News University Lockdown for Hitler’s Birthday By Maria Danilova MOSCOW - A leading Moscow university ordered its foreign students on Thursday to remain in their dormitories for the next three days because of fears of ethnic violence before Adolf Hitler's birthday this weekend, students said.

News Russia Swept by Pedophile Murder Spree A ten-year-old girl has been found strangled in the southern city of Samara, marking the fourth child murdered in Russia in the past month.

News Deadly Mine Blast Caused by Short Circuit NOVOKUZNETSK (RIA Novosti) - A short circuit caused the explosion at a Siberian mine in March that killed 108 people, the head of Russia's technical standards body said Tuesday. On March 19, a methane explosion ripped through the Ulyanovskaya mine in Novokuznetsk, the largest coal-producing center in the Kemerovo Region, following the installation of British safety equipment.

News Moscow Region Plays Catch-Up By Oleg Liakhovich Hit with growing inflation since the start of the year, the Moscow Region is challenging the Russian capital's dubious reputation for being one of the most expensive cities in the world. Whereas in the past, those who couldn't afford to buy an apartment in the city could hope to find affordable housing in the wider Moscow Metropolitan Area, it appears that the region is trotting alongside its "Big Brother" in terms of real estate prices.

National One-Way Ticket Home By Lyudmila Butuzova Russia has finally remembered its ‘foreign countrymen,' who are now entitled to return home under a special state program. The government guarantees each re-settler a free railway container to carry personal belongings, a relocation allowance, and, most importantly, Russian citizenship.

Nightlife Russian Prisons: a Rare Glimpse at Life Beyond the Fence By Yekaterina Rozhayeva At a January meeting between President Vladimir Putin and members of the Council for the Promotion of Civil Society Institutions and Human Rights, the issue of Russia's penitentiaries was given due consideration. Valery Borshchev and Valery Abramkin stated categorically that the "implementation of punishment" is becoming increasingly noticeable, especially in the Mordovia region. "Human rights activists are being harassed," and without public oversight "the system is drifting in the direction of the gulag."

News Veteran Journalist and Historian Albert Vlasov Dies

National Governor of Amur Region Faces New Charges By Oleg Liakhovich The Amur region prosecutor's office has launched three more criminal cases against the region's governor, Leonid Korotkov, a Prosecutor General's office said on Thursday.

Comment Thank You for Smoking… Passively By Anna Arutunyan, Nathalie Cooper Ah, April - wedged as it is between the sludge of winter and the sultry smog of summer, you think of it as a precious interval for clear, refreshing breezes. But not if you're among one of Russia's most underrepresented minorities - a non-smoker. Tough finding a chance to savor the fresh air while it's there.

Comment Smoking as a Libertarian Cause By Dietwald Claus It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their consciences. C.S. Lewis

CIS Transcaucasus Stability in Jeopardy By Armen Khanbabyan Shortly before the UN Security Council started discussion on a new Iran resolution, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made a highly symbolic visit to Armenia.

World Political Impressions from New York By Yevgeny Primakov I have just returned from New York. I decided not to visit Washington, nor did I meet with [current] administration officials. Rather, I met with Henry Kissinger, Brent Scowcroft (national security adviser under President George H.W. Bush), the insurance mogul [Maurice R. "Hank"] Greenberg and his son [Jeffrey], and many other people. These meetings, as well as discussions and exchanges with well informed political scientists, businessmen and journalists at an event organized by the Nixon Center, gave me some idea about the mood of thinking Americans.

CIS Ukraine Court Reviews Presidential Decree By Adam Klesczewski Ukraine's Constitutional Court on Tuesday opened a hearing on the legality of President Viktor Yushchenko's decree to dissolve the country's parliament, the Supreme Rada, and hold early elections, RIA Novosti reported. The president issued the order on April 2 to dissolve parliament and hold early elections on May 27 after eleven of his former supporters in the parliament "defected" to the ruling coalition that backs Yushchenko's rival, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.

World The Barack Factor By Todd Lefko Campaigns have become both a test of celebrity and leadership ability. We feel disappointed when our candidates reflect the lesser of two evils, rather than expressing our hopes and dreams.

World Polls Show Cliffhanger Awaits French Election PARIS (AP) - France's presidential candidates were making their final pushes for votes as polls Thursday pointed to a cliffhanger among the top four hopefuls, led by conservative Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist Segolene Royal.