Vladimir Putin

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• Russia's leading social network banned by 'mistake'

  on Friday, in a move dismissed as a "mistake" but which follows intensifying official pressure on the company as President Vladimir Putin consolidates his power. VKontakte (www.vk.com), Europe's largest homegrown social network with 210 million registered 6:43 AM from Reuters Mobile Read more »

• Russia's oldest human rights group fights "foreign agent" tag

  to try to stop state prosecutors forcing it to register as a "foreign agent" under a law it says is intended by President Vladimir Putin to silence dissent. Memorial, which has fought political repression since Soviet times, refuses to comply with the law 3:24 AM from Straits Times Read more »

• Russia's top social network blacklisted by regulator

  banned on Friday from distributing content across the country, raising concerns of a clampdown on a forum used by President Vladimir Putin's opponents to organise protests. The ban on VKontakte follows more than a month of pressure on the company and its founder, 3:24 AM from Straits Times Read more »

• Putin to Meet with Serbian President

  May 24 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with his Serbian counterpart Tomislav Nikolic in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi on Friday, the Kremlin reported. Nikolic will pay a working visit to Russia on Putin’s invitation. The 5/23/13 from RIA Novosti Read more »

• Dead Chechen's dad's buddy Ramzan Kadyrov is the Checheniest Chechen of them all

  shortly after he had turned 30, which is the minimum age for the post. He has the support of current Russian President Vladimir Putin and was awarded the Hero of Russia medal, the highest honorary title of Russia. Kadyrov was engaged in violent power struggles; 5/23/13 from Steve Sailer-Articles & Blog on Human Biodiversity, Genetics Read more »

• Early Putin biography gives insight into dark mood of distrust in president’s inner circle

  Natalia Gevorkyan is picking at a salade verte and thinking about betrayal. It’s a central theme in the worldview of Vladimir Putin, the Russian president and a man who once spent many hours telling her of his life and his credo. It was natural for a KGB officer 5/23/13 from The Washington Post Read more »

• Target: Surkov

  district, where the photos were taken. Surkov "remains on the president's team and is ready to fulfill the tasks Vladimir Putin might give him" and "could be useful for the state in any role," Kadyrov added. The two men are longtime allies, so Kadyrov’s public 5/23/13 from Radio Free Europe Read more »

• Paul McCartney steps up campaign to free Russian punk stars

  were sentenced to two years at tough labour camps last year (12) for performing a protest song against President Vladimir Putin at a church in Moscow. Both women have applied for release on parole, but Tolokonnikova's request was rejected last month (Apr13) 5/23/13 from OK! Magazine Read more »

• Imprisoned Entrepreneurs and Russia’s Economic Slump

  Vladimir Putin’s popularity throughout much of Russia is founded on an implicit social compact: People have given up some freedom in return for economic prosperity. Now, Putin’s authoritarian ways could be killing the economic growth that has helped keep him 5/23/13 from Bloomberg.com Read more »

• Opposition group raided in Moscow

  ongoing crackdown against Udaltsov's movement, which was tied to clashes between police and protesters on the eve President Vladimir Putin's inauguration in May 2012. More than 600 people were arrested. Putin was elected last year to a third non-consecutive 5/23/13 from United Press International Read more »

• Russian court refuses to grant parole to member of Pussy Riot

  who is serving a two-year prison sentence for protesting in Moscow's main cathedral with a "punk prayer" against President Vladimir Putin. The judge ruled against Maria Alyokhina, supporters tweeted, saying she did not qualify for parole because she had violated 5/23/13 from Straits Times Read more »

• Obama, Putin exchange letters amid troubled US-Russia relations

  President Barack Obama has received a personal response to his letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin: Moscow and Washington must work to overcome antagonism and deal with global political issues as partners, not foes. The response was delivered by Russian   from Russia Today Read more »

