News Geneva talks off to bumpy start By Anna Arutunyan Talks on how to regulate relations between Russia, Georgia and the breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia got off to a shaky start Wednesday in Geneva amid a dispute over what status the delegations from the unrecognized republics should take in the consultations.

News In Brief - Russia launches federal lottery to help fund Sochi Olympics Russia launches federal lottery to help fund Sochi Olympics, EU suspends sanctions against Belarus leadership, Hungry bears force curfew in Russian villages

News Russians vote online By Anna Arutunyan Russians in some 70 regions across the country went to the polls to elect their local legislatures as election officials introduced new ways to bolster turnout. This year, online voting turned out to be a surprising success.

News Russia fires long range missiles MOSCOW (AFP) - Russia fired three long-range missiles and pronounced its nuclear deterrent strong in an extraordinary show of force experts said had not been seen anywhere since the days of the Cold War.

News Crime Briefs - Police officers jailed for attacking teenagers in south Russia Police officers jailed for attacking teenagers in south Russia, Drunk man causes hijacking scare on Turkish plane

News Debating the Nobel Peace Prize By Dmitry Kosyrev On Friday, former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari won the $1.4 million (10 million Swedish krona) Nobel Peace Prize for his 30-year work as peace mediator on different continents and for his contribution to settling the Kosovo conflict.

News Russia: Iran sanctions ‘counterproductive’ MOSCOW (AFP) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Wednesday said unilateral sanctions against Iran would be "counterproductive" in efforts to force Tehran to suspend its nuclear fuel work.

News Silvio Berlusconi: Russia should join EU BRUSSELS (AFP) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Wednesday that he is in favour of Russia becoming a member of the European Union, a "vision" he has held for several years.

News Thousands attend hockey star’s funeral MOSCOW (AP) - Family, friends, teammates and thousands of fans paid their last respects Wednesday to Alexei Cherepanov, the 19-year-old rising hockey star who died after suffering heart problems during a game outside Moscow.

News Czech author Kundera faces informing charges PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AP) - A document written by the Czech Communist police claims that author Milan Kundera informed on a purported Western spy in the 1950s, a state-sponsored institute said Monday. Kundera quickly denied the claims.

News New British ambassador to Russia takes office MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) - Anne Pringle, a former envoy to Prague, took over as ambassador to Russia this week to replace the retiring Tony Brenton.

News Russian analysts expect Obama to become U.S. president MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) - Russian analysts say Democratic candidate Barack Obama is likely to defeat Republican rival John McCain, 72, in the United States presidential election set for November 4.

Ask the experts Guardian of the Past By Anna Ozar Despite growing condemnation from architectural preservationists and average citizens, the Russian capital continues to explode in all directions

Columnists Rich in Russia By Daria Chernyshova ‘There are rich and poor in Russia, and no other variants.’ This philosophy nicely summed up Russia in the post-Soviet era as there really was no middle class at that time. Today, the middle class is growing, but it’s so much more fun to talk about the rich

Local Up in Smoke Anna Laletina Russian students continue to light up between classes at a furious pace, despite evidence that they are killing themselves