two breakaway Georgian regions, a Kremlin source confirmed Friday.

13/08/2010 US sending aid to Russia to battle wildfires (AP)
AP - The United States is sending firefighting equipment to Russia to help officials there respond to the 500 wildfires burning across the country.

13/08/2010 Freed Russian analyst Sutyagin yearns for home (AP)
AP - A Russian analyst convicted of spying for the West who was released from prison and flown to Britain as part of a spy swap said Friday he is yearning to return home.

13/08/2010 Russia says to start up Iran Bushehr plant August 21 (Reuters)
Reuters - Russia said on Friday it will begin loading nuclear fuel into the reactor of Iran's first atomic power station on Aug 21, an irreversible step marking the start-up of the Bushehr plant after nearly 40 years of delays.

13/08/2010 Russia to keep grain export ban, reap less in 2011 (Reuters)
Reuters - A ban on Russian grain exports, designed to restrain domestic food prices because of a severe drought, will not be lifted earlier than its December 31 expiry, First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov said on Friday.

13/08/2010 Rain refreshes Moscow, but wildfires still burning (AP)
AP - Heavy downpours have cooled the Russian capital after weeks of unprecendented heat and dry weather, but dozens of wildfires are still raging around Moscow.

13/08/2010 Russians criticize Putin on corruption and oligarchs (Reuters)
Reuters - Russians like Prime Minister Vladimir Putin for boosting Moscow's image abroad and improving living standards but fault him for not fighting corruption or reining in billionaire oligarchs, a new opinion poll showed.

13/08/2010 Storm drenches parched Moscow but heatwave to go on (AFP)
AFP - The first significant rain for weeks poured down on Moscow on Friday although forecasters said the heatwave that has left tens of thousands of hectares of land ablaze and destroyed a quarter of Russian crops would continue over the next days.

13/08/2010 Russia marks submarine loss under shadow of new tragedy (AFP)
AFP - Russia on Thursday marked the grim 10-year anniversary of the horrific sinking of the Kursk submarine with the loss of all on board as the country reeled from its latest deadly summer calamity.

12/08/2010 Sinking of Russian submarine taught Putin a lesson (AP)
AP - The sinking of a nuclear submarine 10 years ago taught Vladimir Putin a lesson that shaped his leadership of Russia: When disaster strikes, take control — most importantly of television.

12/08/2010 Drought ruins Russia wheat, U.S. says no world crisis (Reuters)
Reuters - As Russia faced drought losses on a quarter of its grain area and Pakistan feared floods had ruined half a million tons of wheat, the U.S. government slashed world wheat crop estimates but said there was no global crisis.

12/08/2010 Few Chernobyl radiation risks from Russia fires (Reuters)
Reuters - Fears that fires scorching forests polluted by Chernobyl fallout may propel dangerous amounts of radioactivity into the air are overblown, scientists say, and the actual health risks are very small.

12/08/2010 Russia lost quarter of grain crop: Medvedev (Reuters)
Reuters - Drought has destroyed a quarter of Russia's grain crop this year, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday, pushing some farmers to the brink of bankruptcy and hurting Russia's bid to expand food exports.

12/08/2010 Russia refuses to turn over Jewish library to US (AP)
AP - Russia has rejected a U.S. court ruling to turn over a Jewish library to a Hasidic group in New York.

12/08/2010 Russia manages to reduce number of wildfires (AP)
AP - Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry says its teams have managed to reduce the size of wildfires around Moscow and other regions in western Russia.

12/08/2010 Russia says Chernobyl-area radiation normal (AFP)
AFP - Russia on Thursday insisted that radiation was normal in regions contaminated by the Chernobyl disaster amid concerns forest fires could send a cloud of radioactive particles as far as Moscow.

12/08/2010 Russia marks 10th anniversary of Kursk sub sinking (AP)
AP - Russian navy ships are flying flags at half-mast and memorial ceremonies are being held across the nation to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Kursk nuclear submarine disaster.

12/08/2010 Chechen rebels claim small blast near Gazprom HQ (Reuters)
Reuters - Chechen rebels claimed responsibility on Thursday for a small explosion three days ago near the Moscow headquarters of Russia's state-controlled gas giant Gazprom.

12/08/2010 Blockage of US-Russia civil nuclear deal unlikely (AP)
AP - Despite misgivings about Russia, Congress appears unlikely to block a deal that would allow U.S. companies to export nuclear technology to America's former Cold War rival.

12/08/2010 Russia deploys air defence missiles in Abkhazia: general (AFP)
AFP - Russia announced Wednesday it had deployed a missile battery in Georgia's pro-Moscow rebel region of Abkhazia, infuriating its arch foes in Tbilisi some two years after they fought a brief war.

12/08/2010 Russia deploys anti-aircraft missiles in Abkhazia (AP)
AP - Russia announced Wednesday that it has moved a sophisticated anti-aircraft missile system into Georgia's breakaway republic of Abkhazia.

12/08/2010 Russia deploys missiles to protect Georgia rebels (Reuters)
Reuters - Russia said on Wednesday it had deployed high-precision air defense missiles in the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia, sending a defiant signal to Tbilisi and the West two years after a war with Georgia.

11/08/2010 Russia says fires burn Chernobyl-tainted forests (Reuters)
Reuters - Fires have scorched forests contaminated with radiation from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, a Russian forestry official said on Wednesday, but it was unclear how dangerous the smoke might be.

11/08/2010 Russia urges no panic over Chernobyl-hit regions (AFP)
AFP - Fires in Russia have hit areas contaminated by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster but much of the pollution remains deep in the soil and there is no reason for panic, officials and experts said Wednesday.

11/08/2010 Hillary Clinton pleads with Senate to back Russia arms treaty (Reuters)
Reuters - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pleaded with senators on Wednesday to back a new arms control treaty with Russia, saying a delay in ratification could hurt U.S. security and create dangerous uncertainty over broader nuclear control efforts.

11/08/2010 Russia admits fires burned on Chernobyl-hit land (AFP)
AFP - Russia on Wednesday admitted wildfires hit hundreds of hectares of land contaminated by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, raising fears that buried radioactive particles could be released into the air.

