…ot made headlines around the world late last year when footage of their controversial public perfomances at Moscow landmarks such as Red Square attracted millions of viewers on the internet. More than 100 prominent Russian actors, directors and musicians have urged the authorities to release the three. Western musicians such as Sting and the Red Hot Chili Peppers have also criticized the womenR…
Jul 30 2012 | Posted in
Entertainment |
Read More » 
…son.” Russian punk group Pussy Riot plans to continue their anti-Putin protests despite the trial of three colleagues on hooliganism charges Some of the interviewees took part in the protest on 21 February which led to three being arrested and put on trial. The verdict is expected on Friday. Russian prosecutors have asked for three years in prison for the women. Pussy Riot played a song att…
Aug 15 2012 | Posted in
Entertainment |
Read More » 
…in Syria, if possible before the end of May. It will try to convince both the Syrian government and opposition to accept a solution based on the core elements of the final communiqué issued on 30 June 2012, after the UN-backed Action Group for Syria meeting in Geneva. The communiqué called for an immediate cessation of violence and the establishment of a transitional government that could include…
President Vladimir Putin has dismissed Russian armed forces chief, General Nikolai Makarov, just three days after the defence minister was sacked over a corruption scandal. General Valery Gerasimov replaces General Nikolai Makarov as the new armed forces chief of general staff. Gen. Valery Gerasimov commanded Russian forces during the conflict in Chechnya. Russian authorities are investigating th…
…, to test the armed forces’ battle readiness He added that Russia was not obliged to give warning of exercises involving fewer than 7,000 personnel. Russia moved to reform its military after the 2008 war with Georgia showed up weaknesses….
…utin. The US, UK and EU all criticized the sentences as “disproportionate”. Prosecutors had been seeking a three-year jail sentence for the women. Judge Marina Syrova said Maria Alyokhina, 24, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29, had offended the feelings of Orthodox believers and shown a “complete lack of respect”. “Tolokonnikova, Alyokhina and…
…Locals say they have “proof” Lyudmila Putina has been there – but all official enquiries to the authorities are met with a steely silence. A final hunch is Lyudmila Putina became angry when, in 2008, Vladimir Putin stepped down from the top job but then took up the post of Prime Minister. Lyudmila Putina is rumored to have moved back to his native St. Petersburg while Vladimir Putin remaine…
…. Announcing the verdict could take days, correspondents say. Madonna has appealed for the release of three members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot during her MDNA show in Moscow Maria Alyokhina, 24, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29, played a song attacking Russian leader Vladimir Putin in front of the altar of Moscow’s main cathedral on 21 February. They said…
Aug 8 2012 | Posted in
Entertainment |
Read More » 
Over 25,000 protesters have gathered so far in Moscow in a show of anger over disputed parliamentary polls. The opposition says the protest – on an island just south of the Kremlin – could become the largest the country has seen in two decades. Smaller rallies have taken place in cities across the country. Protesters allege there was widespread fraud in Sunday’s polls – th…
…ice. Opposition activists Alexei Navalny, Sergei Udaltsov and Boris Nemtsov have all been detained. A rival demonstration in support of Vladimir Putin has also been taking place. Organizers said about 20,000 people took part in the opposition march – to an island close to the Kremlin – although police put the figure at about 8,000. Alexei Navalny urged protesters not to disperse until…
…lny.” The case relates to a loss-making contract concluded by a state-owned timber company in Kirov, a region just west of the Ural Mountains, with another company. The Kirov regional budget for 2009-10 suffered a loss of 1.3 million roubles ($40,000) and Alexei Navalny was investigated as he was acting at the time as an adviser to Kirov’s governor, Nikita Belykh. The charges were anno…
…one step closer to marrying the Russian, but sources close to the couple say she is devastated because Vladimir and Ekaterina Doronin had been separated for ten years before she started dating him in 2008. Vladimir Doronin, 49, had a 7-year long relationship with another woman before he met Naomi Campbell. “Naomi is pleased that Ekaterina has finally agreed to give Vladimir a divorce, but she is…
the worst in living memory in the region, struck in the Krasnodar region on Friday night, after days of torrential rain. People were reportedly given little or no warning. The rains dumped as much as 28 cm (11 inches) of water overnight, forcing many residents to take refuge in trees or on house roofs. TV pictures later showed thousands of houses almost completely submerged with people scrambling…
