An “urgent” dispatch from Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) chief Mikhail Fradkov to President Medvedev that is circulating in the Kremlin today says that the Chinese warship Xuzhou is preparing to offer protection to Libyan leader Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi and his family to protect them from assassination from the US-led air assault on that North African Nation. In what this report... 

Russia’s Prime Minister Putin listens to Governor of Sakhalin Region Alexander Khoroshavin during their meeting in the Far Eastern city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin Monday likened the U.N. Security Council resolution supporting military action in Libya to medieval calls for crusades. Putin, in the first major remarks from a Russian leader since a coalition of Western... 

Russia Sunday called on U.S. and European forces to stop the “indiscriminate” attack on Libya. “The reports say that during air raids on Libya strikes were also delivered on non-military facilities. … As a result, 48 civilians are reported dead and over 150 wounded,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the RIA Novosti news agency. “In this connection,... 

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Alexander Lukashevich Russia says it regrets that the Western countries decided to take military action against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who has been cracking down on revolutionaries in the country. A statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Alexander Lukashevich on Saturday said, “Air force units from a host of countries began military actions... 

Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the colorful and flamboyant leader of Russia's LDPR party. Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the colorful and flamboyant leader of Russia’s LDPR party, on Saturday called on the Muslim world to unite and support Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi. “LDPR turns to all the people of the Muslim countries and urges them to unite and show solidarity with Muammar Gaddafi. The leadership... 

Police officers have killed three militants in Makhachkala, Dagestan. Police in Russia’s restive southern province of Dagestan say that seven policemen have been wounded by militants. Local police spokesman Vyacheslav Gasanov said that several gunmen drove to a police precinct in the town of Kizilyurt late Monday. They sprayed the building with automatic gunfire and then detonated a car bomb,... 

Vladimir Zhirinovsky Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the colorful and flamboyant leader of Russia’s LDPR party, has called on Japanese to leave “the dangerous islands” and move to the unpopulated Russian territories, the newsru.com website reported on Sunday. Zhirinovsky, 64, also deputy speaker of the lower house, offered Russian government to start talks with Japan over Japanese nationals’... 

More than 10,000 people in parts of eastern Russia were evacuated Friday amid fears of a tsunami hitting the region after the massive earthquake in northern Japan, Russian media reported Friday, citing national emergency services. Evacuation efforts focused on the island of Sakhalin and the island group of South Kurils, with a special focus on the Kuril islands of Kunashir and Shikotan. Residents... 

A grim report issued today by the Russian Agriculture Ministry warns that wheat plantings in the country, once the World’s second-biggest exporter, will drop 2.3 percent to 64.2 million acres for this year’s crop due to last summers historic drought and the soaring cost of oil and the fertilizer made from it. The Bloomberg News Service further warns about this report that this absence of Russian... 

Chechen terrorist leader Doku Umarov has called on Russian Muslims to launch a holy war against their government in a video published Friday on the website kavkazcenter.com. ‘Destroy the enemies of Allah, open up the fronts,’ Umarov said. The terrorist claimed responsibility on the same website for the January bombing of a Moscow airport in which 38 people died. The Kremlin had declared... 

Relations: Mr Lavrov visited Downing Street earlier this month during which time it is likely that the Middle East unrest would have been discussed. Russia’s top diplomat has today dismissed plans to create a no-fly zone over Libya as embattled leader Moammar Gaddafi unleashed bombing raids, special forces and army troops in a desperate bid to retain power. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov... 

Alien encounter: The UFO is the craft in the centre of the screen closest to the gold writing. In the video the UFO moves comparatively quickly across the radar. Air traffic controllers in Siberia claim they were buzzed by a high-speed UFO with a female sounding alien who spoke in an unintelligible cat-like language. The mystery object suddenly burst onto flight monitors over the remote Russian diamond... 

The graying bear is getting a make-over. Russia’s military is launching its biggest rearmament effort since Soviet times, including a $650 billion program to procure 1,000 new helicopters, 600 combat planes, 100 warships, and 8 nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. Analysts say Russia, while already the world’s fifth-largest military spender, needs strong conventional forces to... 

The improvement in relations between Russia and Ukraine will soon result in joint military drills in a variety of formats, officials said Sunday. Relations between the two countries have improved significantly since Viktor Yanukovych was elected president last year, RIA Novosti reported. “The Russian side is prepared to hold drills with Ukraine not only at sea but also in the air and on the... 

Russia urges Israel’s government to freeze construction of settlements in the West Bank, which violates international law and hinders Palestinian-Israeli talks, Russia’s permanent representative at the United Nations Vitaly Churkin told a UN Security Council session on Friday. According to Russia’s Itar-Tass news agency the UN Security Council on Friday failed to pass a resolution...