... vow, Medvedev asked the State Duma to reintroduce the elections in what looked like a major concession to the opposition protesters who took to the streets after last month's parliamentary elections. Political analysts said the text, published on the Kremlin's web site, left many questions unanswered and predicted that the Kremlin would still retain a strong grip over regional politics through the use of indirect pressure and other means. Government officials were quick to point out that the draft...

Money laundering takes place on an enormous scale in the North Caucasus and authorities have failed to stop the flow of funds to criminal elements and terrorists in the region, Kremlin envoy Alexander Khloponin said Friday. Money laundering takes place on an enormous scale in the North Caucasus and authorities have failed to stop the flow of funds to criminal elements and terrorists in the region, Kremlin envoy Alexander Khloponin...

... what the journalist Oleg Kashin called on his LiveJournal blog "the most serious political scandal of the last 12 years." Potupchik-gate differs in one key respect from the publication of correspondence of opposition leaders organized by pro-Kremlin hackers. When Alexei Navalny's e-mail was hacked, everyone could read correspondence from his wife, parents and other private individuals whose right to privacy is protected by the law and basic morality. Nothing of this nature was revealed in...

... signatures — a 10 percent cushion for invalid signatures — and the average volunteer can gather 50 signatures per day, each candidate needs more than 1,000 volunteers working every day for six weeks. Speculation swirled Monday as to why the Kremlin might want to derail Yavlinsky, whose 1 percent popularity is dwarfed by Putin's 45 percent, according to a Jan. 14-15 poll by government pollster VTsIOM. Yabloko leader Sergei Mitrokhin pointed to the uproar caused by alleged fraud during Dec...

The Kremlin is trying to present President Dmitry Medvedev's new bill as a way of bringing back direct gubernatorial elections, but it is more of a Trojan Horse than a political reform. The Kremlin is trying to present President...

... governors, which then-President Vladimir Putin cancelled in 2004 after the Beslan school attack that resulted in 334 hostage deaths. The authorities would like us to believe that the new law will help improve elective government in the regions. But the Kremlin would still have plenty of ways to influence and control the governors elected by the people. The federal authorities know exactly how to remove unwanted candidates from a race, regardless of the number of signatures they have gathered. They...

People have been asking me all week why the Kremlin is so stubbornly supportive of Syrian President Bashar Assad. "Is Russia's support based solely on weapons contracts with Syria," they wonder, "or the Kremlin's desire to maintain its naval base at the...

Last month's large anti-government protests were triggered in part by President Dmitry Medvedev's failure to live up to his words, the founder of the pro-Kremlin Nashi youth movement said in a rare interview published Tuesday. Last month's large anti-government protests were triggered in part by President Dmitry Medvedev's failure to live up to his words, the founder of the pro-Kremlin Nashi youth...

Former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, who has offered to mediate talks between the Kremlin and the opposition, said he did not believe that Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev agreed four years ago to switch jobs in 2012. Former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, who has offered to mediate talks between the Kremlin...

... not break conservative resistance and move quickly to democracy. Prokhorov, speaking in an interview, said Russians had shaken off a post-Soviet apathy and were now “just crazy about politics.” He also denied accusations that he was a Kremlin tool, let into the race to split the opposition and lend democratic legitimacy to a vote that Putin seems almost certain to win. Putin is seeking to return to the Kremlin and rule until at least 2018, but protests against alleged fraud in the...

In 2006, an exposé about British "spy stones" in a film by pro-Kremlin television journalist Arkady Mamontov set off a media storm. The story was so advantageous for the Kremlin that many commentators suspected that the device was not real and that the whole story was a fabrication...

The official in charge of Russia's pro-Kremlin youth groups found himself embroiled in scandal Thursday after hackers posted links to what they claimed were thousands of his private e-mail messages. The official in charge of Russia's pro-Kremlin youth groups found himself...

... and inject a fair amount of rivalry among regional powerhouses, but it could be investors who gain from that future thaw. Provided that the vote is fair, elected governors will enjoy popular support that will make them less prone to dismissal at the Kremlin's will — and therefore bring more predictability. "Investors would feel more comfortable," said Yevgeny Minchenko, general director of the International Institute of Political Expertise, a think tank. In another upside, political...

Vladimir Putin's elections campaign manager has cast new doubt on the continuance of the ruling tandem by suggesting that President Dmitry Medvedev should do more to support the prime minister's bid to return to the Kremlin. Vladimir Putin's election campaign manager has cast new doubt on the continuance of the ruling tandem by suggesting that President Dmitry Medvedev should do more to support the prime minister's bid to return to the Kremlin. "I have a...

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev says Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has "exhausted himself" as Russia's leader and that his inability to change the Kremlin's political system might prompt more massive protests. Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev says Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has "exhausted himself" as Russia's leader and that his inability to change the Kremlin's political system...

... Thursday, February 9th MT Pick Auction (Torgi): Dmitry Krymov stages a bittersweet comedy about loss based on Chekhov’s plays. School of Dramatic Art production. Project Otkrytaya Stsena. 7 p.m. Cirque du Soleil with the Zarkana acrobatic rock show. Kremlin Palace. 8 p.m. Dead Souls (Myortviye Dushi): Sergei Artsibashev directs and stars in Vladimir Malyagin’s play based on Nikolai Gogol’s comic novel. Mayakovsky Theater. 7 p.m. Gaft’s Dream Retold by Viktyuk (Son Gafta, Pereskazanny...

The Kremlin has abandoned plans for a state residence on an island off the coast of Vladivostok. The Kremlin has abandoned plans for a state residence on an island off the coast of Vladivostok. "The Office for Presidential Affairs...

The father of FSB-officer-turned-Kremlin-critic Alexander Litvinenko called his son a "British spy" and said he no longer believes Russian authorities were responsible for his death. The father of FSB-officer-turned-Kremlin-critic Alexander Litvinenko...

Relatives of Hermitage Capital lawyer Sergei Magnitsky have appealed to the Kremlin human rights council to stop "harassment" by Interior Ministry officials pursuing a posthumous criminal case against Magnitsky. Relatives of Hermitage Capital lawyer Sergei Magnitsky have appealed to the Kremlin...

... dissolved in the coming months, media reports said Friday. The party has long been a bulwark of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's grip on power. But support for it has been sagging for more than a year, and analysts said the speculation is a sign that the Kremlin is addressing this problem. Sergei Markov, a Kremlin-connected analyst and former United Russia Duma deputy, confirmed that such plans exist. "Something will have to be done after the [March 4] presidential election," he told the Moscow...