Russia Reshuffles Regional Heads Ahead of Fall Elections

President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to remove Vyacheslav Bitarov from his post as head of the republic of North Ossetia, replacing him with former Sevastopol governor Sergei Menyailo, the Kremlin said Friday.  Bitarov becomes the latest regional head to lose his post this week, joining the republic of Tuva’s head Sholban Kara-ool and Ulyanovsk…

Ukraine Rules Out Offensive Against Pro-Russia Separatists

Ukraine said on Friday it would not launch an offensive against pro-Russia separatists controlling two regions in the east, as fears grow of a major escalation in a long-running conflict. The statement came after fighting between the Ukrainian army and separatists intensified in recent weeks and Russia massed troops on the border. “The liberation of the temporarily occupied…

In Photos: Long-Awaited Spring Arrives in Moscow

Following weeks of bitter winter weather that held its grip on Russia’s capital despite the start of calendar spring, Muscovites finally have a chance to enjoy some warmer temperatures and sunshine. This winter season was marked by record-setting snowfalls and some of the coldest temperatures Moscow has seen in recent years, making the springtime’s arrival…

Russian Court Orders Tighter Laws to Stem Domestic Violence

Russia’s Constitutional Court on Friday ordered stronger laws to punish repeat domestic violence offenders, saying both the penalties as well as protection for victims were insufficient. Activists have been lobbying for stricter legislation and measures to prevent domestic violence, which has been rampant in Russia for years. The ruling follows an appeal filed by a…

Russia Moves Ground Troops, Ballistic Missile Systems Near Ukraine Border – British Analysts

British defense analysts said Thursday they have identified Russian ballistic missile systems deployed alongside over a dozen tank and rocket launcher units on the Ukrainian border amid concerns of renewed hostilities. Military monitors and the White House say Russia has amassed the largest concentration of forces near eastern Ukraine since the conflict between Ukrainian forces…

3-Man Crew Docks at ISS After Flight Honoring Gagarin

A three-man crew docked at the international Space Station Friday after a flight honouring the 60th anniversary of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becoming the first person in space. A Soyuz capsule carrying Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Novitsky and Pyotr Dubrov and NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei docked at 11:05 GMT, footage broadcasted by NASA TV showed. …

Painter Robert Falk’s Triumphant Return to Moscow

The exhibition of painter Robert Falk (1886-1958) in the New Tretyakov Gallery begins with a comment about the leader of the U.S.S.R. “Nikita Khrushchev was not prepared for this kind of painting,” it reads. The painting in question was “Nude in an Armchair.” In 1962 the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist…