Culture Russia repels Cartoon Invasion By Vladimir Kozlov The fate of the 2X2 television channel, accused of inciting extremism, remains undecided

News In Brief - First Russian humanitarian aid arrives in Gaza First Russian humanitarian aid arrives in Gaza, Son of US astronaut to be next Russian space tourist, Intercontinental ballistic missile test a success

News Prince Nevsky leads ‘most popular’ poll By Kirill Bessonov 12 leaders have been chosen in the national internet poll Name of Russia which is to determine whom Russians see as the most important and influential people in their history.

News Top pro-Moscow Chechen figure assassinated MOSCOW (AFP) - A former Russian lawmaker and member of a powerful Chechen clan at odds with Chechnya's pro-Russian leader was gunned down Wednesday in downtown Moscow, an interior ministry spokesman said.

News Crime Briefs - One killed, 34 injured in central Russia prison riot One killed, 34 injured in central Russia prison riot, Russian court finds 13 guilty of ethnic killings,

News Russian Navy deploys ships to Venezuela By Ilya Kramnik Moscow moves to restore contacts with Latin American countries amid strained relations with Washington

News Russia to modernize Nicaragua’s arsenal MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) - Russia's ambassador to Managua said Wednesday that his country will replace the Nicaraguan army's aging weaponry.

News Russia sees no need for urgent measures against Iran - FM Lavrov NEW YORK (RIA Novosti) - Russia sees no crisis surrounding Iran's nuclear program and does not believe it is necessary to take any urgent steps, the Russian foreign minister said Wednesday.

News European MPs embark on Russian-Georgian mission By Kirill Bessonov A special delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe arrived in Moscow this week and will start its work to verify the contradictory reports about the August military conflict involving Russia, Georgia and the two freshly emerged states - Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Politics Diplomats point to discrepancies over Medvedev-Sarkozy Deal By Elizabeth Swanson Ahead of the 63rd UN General Assembly held this week, statements from diplomats suggested that Europe was not unanimous in its stance towards Russia over the military conflict in Georgia last month. According to Russia's UN envoy Vitaly Churkin, the OSCE has attempted to rewrite the last agreement to regulate the conflict, signed on Sept. 8 by Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

News Russia praises Ukraine for pulling 1930s famine resolution at UN MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) - Russia believes Ukraine made "the only correct" move in withdrawing a resolution on the Stalin-era Holodomor famine from the UN Human Rights Council, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.

Local Sushi: no longer just a fashion statement By Ayano Hodouchi Just 10 years ago, few Muscovites would have been able to say exactly what sushi was. Today, Japanese restaurants that serve the delectable dish are popping up everywhere across the capital, as well as the provinces

Local Passive Russia lives on passion By Daria Chernyshova ‘Russians harness slowly, but they ride quickly,’ commented Otto von Bismarck about he Russian people. This really explains our mentality and the way we live

Local City blood donors wanted By Sergei Dmitriyev Moscow is now suffering from a severe shortage of donor blood, and is even being forced to accept donations from the homeless and alcoholics, as well as purchase it from other cities. The issue is so worrisome that it was a top theme at a regular meeting of the city government on Tuesday.

Local New rules for using the Metro By Sergei Dmitriyev Moscow has adopted new instructions for use of the metro in the city. The new rules regulate the usage of metro tickets and introduce some new obligations for passengers, an unnamed source in the capital administration informed RIA Novosti.