President Dmitry Medvedev warned federal and regional officials on Tuesday that they could find themselves out on the street for not fulfilling his orders in a timely manner, in his latest initiative to raise his profile as the country's top politician.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's energy talks with Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko were overshadowed Tuesday by a deal that could allow Belarus to reduce its Russian oil imports, potentially losing Moscow up to $1 billion in export duties a year.

In a rare interview, the editor of Russia Today explains that the growing channel thrives on controversy as its provides an alternative to mainstream media, and polishing Moscow's reputation is not one of its tasks.

Police on Tuesday arrested a Dagestani suspect wanted in connection with the weekend killing of a police officer in western Moscow after receiving a tip from his father.

About 1,000 people took part in a flower-laying ceremony Tuesday to commemorate Latvians who fought in two Waffen SS divisions on the side of Nazi Germany, while hundreds of police kept angry ethnic Russian protesters at bay.

Yury Kalinin, long-decried by human rights activists, served as chief of the Federal Prison Service from December 2004 until last August, when he was appointed deputy prime minister and put in charge of overseeing the penitentiary system.

The top UN environmental watchdog criticized Russia in a report released Tuesday for ignoring the effects that several construction projects for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi will have on the region's unique wildlife.

Russia's ambition to grab a slice of Asia's lucrative wheat business will take longer than the planned two or three years because transportation hurdles and consumer reluctance to adapt to new supplies will slow Moscow's campaign, traders and analysts said.

The economy may grow 4 percent to 4.5 percent this year, higher than the official forecast of 3 percent to 3.5 percent, Deputy Economic Development Minister Andrei Klepach said Tuesday.

Traffic police and prostitutes have a lot in common. Both stand by the side of the road and try to get what they can from passing motorists.

Many believe that Moscow should have copied China’s reforms. But what made China’s reforms a success was inapplicable to Russia.

Extortion by corrupt officials in Russia has gotten so bad that some Western multinationals are considering pulling out altogether, the head of a U.S. anti-bribery group said in an interview.

Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko’s decision to confer the title of Hero of Ukraine on nationalist leader Stepan Bandera unleashed a storm of outrage inside and outside Ukraine.

Forbes has released its global billionaires list, which has steel magnate Vladimir Lisin ranked as the world's 32nd richest person with $15.8 billion.

Some construction workers complain that they are going hungry after pawning their documents and valuables to get food at grocery stores, while sympathetic locals have organized a soup kitchen.

President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday ordered Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev to investigate a fatal car crash involving a LUKoil vice president that caused public outrage over a perceived police cover-up.

The "black box" from a LUKoil executive's Mercedes involved in a fatal crash last month will be sent to Germany for analysis, a source close to the carmaker's Russian office said.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin won support for Rosatom to build a dozen ultrasafe nuclear reactors in India, part of more than $10 billion in deals in energy, arms, telecoms and other cooperation signed during his visit Friday.

Aeroflot passengers complained Sunday that they had to sleep on the floor at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport after bad weather delayed their flight by more than 24 hours.

Lawmakers will consider removing a layer of bureaucracy from the process of hiring expatriate teachers.

In mid-January, the Garden Ring Road was choked with traffic as stunned motorists slowed down to gawp at a pornographic film playing on a 9-by-6 meter roadside video billboard. A hacker in Novorossiisk has been linked to the stunt.

Bloggers are seething over what they interpret as insensitive comments made by the company after one of its vice presidents, Anatoly Barkov, was involved in a car crash that killed two people. Some have called for a boycott of LUKoil gas stations and a popular rapper has written a song declaring that Barkov will go to hell.

The case promises to reignite Russian anger over U.S. adoptions, a delicate issue in U.S.-Russian relations in recent years, and could tangle efforts by U.S. President Barack Obama to "reset" ties that deteriorated under the previous administration.

Many believe that Moscow should have copied China’s reforms. But what made China’s reforms a success was inapplicable to Russia.

The average fixed mortgage rate for ruble loans has fallen to a post-crisis low of 15.8 percent and the government is fighting for rates to decline even further.

Google and Russian Railways invite web surfers on a virtual journey across Russia aboard the legendary Moscow-Vladivostok train.

Novolipetsk Steel chairman Vladimir Lisin surpassed last year's leader, Onexim Group president Mikhail Prokhorov, and runner-up Roman Abramovich, to top a Russia rich list for the first time.

Greece's debt trouble may speed up construction of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline, as Moscow and Athens vowed Tuesday to move forward on the project.

Moscow has a right to protect its own security, but it does not have the right to interfere in the affairs of its neighbors.

As public opinion polls show that police are among the country's least trusted institutions and incidents of police corruption are reported in the media almost daily, those enlisted to protect and serve struggle with their own battles to make a living.