News Tsar Leads Vote for “Greatest Russian” By Lynn Berry Ninety years after he was executed, Tsar Nicholas II is leading a tight race to be named the greatest Russian in history.

Politics President Outlines Foreign Policy Priorities By Kirill Bessonov On Tuesday, President Dmitry Medvedev met with representatives of the Russian Diplomatic Corps in the Foreign Ministry and briefly informed the diplomats on the new Foreign Policy Concept that had been adopted and made public a short time before.

News In Brief - Russia Gets Tajik Tracking Station Russia Gets Tajik Tracking Station, 9 Soldiers Killed by Munition Blast in Chechnya, British Diplomat Accused of Spying by Russia, Khodorkovsky's Lawyers Apply for Probation

News Beat the Heat! The heat wave has absorbed Moscow, and daytime temperatures will stay near the 30-degree mark for at least five more days, meteorologists warn.

News Crime Briefs - Dutch National Robbed in Downtown Moscow Dutch National Robbed in Downtown Moscow, 50,000 Items Missing from Russian Museums, Court Orders MSF to Repay Ransom for Russia Kidnap,

News Russia, Georgia Hold Military Exercises amidst Tensions By Kirill Bessonov Russia and Georgia have simultaneously started large-scale military exercises amid growing tensions between the two countries, caused by Russia's support of the self-proclaimed states of Abkhazia and South Ossetia,and Georgia's plans to enter the NATO bloc.

Local Mind the Zebras By Sergey Dmitriyev Moscow authorities have finally turned their attention towards pedestrians in the city. At a city government meeting earlier this month a range of decisions were proposed to resolve issues of pedestrian safety.

Local Animal Rights RIA Novosti Students take to the streets and build shelters to help stray animals

Local Drive-by Grenade Attack injures Seven Women MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) - Seven women were injured when a hand grenade was thrown at a group of females in an apparent drive-by attack last night near Balashikha, east of Moscow, a local police source said on Wednesday.

Local Laser Show blinds Concert Revelers c

Local In Brief - Fountain Relief Fountain Relief, A New Thermoelectric Power Station To Be Built In Capital, 24,000 Telephone Codes to Change, Moscow and Regions Fail to Agree Out of Court

Local Ring Around the… Moscow Metro By Alisa Ballard Big news concerning the expansion of the Moscow Metro was announced recently - the latest upsurge of city planning to alleviate the daily frustration of getting from point A to point B.

Local Light at End of Tunnel for Planetarium By Tom Washington Moscow's beleaguered planetarium may open its dome to the heavens next year, following a struggle for funding and ownership that now puts the Moscow Government firmly in control.

Local Meatless in Moscow By Alisa Ballard Russia's cold winters give little chance for a year-round bounty of plant food, and the culture's signature dishes, from borshch in winter, to summer shashliks, feature meat more often than garnish with it.

Columnists Wild about Mushrooms By Daria Chernyshova Now is the time to brush up on your knowledge and hit the forests to join in an historical, delicious and fun Russian tradition