Columnists

Columnists

A border crossing between Russia and Georgia...

A border crossing between Russia and Georgia that was closed in 2006 was reopened on Monday a Georgian police official told RIA Novosti.

(Adds Kudrin's reaction in last two paras)

A Moscow court on Wednesday ruled against...

A Moscow court on Wednesday ruled against an appeal submitted by a suspect in the Arctic Sea ship seizure case, upholding a lower court ruling not to hand the case to investigators in Malta or Sweden.

An antivirus program, launched on Monday...

An antivirus program, launched on Monday by Russia"s largest search engine Yandex, has detected a harmful program on the official website of the United Nations.

An attempt to detonate a bomb at the New...

An attempt to detonate a bomb at the New York Times Square was an one-off event and is considered by the U.S. government as a potential terrorist attack and is perceived very seriously, the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said.

A new-generation Tu strategic bomber will...

A new-generation Tu strategic bomber will be developed by 2017, Russian aircraft maker Tupolev said on Wednesday.

A Russian television series that dramatized...

A Russian television series that dramatized the lives of Moscow schoolchildren has been quietly dropped from state Channel One after a storm of public protest.

At least ten people were killed when in...

At least ten people were killed when in a powerful tornado swept across Mississippi, tearing mile-wide path of destruction in some spots, U.S. media said on Sunday.

A total of $20 billion will be invested...

A total of $20 billion will be invested in the development of Junin 6, a major oilfield in Venezuela"s Orinoco oil belt, a Russian deputy prime minister said on Monday.

BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan, December 21 (RIA Novosti)...

BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan, December 21 (RIA Novosti) - The Soyuz TMA-17 spacecraft which is to carry three astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) was launched in the early hours of Monday, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported.

By Leszek MILLER, Leader of the Democratic left Alliance

Congress in Honduras has voted against the...

Congress in Honduras has voted against the reinstatement of ousted President Manuel Zelaya for the remainder of his term which ends in January, the Honduran media reported.

Former world No. 1 Maria Sharapova has won...

Former world No. 1 Maria Sharapova has won the Cellular South Cup in the Regions Morgan Keegan Championship tennis tournament in Memphis, Tennessee.

Gazprom will buy 1 billion cubic meters...

Gazprom will buy 1 billion cubic meters of gas from Azerbaijan this year and around 2 bcm in 2011, the Russian gas monopoly said Thursday.

GZT.RU

India will pay Russia $2.3 billion for work...

India will pay Russia $2.3 billion for work to refit the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier, the IANS agency reported on Thursday.

Iran has behaved irresponsibly in response...

Iran has behaved irresponsibly in response to international concerns over Tehran"s controversial nuclear program, the Russian president said.

Iran has developed and successfully tested...

Iran has developed and successfully tested its first domestically-built air defense system capable of destroying aircraft at low and medium altitudes, Press TV cited the country"s defense minister as saying.

Iran has tested its third generation of...

Iran has tested its third generation of enrichment centrifuges, the head of Iran"s Atomic Energy Organization said on Friday.

Israel has received no guarantees from Russia...

Israel has received no guarantees from Russia or China that they will support sanctions against Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday, as quoted by national media.

KIEV, August 6 (RIA Novosti) - Kiev officially...

KIEV, August 6 (RIA Novosti) - Kiev officially notified Moscow on Thursday that it had accepted Mikhail Zurabov as Russia"s new ambassador to Ukraine, the press secretary at the Russian embassy in Ukraine said.

Kyrgyzstan"s former interior minister was...

Kyrgyzstan"s former interior minister was flown to Manas airport near Bishkek on Monday after being detained in Moscow in a joint Kyrgyz-Russian operation, Kyrgyzstan"s AKIpress agency reported.

MEXICO, August 27 (RIA Novosti) - Nicaragua...

MEXICO, August 27 (RIA Novosti) - Nicaragua plans to supply 12,000 metric tons of beef and pork products to Russia annually from 2010, the country"s agriculture and forestry minister, Ariel Bucardo, said on Thursday.

