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Musings of a Russophile: Authority

Weekly column by Frederick Andresen

No one said it better than Dostoevsky. In his masterpiece, The Brothers Karamazov, he clearly defines the underlying rationale for the mental despotism that has for centuries burdened the Russian people.

Transmissions from a Lone Star: Party of the damned

Weekly column by Daniel Kalder

Recently I acquired a collection of LIFE magazines from 1971, and was curious to see what was making the news back then. You can probably guess some of the topics (e.g. the Vietnam War) and you’ve probably forgotten others (the opening of an airport on the Seychelles).

Uncertain World: Arab spring - after the euphoria has faded

Weekly column by Fyodor Lukyanov

The unrest in the Middle East and North Africa has not stopped, but the feeling of sensational novelty it created in winter is fading. In fact, the preliminary results of the “Arab spring” look different from those envisioned at the initial flowering of public euphoria.

Sam’s Exchange: Donald’s Diplomacy - OPEC and the Oil price

Biweekly column by Sam Barden

The Republican frontrunner for the U.S. elections in 2012, according to recent polls, is Donald Trump. This week he aired his concerns about high oil prices and spelled out his course of action to lower gas prices in America.

Due West: Putin vs. Medvedev

Weekly column by Konstantin von Eggert

Moscow is abuzz with speculation. There is no lack of scenarios for the presidential campaign in 2012. My favorite one is actually a “Putin vs. Medvedev” race. And I will try to explain why.

Features & Opinion »

Moscow's Butovo shooting range unites Christians in joy of resurrection

RIA Novosti correspondent Ekaterina Chernyaeva

In an unprecedented move for the Russian Orthodox Church, several Moscow parishes hosted this Easter season over 200 pilgrims from Western Europe - both Roman Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox - who came to Russia to experience the Holy Week and Easter in the Orthodox communities, to discover Easter traditions in Russia, where Easter remains the highpoint of the religious year and popular calendar despite the Soviet-era persecution which weakened the Church.

Ban Ki-moon gets an earful in Moscow

RIA Novosti political commentator Dmitry Kosyrev

In the good old days, distinguished foreign guests were showered with flowers as they were driven in convertibles from Vnukovo Airport along Moscow's Leninsky Prospekt. Now visits are much more businesslike. Even by today's modest standards, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's visit to Moscow has been very subdued. He arrived without any fanfare, and there is little in the way of specifics on his talks in the Kremlin, the Foreign Ministry and elsewhere, although serious issues were on the agenda.

Russia Goes on a Gaming Spree

By Anna Arutiunova

Every Saturday night, a coffee shop in central Moscow turns into a battlefield. Empires are forged and destroyed, terrorists hijack continents, scheming goblins and other vermin roam the streets while billion-dollar business deals are struck under the table. And although these transactions are fake, the passions that rage here are very real.