Arts & Entertainment

Arts & Entertainment

About 150,000 Muscovites and guests of the...

About 150,000 Muscovites and guests of the Russian capital took part in New Year"s celebration on Moscow"s Red Square and surrounding areas, a police official said.

A former Russian police officer who posted...

A former Russian police officer who posted two videos on the web calling for a nationwide crackdown on police corruption told a Moscow tabloid on Thursday another video is on the way.

Although Arctic issues and those of the...

Although Arctic issues and those of the Arctic Ocean have only been discussed by the few littoral nations until now, it appears that the region will soon be reorganized on a grand scale.

A microwave oven containing what police...

A microwave oven containing what police now say is unlikely to have been an explosive device caused a major bomb scare at the U.S. Pittsburgh Marathon on Sunday, media reports say.

A new earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter...

A new earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale hit Chile on Thursday, the same day Sebastian Pinera took office as president, the U.S. Geological Survey said, adding that there was a threat of a tsunami.

A number of odd events happened throughout...

A number of odd events happened throughout Ukraine as the country was voting in a presidential election runoff on Sunday. These included topless girls protesting and a voter eating his ballot paper.

A search and rescue team has found the bodies...

A search and rescue team has found the bodies of eight people from under an avalanche after a helicopter with a group of German tourists went missing on the Kamchatka Peninsula earlier on Saturday, a Far East Emergencies Ministry spokesman said.

As part of Russia"s crusade against alcohol...

As part of Russia"s crusade against alcohol abuse, the lower chamber of parliament on Wednesday adopted in its first reading a bill introducing harsher punishments for the illegal production and sale of alcohol.

ASTRAKHAN, August 17 (RIA Novosti) - The...

ASTRAKHAN, August 17 (RIA Novosti) - The missing Arctic Sea vessel has been found and its crew taken to a Russian warship, the Russian defense minister said on Monday.

Athletes of the Chilean Olympic team in...

Athletes of the Chilean Olympic team in Canada decided to skip Sunday"s closing ceremony and immediately return to their country, which was devastated by a strong quake, the USA Today reported.

Bolivians will have an opportunity to taste...

Bolivians will have an opportunity to taste a unique fizzy drink produced from coca leaves starting from the new year, Latin American media reported on Thursday.

Excerpts from a RIA Novosti online conference...

Excerpts from a RIA Novosti online conference with Georgy Vilinbakhov, State Heraldry Master of the Russian Federation

Fans of Russian skater Evgeni Plushenko...

Fans of Russian skater Evgeni Plushenko, who hoped to become the first repeat men"s Olympic gold medalist since 1952, but won silver in the free skate at the Vancouver Games, will award the skater and his coach "people"s" gold medals, the initiator of the award has said.

Georgia confirmed on Monday its offer of...

Georgia confirmed on Monday its offer of military cargo transit for NATO troops in Afghanistan and expressed hope that Russia would not object to this move.

Including Russian Prime Minister Vladimir...

Including Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin among the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) list of the world"s freedom "predators" is totally wrong, the premier"s spokesman said on Tuesday.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has...

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has described Iran as a "fist" that will "knock teeth out" of anyone who has the courage to attack the Islamic republic, Iranian news agency ISNA said on Friday.

Iran plans to hold talks with all 15 members...

Iran plans to hold talks with all 15 members of the UN Security Council to discuss a nuclear fuel deal, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Monday.

Iran will not consider proposals by the...

Iran will not consider proposals by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), developed by Russia, France and the United States, which call on Tehran to suspend its research reactor, the ISNA news agency reported.

ISTANBUL, October 5 (RIA Novosti) - Russia...

ISTANBUL, October 5 (RIA Novosti) - Russia is ready to extend a loan to Serbia and is considering the possibility of granting a loan to Bulgaria, the Russian finance minister said on Monday.

KALININGRAD, September 10 (RIA Novosti)...

KALININGRAD, September 10 (RIA Novosti) - A new cathedral in Kaliningrad in Russia's westernmost region will contribute to friendship in the Baltic Sea area, President Vladimir Putin said Sunday.

Key talks with the United States on a Russian-proposed...

Key talks with the United States on a Russian-proposed inter-governmental agreement on child adoption will be held on May 12 in Moscow, the press service of the Russian children"s ombudsman said on Tuesday.

MOSCOW, August 11 (RIA Novosti) - Russia...

MOSCOW, August 11 (RIA Novosti) - Russia produced 18,349,000 carats of raw diamonds in January-June 2009 worth a total of $1.2 billion, a rise of 4.6% year-on-year, the Finance Ministry said on Tuesday.

MOSCOW, August 25 (RIA Novosti) - One of...

