Russia

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Georgia's Outgunned Leader Keeps the Faith

'We cannot compete' with Russia, but don't forget: 'Finland fought this kind of war in 1939'

(Newser) - After 5 years of risky political brinksmanship with Russia, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili now finds himself in the fight of his life, the Wall Street Journal reports. The pro-Western leader says he has no regrets about his tactics, which seem finally to have set off long-simmering tensions between his state...

Russia Opens Second Front in Georgia
 Russia Opens
 Second Front
 in Georgia
UPDATED

Russia Opens Second Front in Georgia

(Newser) - Russia opened a second front of fighting in Georgia today, sending armored vehicles beyond two breakaway provinces and seizing a military base and police stations in the country's west, officials told the AP. Meanwhile, the US State Department evacuated more than 170 American civilians to Armenia. The new forays into...

Going It Alone, Georgians Fume at US Inaction

Pro-Western country expected more than feeble diplomacy

(Newser) - As a haggard group of soldiers clambered into the flatbed truck, vacantly clutching Kalishnikovs, one explained the cause of their despair: “America and the European Union are spitting on us.” It’s an exceedingly popular sentiment in Georgia, the New York Times reports. The fiercely pro-Western nation had...

Georgia Signs Ceasefire; Negotiators Head to Moscow

Kouchner brokers accord as new threats arise in Abkhazia

(Newser) - Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili has signed a ceasefire agreement drafted by the European Union, which EU mediators will present to Moscow later today. Bernard Kouchner, the French foreign minister, visited Tbilisi this morning and said that the Georgian leader was "determined to make peace." Kouchner will now try...

Thousands Flee as Russia Attacks Central Georgia

Russian army bombards Gori as war moves beyond provinces

(Newser) - Thousands of Georgians are fleeing the central city of Gori as the Russian army continues to wage major attacks beyond South Ossetia, reports the Times of London. Russia launched a massive aerial bombardment of Gori amid reports that it was on the verge of a ground invasion. The move from...

Russian Onslaught Hikes War Fears

US condemns Russia's 'disproportionate' action in Georgian territory

(Newser) - Fears of a full-scale war continued to mount today as Russian forces kept up attacks even as Georgian troops pulled out of the battlefield at South Ossetia, reports the New York Times. Russia landed ground troops at a second disputed territory, Abkhazia, and broadened its aerial assaults to the airport...

Russia-Georgia Conflict Was Waiting to Happen
Russia-Georgia Conflict
Was Waiting to Happen
Analysis

Russia-Georgia Conflict Was Waiting to Happen

Taunting a bullying bear lands Caucus state in trouble

(Newser) - Russia’s invasion of Georgia should surprise no one: In hindsight, it's even "absurdly over-determined,” James Traub writes in the New York Times. Russia has an  economic interest in Georgian instability and a deep Cold War mindset that could not accept Georgia’s pro-Western path. For its part,...

Georgia Conflict Offers a Test for US Candidates

Obama urges calm; McCain takes harder line on Russia

(Newser) - The conflict between Russia and Georgia provided one of the first real tests of how the presidential candidates would respond to that infamous 3 a.m. phone call about a world crisis, Politico notes. The upshot: Barack Obama echoed the international consensus, George Bush included, by calling for calm and...

Russia Brushes Off Calls for Cease-Fire

Bush, Georgia urge end to fighting

(Newser) - Georgia called for a cease-fire today, as Russia sent bombers deeper into the country, but Russia said it would not stop until Georgia had withdrawn from South Ossetia. George Bush made his own call to Dmitry Medvedev, saying that the strikes “mark a dangerous escalation in the crisis,”...

Russia Takes Breakaway Capital in Georgian Fighting

Death toll in Georgian conflict reaches 1,500

(Newser) - Russia claims to have taken control of South Ossetia’s capital today, after Georgian troops flowed into the breakaway enclave yesterday in an effort to reclaim the region. Seeking to “force the Georgian side to peace,” Russia has expanded its counterattack further into Georgia. Russia puts the death...

