The prime minister broke his call-in show records, discussing gold teeth and his love for animals and granting a birthday wish.

During his annual televised call-in show, Putin, who as president oversaw Khodorkovsky’s arrest in 2003 and subsequent sentencing to 8 1/2 years in prison on tax and fraud charges, accused the former Yukos head of organizing murders.

Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko acknowledged on Thursday that his political career depended on his close ties with Russia.

The temperature hit a record 8.5 degrees Celsius at 3 a.m. Thursday, 1.9 degrees higher than the same time last year, a Moscow weather bureau official told Interfax.

President Dmitry Medvedev told Pope Benedict on Thursday that he had decided to upgrade diplomatic relations between the Vatican and Moscow to the highest level.

The owner of the world’s largest aluminum producer also said he would not restart shuttered capacity while demand for the lightweight metal is still recovering.

The basic verb pair for finishing or ending something is кончать/кончить, but be careful: When unprefixed and used without a direct object, this verb has a sexual meaning.

Dark assessments of the West’s chances in Afghanistan typically dwell on Moscow’s setbacks while ignoring its successes, including the creation of a relatively stable Afghan government and a 300,000-member army.

The decision on whether to issue bonds and the size of the potential issue will depend on market conditions and Evraz’s financing requirements, the company's CFO Giacomo Baizini said.

At the end of his life, Nabokov asked that his manuscripts be burned. Thanks to his son, this was never done.