Sweden beat Russia to win the 60th Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday, in an event described by organizers as beyond politics but marred by boos for the Russian competitor that were apparently prompted by the Ukraine conflict and the Kremlin's anti-gay policies.
Russia would adopt a tough position if Ukraine decided not to pay off debts owed to Moscow by its previous government, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview broadcast by Russian television on Saturday.
Russian auditors have uncovered 92 billion rubles ($1.8 billion) in financial violations committed by federal space agency Roscosmos last year, the head of Russia's Audit Chamber, Tatyana Golikova, said Friday.
Both warring sides in eastern Ukraine are perpetrating war crimes almost daily, including torturing prisoners and summarily killing them, the Amnesty International rights group said in a report.
A member of Russia's Presidential Human Rights Council has denounced a new bill that introduces jail sentences for public drunkenness as a violation of human rights.
Russian President Vladimir Putin only took up ice skating a few years ago, but that didn't stop the 62-year-old scoring a handful of goals in an all-star hockey match comprising of former hockey stars, businessmen and politicians over the weekend.
The State Duma has refused to conduct a parliamentary investigation into the murder of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, who was gunned down outside the Kremlin earlier this year, liberal lawmaker Dmitry Gudkov said Monday.
A Moscow psychiatric facility that earlier made the headlines for strapping its child inmates to the beds is now at the center of another scandal after it showed children with psychiatric disorders the film "The Silence of the Lambs," a dark and gruesome U.S. thriller about a murderous cannibal and a serial killer.
Late spring is when Moscow really comes alive — the days are long, the weather is pleasant and numerous festivals and special events start appearing on the calendar.
