The return of Crimea to Russian rule was a huge boon for Russia's navy, but the perks of annexation may also help recapture some of the lost glory of the Soviet space program.

A year after Russia annexed their peninsula from Ukraine, Crimeans are overwhelmingly upbeat about their future.

More than half of Russians would vote for President Vladimir Putin if a snap presidential election were held, a survey published Thursday showed.

A Russian court on Thursday sentenced a former police officer to 15 years in prison for sharing classified information with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, and accepting in exchange a 37,000 euro payment hidden in a rock, state media reported.

It may have been the last note Boris Nemtsov ever wrote, a hurried scrawl in blue pen on a plain white sheet of A4 paper.

A museum commemorating the victims of Soviet-era political repressions is closing down after months of government pressure.

Boris Nemtsov, an outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin and Russia's role in the Ukraine crisis, has been shot dead outside the Kremlin in a murder that underscored the risks taken by the Russian opposition.

Several hundred Russians, many carrying red carnations, queued on Tuesday to pay their respects to Boris Nemtsov, the Kremlin critic whose was murdered last week.

U.S. President Barack Obama has issued an order to extend by one year a series of sanctions against Russia over its role in the Ukraine crisis, the White House said Tuesday.