Photos of the Week, August 6-10

A mission of the OSCE has been denied entry to Ukraine's breakaway region of Crimea.

The deputy prime minister in charge of defense has said "overt threats" by the U.S. and NATO demonstrate the necessity of equipping the Russian army with modern weapons.

A major provider of Internet services in Russia's southern Siberian republic of Altai has blocked access to popular video-sharing website YouTube, the company said Sunday.

The authorities in Ukraine's breakaway region of Crimea have ruled out negotiations with the central government, which they say is illegitimate.

The Defense Ministry is considering a ban on U.S. inspections of Russian nuclear weapons under the New START deal over the standoff in Ukraine, a ministry source has said.

The problem, the Atlantic International School says, stems from an unknown person who contacted the Education Ministry to complain about its teaching, sparking about 30 government inspections that ultimately resulted in the 40 teachers being barred from Russia for five years.

If the extremists who seized power in Kiev do not accept Russia's democratic proposals, Russia will likely be forced to revert to military means to solve the crisis in Ukraine.

A cheaper ruble and more expensive oil could actually go a long way in improving Russia's economy, possibly offsetting other potential aftershocks of the Ukraine crisis.

Russia's Internet monitoring agency has blocked 13 Internet pages linked to the Ukraine protest movement that helped oust the country's Russia-leaning president last week.

Like Hitler, who justified his aggression as "concern for the lives of our German compatriots," Putin also justified the occupation of Crimea by concern for the Russian-speaking population on the peninsula.

With Viktor Yanukovych's whereabouts unverified on Saturday, protesters and journalists decided to have a closer look at his home. They found the hallmarks of a life lived in luxury — and signs of a hasty retreat.

Russia has warned the West that it is willing to fight a war over Crimea, a Ukrainian region where 60 percent of the population is ethnically Russian and where Russia's Black Sea fleet is stationed.

As a result of the confusion, Russia gave Crimea to Ukraine but retained Sevastopol.

As the battle on Maidan ends with the defeat and humiliation of President Viktor Yanukovych, some observers have turned their attention to Ukraine's Crimea region with the following question: If Ukraine turns toward the European Union and the West, will President Vladimir Putin move to seize Crimea?

The degradation of mainstream U.S. press coverage of Russia, a country still vital to U.S. national security, has been underway for many years. If the recent tsunami of shamefully unprofessional and politically inflammatory articles in leading newspapers and magazines — particularly about the Sochi Olympics, Ukraine and, unfailingly, President Vladimir Putin — is an indication, this media malpractice is now pervasive and the new norm.