Georgia Accuses Russia of Bombing Civilians
Georgia Accuses Russia
of Bombing Civilians
updated

Georgia Accuses Russia of Bombing Civilians

President says his nation is defending against aggressors

(Newser) - Russian troops are targeting civilians in their assault on Georgia, President Mikhail Saakashvili told CNN today. “This is the worst nightmare one can encounter,” he said. “They've been bombing Georgia from numerous warplanes and specifically targeting (the) civilian population, and we have scores of wounded and dead....

Putin Pushes to Renew Russia's Influence in Cuba

Military move under consideration in response to NATO 'buffer zone'

(Newser) - Vladimir Putin is pushing for a renewal of Russia’s former presence in Cuba, the AP reports. “We should restore our position in Cuba and other countries,” the president-turned-PM said after a briefing by diplomats returned from Cuba. Though a military presence on the island wasn’t specifically...

Remembering Russia's Prophet
Remembering Russia's Prophet
Appreciation

Remembering Russia's Prophet

Reflections on Solzhenitsyn's life reveal complex legacy

(Newser) - Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who died yesterday at 89, left a complicated legacy and an unassailable record as one of the great writers of the 20th century. Three takes on the Nobel laureate:
  • The National Review, which on occasion published Solzhenitsyn’s work, says he may have been the man of the
...

Russian Writer Solzhenitsyn Dead at 89

Nobel winner revealed the horrors of Soviet work camps

(Newser) - Nobel-prize winning Russian writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn died today of heart failure at 89, AFP reports. Two of his key works, One Day In The Life of Ivan Denisovich and The First Circle, revealed the horrors of Soviet gulags and got him expelled from the country in 1974. After 20 years...

Eclipse Draws 15K to Siberia
 Eclipse Draws 15K to Siberia 

Eclipse Draws 15K to Siberia

Thousands flock to Russia for rare solar spectacle despite threat of rain

(Newser) - Prospects of rare total solar eclipse have drawn thousands of sky-watchers to the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, where the moon’s passage between the earth and sun will create 140 seconds of darkness at 5:45 pm local time today. Hotels in the city—Russia’s third-largest—are fully booked,...

7 Russian Athletes Suspended for Doping

Female runners banned from Olympics

(Newser) - Seven female athletes from Russia were suspended today for doping violations, a potentially devastating blow to the nation's medal hopes just a week before the Olympics begin, the New York Times reports. Five of the women, all members of Russia's track and field team, were scheduled to compete in the...

China's Thirst for Gaz-Guzzlers Boosts Oil Demand

SUV sales jump 43% over last year

(Newser) - While soaring gas prices are driving Americans to buy more energy-efficient cars, Chinese consumers are opting for gas-guzzling Buicks and Hummers, reports the Washington Post. China accounts for 40% of the world's recent increase in oil demand. There were few private cars in China 15 years ago, but today there...

Starving Russian Bears Menace Miners
Starving Russian Bears Menace Miners

Starving Russian Bears Menace Miners

Pack of 30 bears surround platinum mine, eat guards

(Newser) - A pack of starving bears has surrounded a platinum mine in Russia's remote Kamchatka peninsula, the Los Angeles Times reports. Two guards have been eaten, and terrified miners are refusing to work. The government has sent a team of snipers to kill the ravenous bears, thought to be starving because...

Russia Goes After Emo
 Russia Goes After Emo   

Russia Goes After Emo

Fearing for teens, Duma debates legislation to outlaw fashion, monitor websites

(Newser) - Fearing a threat to the wellbeing of its youth, the Russian Duma is going after what it sees as Public Enemy No. 1—emo.  Lawmakers are debating legislation to ban all signs of emo culture—an offshoot of punk music—from schools and government buildings, the Guardian reports. Lawmakers...

Chavez: I'd Welcome Russian Troops in Venezuela

Seeking military pact with Moscow to ward of North American 'invasion'

(Newser) - Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez is on a two-day trip to Moscow seeking closer military and economic ties —and raising the possibility that Russian troops may be stationed in Venezuela. Chavez and Russian president Dmitry Medvedev have already agreed to extend an energy partnership and are negotiating an arms deal...

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