Russia

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Gunmen Storm Chechen Parliament

6 killed in Grozny attack

(Newser) - At least six people were killed when insurgents stormed the parliament complex in the capital of Russia's troubled Chechnya region today, security forces say. Three attackers, including one suicide bomber, are believed to be among the dead, AP reports. Two police officers and a parliamentary official were also killed before...

Coast Guard Wants Funds to Patrol Thawing Arctic

Warming makes Bering Strait a new frontier

(Newser) - As climate change increasingly turns the once-frozen Bering Strait into a viable shipping route, a US Coast Guard admiral is begging his government for more resources to police and protect Arctic waters, the AP reports. Rear Admiral Christopher Colvin points to Russia's bold shipping expeditions over the top of the...

'Sexy Spy' Anna Chapman Lands New Job

Her new boss? FondServisBank

(Newser) - What's a sexy former spy to do? Get a job at a bank, apparently. Anna Chapman, the 28-year old Russian operative whose "007-worthy beauty" caught America's attention has now been hired by Russia's FondServisBank, reports the Telegraph . The bank, which works in the aerospace industry, has hired Chapman to...

Flyers Forced to Stand in Aisle for 5-Hour Flight

Makes economy look good

(Newser) - Think you've got airline travel horror stories? Try standing up in a plane aisle for a 5-hour flight. That's what happened to six passengers flying Tatarstan Airlines after the wrong plane with too few seats arrived to take passengers from Turkey to Russia. They did get an occasional break and...

Georgia Trades Russian for English

Republic thumbs its nose at the mother country

(Newser) - Georgia has decided to give Russian the boot and change its second official language to English, NPR reports. The post-communist nation, which has spoken Russian since it was annexed by the Russian Empire in the 1800s, hasn't exactly seen relations with its former mother country improve since the 2008 conflict...

To Sidestep Ivory Ban, Russia Digs Up Mammoth Tusks

Tusk treasure trove lies beneath Siberian ice

(Newser) - Russia is turning to the Siberian soil to satisfy an appetite for "ethical ivory." Entrepreneurs are taking advantage of the worldwide ban on elephant ivory and digging up giant woolly mammoth tusks to sell abroad.Michelle Obama has been spotted wearing jewelry made from the ancient tusks of...

Russian Gay Activist: Cops Kidnapped Me

'They pressured me to drop gay rights case for days,' he says

(Newser) - One of Russia's leading gay rights activists says he was kidnapped by security services as he tried to board a flight from Moscow to Geneva last week. Nikolai Alexeyev, who has repeatedly clashed with authorities in Moscow over his efforts to organize gay rights demonstrations, says he was taken from...

Gates, Russian Counterpart Look to Downsize Militaries

Full-day meeting seeks ways to cut waste

(Newser) - Robert Gates today becomes the first US defense secretary to show his Russian counterpart around in almost six years, devoting an entire day to Anatoly Serdyukov, the New York Times reports. The two men are looking for common ground on a topic that would have been unthinkable during the Cold...

How Russia Uses Microsoft to Crack Down on Dissenters

Confiscates computers on pretext of looking for pirated software

(Newser) - Russia is suddenly very concerned with the rampant pirating of Microsoft software—but apparently only in dissidents' computers, which the Kremlin is confiscating at a breathtaking clip. Typical is an environmental group that protested Vladmir Putin's decision to re-open a factory that had polluted a lake. One afternoon, police appeared...

Schwarzenegger Mocks Palin on Twitter

 Schwarzenegger 
 Mocks Palin 
 on Twitter 
I spy alaska!
Sep 10, 2010 12:07 PM CDT

Schwarzenegger Mocks Palin on Twitter

Subtle jab aimed at the woman who can see Russia

(Newser) - The Governator got in a subtle dig at Sarah Palin late last night. Headed for a trade mission in Asia, Arnold Schwarzenegger tweeted , "Over Anchorage, AK. Looking everywhere but can’t see Russia from here. Will keep you updated as search continues." He attached a picture of himself...