11/08/2010 Russian wildfires raise radiation fears (AP)
AP - Russian emergency workers have increased forest patrols in a western region affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, trying to prevent wildfires that could potentially spread harmful radiation, officials said Wednesday.

11/08/2010 Anger grows in Russia press over slack fire response (AFP)
AFP - Anger mounted in Russia's press Wednesday over the official response to the worst wildfires in the country's history, with questions asked even over the PR tactics of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

11/08/2010 Co-pilot Putin helps put out Russia's wildfires (AP)
AP - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin climbed into a firefighting plane Tuesday and dumped water on two of the hundreds of wildfires sweeping through western Russia and cloaking Moscow in a suffocating smog.

10/08/2010 Summary Box: Wendy's/Arby's signs Russia deal (AP)
AP - THE EXPANSION: Wendy's/Arby's Group plans to open 180 dual-branded Wendy's and Arby's restaurants in Russia in the next decade. Wenrus Restaurant Group Ltd., an affiliate of Food Service Capital, will run the restaurants.

10/08/2010 Wendy's/Arby's to open 180 restaurants in Russia (AP)
AP - Wendy's/Arby's Group plans to open 180 dual-branded Wendy's and Arby's restaurants in Russia over the next 10 years.

10/08/2010 Historic heat to hit Russian growth, fires rage (Reuters)
Reuters - Russia's deadly summer heatwave could wipe up to $14 billion off economic growth, economists said on Tuesday, as wildfires raged on in several provinces and forecasters said sweltering weather won't abate this week.

10/08/2010 Burning Russia battles to defend nuclear sites (AFP)
AFP - Russia fought a deadly battle Tuesday to prevent wildfires from engulfing key nuclear sites as alarm mounted over the impact on health of a toxic smoke cloud that has shrouded Moscow.

10/08/2010 Report: wildfires cost Russia some $15 billion (AP)
AP - A newspaper says the hundreds of wildfires that has swept western Russia has caused billions of dollars in damage.

10/08/2010 Russia may extend grain export ban as crops shrink (Reuters)
Reuters - Russia, grappling with its worst drought on record, warned on Monday that its ban on grain exports could extend into 2011 and that the intense heat threatened to stall seeding for next year's harvest.

10/08/2010 US disaster team sent to Moscow (AFP)
AFP - The United States said Monday a US disaster team has arrived in Moscow to help Russia deal with massive forest fires causing havoc in much of the country.

10/08/2010 Putin cuts Russia harvest forecast (AFP)
AFP - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Monday slashed the leading wheat producer's grain harvest forecast due to a record drought, saying it would produce 10 million tonnes less grain than planned.

09/08/2010 Death rate doubles in Moscow's smoke, heat crisis (Reuters)
Reuters - Scorching heat and acrid smoke have nearly doubled death rates in Moscow, a city official said Monday, as a shroud of smog from raging forest and peat fires beset Russia's capital for a third week.

09/08/2010 Mortality rate doubles in Moscow's smoke and heat (Reuters)
Reuters - The death rate in Moscow has doubled as wildfires have blanketed the capital with toxic smoke amid Russia's worst heatwave in over a century, Interfax cited the city's health department chief as saying on Monday.

09/08/2010 Moscow's toxic smog fails to shift as anger grows (AFP)
AFP - The toxic smog smothering Moscow showed little sign of abating Monday as media accused officials of covering up the scale of the disaster and the authorities raced to put out a fire near a nuclear site.

09/08/2010 Moscow deaths twice as high this year amid smog (AP)
AP - The Russian capital's chief health official reportedly says the number of deaths in Moscow is twice as high as usual because of smog suffocating the city from ongoing wildfires nearby.

08/08/2010 Moscow opens anti-smog centers as fires burn (AP)
AP - Moscow authorities say they have opened more than 120 anti-smog centers as wildfires around the capital suffocate residents and ground dozens of flights.

08/08/2010 Moscow vows support for breakaway Georgian regions (AP)
AP - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev pledged Sunday to provide further support to breakaway Georgian regions on the anniversary of the Russian-Georgian war.

08/08/2010 Medvedev in first visit to Abkhazia since Georgia war (AFP)
AFP - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Sunday made an unannounced visit to Abkhazia, his first trip to the breakaway Georgian region since Moscow's war with Tbilisi two years ago.

08/08/2010 Medvedev makes surprise visit to Abkhazia (AFP)
AFP - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Sunday made an unannounced visit to the rebel Georgian region of Abkhazia, two years after Moscow fought a war with Tbilisi, an AFP correspondent reported.

08/08/2010 Moscow chokes under smog as health alarm grows (AFP)
AFP - Dozens of flights were delayed and concerns grew over public health Sunday as Moscow choked in the worst smog in living memory, blown over the Russian capital from spreading wildfires.

08/08/2010 Moscow wheezes under smog as health worries grow (AFP)
AFP - Dozens of flights were delayed and worries grew over public health Sunday as Moscow choked in the worst smog in living memory blown over the Russian capital from spreading wildfires.

08/08/2010 Putin sows controversy with Russia grain ban (AFP)
AFP - "I would like to inform you about one more decision," Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told his cabinet at the end of a government meeting as he prepared to drop one of his trademark bombshells.

08/08/2010 Russia accuses U.S. of loose weapons control (Reuters)
Reuters - Russia accused the United States on Saturday of breaching its obligations over the non proliferation of weapons, a sign of strained relations between the two powers.

07/08/2010 Russian troops dig canal to bar fire from atom site (Reuters)
Reuters - Russian troops dug a 8-km (5-mile) long canal to keep fires caused by a record heatwave away from a nuclear arms site, local media said on Saturday as air pollution from the crisis rose to more than six times above normal.

07/08/2010 Russia accuses US of arms control breaches (AP)
AP - Russia's Foreign Ministry has accused the United States of violating its obligations under bilateral nuclear arms reduction treaties and failing to properly safeguard raidoactive materials.

07/08/2010 Smog over Moscow worsens as wildfires rage (AP)
AP - A deep layer of smog from wildfires around Moscow is hanging over the Russian capital, prompting many city residents to wear masks and forcing many planes to divert to other airports.

07/08/2010 Russia accuses U.S. in loose weapon control (Reuters)
Reuters - Russia on Saturday accused United States of breaching its obligations over non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, including Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I).