MOSCOW, August 25 (RIA Novosti) - One of Russia's largest cosmetics retailers Arbat Prestige could face bankruptcy being hit by a new 1.59-billion-ruble ($65-million) debt claim, a Russian business daily said on Monday.

Moscow City Court on Thursday sentenced...

Moscow City Court on Thursday sentenced a group of ultranationalist skinheads known as the White Wolves to jail sentences ranging from six to 23 years for a series of race-hate murders.

MOSCOW, December 23 (RIA Novosti) - Moscow...

MOSCOW, December 23 (RIA Novosti) - Moscow police officially rejected media reports on Tuesday that two violinists from a famed Russian orchestra had been attacked by racists, a police spokesman said. A member of the Moscow Virtuosi chamber orchestra, Denis Shulgin, was hospitalized with a fractured skull and brain concussion after an attack in the Russian capital on Monday. Attackers stole his valuable violin. In a separate incident on Sunday, his colleague Georgy Tsai, an ethnic Korean, was stabbed in the stomach and suffered numerous hand injuries. His bag was stolen during the attack, which occurred near his home. Both men are reported to be in a stable condition. Police are investigating whether the attacks were linked. After the first incident, media said the violinist had been a victim of a race-hate attack. However, the police spokesman Viktor Biryukov dismissed the reports saying: "We officially deny this information as there no grounds for such allegations." Criminal cases into assault and robbery have been opened, he said. Racially motivated crimes have become common in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Attacks by gangs of youths on foreigners and people with non-Slavic features are a routine occurrence in Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as the city of Voronezh, which hosts many foreign university students. Last week, the Moscow City Court sentenced seven young men, convicted of 20 race-hate murders and 12 other attacks, to between six and 20 years in prison. The gang carried out a series of attacks between August 2006 and October 2007 targeted at foreigners and non-Slavic migrants. The suspects filmed some of the attacks and posted them on the Internet.

MOSCOW, December 7 (RIA Novosti) - Thousands...

MOSCOW, December 7 (RIA Novosti) - Thousands of people have been queuing up in front of Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior to bid farewell to the deceased Russian Orthodox Church leader.

MOSCOW, January 19 (RIA Novosti) - A Russian...

MOSCOW, January 19 (RIA Novosti) - A Russian businessman currently in custody pending trial published on Monday an open letter to President Dmitry Medvedev claiming investigators were pressuring him to testify against his business partner. Vladimir Nekrasov, who owns the Arbat Prestige cosmetics chain, was arrested in Moscow last January on tax evasion charges along with Sergei Shnaider, an alleged mafia boss also known as Semyon Mogilevich. Nekrasov wrote that the prison chief and the investigator in charge of his case told him: "Do you want to get out of here, Nekrasov? Testify against Shnaider, and you"ll walk free tomorrow." Nekrasov, 47, has maintained that Shnaider, 62, is not linked to Arbat Prestige, but said in the letter published in Russian media on Monday that he has come under strong pressure to provide false evidence against Shnaider. In particular, he said his custody has been extended several times without a valid reason. In April, the Moscow City Court refused to release Shnaider despite the offer of a $2 million bail payment, equal to the back tax claim against Arbat Prestige. Shnaider has been wanted by a number of countries, including the United States, for more than 15 years for alleged involvement in organized crime and corruption. Believed to control the largest Russian mafia syndicate in the world, he is suspected of being involved in arms dealing, drug trafficking, the sex trade and money laundering. He served two jail terms in the Soviet Union in the 1970s for currency dealing offenses and fraud. Russian prosecutors allege that Shnaider was behind a tax evasion scheme said to have been used by Arbat Prestige. Arbat Prestige was established in 1989 and opened its first retail outlet in 1998. It now has a network of 64 outlets across Russia.

MOSCOW, January 19 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian...

MOSCOW, January 19 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Defense Ministry has started the development of a new arms procurement program for 2011-2020, a Russian daily newspaper said on Monday, citing government sources.

MOSCOW, July 2 (RIA Novosti) - North Korea...

MOSCOW, July 2 (RIA Novosti) - North Korea has conducted two test launches of short-range missiles, a South Korean news agency reported on Thursday.

MOSCOW, June 5 (RIA Novosti) - A chief inspector...

MOSCOW, June 5 (RIA Novosti) - A chief inspector at Moscow"s financial watchdog has been detained on suspicion of taking bribes, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said in a statement on Thursday.Sergei Smirnov, the chief inspector at the Federal Financial and Budget Monitoring Service (Rosfinnadzor), was detained on June 3. He is accused of extorting 500,000 rubles ($21,000) from a Moscow businessman after discovering a financial irregularity during an audit. The financial breach would normally result in a fine of up to 60 million rubles ($2.5 million) for the offending company.

