Belarus Merger Could Return Putin to Office

Russia's power supply accounts for 10% of country's power

(NEWSER) - You know what happens when you don't pay your electricity bill. What happens when a country doesn't? Basically the same thing: Russia has cut electricity supplies to Belarus in half over unpaid bills, and may shut off supplies—which fulfill 10% of Belarus's needs—completely. Belarus is in the middle of its worst economic crisis since the fall of the USSR and confirms that it owes Russia $54 million. The BBC reports that the country has asked Moscow for a $1.2 billion bailout and the IMF for an emergency loan up to $8 billion. More»

(NEWSER) - It’s 1988. President Ronald Reagan is making a visit to the Soviet Union, where he tours Moscow’s Red Square alongside Mikhail Gorbachev. He stops and takes questions from a group of tourists about human rights in the United States. Except they’re not tourists, Radio Free Europe reports. They’re KGB agents and their families. And one of them is Col. Vladimir Putin. More»

Patriarch Alexiy unified denomination, was suspected of KGB ties

(NEWSER) - The iconic leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, who healed an 80-year rift in the church and restored its prominence in Russian society, died today, the Times of London reports. No official cause of death was given for Patriarch Alexiy, but the Kremlin’s first post-Soviet Orthodox leader had been suffering from cancer, diplomats have said. He was 79. More»

Cites teacher's found passport as proof of meddling in Georgia

(NEWSER) - To support its claims that US intelligence agents played a role in the Georgian conflict, the Kremlin has produced a US passport belonging to an Army veteran from Texas, the Wall Street Journal reports. They say the passport was found in an outpost used by Georgian special forces. The alleged spy, Michael White, is an English teacher in China. More»

Second verse same as the first: Putin and protege celebrate win at concert

(NEWSER) - To no one's surprise, Russia's new president Dmitry Medvedev has promised to uphold the policies of his predecessor after yesterday's stage-managed transfer of power widely regarded as an election farce, reports Reuters. Medvedev has already chosen outgoing president Vladimir Putin, ineligible for another term, as prime minister. To underline their close ties the two celebrated together at a victory concert in Red Square. More»