07/08/2010 Moscow chokes as wildfires prompt travel warnings (AFP)
AFP - Russia struggled Saturday to battle wildfires which have claimed 52 lives and choked Moscow, as the US, Germany and France asked citizens avoid travel to the capital and other stricken areas.

07/08/2010 Schwarzenegger announces trade mission to Russia (AP)
AP - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has announced he will travel to Russia to work with the country on developing its high-tech industry.

07/08/2010 US warns travelers to Russia of fire risk (AFP)
AFP - The US State Department warned Americans on Friday to "carefully consider" plans to travel to parts of Russia in light of devastating fires ravaging areas near Moscow.

06/08/2010 Putin sparks food worries with grain export ban (AFP)
AFP - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin sparked worries Friday over a spike in basic food prices after his shock ban on Russian grain exports over a record drought catapulted wheat futures to new highs.

06/08/2010 Worst smog yet hits Moscow; People don face masks (AP)
AP - A choking smog from raging wildfires shrouded Moscow on Friday, grounding flights, plunging the city's iconic Red Square into a sea of dirty mist and stinging eyes and throats across the Russian capital.

06/08/2010 Planes diverted and offices close as smoke chokes Moscow (Reuters)
Reuters - Dense clouds of acrid smoke from peat and forest fires choked Russia's capital on Friday, seeping into homes and offices, forcing planes to divert and obliging residents to wear surgical masks on their faces.

06/08/2010 Smog from spreading Russia fires chokes Moscow (AFP)
AFP - A noxious smog choked Moscow Friday as Russia moved to protect military and nuclear sites from the relentless spread of its worst ever wildfires that have killed 52 people.

06/08/2010 Worst smog yet hits Moscow, seeps into homes (AP)
AP - The city of Moscow was shrouded Friday by a dense smog that grounded flights at international airports and seeped into homes and offices, as wildfires that have killed 50 people nationwide continued to burn.

06/08/2010 Health alarm as wildfire smog smothers Moscow (AFP)
AFP - Smog from wildfires in the countryside cloaked Moscow on Friday, with the levels of toxic particles, raising alarm over public health and numerous commuters wearing anti-pollution masks.

06/08/2010 Summary Box: Wheat futures soar on Russian ban (AP)
AP - PUTIN CALLS HALT: Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced a ban on Russian wheat exports through Dec. 31. Russia, one of the world's largest wheat exporters, may extend the ban into 2011.

06/08/2010 Russia bans grain exports due to drought (AFP)
AFP - Russia, the world's third wheat exporter, Thursday banned grain exports for the next four-and-a-half months after a record drought and fires destroyed millions of hectares (acres) of its land.

05/08/2010 Russia in losing battle against spreading wildfires (AFP)
AFP - Russia waged a losing battle Thursday to contain the worst wildfires in its modern history that have killed 50, as Prime Minister Vladimir Putin banned grain exports due to the drought.

05/08/2010 Russia bans grain exports amid drought (AP)
AP - Russia banned grain exports for the rest of the year on Thursday after a severe drought destroyed 20 percent of its wheat crop. The move caused the price of wheat, which has jumped 70 percent this summer, to rally further.

05/08/2010 Putin bans Russia grain exports due to drought (AFP)
AFP - Russia, one of the world's top wheat exporters, will impose a temporary ban on grain exports until December 31 due to a record drought, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced on Thursday.

05/08/2010 Chechen rebel leader revokes resignation (AP)
AP - The leader of Islamist militant separatists waging an insurgency in Chechnya and neighboring Russian provinces has revoked his own resignation, saying he is ready to continue killing.

05/08/2010 Death toll from raging Russian wildfires hits 50 (AP)
AP - Rescuers pulled a body out from a Russian village gutted by wildfires and another person died of their injuries as the death toll from hundreds of blazes nationwide rose to at least 50.

05/08/2010 Death toll rises as Russian wildfires spread (AFP)
AFP - The death toll from the worst wildfires in Russia's modern history rose to 50 on Thursday as new fires broke out faster than emergency services could put out the old ones., officials said

05/08/2010 Wendy's chain to enter Russian market early 2011: report (Reuters)
Reuters - Wendy's, one of the world's largest fast food operators based in the United States, is planning to enter the Russian market in early 2011, the business daily Vedomosti reported.

05/08/2010 Judge rules against Russia on Jewish documents (AP)
AP - A federal judge has issued a judgment against the Russian government for its refusal to return a library of historic books and documents to a Jewish group.

05/08/2010 Russia oil boss welcomes Dudley (Reuters)
Reuters - Russia's top oil boss gave a cool nod of approval to BP Plc's new Chief Executive Bob Dudley on Wednesday, while praising his predecessor Tony Hayward, ousted over his handling of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

05/08/2010 Fires rage in Russia, death toll rises to 48 (Reuters)
Reuters - President Dmitry Medvedev broke off his summer holiday on Wednesday and flew back to Moscow for emergency talks as the death toll from Russia's deadliest wildfires in nearly four decades hit 48.

05/08/2010 Chechen rebel chief revokes resignation: video (AFP)
AFP - The Islamist rebel leading the anti-Kremlin insurgency in the Russian region of Chechnya Wednesday withdrew an announcement that he was stepping down and vowed to carry on killing "enemies of Allah".

04/08/2010 Heat, smoke and worry cloak Moscow (AP)
AP - As Moscow's record heatwave began, I threw open all the screenless windows in my apartment, hoping for some breeze — but mostly what I got was visits from bugs and, briefly, an inquisitive crow.

04/08/2010 Russia moves radioactive material from nuclear site (AFP)
AFP - Russian authorities have been forced to remove radioactive material from a top secret nuclear research facility to protect it from encroaching wildfires, the country's nuclear chief said Wednesday.

04/08/2010 Chechen rebel chief says not stepping down: website (Reuters)
Reuters - Chechen rebel Doku Umarov said in an Internet video posting on Wednesday that he will not step down as leader of the Islamist insurgency in Russia's North Caucasus, in an apparent U-turn from his earlier resignation.

04/08/2010 Russia's Medvedev sacks navy officers for base fire (Reuters)
Reuters - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev reprimanded the head of the navy on Wednesday and sacked several senior navy officers for a major fire at a navy base outside Moscow.