MOSCOW, April 12 (RIA Novosti) -Total has...

MOSCOW, April 12 (RIA Novosti) -Total has rectified numerous violations at the Kharyaga oil deposit in northern Russia that the French energy giant is developing, the Russian Audit Chamber chairman said Thursday. In January, the Audit Chamber found the project operator had committed a number of violations, including underproduction of crude and a failure to meet the schedule and requirement for development works. "I should say Total has corrected the numerous violations that we registered," Sergei Stepashin said. He said the French side had considered all the proposals that the Audit Chamber had made concerning project profits and environmental issues. Total is developing the Kharyaga oilfield, in Russia"s Yamal-Nenets autonomy, under a 1995 production-sharing agreement (PSA) signed with the Russian government for 29 years with possible extension till 33 years. A mineral resources regulator initiated license revocation discussions on Kharyaga at the end of last year after revealing that the operator had failed to follow the central commission"s recommendations on the field"s development, and in particular failed to observe the gas drive recovery process, burning up 60% of natural gas produced in 2005. Also last April, the Natural Resources Ministry accused Total of failing to meet its targets for Kharyaga under the PSA. It said the investor had failed to increase production of crude and introduce new technologies and equipment for effective production since the agreement came into force in 1999. Ministry experts warned that the situation could result in losses for Russia, as the country "would be forced to continue sending the entire deposit"s output to the investor in compensation for its expenses." Total holds a controlling, 50% stake in a consortium set up to run the Kharyaga project, which also includes Norway"s Hydro (40%) and the Nenets Oil Company (10%), controlled by the regional government. The French company is not the only Western operator to have come under the scrutiny of Russian regulators in recent months. In late March, Russia"s environmental watchdog launched a probe into alleged environmental violations at the Sakhalin I hydrocarbon project, run by U.S. giant ExxonMobil off Russia"s Pacific Coast. Months of pressure on Royal Dutch Shell, which was in charge of the Sakhalin II gas project, culminated last year in the purchase by Russia"s state-controlled energy giant Gazprom of 50% plus one share in the project. The Russian-British joint venture TNK-BP also received a warning about its license for the giant Kovykta natural gas deposit, in East Siberia, over an alleged failure to meet its obligations to supply nearby areas with gas. Analysts have said the raids are part of the Kremlin"s drive to regain control of the country"s vast mineral resources.

MOSCOW, April 23 (RIA Novosti) - American...

MOSCOW, April 23 (RIA Novosti) - American metal legends Metallica will tour their new album Death Magnetic in Russia in 2010, the head of a tour organizer group said Thursday.

MOSCOW, August 14 (RIA Novosti) - The situation...

MOSCOW, August 14 (RIA Novosti) - The situation around the missing Arctic Sea cargo ship that has reportedly been traced to a location outside Cape Verde is "dramatic," Russia"s NATO envoy said on Friday.

MOSCOW, August 5 (RIA Novosti) - At least...

MOSCOW, August 5 (RIA Novosti) - At least three people have been killed and 10 injured in a shooting at a gym southwest of the U.S. city of Pittsburgh, national media reported on Wednesday.

MOSCOW, August 5 (RIA Novosti) - Kyrgyzstan...

MOSCOW, August 5 (RIA Novosti) - Kyrgyzstan is considering building a gambling zone near the large mountain lake of Issyk Kul, the central Asian country"s ambassador to Russia said on Wednesday.

MOSCOW, December 22 (RIA Novosti) - All...

MOSCOW, December 22 (RIA Novosti) - All of Russia's 83 regions have approved Constitutional amendments to extend presidential and parliamentary terms, the upper house of Russia's parliament said in a resolution on Monday.

MOSCOW, February 25 (RIA Novosti) - Roman...

