News Merkel and Medvedev meet in St. Pete Combined report Agence France Presse, The Moscow News German and Russian presidents meet in Moscow to discuss a wide range of issues

News Russian managers recall lawsuit against TNK-BP chief Dudley MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) - Managers of the Russo-British joint venture TNK-BP have recalled their lawsuit against the company's chief executive officer Robert Dudley, lawyer Sergei Akhundzyanov said on Thursday.

News In Brief - Russia to spend extra $3.1 billion on defense in 2009 – Vladimir Putin Russia to spend extra $3.1 billion on defense in 2009 - Vladimir Putin, Somalia to recognize Abkhazia, S.Ossetia - envoy, West Russia airport closed after crash landing

Politics Latin America's Rising Star By Anna Arutunyan Nearly a generation after traditional Soviet ties were severed with the collapse of communism, Russia is openly moving to establish a foothold in Latin America.

News Crime Briefs - Skinhead leaders plead guilty to race-hate murders Skinhead leaders plead guilty to race-hate murders, Police officer, son shot dead in North Ossetia, Stairs collapse at Russian school, 5 children die

News Somalia sanctions force against pirates U.S. and Russian naval forces surround hijacked Ukrainian ship carrying military equipment

News Two sailors survive Black Sea shipwreck Combined report Associated Press, RIA Novosti A North Korean cargo ship manned with an Ukrainian crew and headed by a Russian captain sank in the Black Sea on Saturday.

News Putin blasts US for financial crisis MOSCOW (AFP) - Russian leaders blamed the US financial system's irresponsibility for the world economic crisis and said it should top the next American president's agenda, as Washington struggled to calm markets Wednesday.

News Gorbachev to form political party in Russia By Steve Gutterman A Russian billionaire said Tuesday he is teaming up with former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev to form a new political party that will challenge the country's recent steps away from democracy.

News The iPhone Arrives! Ayano Hodouchi The iPhone, long available in Russia only on the grey market, is finally making its official debut in Russia this Friday. Prices for the handsets are expected to be the same everywhere, with the 8GB model going for 23,000 rubles and the 16GB model for 27,000

Local Saving Moscow from Itself By Robert Bridge With Europe's largest city presently awash in oil dollars, gas dollars, and lord knows what else dollars, to the point where no construction project is too grandiose or impossible to imagine, a groundswell of democratic debate is gradually gaining strength against "rampant development" and what some argue is the destruction of the city's very architectural heart and soul.

Columnists Measuring ‘Russianness’ By Daria Chernyshova Belonging to any one nation isn’t determined by the information in your passport. One’s cultural identity implies a number of cultural, mental and physical features

Local For children only By Anna Laletina There's scarcely a Muscovite who hasn't heard of the Morozov Children's City Hospital, so it's probably time to introduce this legendary establishment to the foreigners living here.

Local Russian dream fulfilled By Katya Vinogradova The Estate of Muraviev-Apostols, Russian aristocrats who were among the leaders of Decembrist Revolt, has seen better days. It was built in the beginning of the XVIII century next door to the former townhouse of Prince Golitsin.

Local In Brief - Dorotheum auction house comes to Moscow Dorotheum auction house comes to Moscow, aschool for adopting parents opens in Moscow's northwest, 6,000 Muscovites to remember October 1993