MOSCOW. (Nikita Petrov for RIA Novosti)...

MOSCOW. (Nikita Petrov for RIA Novosti) - Three events have come together independently. But they produced an intrigue that has hooked both politicians and media in the Middle East. Here is what happened.

MOSCOW, November 12 (RIA Novosti) - North...

MOSCOW, November 12 (RIA Novosti) - North Korea said Thursday that the recent exchange of gunfire between its patrol boat and a South Korean warship was not an accident but the result of a "conspiracy" in an attempt to escalate tension in the region.

MOSCOW, October 5 (RIA Novosti) - Gazprom...

MOSCOW, October 5 (RIA Novosti) - Gazprom subsidiary Gaztorgpromstroy is to open a series of supermarkets and a fast food chain, Russian business daily Kommersant said on Monday.

MOSCOW, October 8 (RIA Novosti) - Russia"s...

MOSCOW, October 8 (RIA Novosti) - Russia"s Strategic Missile Forces will conduct a series of exercises on October 9-17 in the Ivanovo Region, the forces" press service said on Thursday.

MOSCOW, October 9 (RIA Novosti) - The United...

MOSCOW, October 9 (RIA Novosti) - The United States has notified Japan that it will remove North Korea from its list of terrorism sponsoring states later this month, the Kyodo news agency reported Thursday.

MOSCOW. (Professor Mikhail Barshchevsky...

MOSCOW. (Professor Mikhail Barshchevsky for RIA Novosti) - Under Iraqi law, the term for enforcing the death penalty for former President Saddam Hussein expires on December 5. A number of human rights and public organizations have sent requests to the Iraqi government to remit the death penalty.

MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator...

MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Maxim Krans) - Santa Claus might soon be a Russian citizen. At least, that is the hope of well-known Arctic explorer Artur Chilingarov, who will lead Arctic 2007, one of the biggest expeditions in the history of polar research.

MOSCOW, September 10 (RIA Novosti) - The...

MOSCOW, September 10 (RIA Novosti) - The Arctic Sea dry cargo ship will soon be handed over to Malta, but Russian investigators will need a few more days to complete work on board the vessel, investigators said on Thursday.

MOSCOW, September 22 (RIA Novosti) - Companies...

MOSCOW, September 22 (RIA Novosti) - Companies developing the Shtokman gas condensate field in the Russian sector of the Barents Sea have so far invested $500 million, the project operator said on Tuesday.

MOSCOW, September 23 (RIA Novosti) - United...

MOSCOW, September 23 (RIA Novosti) - United Co. Rusal, the world"s biggest aluminum producer, has filed an appeal against a Guinean court ruling that overturned its deal to buy the Friguia bauxite and alumina complex.

MOSCOW, September 26 (RIA Novosti) - Hundreds...

MOSCOW, September 26 (RIA Novosti) - Hundreds of elderly North and South Koreans separated by the Korean War more than half a century ago met to the north of the border on Saturday in the first such reunion event in two years.

Nine people have been removed from an MI-8...

Nine people have been removed from an MI-8 Hip helicopter that was covered by an avalanche on the Kamchatka Peninsula, two of whom are in serious condition, an Emergencies Ministry spokeswoman said on Saturday.

Norway won the women"s cross country skiing...

Norway won the women"s cross country skiing relay at the Vancouver Winter Olympics on Thursday, ahead of Germany and Finland.

Over 102,000 military servicemen across...

Over 102,000 military servicemen across Russia will take part in festivities dedicated to the 65th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany, the Russian defense minister said on Wednesday.

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia...

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia received on Wednesday the highest award of the Armenian Apostolic Church - the Order of St. Gregory the Illuminator.

Polish President Lech Kaczynski and up to...

Polish President Lech Kaczynski and up to 131 others traveling with him to commemorate the mass killing of Polish officers during World War Two died on Saturday when his plane crashed on landing in western Russia.

Polish skier Justyna Kowalczyk snatched...

Polish skier Justyna Kowalczyk snatched the first gold medal for her country at the 2010 Olympics in Canada after finishing in just 0.3 seconds ahead of her closest contender in ladies" 30 km Mass Start.

Pope Benedict XVI has visited Turin where...

Pope Benedict XVI has visited Turin where he viewed the Holy Shroud, a cloth in which, it is believed, Jesus Christ was buried, BBC reported.

(Recasts para 2, adds details, background in paras 2-10)

Russia believes the dispute over Iran"s...

Russia believes the dispute over Iran"s nuclear activity can still be resolved through diplomacy, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday after talks with his U.S. counterpart.

Russia could revise oil export duty up to...