04/08/2010 Parasailing donkey to fly no more after UK sale (AP)
AP - A donkey sent parasailing over a southern Russian beach last month has been sent to Moscow after being bought by a British newspaper.

04/08/2010 Medvedev cuts holiday as Russian wildfires spread (AFP)
AFP - Hundreds of new forest fires Wednesday thwarted efforts by Russia to contain the worst blazes in its modern history as President Dmitry Medvedev interrupted his holiday for emergency crisis talks.

04/08/2010 Officials: Russian wildfires death toll hits 48 (AP)
AP - Officials say the death toll from weeks of wildfires that have wiped out forests and villages in western Russia has reached 48.

04/08/2010 US Senate delaying US-Russia nuclear treaty vote (AP)
AP - A Senate panel is delaying a vote to recommend ratification of a nuclear arms treaty with Russia — a sign that Democrats are struggling to win Republican support for the agreement

03/08/2010 Russia pushes back chemical weapons deadline (AP)
AP - Russia will delay its deadline for destroying chemical weapons stockpiles by as much as three years due to budget and technical problems, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

03/08/2010 As Russia wildfires rage, Putin shows strength, Medvedev tweets (The Christian Science Monitor)
The Christian Science Monitor - The deadly Russia wildfires that are sweeping across the country, amid that country's most ferocious heatwaveÂ in recorded history, may also be changing the political landscape as former president and current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin vaults to center stage as the country's most decisive and effective leader.

03/08/2010 Mother's death overshadows UK extradition case (AP)
AP - A high-profile extradition case between London and Moscow has taken a surprise pause amid an investigation into the mysterious death of a Russian millionaire's mother, who was found covered in blood in her Moscow apartment.

03/08/2010 Forest fire destroyed 13 hangars at base near Moscow (Reuters)
Reuters - A forest fire destroyed at least 13 hangars containing aircraft and equipment at a navy base outside Moscow last Thursday, Russia's Prosecutor General's office disclosed on Tuesday.

03/08/2010 US raises rights concerns at Russia detentions (AFP)
AFP - The United States raised human rights concerns on Tuesday after Russia detained several people at demonstrations against curbs on freedom of assembly.

03/08/2010 Russia admits some wildfires are out of control (AP)
AP - Some of the devastating wildfires sweeping western Russia are out of control, Russia's emergency chief said Tuesday, as fears grew there were not enough firefighters to battle them.

03/08/2010 Parched Russia warns on harvest, wheat prices surge (AFP)
AFP - Leading wheat exporter Russia cut its grain harvest forecast by millions of tonnes on Tuesday owing to the worst drought for decades, adding to concerns pushing wheat prices to a two-year high point.

03/08/2010 Heat, winds fan Russia wildfire emergency (AFP)
AFP - Ferocious temperatures and shifting winds hampered efforts Tuesday by Russian firefighters to douse hundreds of wildfires in a national disaster that has already claimed at least 40 lives.

03/08/2010 Russia does not expect BP to sell TNK-BP, Rosneft stake (Reuters)
Reuters - Russia's Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko said on Tuesday that he does not expect BP to sell their stake in TNK-BP and Rosneft .

03/08/2010 11 killed in Siberia plane crash (AFP)
AFP - Eleven people were killed and four injured on Tuesday when a Russian passenger plane crashed on landing in fog close an airport in the Far North of Siberia, investigators said.

03/08/2010 Bad Russian wheat harvest boosts US farmers (AP)
AP - A severe drought destroyed one-fifth of the wheat crop in Russia, one of the world's largest exporters, and now wildfires are sweeping in to finish off some of the fields that remained.

03/08/2010 Plane crash in northern Siberia kills at least 11 (AP)
AP - A twin-engine passenger plane crashed early Tuesday near a northern Siberia town, killing at least 11 of the 15 people on board, Russia's Emergencies Ministry said.

03/08/2010 Eleven dead in Russian airliner crash: ministry (AFP)
AFP - A Russian regional airliner crashed and exploded into a fireball while trying to land in eastern Siberia on Monday, killing 11 of the 15 people aboard, the emergency situations ministry said.

03/08/2010 At least 7 dead in Siberia plane crash: ministry (Reuters)
Reuters - A Russian passenger plane crashed as it came into land near a Siberian oil town on Monday, killing at least seven of the 15 people on board, an Emergencies Ministry spokeswoman said.

03/08/2010 Russia to miss chemical weapons deadline: statement (Reuters)
Reuters - Russia will miss a 2012 deadline for eliminating its chemical weapons stockpiles due to cutbacks caused by the global financial crisis, a Russian region involved in the disarmament process said on Monday.

02/08/2010 Medvedev declares fire emergency in 7 Russia regions (AFP)
AFP - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday declared a state of emergency over the wildfires in seven Russian regions, in a decree that also restricted public access to the affected areas.

02/08/2010 Russia declares emergency as wildfires kill 34 (Reuters)
Reuters - Russia declared a state of emergency in seven regions on Monday after wildfires killed at least 34 people and left thousands homeless in the worst heatwave since records began 130 years ago.

02/08/2010 BP's Dudley to meet top Russian energy official (Reuters)
Reuters - BP's newly appointed Chief Executive Bob Dudley and outgoing CEO Tony Hayward will meet Russia's top energy official, Igor Sechin, for discussions in Moscow this week, Sechin's spokesman said on Monday.

02/08/2010 Russia battles wildfires as death toll rises (AFP)
AFP - The death toll from the worst summer wildfires to hit Russia in a generation has risen to 34, officials said Monday, as firefighters battled to prevent the flames claiming more lives and property.

02/08/2010 Death toll from Russian wildfires reaches 34 (AP)
AP - Russia's Emergencies Ministry says 34 people are known to have died in the recent wave of wildfires, which have destroyed hundreds of homes but are thought to be slowly dying down.

02/08/2010 Video announces resignation of Chechen rebel (AP)
AP - The leader of Chechnya's separatist militants, who claimed responsbility for the Moscow subway bombings that killed 40 people in March, has purportedly announced in a video posted on YouTube that he is stepping down.

