The Moscow Times

Continued protests in Russia will likely lead to violence or chaotic change, according to a new study ordered by the former finance minister.

This week, the Eurovision Song Contest is being held in Baku with all its usual deadly seriousness and an incongruous dose of Caspian glamour.

Bosch is planning to localize more auto parts assembly lines in Russia following a profitable year during which the technology supplier saw its sales in the country jump 50 percent to almost 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion).

In the mid-1990s, former President Boris Yeltsin fought hard for the right to sit as equal at the same table with the leaders of the world's seven leading democracies. Using a lot of political wrangling, Moscow finally secured permanent membership in this elite club where the real heavyweights are supposed to solve the world's most pressing problems.

In an attempt to deflect criticism against crackdowns on political protests at home, senior Russian officials on Monday shot back at Western critics, lambasting racism and xenophobia in Europe.

The Russian real estate market was hit hard by the global economic crisis between 2008 and 2010. Growth has since returned to the market and looks set to continue, although global developments and local bureaucratic issues could create problems.

Dmitry Medvedev, whose term as president will end Monday when Vladimir Putin retakes the post for a third term, gathered members of the Cabinet and other top officials Saturday to thank them for their work over his time in office and to spur them on to future progress.

Renault and Japanese partner Nissan moved to expand in the growing Russian car market on Thursday with a $750 million deal that would give the French manufacturer effective control of Lada maker AvtoVAZ.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said his stint in the job sometimes felt like getting an education, as he bid farewell to his Cabinet on Wednesday at its final session.

Few people doubt that socialist Francois Hollande will become the new French president in May. His rival, incumbent President Nicolas Sarkozy, came to power five years ago promising to increase living standards, stability and economic growth. Soon after, the global economic crisis hit, and the measures France and Germany employed to overcome the crisis resulted instead in the economic collapse of Greece and Spain.

The great 20th-century poet Anna Akhmatova once said that even garbage can inspire poetry, referring to her desire to create verse from the marginal events of daily life.

The annual spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have provided a window onto two fundamental trends driving global politics and the world economy.