An American economist says the political tensions between Washington and Moscow will speed up the demise of the US dollar in international transactions. “The political tensions between the United States and Russia has increased or speeded up the process of which nations are doing business between countries instead of dollars and doing it with their local currencies,” Mark Thornton, Senior Fellow... 

One of the central natural wonders of Russia, Lake Baikal, has recently been a source of troubling news. Every week, volunteers remove tons of garbage from the coast of the deepest fresh water lake on our planet, while officials try to handle the consequences of the closure of a pulp and paper mill. Now it is environmentalists who sound the alarm. In their opinion, Baikal turns into a swamp. The pearl... 

Building of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Moscow’s Smolenskaya-Sennaya Square. Moscow will take “appropriate measures” in response to possible new sanctions from the European Union, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson said. “On many levels, the Russian leadership has made it clear that we’ll take adequate measures and our response will be absolutely comparable... 

Damascus and Moscow have denounced possible unilateral US air raids against ISIL terrorists in Syria, saying the attacks without a UN mandate would constitute an act of aggression. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Alexander Lukashevich, said on Thursday that potential US airstrikes against the ISIL in Syria would be considered a gross violation of international law. “In the absence of an appropriate... 

US President Barack Obama has announced plans to ratchet up sanctions on Russia over Moscow’s “illegal actions in Ukraine”. Obama said in a statement on Thursday the United States and the European Union will slap tougher sanctions on “Russia’s financial, energy and defense sectors”. He said the new sanctions are meant to further isolate the Kremlin. “These measures will increase... 

A pair of Russian bomber jets reportedly practiced cruise missile attacks against targets in the United States last week, according to a report published on Monday in the Washington Free Beacon. Bill Gertz, a writer for the Beacon, reported that two Russian Tu-95 Bear bombers were tracked flying over the Labrador Sea last week in the northern Atlantic Ocean near Iceland, Greenland and Canada as part... 

Colleague lays flowers in memory of photo journalist Andrey Stenin killed in southeastern Ukraine, at the Rossiya Segodnya building. Russian journalist Andrey Stenin, missing in eastern Ukraine for a month, has been confirmed dead, RIA Novosti, the news agency where he worked, reports. He was in a vehicle traveling in a convoy of escaping civilians when it came under heavy fire. Stenin apparently died... 

Russian consumer watchdog Rospotrebnadzor has suspended all confectionery imports from Ukraine after discovering two Ukrainian companies broke consumer protection laws. “In order to ensure the rights of consumers, starting September 5 Rospotrebnadzor is suspending the import of confectionery goods produced in Ukraine to the Russian Federation,” the watchdog said in a statement on Friday. The... 

A new rapid reaction force, likely numbering at least 4,000 and ready to be deployed within 48 hours, will be created in Eastern Europe, after a decision by the 28 NATO member states following a conference in Wales. “This is a demonstration of our solidarity and resolve,” said NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen as the summit, largely dedicated to Ukraine, and attended by the country’s... 

Pro-Russians have accused Ukrainian government forces of breaking the ceasefire deal just hours after it went into effect, pledging to pursue their independence drive in the east. A leading member of the parliament established by the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic said on Saturday that Ukrainian units had launched several missiles toward the pro-Russian militants’ positions in the... 

Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s far-right National Front party, says the EU is to blame for the crisis in Ukraine as it forced the situation where Kiev had to choose between East and West. Now that France is joining sanctions against Russia over the alleged direct interference in the political crisis in Ukraine and Paris is considering suspending the €1.2 billion deal of two Mistral helicopter... 

Last president of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev Ex-Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev has again blamed the ongoing turmoil in Ukraine on the hasty and thoughtless breakup of the USSR. He noted that a peaceful outcome could only be reached through resumed dialogue between Russia and the US. The former Soviet leader expressed these opinions in the afterword to his latest book of memoirs called “After... 

United States President Barack Obama said Friday that the US and European Union are still prepared to impose sanctions against Russia if the crisis in Ukraine continues to escalate following the signing of a ceasefire agreement. Speaking in Newport, Wales at the close of a major NATO alliance summit, Pres. Obama expressed skepticism over a pact signed only hours earlier in Minsk during a meeting of... 

A foreboding report sent from the Office of the President (OoP) to all Kremlin departments today states that President Putin has ordered all nuclear forces to their highest alert status and is, in effect, now running the Federation from one of Russia’s most secretive bunker complexes below Barnaul Airport located in the Altai Republic which is part of the Siberian Federal District. According to... 

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel Russia and China are increasingly closing the technology gap with the US military by developing weapons systems that challenge traditional US advantages, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said. Hagel was speaking Wednesday to members of the Southeastern New England Defense Industry Alliance at a conference on defense innovation, before a NATO summit expected to focus on...