…ure the French authorities did not want to offend Mr. Depardieu. But if he’d like to have a Russian passport, consider it settled,” Vladimir Putin said during his annual news conference on 20 December. Under France’s civil code, dual citizenship is permitted but it is unlawful to be stateless. A person must obtain another nationality before giving up French citizenship. Ge…
Jan 3 2013 | Posted in
Entertainment |
Read More » 
…zovsky was a wanted man in Russia, an opponent of President Vladimir Putin, and had survived numerous assassination attempts, including a bomb that decapitated his chauffeur. He emigrated to the UK in 2000. The Russian tycoon was a close friend of murdered Russian émigré and former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko, who died in 2006 after he was poisoned with the radioactive material polonium-210 w…
Mar 24 2013 | Posted in
Europe News |
Read More » 
World leaders meeting at a G20 summit in Mexico have urged Europe to take all necessary measures to overcome the eurozone debt crisis. They voiced unease over what one top official described as “the single biggest risk for the world economy”. But European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said “the challenges are not only European, they are global”. Sunday’s v…
…e”. President Xi Jinping will also visit Tanzania, South Africa and the Republic of Congo on his tour, which continues until March 30. In South Africa, he will attend the fifth BRICS summit from 26-27 March. BRICS stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – five key emerging economies. Xi Jinping’s wife, well-known military singer Peng Liyuan, is with him on this t…
…s of the group who had taken part in the cathedral protest. But they gave no names and did not say how many were being sought. The jailed women said their performance of a “punk prayer” on 21 February in the Christ the Saviour Cathedral had been to highlight the Russian Orthodox Church leader’s support for Vladimir Putin. Their brief, obscenity-laced performance, which implored t…
d he had put his “heart and soul” into a painting he hoped had “caught the essence of Chinese womanhood”. The Chinese Girl’s popularity led to Vladimir Tretchikoff, who died in 2006, being labeled the “king of kitsch” – though his foundation describes him as “the people’s painter”….
Mar 20 2013 | Posted in
Arts & Culture |
Read More » 
…everal classic French films. Gerard Depardieu has criticized the Socialist government for its new 75% wealth tax. Next year, the top rate of income tax in France is due to become 75% on earnings above 1 million euros ($1.3 million). Belgium’s highest tax rate is currently 50%. French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault has condemned Gerard Depardieu’s decision as “shabby”. Ca…
Dec 21 2012 | Posted in
Entertainment |
Read More » 
…he posted Friday’s announcement after her plea failed to elicit a reply. Brigitte Bardot has been making headlines in recent years for her controversial remarks about Islam and its followers. In 2008, Brigitte Bardot was convicted for the fifth time for inciting racial hatred after complaining on her website that Muslims were “destroying our country by imposing their ways”….
Jan 4 2013 | Posted in
Entertainment |
Read More » 
…st song was political and not anti-Church. In August they were jailed for staging an anti-Kremlin protest in Moscow’s main cathedral, Christ the Saviour. Yekaterina Samutsevich, Maria Alyokhina, 24, and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, were found guilty of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred”. Their imprisonment sparked widespread international condemnation. The judges on Wedne…
…address. The 67-year-old male was confirmed deceased at the scene,” she said. A former Kremlin power-broker whose fortunes declined under Vladimir Putin, Boris Berezovsky emigrated to the UK in 2000. Last year, he lost a £3 billion ($4.7 billion) damages claim against Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich. Boris Berezovsky, an exiled Russian tycoon, has been found dead at his home i…
…on APEC summit in Vladivostok Although Russia is now a member of the World Trade Organisation, there is still a piece of legislation that prevents US companies trading normally with Russia – the 1974 Jackson-Vanik amendment which, although suspended, remains in place. In her speech to the APEC summit in the Russian port city, Hillary Clinton – who is standing in for President Barack Ob…
…m., held in a 1sq m [11 sq ft] unventilated room, after which they are taken to court,” he said. “They are not fed, and court sessions last up to 12 hours, during which they are only given 20-30 minutes for a small snack of dry rations. They are then taken back to remand after midnight. They are also denied an evening meal and can only sleep for small number of hours.” The women…
Aug 1 2012 | Posted in
Europe News |
Read More » 