MOSCOW, February 25 (RIA Novosti) - Roman Pavlyuchenko will remain at Tottenham Hotspur after scoring four goals in less than one and a half games, the player"s agent said in an interview on Thursday.

MOSCOW, January 13 (RIA Novosti) - The first...

MOSCOW, January 13 (RIA Novosti) - The first leg of the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline will come on stream on December 25, 2009, the head of the Transneft pipeline operator announced on Tuesday.

MOSCOW, January 9 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian...

MOSCOW, January 9 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian government is to allocate 400 million rubles ($16 million) for research into the development of an HIV vaccine, the consumer rights watchdog said on Wednesday. The funding is part of international efforts agreed upon at the G8 summit in St. Petersburg in July 2006. Rospotrebnadzor said the government had signed the order in late 2007 and would allot a total of a billion rubles ($41 million) for research, HIV monitoring and other operations in the field in 2008-2010.

MOSCOW, July 8 (RIA Novosti) - Russia marked...

MOSCOW, July 8 (RIA Novosti) - Russia marked Day of Married Love and Family Happiness on Wednesday, an official holiday which coincides with Peter and Fevronia Day, the Orthodox patron saints of married couples.

MOSCOW, June 26 (RIA Novosti) - Russia lost...

MOSCOW, June 26 (RIA Novosti) - Russia lost 413 million rubles ($16 million) in the first five months of 2007 as a result of money laundering, an Interior Ministry official said Tuesday. Yevgeny Shkolov, head of the ministry"s economic security department, said his unit alone tracked down some 2,680 money-laundering incidents between January and May of this year - a 14% increase year-on-year. The total number of such crimes detected across the nation was 4,390, he said. "Some 4,390 crimes related to money laundering were tracked in the Russian Federation in the first five months of this year, including 1,257 on a large scale," Shkolov said.

MOSCOW, June 30 (RIA Novosti) - A Moscow...

MOSCOW, June 30 (RIA Novosti) - A Moscow court sentenced on Tuesday a former high-profile investigator, Dmitry Dovgy, to nine years in prison for bribery and abuse of office.

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

MOSCOW. (Nikita Petrov, for RIA Novosti) - The Czech government has suspended the ratification of its agreement with the United States on the deployment of a missile tracking radar.

MOSCOW, November 3 (RIA Novosti) - Russian...

MOSCOW, November 3 (RIA Novosti) - Russian and Ukrainian diplomats will join efforts to seek the release of the crew of a cargo vessel accused of a murder in the Congo, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

MOSCOW, October 14 (RIA Novosti) - A revised...

MOSCOW, October 14 (RIA Novosti) - A revised military doctrine, which will soon be submitted to the Russian president, must keep provisions on the use of nuclear weapons intact, a Russian military expert said on Wednesday.

MOSCOW, October 27 (RIA Novosti) - Russia...

MOSCOW, October 27 (RIA Novosti) - Russia secured the 69th place out of 104 in the Legatum Prosperity Index 2009, a global study of national welfare, the research institution said in a statement published on Tuesday.

MOSCOW, October 27 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian-crewed...

MOSCOW, October 27 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian-crewed and Maltese-flagged cargo ship at the center of a mysterious hijacking case currently being towed towards Malta will arrive there no earlier than Thursday, a Russian embassy source said Tuesday.

MOSCOW, October 28 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian-crewed...

MOSCOW, October 28 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian-crewed and Maltese-flagged vessel at the center of a mysterious hijacking case will arrive in Malta on Thursday, an unnamed diplomatic source said Wednesday.

MOSCOW. (Political commentator Leonid Mlechin...

MOSCOW. (Political commentator Leonid Mlechin, member of the RIA Novosti Expert Council) - Many post-Soviet governments tend to embellish the history of their countries.

MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti economic commentator...

MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti economic commentator Vlad Grinkevich) - Russian gas companies badly want the national gas market to be liberalized.

MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti economic commentator Vlad Grinkevich)

MOSCOW, September 19 (RIA Novosti) - Investigators...

