In Prague, tourists line up to visit the "New-Old" synagogue, which was new when it was built, in 1270. On Jan. 23, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin published an essay on the "national question" in Nezavisimaya Gazeta. Like the Prague synagogue, Putin's article is something that is called new, but in fact, it is quite old. In Prague, tourists line up to visit the "New-Old" synagogue, which...

Vladimir Putin's campaign manager Stanislav Govorukhin quoted Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin in calling the liberal intelligentsia "the filth of the nation" in an interview published Monday. Vladimir Putin's campaign manager Stanislav Govorukhin quoted Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin in calling the liberal intelligentsia "the filth of the nation" in an interview published Monday on Internet...

... ethnic conflict zones around the country, Putin said the underlying problem for everyone remains “directly linked” to “unresolved social and economic problems, ineffective governance, corruption and multiethnic tension.” “Nationalism, religious intolerance are becoming a base for radical groups and movements,” he said. The article is the second in a series prepared by Putin as part of his presidential campaign, but some analysts said his arguments appear contradictory...

... said Wednesday. The figures indicated that the fund, established to insure the budget against oil price shocks, had received a one-off injection of cash in January after the government ran a fiscal surplus in 2011, as earlier flagged by officials. The National Welfare Fund, mandated to cover the deficit in Russia's state pensions scheme, grew slightly in the past month to 2.68 trillion rubles ($88.33 billion) from 2.79 trillion rubles ($86.8 billion) in the month to Feb. 1. (Reuters)

On Jan. 23, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin published an article in Nezavisimaya Gazeta on Russia's nationalities and migration policy On Jan. 23, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin published an article in Nezavisimaya Gazeta on Russia's nationalities and migration policy. Experts regard this as a tactical move aimed at capturing supporters of the...

... granted by international double tax treaties. This trend directly affects foreign entities investing in their Russian subsidiaries by making loans. Protocols have already been signed to the tax treaties with Cyprus, Switzerland and Luxembourg to allow for national thin capitalization rules to be applied, such rules limiting the interest that may be deducted by a Russian borrower and providing for the remaining interest to be reclassified as dividends (Article 269(2) of the Tax Code). With the protocols...

The famous proverb, "Early to bed, and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise," was penned by American founding father Benjamin Franklin. He was also the first to suggest implementing daylight-saving time. ST. PETERSBURG — The famous proverb, "Early to bed, and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise," was penned by American founding father Benjamin Franklin. He was also the first to suggest implementing daylight-saving time. But as Russia reaches...

... For example, one person writes: Если японцы приезжают во Францию и там рождается сын — он француз, что ли? (If a Japanese couple moves to France and have a son, what is he — a Frenchman?) Perhaps the issue is that many Russians are used to nations of one ethnic group. Он француз (He's French) means that he's ethnically French and, if not otherwise noted, a French citizen.But they'll also say Он бельгиец (He's Belgian), regardless of whether he's ethnically French, Flemish or German. But...

... average citizen. Everyone knows what financial debt means: money owed, often borrowed. To be in debt can produce anxiety if one is uncertain whether, when the time comes, one will be able to repay what one owes. This anxiety is readily transferred to national debt — the debt owed by a government to its creditors. How, people ask, will governments repay all of the hundreds of billions of dollars they owe? As British Prime Minister David Cameron put it: "Government debt is the same as credit-card...

Russia has circulated a revised UN Security Council resolution on the violence in Syria, but Western diplomats said it fell short of their demand for strong condemnation of President Bashar Assad's crackdown on civilians. UNITED NATIONS — Russia has circulated a revised UN Security Council resolution on the violence in Syria, but Western diplomats said it fell short of their demand for strong condemnation of President Bashar Assad's crackdown on civilians. The Security...

... comments came as Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov insisted Wednesday that the outcome of any talks on ending the bloodshed in Syria must not be predetermined. "It is not really the international community's business to try to determine the outcome of national dialogue in advance," Lavrov told a news conference in Moscow, a day after returning from an emergency meeting with Assad in Damascus. Lavrov also said Assad wants his vice president to hold talks with the opposition groups as activists...

Western and Arab countries responded with outrage on Sunday after Russia and China vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that would have urged Syrian President Bashar Assad to give up power. UNITED NATIONS — Western and Arab countries responded with outrage Sunday after Russia and China vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that would have urged Syrian President Bashar Assad to give up power. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said...

WASHINGTON — The U.S. special envoy for North Korea will come to Russia on Tuesday for consultations on the North's nuclear program. The State Department said Friday that Glyn Davies will meet Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov and ambassador for six-nation talks Grigory Logvinov. North Korea withdrew from the six-nation talks in 2009. (AP)

The latest Pacific island nation caught in the tug-of-war struggle of influence between Georgia and Russia is Fiji, which recently received 200 new netbook computers by virtue of Georgia's Education Ministry. The latest Pacific island nation caught in...

BRUSSELS — NATO has decided to extend until 2018 an operation to protect the airspace of Baltic members Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania with fighter jets, officials said Wednesday. None of the three Baltic nations, which joined NATO in 2004, have had fighter planes since they seceded from the Soviet Union in 1991. As a result, larger member nations have taken turns policing their airspace. (AP)

... to the position by billionaire Alexander Lebedev. Anti-corruption blogger and opposition leader Alexei Navalny could become a member of the board of Aeroflot after he was nominated to the position by billionaire Alexander Lebedev. Lebedev's National Reserve Bank, which owns about 15 percent of the airline, said late Monday that it had nominated three people, including Navalny, to the board of directors. Navalny's presence on the board could "improve corporate governance of the company...

A bill submitted to the State Duma by President Dmitry Medvedev would ban political parties from putting nationally known figures on regional parliamentary election lists while increasing the number of electoral districts from 80 to 225. A bill submitted to the State Duma by President Dmitry Medvedev would ban political parties...

... Prime Minister Tony Blair during his decade in office, told a BBC documentary that the Federal Security Service "had us bang to rights" when it announced in January 2006 that it had caught British spies collecting information from Russian nationals via a fake rock planted in a Moscow park. "There's not much you can say. You can't really call up and say, 'I'm terribly sorry about that, it won't happen again,'" Powell said on "Putin, Russia and the West," which was aired...

... enforcement) by 0.9 percent of GDP. The military program, which (not including credits and entitlements) costs more than 1 percent of GDP, exerts "colossal" pressure on the budget, experts said. There is fat that can be trimmed in the line item for national security, the experts said. It is possible to reduce the number of government bodies, eliminate duplicate departments and transfer part of the staff to the civilian sector. The government also proposes to reduce by 0.8 percent of GDP the line...

The World Bank, the United Nations and the Economic Development Ministry emphasized the potential for developing state subsidized home construction, also known as "social housing," in Russia at a roundtable. The World Bank, the United...