02/08/2010 Chechen Islamist to step down as 'Caucasus Emir' (AFP)
AFP - Chechnya's guerrilla chief and self-proclaimed "Emir of the Caucasus" Doku Umarov announced he was stepping down in a video posted on YouTube.

01/08/2010 Police investigator shot dead in Russia's south (AP)
AP - Three militants broke into the home of a senior investigator in Russia's restive North Caucasus region on Sunday and shot him dead after binding his wife and son with tape in the next room, police said.

01/08/2010 Hundreds of new wildfires break out in Russia (AP)
AP - Hundreds of new fires broke out Sunday in Russian forests and fields that have been dried to a crisp by drought and record heat. Firefighters brought some of the wildfires raging around cities under control.

01/08/2010 Russian Patriarch prays for rain as wildfires rage (Reuters)
Reuters - Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill asked Russians to pray for rain on Sunday as wildfires raged across the European parts of the vast country, sweltering since June in an unprecedented heatwave.

01/08/2010 Russia police arrest Kremlin critic during protest (Reuters)
Reuters - Police arrested anti-Kremlin opposition leader Boris Nemtsov in Moscow and at least 95 others on Saturday at demonstrations in cities across Russia against restrictions on freedom of assembly.

01/08/2010 Death toll climbs as Russia forest fires spread (AFP)
AFP - Firefighters on Sunday pressed on with battling forest fires that have killed at least 30 people, destroyed thousands of homes and forced the mobilisation of hundreds of thousands of emergency workers.

01/08/2010 Russia fires cover 100,000 hectares (AFP)
AFP - Forest fires in Russia's Far East region covered 100,000 hectares, an official at the region's forestry department said Sunday.

01/08/2010 Wildfires spread in western Russia, kill 28 (Reuters)
Reuters - Raging wildfires spread across parts of western Russia on Saturday, engulfing 30 percent more land in just 24 hours, and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin described the situation as very difficult.

01/08/2010 Russian police arrest Kremlin opponent at rally (AP)
AP - Russian police arrested a leading Kremlin opponent and dozens of fellow activists Saturday at a demonstration demanding freedom of assembly.

31/07/2010 Two thousand troops fight Russian forest fires (AFP)
AFP - Thousands of firefighters, including army troops, battled hundreds of forest fires that raged across central Russia in the worst heatwave for decades, destroying houses and killing more than 30 people.

31/07/2010 Russia begins to localize fires, others rage (AP)
AP - About 30 people have died in the last three days alone as Russia's massive forest fires have wiped out villages and vast areas of woodland, state television reported Saturday. Officials insist some of the worst blazes are under control.

31/07/2010 Peru: Spy husband could face fraud charges (AP)
AP - A Peruvian journalist whom the U.S. deported to Russia this month in a spy swap is free to return home but her Russian husband could be charged with lying on his citizenship application, Peru's foreign minister said Friday.

30/07/2010 Russian official resigns over youth group comments (AP)
AP - President Dmitry Medvedev's human rights adviser has resigned after a Kremlin-backed youth organization threatened her with a libel suit for her harsh criticism.

30/07/2010 Death toll in Russian forest fires reaches 25 (AFP)
AFP - The death toll from forest fires sweeping across Russia amid a record-breaking heatwave grew to 25 on Friday, with three firefighters among the dead, officials said.

30/07/2010 20 dead as forest fires rage across Russia (AP)
AP - Forest fires raged across Russia on Friday, destroying villages, surrounding one southern city and killing at least 20 people, including three firefighters, officials said.

30/07/2010 Forest fires kill 18 in Russia heatwave (AFP)
AFP - Eighteen people died in forest fires in Russia's worst heatwave in decades, officials said Friday, as Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visited one of the worst hit areas to reassure local residents.

30/07/2010 Eight killed as wildfires sweep central Russia (Reuters)
Reuters - Forest fires swept across central Russia on Friday, killing at least eight people and forcing the evacuation of thousands during the hottest summer since records began 130 years ago.

30/07/2010 Russian president's top rights advisor quits (AFP)
AFP - The head of the council advising Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on human rights Friday unexpectedly announced her resignation.

30/07/2010 Raging Russian fires destroy homes, people flee (AP)
AP - Raging forest fires encircled a southern Russian city and tore through provincial villages Thursday, forcing mass evacuations as Moscow suffered through a record, weeks-long heat wave and smog cloud caused by peat-bog fires.

30/07/2010 Russia foils passenger plane hijacking (AP)
AP - Russian special forces quickly overpowered a man after he briefly seized a plane with 105 passengers and crew at a Moscow airport on Thursday, officials said.

30/07/2010 Medvedev orders corruption investigation into Putin's Sochi Olympics (The Christian Science Monitor)
The Christian Science Monitor - In an apparent bid to dramatize his flagging anticorruption drive, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has taken the unusual step of ordering an investigation into allegations that a top Kremlin official took huge bribes in connection with the troubled 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

29/07/2010 Hijacking of plane from Caucasus foiled in Moscow: reports (AFP)
AFP - Russian special forces on Thursday foiled the attempted hijacking of a plane coming from the Caucasus at Moscow's Domodedovo airport, Russian news agencies quoted an airport official as saying.

29/07/2010 Russia foils plane hijacking in Moscow (Reuters)
Reuters - Russian special forces staged a lightning strike on Thursday to detain a man who had seized an aircraft on a domestic flight to Moscow's Domodedovo airport, a spokeswoman for the airport said.

29/07/2010 Medvedev boosts KGB successor (Reuters)
Reuters - President Dmitry Medvedev has signed a new law to boost Russia's security service, restoring a Soviet-era practice of issuing warnings to people it believes are about to commit a crime, the Kremlin said on Thursday.

29/07/2010 Russia to open $29 billion asset sales to foreigners (Reuters)
Reuters - Russia will open its most ambitious privatization programme since the 1990s to foreign investors, its economy minister said on Thursday, while the government gave its initial approval to the planned $29 billion in asset sales.

29/07/2010 Protesters attack Russian town hall to save forest (AP)
AP - A band of 100 masked people staged a violent environmental protest in a quiet Moscow suburb, hurling Molotov cocktails and fireworks at city hall while objecting to plans for clearing a local forest for highway construction, Russian police said.

