Vladislav Surkov

(Newser) - A novel about a publisher navigating Russia’s complex web of political favors and payoffs may have been written by a top Kremlin official, the Moscow Times reports. Sources at Russky Pioner magazine, which published excerpts of Close to Zero before its release last month, say Vladislav Surkov, a powerful...

(Newser) - Vladimir Putin sees himself as Russia's Franklin Delano Roosevelt and is actively encouraging a cult around the Depression-slaying US leader to promote his own ambitions after his current term as president expires. Admiring profiles and documentaries about Roosevelt in the state-controlled media are indoctrinating Russians as Putin maneuvers to stay...