• For Putin, Paranoia Trumps Legitimacy

  to keep nine military bases in Afghanistan after direct U.S. participation in the Afghan war ends in 2014. How has President Vladimir Putin responded to... more ›› Analysts have been releasing various scenarios of how Russia might develop over the next 10   from Real Clear World Read more »

• Russian Police Raid Homes of Leftist Activists

  two members of Russia’s Left Front movement, which played a key role in last year’s mass protests against the rule of President Vladimir Putin. Police detained Vasily Kuzmin, head of the Moscow branch of Left Front, and raided the home of Denis Kuraishi, a   from RIA Novosti Read more »

• ECB considering measures to tackle financial fragmentation - Noyer

  central bank Governor Christian Noyer reacts during a meeting of G20 representatives with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin February 15, 2013. PARIS (Reuters) - Financial fragmentation persists in the euro zone and the European Central Bank is   from Reuters Mobile Read more »

• Prikhodko Appointed Russian Government Chief of Staff

  of Vladislav Surkov on May 8. Surkov, long known as a powerful Kremlin ideologue, tendered his resignation after President Vladimir Putin’s meeting with the Cabinet, at which Putin harshly criticized the ministers. Prikhodko, 56, worked as Putin’s foreign   from RIA Novosti Read more »

• Prikhodko Replaces Surkov as Deputy Prime Minister

  May 8. Surkov, long known as a powerful Kremlin ideologue, wrote his resignation in April but tendered it after President Vladimir Putin criticized ministers for not following through with his orders. Prikhodko, 56, worked as Putin's foreign policy aide during   from The Moscow Times Read more »

• Putin Says Amnesty Plan for Businessmen Needs Refining

  meets Titov at the Kremlin in March. President Vladimir Putin, who was expected during a meeting with more than a hundred entrepreneurs on Thursday to give a nod to the State Duma to draft an amnesty act freeing thousands of imprisoned business people, said   from The Moscow Times Read more »

• Putin calls for seeking new energy of innovation development

  Russia, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin Wednesday urged the active use of innovative technology in the field of raw materials to create a new engine of innovation economy in the country. In a message sending to the opening ceremony of the   from SINA English Read more »

• Here's Chechnya's Leader With Gerard Depardieu And A Monster Truck

  like fun. Kadyrov is a former Chechen Rebel and their current leader. I think of him a bit like a Junior version of Vladimir Putin. He isn't driving Renault F1 cars, but it seems like he enjoys doing crazy things, at least for a political leader. Here he is   from Jalopnik Read more »

• Sochi organizers pledge security at 'highest possible level' at 2014 Winter Olympics

  Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during their meeting at the Bocharov Ruchei residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, Tuesday, May 14, 2013. Putin hosting Netanyahu for talks focusing   from Calgary Herald Read more »

• Russia's Stalinist Show Trials Are Back

  Obama’s long courtship of Vladimir Putin is a persuasive rebuttal to the argument that his failures are attributable to his detached, analytical approach to politics. For in that fruitless endeavor, the president... more ›› In the United States, voters were   from Real Clear World Read more »

• Russia says Assad's foes lack commitment to peace talks

  President Vladimir Putin, right, speaks to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, not pictured, during their meeting in the Bocharov Ruchei residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, Friday, May 17, 2013. (AP Photo/Maxim Shipenkov, Pool) MOSCOW: Russia   from Lebanon Daily Star Read more »

• Global Pursuit for Freedom Falters in New Report

  took a decided turn for the worse after Vladimir Putin's return to the presidency. Having already marginalized the formal political opposition, he enacted a series of laws meant to squelch a burgeoning societal opposition. The measures imposed severe new penalties   from Town Hall Read more »

• Witness undermines case against Russian protest leader

  Alexei Navalny at his trial on theft charges on Wednesday, saying that he had done no harm. Navalny, one of President Vladimir Putin's biggest critics, said the testimony of Kirov region governor Nikita Belykh showed he was not guilty of charges of stealing   from Reuters Mobile Read more »