29/07/2010 Russia widens powers of KGB successor agency (AP)
AP - Russia has widened the powers of its Federal Security Service, the main successor agency to the Soviet-era KGB, in a move critics say could be used to stifle protests and intimidate government opponents.

29/07/2010 Russia signs law to expand KGB-style power (AFP)
AFP - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday signed into a law a bill expanding the powers of the successor to the Soviet-era KGB security service, the Kremlin said in a statement.

29/07/2010 Russia to sell $29 billion state assets on market (Reuters)
Reuters - Russia plans to sell $29 billion worth of assets on the open market, a senior government official said on Wednesday, allaying investors fears about the transparency of the biggest privatization since the 1990s.

28/07/2010 Sizzling Moscow shrouded in polluting smog (AP)
AP - A cloud of harmful smog has enveloped Moscow, raising airborne pollutants to four times the norm, officials said Wednesday, and prompting doctors to urge residents to stay indoors as the city swelters in a record heat wave.

28/07/2010 Russian pilot missing in Darfur copter incident (AP)
AP - A Russian-owned helicopter that landed in the wrong place in Darfur has been recovered with all the passengers and crew except the Russian pilot, the top international envoy in the volatile Sudanese region said Tuesday.

28/07/2010 Hayward to get new job at BP's Russian venture (AP)
AP - Tony Hayward is poised to move to a new job as a non-executive board member with few direct responsibilities at BP PLC's Russia venture, TNK-BP.

28/07/2010 Russian copter seized in Darfur, most crew safe: reports (Reuters)
Reuters - Darfur rebels seized a Russian helicopter with four crew and five Sudanese passengers but three of the Russians and one Sudanese were later reported to be in safety, Russian media said on Tuesday.

27/07/2010 Cyprus official: US will get Russian spy's laptop (AP)
AP - The confiscated laptop and other items belonging to an alleged Russian spy who vanished will be turned over to U.S. authorities, Cyprus' justice minister said on Tuesday.

27/07/2010 Russian court sentences 14 neo-Nazis to jail (AP)
AP - A court in central Russia has sentenced a neo-Nazi leader to life in jail and imprisoned 13 others for four hate killings and multiple assaults.

27/07/2010 Russia says new EU sanctions on Iran "unacceptable" (Reuters)
Reuters - Russia condemned new EU sanctions on Iran on Tuesday, tempering hopes of closer cooperation between Moscow and the West over Iran's nuclear program.

27/07/2010 Russian spy reaches Czech generals' offices: report (Reuters)
Reuters - Three Czech generals, including a presidential staff member and a NATO representative, were forced to leave the army in 2009 after a Russian spy's contact with their offices, a Czech newspaper reported on Tuesday.

27/07/2010 NATO: military ties with Russia improving steadily (AP)
AP - NATO's top officer says military-to-military relations between Russia and the alliance are "definitely improving."

27/07/2010 Russia objects to EU Iran sanctions (AP)
AP - Russia's foreign ministry said Tuesday that new European Union sanctions against Iran show scorn for the United Nations and the six nations working to resolve disputes over Iran's nuclear program.

27/07/2010 Russian Spies Return Home to Putin's Fanfare, New Jobs (Time.com)
Time.com - The Russian agents exposed by the FBI have returned home to film-premiere invitations and sing-alongs with Putin. How will they get back to life after spying?

27/07/2010 2 Russian astronauts start spacewalk (AP)
AP - Two Russian astronauts have exited the international space station for a spacewalk intended to replace a video camera and improve cable connections to the orbiting laboratory's newest module.

26/07/2010 Russia rejects Iran's criticism on sanctions (AP)
AP - Russia has rejected Iran's criticism of Moscow's support for United Nations sanctions against Tehran as "unacceptable."

26/07/2010 Russian capital cloaked in smog amid record heat (AFP)
AFP - Inhabitants of Moscow gasped in a sizzling heatwave Monday as the Russian capital saw its highest recorded temperature ever and was blanketed in a heavy cloud of smog from forest and peat fires.

26/07/2010 Pilgrim's Pride gets OK to pack chicken for Russia (AP)
AP - Pilgrim's Pride Corp. has started to pack chicken for export to Russia, the chicken producer said in a news release Monday.

26/07/2010 Russia, US uncover nascent cocaine trade scheme (AP)
AP - Russia and the United States have uncovered a cocaine trade scheme involving a high-profile Russian impresario eager to set up business in Moscow's expensive night clubs, Russia's top drugs control officer said Monday.

25/07/2010 Russia police kill two power plant attackers (Reuters)
Reuters - Russian police killed two men on Sunday accused of bombing a North Caucasus hydroelectric plant, media reported, just days after President Dmitry Medvedev threatened to sack security officials if there were another attack.

25/07/2010 Russia's Putin sings with expelled agents (AP)
AP - Vladimir Putin says he met with the Russian spies who were expelled from the United States, joining them in singing an unofficial KGB anthem and promising them good jobs and a bright future back in their homeland.

25/07/2010 A Russian milestone: 1st black elected to office (AP)
AP - People in this Russian town used to stare at Jean Gregoire Sagbo because they had never seen a black man. Now they say they see in him something equally rare â an honest politician.

25/07/2010 Putin 'sings songs' with deported Russian spies (AFP)
AFP - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin revealed he met and even sang patriotic Soviet songs with the group of Russian spies deported from the United States in the biggest espionage swap since the Cold War.

25/07/2010 Putin pledges bright future to former spies in U.S (Reuters)
Reuters - Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Saturday he had met with Russian spies swapped in an exchange with the United States earlier this month, and promised them a bright future in Russia.

24/07/2010 Putin jumps on a Harley to praise motorbikes (AP)
AP - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin leaped on a Harley Davidson and roared into an international biker convention in southern Ukraine.

24/07/2010 Russia plans $29 billion asset sale - ministry sources (Reuters)
Reuters - Russia plans its biggest sell-off of state assets since the early 1990s as it seeks to raise over $29 billion to plug budget gaps over the next three years, finance ministry sources told Reuters on Saturday.

24/07/2010 2 killed, 5 hurt in Russian market shooting (AP)
AP - Gunmen opened fire on security guards at a provincial food market in the southern Russian city of Samara on Saturday, killing at least two and wounding at least five other people, investigators said.

