Mar 18th, 2010 · Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Iran's new Russian-built nuclear reactor will begin operating this summer, even as the United States called for Russia to delay the startup. Clinton, in Moscow on an official trip, urged Russia not to start up the plant until Tehran proves that it's not developing atomic weapons.
Dec 31st, 2009 · For a growing number of Russians, shopping is an identical experience to that of millions of Americans. People in big cities like Moscow flock to vast indoor malls where Western chain outlets like Adidas, The Body Shop and IKEA sit alongside domestic stores.
Dec 19th, 2009 · Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer for a London-based fund that was once the biggest in Russia, wrote to his mother of wasting away from an agonizing illness without proper medical care in a crowded Moscow prison. He was awaiting trial for tax-evasion charges. But Magnitsky eventually died in prison, just 11 days after his last letter reached his mother. Magnitsky's story has hit a nerve in Russia, where memories linger of the millions who died of cold, starvation and neglect in the harsh Soviet gulag. Host Scott Simon talks about the Magnitsky case with NPR's Anne Garrels.
Nov 27th, 2009 · An express train carrying hundreds of passengers from Moscow to St. Petersburg derailed late Friday, killing at least 22 people and injuring dozens of others, emergency officials said. Officials say the derailment could be the result of sabotage, fueling fears of terrorism.
Nov 8th, 2009 · Nov. 9, 1989 is remembered by many as a moment of joy and a triumph of U.S. diplomacy. But a review of historical documents paints a more complex picture, with Washington worried that events were moving too slowly — and Moscow embracing the change.
Nov 3rd, 2009 · In the war-torn Russian republic of Chechnya, Moscow-backed leader Ramzan Kadyrov has ordered the return of Sufi Islam and Chechen traditions as a way to establish control and undercut Muslim extremists. Some in the Kremlin are now beginning to ask what they have unleashed in the unstable region.
Oct 16th, 2009 · Most of this hemisphere is heading into winter, but the mayor of Moscow wants to skip it. He wants to ban snow from one of the world's northernmost capitals. The plan is to attack the clouds of approaching snowstorms. If planes dump liquid nitrogen, silver, or cement particles into the clouds, they'd release precipitation before hitting Moscow. That would cut down on snow shoveling within the city — though the people outside town don't seem to love this idea.
Oct 13th, 2009 · Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has urged the public to help fight endemic corruption in the country. But in Khimki, a suburb of Moscow, journalists and civil rights activists who were investigating allegations of local corruption have been brutally attacked in the past year.