| Aug 2, 2013

U.S. urged to get tough on Russia over Snowden

Russia’s granting of temporary asylum to former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden against Washington’s wishes unleashed calls from members of both parties Thursday for President Barack Obama to take a harder line against his counterpart, Vladimir Putin. Republican senators including John McCain ...

Jul 12, 2013

More Russians need to 'feel some pain' over deceased lawyer: McCain

Arizona Sen. John McCain on Thursday slammed a Russian court’s conviction of dead lawyer Sergei Magnitsky for tax evasion, angrily saying the U.S. needs to make more Russians “feel some pain.” And he took issue with the U.S. administration for its low-key reaction to ...

Deceased Russian lawyer found guilty of tax fraud

Jul 12, 2013

Deceased Russian lawyer found guilty of tax fraud

A Moscow court on Thursday convicted Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky of tax evasion, provoking fresh outrage more than three years after his prison death. Magnitsky was convicted along with his former boss, the U.S.-born British citizen William Browder, the head of the Hermitage Capital ...

Jul 8, 2013

Putin expected to visit disputed Kunashiri next week

Russian President Vladimir Putin might visit one of the four Russian-held islands claimed by Japan next week, a person affiliated with a group of former residents who just returned from visiting the islands said Monday. Toyama Prefectural Assemblyman Hisayoshi Ono, who headed the group, ...

Repression surges in Putin's Russia

Jul 8, 2013

Repression surges in Putin's Russia

Last week was a busy one for Russian authorities, who arrested the only nationally known opposition mayor for bribery, sought six years in prison for crusading blogger Alexei Navalny and asked a court to find a long-dead attorney guilty of tax evasion. The trial ...

Obama to call for big cuts in nuclear arms

Jun 20, 2013

Obama to call for big cuts in nuclear arms

U.S. leader Barack Obama will Wednesday propose major cuts in American and Russian nuclear arsenals, making a pitch for his own place in history in an evocative open-air speech during his first visit as president to Berlin. Almost 50 years to the day since ...

May 31, 2013

Alcohol addiction could doom Putin's dreams

by Cesar Chelala

Russians’ love for vodka has a long history. Legend holds that vodka arrived in Moscow in the 14th century, brought by Genovese merchants to Prince Dmitry Ivanovich. Legend also says that the monk Isidore, of the Chudov Monastery inside the Kremlin, made a recipe ...

Architect of Putin's political system steps down

May 10, 2013

Architect of Putin's political system steps down

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday announced the resignation of his influential deputy prime minister, Vladislav Surkov, credited with designing the country’s notorious political system. The Kremlin said in a statement that Surkov had left his post voluntarily, but analysts and observers said he ...