24/07/2010 Russia insists on tech transfer in French warship deal (AFP)
AFP - Russia's top naval commander Saturday insisted the purchase of French warships would only go ahead if it included a transfer of technology, warning otherwise there was "no point" to the deal.

24/07/2010 Methane blast at Russian mine kills 1 (AP)
AP - A methane explosion at a coal mine in western Siberia early Saturday killed one miner and left two hospitalized with burns, officials said.

24/07/2010 Senior officers among five killed in Caucasus: reports (AFP)
AFP - Five people were killed, including three senior military officers, in a spate of attacks by militants in Russia's unrest-plagued Northern Caucasus region of Dagestan, reports said Saturday.

24/07/2010 One killed, two injured in Russian mine blast (AFP)
AFP - An explosion in a Russian coal mine Saturday killed a miner and injured two others, officials said, Interfax news agency reported.

24/07/2010 Ahmadinejad says Russia part of anti-Iran campaign (AP)
AP - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused Russia's president on Friday of turning against Tehran and joining the U.S. in spreading lies about its nuclear program, in the latest sign that Iran is drifting apart from a one-time key backer.

23/07/2010 Russia says ready to resume NATO military ties (Reuters)
Reuters - Russia is ready to restore military cooperation with NATO almost two years after relations were frozen during the Georgian war, Russia's top general was quoted as saying on Friday.

23/07/2010 Police detain Moscow forest activists (AP)
AP - Russian police on Friday detained two journalists and 15 protesters at a suburban Moscow forest where they have been living to try to protect the woods from destruction.

23/07/2010 US-Russia nuke treaty facing hurdles in US Senate (AP)
AP - The once smooth path for Senate ratification of a major nuclear arms control agreement with Russia is looking a little dicier.

23/07/2010 US apologizes to Russia in mysterious drug case (AP)
AP - The U.S. apologized to Russia on Thursday for what it called a diplomatic slip-up in the case of a Russian man arrested in Africa and then extradited to the U.S. for alleged drug smuggling.

23/07/2010 Kremlin aims to "tighten screws" on corrupt cops (Reuters)
Reuters - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday he had signed new laws to "tighten the screws" on corrupt police after a wave of beatings and murders blamed on them in recent months caused a groundswell of anger.

23/07/2010 U.S. blames fax for diplomatic gaffe over Russian (Reuters)
Reuters - The United States has apologized to Russia for failing to give it prompt notice that a Russian citizen was in U.S. custody and blamed the error on an official hitting the wrong fax button, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday.

22/07/2010 'Hot' Russian spy leaves enigmatic Facebook trail (AFP)
AFP - Two weeks after 10 Russian spies flew back from the United States to Moscow, the buzz of interest around the ring's most photogenic member, the feisty redhead Anna Chapman, shows no signs of receding.

22/07/2010 Moscow accuses US of kidnapping pilot (AP)
AP - The Russian Foreign Ministry accused the U.S. on Wednesday of "kidnapping" a Russian pilot in the West African country of Liberia several weeks ago for alleged drug smuggling.

22/07/2010 Rebels attack power station in Russia's Muslim south (Reuters)
Reuters - Suspected Islamist militants in Russia's volatile North Caucasus stormed a hydroelectric plant and killed two guards on Wednesday in an escalation of rebel attacks on Russian economic targets.

22/07/2010 Russia must improve IP enforcement to join WTO: U.S. official (Reuters)
Reuters - Russia must improve efforts to stop piracy and counterfeiting of U.S. music, movies and other goods to achieve its longterm goal of joining the World Trade Organization, a U.S. official said on Wednesday.

21/07/2010 Police: 2 killed in Russian power station attack (AP)
AP - Two carloads of assailants attacked a hydroelectric station in southern Russia on Wednesday, killing two workers and setting off bombs.

21/07/2010 Two killed in attack on Russian power station (Reuters)
Reuters - Two security guards were killed in a suspected "terrorist act" when an explosion struck a hydroelectric power station in the Kabardino-Balkaria region of Russia's North Caucasus on Wednesday, officials said.

21/07/2010 Two die in Russia power plant 'terror act': firm (AFP)
AFP - Two people were killed and another two wounded on Wednesday during a "terror act" at a hydroelectric power plant in Russia's volatile North Caucasus region, state-run power group RusHydro said, citing preliminary information.

20/07/2010 Russia says delivers 50 armoured vehicles for Palestinians (AFP)
AFP - Russia has delivered 50 armoured personnel carriers to Jordan where they are now waiting to be transferred to the Palestinian security forces, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

20/07/2010 Russian prosecutors probe parasailing donkey (AP)
AP - Authorities in Russia are opening an animal cruelty probe into a weekend stunt on a beach in southern Russia in which a donkey parasailed high over the surf.

20/07/2010 Parachuting donkey shocks Russian beachgoers (AFP)
AFP - Russian beachgoers got a shock when they saw a donkey soaring in the blue skies over the balmy beaches on the Sea of Azov in southern Russia last week, police said on Tuesday.

20/07/2010 Russia complains to Washington over arrest: reports (Reuters)
Reuters - Russia has complained to the United States about the detention of a Russian citizen in Liberia and his transfer to U.S. territory, Russian news agencies said on Monday.

19/07/2010 Russian court gives crime kingpin 10 years (AP)
AP - A Moscow court has sentenced an alleged kingpin of Russia's criminal underworld to 10 years in jail.

19/07/2010 New powers given to Russia's security agency (AP)
AP - The upper house of Russia's parliament on Monday passed a bill granting expanded powers to the country's main security agency, a move that critics say echoes the era of the Soviet KGB.

16/07/2010 Hundreds drown in Russia heatwave (AFP)
AFP - Russians sweltered Friday in record-breaking temperatures as hundreds drowned in bathing accidents often influenced by alcohol.

16/07/2010 Bishop killed in Russia's Dagestan (AP)
AP - Officials in Russia's violent, largely Muslim republic of Dagestan say a Christian bishop has been shot to death by unknown attackers.

16/07/2010 Russia's Duma OKs more power for security service (AP)
AP - Russia's lower house of parliament has approved a bill that would widen the powers of the Federal Security Service, the KGB's main successor agency.

