Pravda.Ru had an interview with first deputy head of United Russia faction at the Russian Parliament, leader of the Russian Union of Afghan Veterans, Franz Klintsevich. We spoke about US plans in Ukraine, the situation in the Donbass, perspective of a new coup in Ukraine and Pentagon’s plans for a nuclear attack on Russia. “There is a theory saying that during the Caribbean crisis, there... 

Low-quality film products conquer children’s immature minds. Parents may try to protect the younger generation from poor quality food or harmful toys, but it is hard to protect individuals from watching low-grade films. Will Russia change its cultural policy because of yet another standoff with the West? This issue affects many spheres of life in Russia, not only ideology or, if you like, good... 

A group of Russian MPs have prepared a bill severely restricting imports of genetically modified agricultural produce, and completely banning its domestic production. The initiative is backed by Evgeny Fyodorov of the parliamentary majority United Russia and a group called Russian Sovereignty, which unites MPs from various parties and parliamentary factions. The politicians want to amend the existing... 

The State Duma’s assembly hall. State Duma deputy from United Russia parliamentary caucus claims that the recently introduced ban on promotion of non-traditional sex relations to minors should be extended to families. Therefore, homosexual parents have no right to raise their children. MP Aleksey Zhuravlev submitted the suggested amendments to the Family Code to the State Duma on Thursday. The... 

Cleaning a monument to Vladimir Lenin, Krasnoyarsk. Russian lawmakers believe it is time to remove monuments to the leader of the Bolshevik Revolution, Vladimir Lenin, from town and city squares across the country. Memorials to such “a controversial figure” should be re-located in museums or alleys with statues of other historic persons, suggested the author of the initiative, Liberal-Democratic... 

A deputy from the Smolensk city council, Andrei Yershov, has resigned from his post amid controversy over his comments on benefits for Holocaust survivors. During a mid-October city council debate on granting privileges such as free passage on buses and trains to people who as children were incarcerated in Nazi concentration camps, Yershov wanted to know “why is it that we owe anything”... 

After announcing possible amendments banning Russian officials from owning real estate and other property abroad, the State Duma is planning a ban on public servants marrying foreigners. The author of the bill, United Russia MP Evgeny Fyodorov has told the press that the document includes this restriction. “Wives and underage children of civil servants must also declare their property and cannot... 

An MP who represents the United Russia majority party has prepared legislative amendments that would make the Russian ruble the only valid currency in the country, and put an end to dependency on the US dollar and the Euro. Yevgeniy Fyodorov described the initiative in an interview with the Izvestia daily newspaper. He promised that the proposed bill would be made public in autumn, and declined to... 

President Dmitry Medvedev has spoken out after a telephone conversation with his US counterpart, saying Obama’s comments on Russia’s recent parliamentary elections were “unacceptable”. Speaking to a number of United Russia MPs, Dmitry Medvedev stated that, correctly delivered, thoughts and comments on a country’s electoral process are acceptable – and welcome. But when they are reminiscent... 

Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev Prime Minister Putin has accepted Dmitry Medvedev’s proposal for him to run for the presidency in 2012, made at the convention of the United Russia party in Moscow. Putin also put forward Medvedev to lead the party’s election list. ­“I consider it to be the right move for the congress to support party’s leader Vladimir Putin as a presidential candidate,”... 

An influential nationalist leader urged his followers on Wednesday to throw their support behind Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin, telling them that they will no longer have to shiver at street demonstrations because the Kremlin will grant them access to executive and legislative power. The leader of the Rodina party (Motherland), Dmitry Rogozin, who is Russia’s envoy to NATO, was speaking about... 

An article in the Financial Times adds some interesting details about Rogozin and the situation in Russia (“Medvedev appeals for ethnic tolerance“). First, things are definitely heating up: Opinion polls show that 55-60 per cent of Russians support the slogan “Russia for the Russians”, and nationalism threatens to become the new centre of gravity in domestic politics ahead of the December... 

Russian ultranationalists are increasingly resorting to violence against authorities in response to a sweeping government crackdown on hate crime, an independent watchdog said Monday. Right-wing radicals plotted explosions at police stations and military conscription offices in three Russian cities in early May, while several nationalist groups claimed responsibility for burning police cars and setting...