MOSCOW, September 19 (RIA Novosti) - Investigators have not found any "compromising" cargo on board the Arctic Sea vessel, a spokesman for the Investigative Committee of the Russian Prosecutor General"s Office said on Saturday.

MOSCOW, September 21 (RIA Novosti) - Russia"s...

MOSCOW, September 21 (RIA Novosti) - Russia"s unemployment rate calculated under International Labor Organization standards fell by 100,000 people to 6.2 million in August, a 1.6% decline month on month, the country"s top statistics body said on Monday.

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

MOSCOW, September 23 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Navy"s Ladny frigate will provide security for the Arctic Sea vessel until it is handed over to its owners, a high-ranking military official said on Wednesday.

North and South Korea exchanged artillery...

North and South Korea exchanged artillery fire in the Yellow Sea on Wednesday, a day after Pyongyang declared the border area a "no-sail" zone, the South Korean Yonhap news agency reported.

On March 31, 2010, another Russian warship...

On March 31, 2010, another Russian warship set sail in St. Petersburg: the corvette Soobrazitelny, the second ship to be produced under Project 20380. The vessel"s name follows the old Soviet or Russian tradition of using adjectives to name small warships. "Soobrazitelny" means "smart" in Russian. A Soviet Project 61 destroyer previously held this name and, before it, a legendary World War II destroyer.

Passengers flying with Aeroflot may soon...

Passengers flying with Aeroflot may soon be able to use mobile phones on the airline"s flights, a business daily said on Friday.

Russia and the United States plan to develop...

Russia and the United States plan to develop their cooperation in the fight against the drug threat from Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday.

Russia dismissed on Monday reports that...

Russia dismissed on Monday reports that world powers had made new offers to Iran on uranium reprocessing in a bid to defuse growing tensions over the Islamic Republic"s nuclear program.

Russia has delivered a second planeload...

Russia has delivered a second planeload of humanitarian aid to China to help victims of April"s powerful earthquake in Qinghai province, the Russian Embassy in Beijing said, according to the BBC.

Russia has prepared its response to EU proposals...

Russia has prepared its response to EU proposals to assist with President Dmitry Medvedev"s ambitious plan to modernize the economy, Russian daily Kommersant said on Thursday.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev may travel...

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev may travel to Poland to pay his last respects to the late Polish President Lech Kaczynski who died in a plane crash on Saturday, the Kremlin press service said on Tuesday.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday...

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday visited the scene of a deadly suicide bombing in the Moscow subway and laid flowers at the site.

Russians think terrorist attacks and drug...

Russians think terrorist attacks and drug addiction are the two things most endangering their lives, an opinion poll published on Tuesday revealed.

Russia"s agricultural regulator Rosselkhoznadzor...

Russia"s agricultural regulator Rosselkhoznadzor plans to hold talks on poultry deliveries with U.S. representatives Thursday, the watchdog spokesman said Wednesday.

Russia"s fifth-generation jet fighter, the...

Russia"s fifth-generation jet fighter, the T-50, is to undergo more than 2,000 flight tests before full-scale production starts, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Monday.

Russia"s sports ministry responded to the...

Russia"s sports ministry responded to the country"s Olympic failure by creating a new deputy minister post "personally responsible" for the training of athletes for the Sochi 2014 Games.

Russia will not send conscripts to serve...

Russia will not send conscripts to serve in the volatile region of Chechnya, a Defense Ministry spokesman said on Friday.

Some 40 Olympic facilities will be fully...

Some 40 Olympic facilities will be fully completed in the Winter Olympic 2014 host city of Sochi by the end of 2010, and 144 will be under construction, a Russian deputy premier said on Wednesday.

Swedish cross country skiers brought their...

Swedish cross country skiers brought their country fourth gold of the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver after winning in men"s 4x10 km Relay Classic.

Thailand will submit to the United Nations...

