Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has decided to run for the presidency next year, raising the possibility of a power struggle with his protege Dmitry Medvedev, the incumbent Kremlin leader, say highly placed sources. The once-close relationship between Mr Putin, the tough-talking former KGB officer who has inspired a personality cult, and Mr Medvedev, a softly spoken Twitter enthusiast, has become... 

The former world finance chief accused of rape believed he was the target of a plot organised by Russian PM Vladimir Putin, it was claimed yesterday. A colleague said Dominique Strauss-Kahn told him the Russians wanted him fired as boss of the International Monetary Fund. And the 62-year-old Frenchman, facing charges of trying to rape a hotel maid in New York, accused France and Russia of hatching... 

Serbia may become one of the largest buyers of Russian arms. This can become possible after Vladimir Putin’s recent visit to the country. Belgrade may receive a ten-billion-dollar loan soon. Three billion dollars of the amount will be spent to modernize outdated Soviet arms and purchase state-of-the-art Russian arms. What exactly do the Serbs want to buy from Russia? No official statement on... 

Some countries Monday blasted the ongoing West-led military operation against Libya government forces, saying the air raids went beyond the UN resolution and must be scrapped immediately. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin severely criticized the U.S. role in the “Odyssey Dawn” operation against Libya. “The use of force against other countries became a steady trend in the U.S.... 

Medvedev visits a base in the town of Shchelkovo outside Moscow. Less than one year ahead of presidential elections, the conflict in Libya has finally laid bare tensions between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his predecessor Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Analysts have long claimed to have detected disputes on issues ranging from the construction of a road through a forest outside Moscow to... 

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... 

Russian nuclear specialists will leave for Japan Monday to help study the situation of Japan’s nuclear power stations after the devastating earthquake. Experts from Russian Atomic Energy Agency and the Institute for Safe Development of Nuclear Power Industry of the Russian Academy of Sciences will go to Japan, Rafael Arutyunyan, a representative of the industry told reporters here. The Russian... 

Russian prime minister, Vladimir Putin, has issued a decree calling for Microsoft to be taken off all government computers and replaced by Linux. While weirdie beardie open saucers will be cheering, it is worthwhile to point out that Putin is jolly cross with Microsoft at the moment. For a while he had a cracking good method of dealing with people who didn’t like him much. Coppers would appear... 

The arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for sexual misconduct illustrates the hypocrisy of the West about democracy, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says. In the strongest comments to come out of Russia in the latest WikiLeaks saga, Putin also took aim at the U.S. for the cables, some of which had derided Russia a “mafia state.” Assange’s arrest in London earlier this... 

Putin and Erdogan At news conference with Turkish counterpart, Russian PM says deadly incident which took place in international waters ‘unacceptable’. Russia’s prime minister has condemned Israel’s deadly raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla in a major victory for Turkey. Turkey, which is hosting a 22-nation security summit, is seeking international condemnation for the May 31 raid... 

U.S.-China Military Tensions Grow Even though the U.S. military budget is almost ten times that of China’s (with a population more than four times as large) and Washington plans a record $708 billion defense budget for next year compared to Russia spending less than $40 billion last year for the same, China and Russia are portrayed as threats to the U.S. and its allies. China has no troops outside... 

Russian President In late December, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev announced that his government intended to develop a new generation of nuclear weapons. Medvedev’s statement came in the midst of ongoing and thus far unsuccessful negotiations with the US over the signing of a new treaty that would replace the recently expired START-I agreement on nuclear weapons. Speaking on television on Christmas... 

Russian Army Parading in Moscow The Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, last week issued what has become one of his customary trademark warnings by announcing that Russia will start to build offensive weapons to counter American global aggression. Moscow and Washington are currently in discussions regarding a successor to the landmark Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty which was signed between the... 

A Topol-M missile in Red Square. Vladimir Putin called for more Russian offensive weapons to punch through America's new missile defence shield Russia needs more weapons to punch through America’s new missile defence shield, Vladimir Putin said yesterday in blunt remarks that will complicate efforts to cut the nuclear arsenals of the former Cold War rivals. The Russian Prime Minister, reasserting... 

In Moscow, Vladimir Putin has held his longest-ever question-and-answer session with the public. During the 4-hour conversation, the Prime Minister covered everything from the economy, jailed former Oligarchs to depression.  Read More »