16/07/2010 Russia has identified Estemirova's killer: Medvedev (AFP)
AFP - Russia has identified the killer of rights activist Natalya Estemirova, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday, exactly one year after her murder in the Caucasus.

15/07/2010 Russian regional strongman resigns amid criticism (AP)
AP - A longtime regional leader from central Russia has resigned amid allegations of corruption and human rights violations.

15/07/2010 Putin takes Van Damme to ultimate fighting match (AFP)
AFP - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, never shy of a macho photo opportunity, has visited a championship match of Ultimate Fighting with a fellow strongman -- Hollywood star Jean-Claude Van Damme.

15/07/2010 Germany, Russia sign multibillion deals (AP)
AP - The leaders of Russia and Germany met Thursday for talks and oversaw the signing of nearly a dozen deals between companies from the two countries worth billions of dollars.

15/07/2010 Russia 'identifies killer' of activist Estemirova (AFP)
AFP - Russia has identified the killer of rights activist Natalya Estemirova and the assassin is now the target of an international search, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday.

15/07/2010 Germany, Russia to ink multibillion deals (AP)
AP - German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met Thursday for talks and are expected to oversee the signing of an array of deals between German and Russian companies worth billions of dollars.

15/07/2010 Russian man in spy probe worked twice at Microsoft (AP)
AP - A 23-year-old Russian man who became the 12th person taken into custody in the recent spy ring investigation made two trips to the United States, both times going to work for Microsoft in low-level jobs.

15/07/2010 Kremlin says Russia losing battle on corruption (Reuters)
Reuters - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday his administration had made almost no progress in fighting corruption since he took power two years ago.

15/07/2010 Medvedev tells Russians to stop 'everyday' bribery (AFP)
AFP - President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday said corruption permeated everyday life in Russia, warning anti-graft efforts would be fruitless unless ordinary Russians stopped handing out bribes.

14/07/2010 Drunk Russians drown escaping heatwave (Reuters)
Reuters - Dozens of Russians, many of them drunk, are drowning daily as they head to water to escape a heatwave, an emergencies ministry official said on Wednesday.

14/07/2010 Russia and Iran sign energy cooperation pact (Reuters)
Reuters - Russia's energy minister said on Wednesday that United Nations sanctions will not stop its work with Iran in energy and power, despite others backing away from the Islamic Republic.

13/07/2010 UK revokes citizenship of Russia's Chapman (Reuters)
Reuters - Britain has stripped Russian Anna Chapman of her British citizenship following her deportation from the United States in a spy swap last week, the home office said on Tuesday.

13/07/2010 UK: Anna Chapman's citizenship, passport revoked (AP)
AP - A redheaded sleeper agent who became the most high-profile figure in the U.S.-Russia spy case has had her British citizenship revoked, the government announced Tuesday.

13/07/2010 Official: 12th person detained in Russian spy case (AP)
AP - The U.S. has detained a 12th person in the Russian spy ring investigation, but doesn't have enough evidence to charge him with a crime, four federal law enforcement officials said Tuesday.

13/07/2010 U.S. to deport another person in Russian spy probe (Reuters)
Reuters - The FBI's investigation into a Russian spy ring that operated in the United States has resulted in another Russian being detained, and he soon will be deported, a U.S. law enforcement official said on Tuesday.

13/07/2010 Russia and Iran to sign energy "road map" (Reuters)
Reuters - Russia said on Tuesday it planned to sign a road map to outline future energy cooperation with Iran.

13/07/2010 Policeman killed in Russia's Dagestan (AP)
AP - Officials in Russia's violence-plagued Dagestan say gunmen have killed a policeman who earlier had lost his father, mother and sister to attackers.

13/07/2010 AP source: Catalyst for arrests was Mass. spy (AP)
AP - The FBI arrested 10 Russian secret agents on June 27 after learning weeks before that one of them, Donald Heathfield of Cambridge, Mass., would soon be traveling abroad with a college-age son and might not return, a U.S. law enforcement official said Monday.

13/07/2010 AP source: Catalyst for arrests was New Jersey spy (AP)
AP - The FBI arrested 10 Russian secret agents on June 27 after learning weeks before that one of them, Richard Murphy of Montclair, N.J., would soon be leaving the United States to put his son in college abroad and might not return, a U.S. law enforcement official said Monday.

13/07/2010 Russia says detains suspect in Moscow bomb attacks (Reuters)
Reuters - Russia's security service on Monday said it detained a suspect in a suicide bomb attack that killed at least 40 people on the Moscow metro in March and arrested six women preparing new attacks on central Russia.

12/07/2010 Kremlin seeks investment alliances with U.S., EU (Reuters)
Reuters - President Dmitry Medvedev called on Monday for alliances with the United States and European Union in a new Kremlin strategy aimed at attracting investment to Russia's resource dependent economy.

12/07/2010 Russian curators sentenced but not imprisoned (AP)
AP - Two Russian curators who angered the Russian Orthodox Church with an exhibition that included images of Jesus Christ portrayed as Mickey Mouse and Vladimir Lenin were convicted Monday of inciting religious hatred and fined, but not sentenced to prison.

12/07/2010 Russia's Medvedev calls for alliances with U.S., EU (Reuters)
Reuters - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called on Monday for the formation of new alliances with the United States and the European Union to stimulate trade and investment in one of his boldest foreign policy statements.

12/07/2010 Russia says Iran moving closer to nuclear weapons (Reuters)
Reuters - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday that Iran was moving closer to having the potential to create nuclear weapons.

12/07/2010 Court fines organisers of Moscow exhibition (AFP)
AFP - A Moscow court on Monday fined two organisers of a 2007 exhibition of provocative art up to 6,500 dollars each but refrained from imposing jail sentences, an AFP correspondent reported.

12/07/2010 Russia court finds 'Forbidden Art' organisers guilty (AFP)
AFP - A Moscow court on Monday found two organisers of a 2007 exhibition of provocative art guilty of inciting hatred, news agencies said, after a trial fiercely criticised by rights activists.

12/07/2010 Russians risk jail in 'forbidden art' trial (AFP)
AFP - A Moscow court was to give its verdict Monday in the controversial trial of a Russian art expert and a museum director accused of inciting religious hatred with an exhibition of provocative art.