Russia could revise oil export duty up to $271-$274 per metric ton from the current $267 starting February 1, a senior Finance Ministry official said on Tuesday.

Russia does not rule out new sanctions against...

Russia does not rule out new sanctions against Iran, the Kremlin spokeswoman said Tuesday amid mounting Western pressure for fresh sanctions against the Islamic state.

Russia has not yet introduced a ban on the...

Russia has not yet introduced a ban on the adoption of Russian children by U.S. families, Russian science and education minister Andrei Fursenko said on Wednesday.

Russian energy giant Gazprom, not a Belarusian...

Russian energy giant Gazprom, not a Belarusian company, will build a biathlon facility in the southern Russian resort of Sochi, due to host the 2014 Winter Olympics, the government said on its website Saturday.

Russian energy giant Gazprom will hold talks...

Russian energy giant Gazprom will hold talks with Bulgaria in January on the implementation of the project to build the South Stream gas pipeline, the Russian energy minister said Thursday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said...

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that circumstances for the resumption of talks with North Korea on its controversial nuclear program have improved.

Russian police have broken up a 270-billion-ruble...

Russian police have broken up a 270-billion-ruble (about $9 billion) money-laundering operation run by four Azerbaijani nationals and several Russian bank employees, the Interior Ministry said on Friday.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime...

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin congratulated Abkhazia"s president, Sergei Bagapsh, on his reelection, the Kremlin said on Monday.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited...

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited the Polish Embassy in Moscow on Monday to lay flowers in front of a photo of the late Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife.

Russian specialists have started building...

Russian specialists have started building a road to aid the removal of the wreckage of Polish President Lech Kaczynski"s plane, which crashed in west Russia on Saturday, killing all 96 people on board.

Russia"s preparations for the 2014 Winter...

Russia"s preparations for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi are on schedule, with some 60 billion rubles due to be spent on them this year, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.

Russia"s state-run nuclear power corporation...

Russia"s state-run nuclear power corporation Rosatom and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will sign next week an agreement on the creation of an international nuclear fuel reserve bank, a Russian respected business daily said on Friday.

Russia will take part in a nuclear disarmament...

Russia will take part in a nuclear disarmament conference to be held in Tehran on April 17-18, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Monday.

TALLINN, August 25 (RIA Novosti) - The suspected...

TALLINN, August 25 (RIA Novosti) - The suspected hijackers of the Arctic Sea merchant ship were the victims of "political games," a relative of one of the men in custody has said.

Ten militants captured in Russia"s North...

Ten militants captured in Russia"s North Caucasus last week have been formally arrested in connection with the derailment of a Moscow-St. Petersburg train in November, a respected daily said on Wednesday.

The Arctic Sea cargo vessel which was hijacked...

The Arctic Sea cargo vessel which was hijacked last year will take to the seas again in February, the Russian Seafarers" Union said on Friday.

The eruption of a volcano in Iceland which...

The eruption of a volcano in Iceland which has caused air traffic chaos in Europe has shown signs of diminishing in scale, an Icelandic seismologist said on Monday.

The first meeting of Russia"s upper and...

The first meeting of Russia"s upper and lower houses began with a minute of silence on Wednesday in respect for those who died in late Polish President Lech Kaczynski"s plane that crashed in western Russia.

The funeral for late Polish President Lech...

The funeral for late Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria will be held on Sunday after a memorial service on Saturday.

The head of Families for Russian and Ukrainian...

The head of Families for Russian and Ukrainian Adoption (FRUA), a U.S. public organization uniting over 2,000 families who adopted children born in former Soviet bloc countries, said her organization is shocked by the story of a Russian boy rejected by U.S. adoptive parents.

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church...

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia sees the Internet as an examination for the human race as not only has the web become a laboratory forming an individual but also constitutes a threat of destruction.

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church...

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church on Thursday called on the world to expose cases of bias and discrimination against Christians in Europe.

The price for the lease of the Russian Black...

The price for the lease of the Russian Black Sea Fleet"s naval base in Ukraine is overvalued, but Moscow agreed to it for the benefit of raising cooperation and trust with Kiev, the Russian prime minister said.

The ratification of the Russian-Ukrainian...

The ratification of the Russian-Ukrainian agreement allowing the Black Sea Fleet to remain in Sevastopol until 2042 has again raised the issue of modernizing the fleet, the cost of such an upgrade, and Russia"s ability to implement it.

The Russian coat-of-arms is a golden two-headed...

The Russian coat-of-arms is a golden two-headed eagle perched on a red heraldic shield. Above the eagle are three historical crowns of Peter the Great, and in its talons the eagle holds a scepter and an orb, while depicted on a red shield on its breast is a horseman slaying the dragon with his spear.