The Moscow Helsinki Group asserts that human rights abuses in Russia have been ignored in the West since Russia gave its backing to anti-terrorism operations after Sept. 11.

A Russian businessman who is the target of a worldwide FBI manhunt is living openly and quietly in his hometown in the Altai region.

300 South Koreans are set to embark on a trans-Siberian roadshow to burnish the country's World Cup image and deepen ties en route.

Wielding metal bars, the rampaging gang in Krasnoarmeisk injured at least 12 people, five of whom were hospitalized.

Magomed Saitov and his family, Chechen refugees without refugee status, have been living at a temporary placement center in the Tver region for the past three years.

Vladimir Gusinsky has sold off the last remnants of his once-mighty media empire, ending a rocky chapter in the short history of Russian media.

Moscow is the most expensive city in Europe for those who want to maintain the cushy standard of living that they are accustomed to in the West.

Former Interior Minister Anatoly Kulikov on Tuesday sharply criticized the way the war has been conducted in Chechnya, saying Russia has lost as many troops there as in Afghanistan.

The Moscow Zoo got some help with its giraffe matchmaking efforts Tuesday with the arrival of a new baby giraffe by plane from Florida.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell urged the Senate on Tuesday to swiftly ratify a new strategic arms reduction agreement with Russia.

The week-long Russian Expo Arms-2002 got off to a bad start Tuesday after a visitor was hit in the stomach by a piece of shrapnel during a rocket launch.

President Vladimir Putin has ordered the government to update its economic strategy, saying the country faces a host of new dangers since the plan was originally drawn up in 1996.

Three former Aeroflot executives accused of defrauding the airline of millions of dollars went on trial this week.

President Vladimir Putin has slammed the government for delaying approval of a 10-year development plan for the auto industry.

The Bush administration is claiming the power to decide alone and in secret whether Americans shall be imprisoned indefinitely to protect us against terrorism. It's that simple.

Two years after its introduction, Putin has yet to invoke a law allowing for the removal of governors.

Anatoly Chubais' 10 generating stations bear an uncanny resemblance to the seven federal districts.

Court on 3rd Term MOSCOW (AP) -- The Constitutional Court on Tuesday granted regional leaders the right to run for a third term, despite a law limiting them to two terms. The court ruled that a leader's official first term is the one to which he was elected after October 1999, when the law on term limits went into effect. Tuesday's decision would allow many powerful regional bosses, including Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov, to run for a third term. Liberal lawmakers condemned Tuesday's decision. ""The Constitutional Court's decision will mean the continued feudalization of Russia and the privatization of the regions by powerful clans and business structures with ties to them,"" said Boris Nemtsov, leader of the Union of Right Forces. Alexei Titkov, a political analyst at the Moscow Carnegie Center, said he did not think many leaders would succeed in winning third terms because most voters felt two terms were enough.

S&P Credit Upgrade? LONDON (Reuters) -- Russia's improving economic fundamentals and debt dynamics should result in a credit rating upgrade soon to BB, one category below investment grade, Standard & Poor's rating agency said Tuesday. ""I think this rating in the near term will move into the BB category,"" S&P managing director Konrad Reuss told a Russian investment conference in London, adding that on most measures Russia compared favorably with BB credits. S&P currently rates Russia B+ with a positive outlook. 1.6% H1 Surplus MOSCOW (Reuters) -- Russia posted a budget surplus of 1.6 percent of targeted gross domestic product in the first six months of this year, unchanged from last year's level, the Finance Ministry said Monday. The surplus amounted to 77.1 billion rubles ($2.45 billion), the ministry said in a statement. Primary surplus, which excludes foreign debt servicing, was 4.0 percent of GDP, or 193.8 billion rubles, the ministry said.

A brief look at the stories making headlines in the Russian-language press