Russian Billionaire Throws In to Challenge Putin

Staff / Truthdig Dec 12, 2011 He's a high-rolling billionaire bachelor who owns the New Jersey Nets, and now Mikhail Prokhorov says he's aiming to take down the biggest player in Russian politics by running against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin for the presidency next March. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

More Protests Lead to Mass Arrests in Moscow

Staff / Truthdig Dec 7, 2011 So much for United Russia. That's the optimistic name of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's party, which drew accusations of voting fraud and incited protests after Sunday's parliamentary election. The demonstrations continued Tuesday in Moscow and two other Russian cities, leading to hundreds of arrests and two counter-protests. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Putin’s Party Takes a Hit at the Polls

Staff / Truthdig Dec 6, 2011 Could martial arts enthusiast, tiger wrangler and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin be losing his steely grip on power in his homeland? Could be, judging by the results of Sunday's parliamentary election in Russia, which resulted in a shaky showing for Putin's United Russia party. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Time for Another Putin Presidency?

Staff / Truthdig Aug 4, 2010 This won't come as a surprise to some, but Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin might just find himself assuming the familiar presidential position in less than two years, if his recent reinvention as media-friendly superhero (continued). Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Russia Stops Missile Sale to Iran

Staff / Truthdig Jun 12, 2010 The powers that be in Tehran felt the sting of recently imposed UN sanctions Friday when Russia decided to halt the planned sale of air defense missiles to Iran as part of (continued). Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

No NATO for Ukraine

Staff / Truthdig Jun 3, 2010 With a nod to the Kremlin, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych proposed a bill to his parliament, which it approved Thursday, to keep their nation from joining NATO's ranks. Take that, hegemonic Western policymakers! Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Polish Plane Crash Probe Points to Pilot Error

Staff / Truthdig May 20, 2010 There has been speculation since last month's tragic plane crash that killed Polish President Lech Kaczynski and 96 others that foul play might have brought the Tupolev Tu-154 down on that foggy night of April 10 However, early findings of a joint Polish-Russian probe (continued). Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Russian President Asked to Investigate Extraterrestrial Encounter

Staff / Truthdig May 7, 2010 This one sounds like something from a supermarket tabloid, but apparently it's of a slightly more substantiated nature: On Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's no doubt long list of action items is the rather peculiar request to figure out whether a regional leader gave state secrets to (continued). Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Putin’s Not Going Anywhere Anytime Soon

Staff / Truthdig Dec 4, 2009 Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has found a way to stay in power this long, and, as he told his fellow countrymen and -women Thursday, retirement will not be high on his priority list anytime soon. In fact, he could be eyeing another run for the presidency in 2012. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Squeezed-Out Blogger Blames the Kremlin

Staff / Truthdig Aug 7, 2009 A significant Internet "denial of service" attack Thursday directed at popular Web sites such as Facebook and Twitter may have been carried out or instigated by the Russian government in an attempt to silence a dissident blogger in Georgia. At least so says the blogger. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

It Ain’t Over Till the Good Lady Gets Justice

Staff / Truthdig Aug 5, 2009 Anna Politkovskaya was such a fine journalist, so brave in afflicting the comfortable, that she was shot. Probably by her political enemies, which included her government. She was the 13th journalistic critic of the government to be shot down by contract killers during Putin's reign. After the first sham trial led to nothing, the Russian Supreme Court ordered a retrial of defendants in the case, a trial that is now under way and in a brief adjournment. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Georgia-Russia Clash Still Under Investigation

Staff / Truthdig Aug 5, 2009 It's been a year since last summer's military showdown between Russia and neighboring Georgia, but even though the Georgian president (and many Western media outlets) pointed to "Russian aggression" as the cause of the conflict, an international investigation team looking to get to the bottom of the matter is still working away at finding the answers. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )