Topic: The Kremlin

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Terrorism & Security I spy, you spy: Russian officials downplay Fogle incident

Russian officials are avoiding inflammatory language as they talk about the case of Ryan Fogle, a US diplomat suspected of being a CIA agent.
Terrorism & Security A flurry of diplomacy over Syria, but will it amount to progress?

There is concern over a Russian missile shipment to the Assad regime, but cautious optimism persists in some Western capitals over a planned international conference on Syria.
Global News Blog US balks as Russia prepares to deliver missiles to Syria (+video)

Israel says Russia is preparing to deliver anti-aircraft missiles and launchers to the Assad regime, which the US warns will further destabilize a troubled region.
Russia steps up pressure with 'foreign agent' campaign

The Russian government's list is growing of NGOs being targeted for receiving some foreign funds. No major NGOs have agreed to the label, suggesting a wave of shutdowns may be looming.
At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw – a little

Secretary of State John Kerry sought to ease diplomatic tensions with Russia in preparation for meetings between Putin and Obama later this year. But Syria remains a major sticking point.
Anti-Putin protesters march in Moscow, but momentum weakened

Tens of thousands turned out for today's protest, but their numbers have dwindled from Putin's inauguration 12 months ago – likely due to the Kremlin's criminal cases against the protest leaders.
Japan and Russia want to finally end World War II, agree it is 'abnormal' not to

Today's summit between Shinzo Abe and Vladimir Putin comes at an opportune moment but may founder on the old problem of the Kuril Islands, which Japan still wants back.
Cover Story Boston bombing reveals a new American maturity toward insecurity

The post-9/11 'new normal' has evolved: The tactical and emotional responses to the Boston Marathon bombings show what experts call a national maturity toward terrorism that echoes longer experience with such crises in England, Spain, Russia, Japan, and Israel.
Putin says opportunity for better US-Russian ties in Boston aftermath (+video)

Speaking in his annual town-hall meeting, which this year ran nearly five hours, the Russian president called for greater US-Russian cooperation on terrorism after the Boston bombing.
Chechen strongman corrects his minister - with a boxing glove to the head

Ramzan Kadyrov's sparring match – ostensibly good-natured 'criticism' of the minister's job performance – is seen by some as reflective of the darker undertones of Kadyrov's hard rule.
Opinion After Boston bombings: Beware Russia-US cooperation on counter-terrorism

After the Boston bombings, Russian President Putin and US President Obama announced closer cooperation on counter-terrorism. But Americans should have their eyes wide open about any counter-terrorism agreements with Russia.
US, Russia missed chances to intercept Tamerlan Tsarnaev

Russia warned the US about the future Boston Marathon bomber back in 2011. But when Mr. Tsarnaev returned to Russia the next year, authorities there apparently left him alone.
Russia aims to set stern example with NGO prosecution

An election monitoring group has become the first to be charged under a law passed last year that requires nongovernmental organizations to register as 'foreign agents' or face punitive measures.
Global News Blog Not so KGB cool: Putin blows top at his cabinet in new video

The Russian president is known for being unflappable, but a leaked video shows him shouting and cursing at his cabinet ministers over their 'extremely low' quality of work.
US and Russia take tentative positive step amid blacklist battle

A Kremlin official said Obama's proposals on how to move forward on defense and trade were 'constructive' – high praise, considering Russia's frustration over US blacklisting of its officials.
'Close your foreign accounts or be fired,' Putin tells Russian officials

The Russian president ordered all state officials to declare assets and divest foreign-held funds, in an apparent effort to tighten the Kremlin's controls and stem corruption.
Report leaked by Putin ally says ruling party actually lost in 2011

Leaks about the report, which says the Communists won the 2011 parliamentary elections, suggest a power struggle could be going on among Russia's elite - and perhaps involving Putin.
In blow to inquest, key suspect in Russian spy murder refuses to cooperate

Andrei Lugovoi, who is now an elected official in Russia, says he won't talk even by video to British investigators about the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko in London just over six years ago.
Russian beauty queens offer opinions beyond world peace, making people mad

Russians have embraced beauty pageants since the end of the Soviet era, but in recent months at least two beauty queens have triggered media scandal over their criticisms of Russia.
On International Women's Day, Russian women want change – not gifts

International Women's Day has been a popular holiday in Russia since the Soviet era, when women played a major role in work and politics. But they have been largely sidelined by men since.
A ballet villain gone bad? Bolshoi dancer accused of planning acid attack

The January attack on the legendary ballet troupe's artistic director was allegedly masterminded by Pavel Dmitrichenko, a dancer who specialized in villainous roles like Ivan the Terrible.
Deal at Czech nuclear power plant fuels US-Russia economic rivalry

Companies with ties to the US and Russia are battling for a contract to expand a Czech nuclear power plant, which analysts say may be the gateway to kickstarting other nuclear power projects in Eastern Europe.
As emotions over US-Russia adoptions intensify, a rift widens into a chasm

Some 20,000 people turned out for a protest in Moscow this weekend over the death of a 3-year-old adoptee in Texas, which was ruled an accident. Russian officials are demanding more evidence.
Moscow says US aid for Syria helps 'extremists'

The Kremlin has urged the US to move cautiously. Moscow claims it is doing all it can to promote a settlement in Syria that avoids an Afghanistan-style militant blowback.
Syrian government offers to meet with opposition

Against a backdrop of steady military gains for the opposition forces, Bashar Assad's government proposed a meeting. Critics call it a tactic to keep western arms out of opposition hands.