Thailand will submit to the United Nations next week the results of an investigation into the seizure of a cargo plane carrying North Korean weaponry, the Thai prime minister said.

The dust cloud from the volcano in Iceland...

The dust cloud from the volcano in Iceland does not pose a threat to Russia or the Russian people, a spokeswoman from Russia"s Emergencies Ministry said on Friday.

The Moscow City Court will continue on Tuesday...

The Moscow City Court will continue on Tuesday the trial of a former police officer who went on a shooting spree in the Russian capital in late April.

The Moscow police are operating in emergency...

The Moscow police are operating in emergency conditions due to two blasts that struck in the Moscow subway system, law enforcement agencies said on Monday.

The Russian and Greek navies will conduct...

The Russian and Greek navies will conduct joint exercises in 2010 as part of a bilateral military cooperation action plan, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

The Russian and Polish peoples should unite...

The Russian and Polish peoples should unite in the aftermath of the death of Polish President Lech Kaczynski in a plane crash in western Russia earlier on Saturday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said.

The Russian Orthodox Church condemns discrimination...

The Russian Orthodox Church condemns discrimination against sexual minorities, but treats homosexuality as a sin, Patriarch Kirill said on Wednesday.

The Russian Pacific Fleet"s Udaloy-class...

The Russian Pacific Fleet"s Udaloy-class missile destroyer Marshal Shaposhnikov began on Monday escorting 12 civilian vessels off the coast of Somalia, a Russian Navy spokesman said.

The Russian women"s ice hockey team lost...

The Russian women"s ice hockey team lost a shootout against Switzerland to finish sixth at the Olympics in Vancouver.

The social work of the Russian Orthodox...

The social work of the Russian Orthodox Church, which is most evident in Moscow, should be extended to all regions of Russia, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia said on Rossiya 24 TV news channel.

The U.S. has not yet received any official...

The U.S. has not yet received any official notification of a moratorium on adoptions from Russia, following a recent row over a Russian boy shipped back home alone by his adoptive U.S. family.

The U.S. is concerned by the detention of...

The U.S. is concerned by the detention of human rights activists, who gathered for an unsanctioned rally in downtown Moscow, a spokesman for the National Security Council said on Friday.

The U.S. space shuttle Discovery landed...

The U.S. space shuttle Discovery landed safely at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, NASA reported on its website.

Thousands of people came to downtown Moscow"s...

Thousands of people came to downtown Moscow"s Christ the Savior Cathedral on Holy Friday when divine services in churches across Russia are dedicated to Jesus Christ"s crucifixion and burial.

Today"s terrorist attacks on the Moscow...

Today"s terrorist attacks on the Moscow subway should not influence Russia"s immigration policy, although Russia should continue to fight illegal immigration, a senior MP said on Monday.

Turkey"s Constitutional Court has closed...

Turkey"s Constitutional Court has closed down the Democratic Society Party (DTP) for having links with the outlawed Kurdish militants, the Turkish daily Hurriyet said.

Ukrainian national oil and gas company Naftogaz...

Ukrainian national oil and gas company Naftogaz will pay Russian energy giant Gazprom for gas supplies in April with its own funds, Ukrainian ICTV channel said citing Ukrainian Fuel and Energy Minister as saying.

When Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko...

When Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko issued a decree on February 12 affirming the Belarusian-Russian intergovernmental protocol whereby Minsk would import oil from its eastern neighbor and allow oil to be transported across Belarus for 2010, many analysts thought that the oil conflict between Belarus and Russia had run its course.

Yekaterina Ilyukhina won Russia"s first...

Yekaterina Ilyukhina won Russia"s first ever Olympic medal in snowboard after snatching the Olympic silver in ladies" parallel giant slalom.

ZHUKOVSKY (Moscow Region), August 19 (RIA...

ZHUKOVSKY (Moscow Region), August 19 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Defense Ministry and the Tupolev aircraft maker have signed a contract on the development of a new-generation strategic bomber, the company"s general director said on Wednesday.