Russia: To Be Patriotic, Smoke and Drink More

(Newser) - While governments in the West worry about reducing alcohol and tobacco consumption and their related deaths, our Russian comrades have a different message for their people: Smoke and drink more! As the country plans to raise excise taxes on booze and double those on cigarettes over the next three years,...

Medvedev Rips Into Pol: No Tweeting!

Tweet-happy official immediately blames another for squealing

(Newser) - Dmitry Medvedev is mod enough to have a vlog, but that didn't stop President Crankypants from slamming a lawmaker who was busily tweeting during a Kremlin meeting yesterday. "There's Nikita Yurievich Belykh sitting there and writing in Twitter right from the State Council session," Medvedev sniped. "Apparently,...

WWII Vet Sets Self on Fire, Kills 8 in Nursing Home

Fellow residents died from smoke inhalation

(Newser) - The suicide of a World War II veteran is disturbing enough on its own: The resident of a Russian nursing home set himself on fire. But it gets even more depressing: Eight people in neighboring rooms also died, falling victim to smoke and gas inhalation, the AP reports . The 86-year-old...

Skinhead Mob Attacks Rock Festival

14-year-old girl killed by thugs with iron clubs

(Newser) - A 14-year-old girl was killed and dozens of people injured when a mob of some 100 skinheads armed with iron bars rampaged through a rock concert crowd in central Russia over the weekend. Close to 15 members of the neo-Nazi mob were detained by police, but most of them escaped,...

Putin Shoots Whale With Crossbow

'Action man' PM joins scientific expedition

(Newser) - In his latest effort to remind his countrymen of his machismo, Russian leader Vladimir Putin yesterday shot a gray whale with a dart from a crossbow. The prime minister, on a rubber boat in choppy seas, hit the gray whale on his fourth attempt to collect a skin sample, the...

Canada Intercepts Russian Bombers—Again

(Newser) - Russian bombers have once again put Canada to the test, this time while the Canadian prime minister was visiting the Great North to affirm sovereignty in the Arctic. Two CF-18s were launched yesterday to intercept the Russian bombers as they approached Canadian airspace, some 30 nautical miles off Inuvik, in...

'Grand Prince of All Russia' Claims Ownership of Kremlin
'Grand Prince of All Russia' Claims Ownership of Kremlin
wacky lawsuits dept.
Aug 19, 2010 3:50 PM CDT

'Grand Prince of All Russia' Claims Ownership of Kremlin

Rurik descendant sues to get historic complex back

(Newser) - The descendants of a dynasty that ruled Russia for 600 years are suing for ownership of the Kremlin, AOL News reports. The claim is being made by Valery Kubarev, a man who can trace his family back to the Rurik dynasty, and is in fact its designated "Grand Prince...

Moscow Bans Booze Sales After 10pm

No more midnight vodka runs after Sept. 1

(Newser) - It’s only 10pm, and you’re all out of vodka: No problem! Except in Moscow. Starting Sept. 1, stores in the Russian capital will not be allowed to sell any beverages with more than 15% alcohol between 10pm and 10am, the Telegraph reports. (You can still, however, buy beer...

Bolton: Israel Has 3 Days to Attack Iran

Before nuclear reactor is unsafe to attack

(Newser) - Israel only has three days to launch a military strike on Iran’s nuclear reactor before it contains live fuel, and it should probably take the shot, former US ambassador to the UN John Bolton told Israeli radio today. Russia has announced that it will begin installing fuel rods in...

Russian Tycoon: Find God or Find a New Job

Boss bans abortions, 'living in sin'

(Newser) - A Russian tycoon who believes his country's devastating wildfires are a message from an angry God has ordered his employees to stop displeasing the deity. Vasily Boyko-The Great—who legally changed his last name from Boyko—says all 6,500 workers at his agricultural holdings need to attend refresher courses...

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