Vladimir Putin

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Gorbachev: Russia Is Reverting to Bad Old Days

He writes critical op-ed on 25th anniversary of perestroika

(Newser) - Mikhail Gorbachev warns that Russia is in danger of backsliding into the dark days of the Soviet Union in a critical op-ed piece that seems aimed directly at Vladimir Putin. The country's parliament is no better than a rubber stamp, its courts lack independence, and there's still no real party...

Russia Tests New Stealth Fighter

Twin-engine jet is 5 years from regular military service

(Newser) - Russia successfully tested its first stealth fighter jet today, offering a boost to the country's aviation sector as well as its military. The Sukhoi T-50 is intended to match the stealth capabilities of the US F-22 Raptor, which it resembles. The dual-engine aircraft took off from Komsomolsk-on-Amur, in Siberia, and...

Putin Hints He'll Run for President Again

The Russian prime minister will 'think about it' before 2012 vote

(Newser) - Vladimir Putin is moving closer to retaking the Russian presidency. In a question-and-answer session with the Russian public, a student asked the prime minister whether he'd like to be president again. "I will think about it," Putin said, adding that "there's still plenty of time" before the...

Vladimir Putin, Rap Advocate?
 Vladimir Putin, Rap Advocate? 
HE LOVES THE HIP-HOP

Vladimir Putin, Rap Advocate?

Russian prime minister just plain awkward at music awards show

(Newser) - While it would have been infinitely more entertaining had Vladimir Putin actually tried to freestyle, his appearance at a music awards show this weekend still made newspapers titter. Putin, who first stood around looking awkward while his “youth disguised” security mingled with the dancing crowd, handed out an award...

FBI Let Blacklisted Russian Tycoon Visit US

Organized crime suspect bypasses visa refusal

(Newser) - A Russian billionaire barred from the US for years because authorities suspected him of involvement in organized crime was allowed into the country twice this year under a secret deal with the FBI. Despite the objections of other government agencies, metals tycoon Oleg Deripaska was allowed to bypass the visa...

Top 10 Hottest Heads of State
 Top 10 Hottest 
 Heads of State 
Slideshow

Top 10 Hottest Heads of State

Sorry, Nobel Committee, Obama only ranks 15th

(Newser) - Barack Obama may have won a Nobel Peace Prize, and Yulia Tymoshenko has not, but there’s one thing the Ukrainian prime minister has over the president: She’s ranked No. 1 on HottestHeadsofState.com. The site offers “scientific and unbiased rankings” of world leaders’ hotness, complete with piercing...

This Looks Like a Job for the Neocons

Time for America to start flexing its muscles instead of making deals

(Newser) - Neoconservatives are making a comeback and it's about time, writes Bret Stephens. They're back "because Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Kim Jong Il, and Vladimir Putin never went away," Stephens writes in the Wall Street Journal, and because the world wants America to use its strength to stop Iran and North...

Russia Silent on Iran Concessions

Critics charge that Obama may have scrapped missile shield for nothing

(Newser) - While Russia's leaders praised President Obama's decision to drop plans for a missile shield in Eastern Europe yesterday, they were conspicuously silent on whether they would, in return, join the West in pressuring Iran to halt its nuclear program, the New York Times reports. If Russia doesn't start taking a...

Putin Praises US for Ditching Missile Shield

But Moscow may not support nuclear sanctions against Iran

(Newser) - In a development sure to further tick off President Obama's critics on the right, Vladimir Putin says he's quite pleased with the decision to scrap an American missile-defense system in Eastern Europe, the New York Times reports. “I very much hope that this correct and brave decision will be...

Putin Eyes Return to Russian Presidency

Prime minister says he and Medvedev will decide who gets to run in 2012

(Newser) - Vladimir Putin hinted yesterday that current Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is just keeping his seat warm for him until he can return to his old job in 2012, the Financial Times reports. The prime minister—barred by the constitution from seeking a third consecutive term as president last year—said...

Chávez in Russia for Military Spending Spree

Venezuela recognizes breakaway republics ahead of arms deal talks

(Newser) - Hugo Chávez arrived in Moscow today, where the Venezuelan president is reportedly ready for an arms "shopping spree." Chávez is ready to buy at least 100 tanks for $500 million, reports the Times of London, and a Kremlin aide said Venezuela may get loans for helicopters,...

GQ Buries Story on 'Putin's Dark Rise to Power'

Piece on '99 bombings at odds with Condé Nast's biz in Russia

(Newser) - GQ is keeping a tight lid on one of its own articles that questions the Russian government’s involvement in the 1999 bombings that catapulted Vladimir Putin to power, NPR reports. GQ owner Condé Nast operates in Russia, where dissent is often met with crippling “audits.” So management...

Novel About Corruption May Be Kremlin Official's Work

Close to Zero portrays bribes, fraud as commonplace in contemporary Russia

(Newser) - A novel about a publisher navigating Russia’s complex web of political favors and payoffs may have been written by a top Kremlin official, the Moscow Times reports. Sources at Russky Pioner magazine, which published excerpts of Close to Zero before its release last month, say Vladislav Surkov, a powerful...

Worst-Dressed World Leaders
 Worst-Dressed 
 World Leaders 

Worst-Dressed World Leaders

Time lampoons the decadent, inept or just plain weird fashion decisions of the powerful

(Newser) - Not all world leaders are world fashion leaders. Time pokes fun at the most inept:
  1. Kim Jong-Il. He mainly wears khaki suits that call attention to his paunch and “Kanye West-sized” sunglasses.
  2. Vladimir Putin. Not a bad dresser—when he wears clothes. Unfortunately, he's often snapped shirtless to keep
...

Putin Trip Is Tough-Guy Photo Op

Official pics show Russian PM swimming, riding bareback in Siberia

(Newser) - Vladimir Putin spent his vacation in southern Siberia swimming, climbing trees, and riding a horse bareback—all while shirtless. Though state news agencies portrayed the Russian prime minister’s trip as a vacation, the series of tough-guy photographs that emerged make it hard not to think he had a motive...

Putin, Chechnya Silence Yet Another Voice

(Newser) - The kidnapping and murder of activist Natalya Estemirova in Chechnya was horrific, her friend writes in a Washington Post op-ed, but not surprising in the "grossly misruled" region where "anyone who challenges the authorities risks her life." Tanya Loshkina, a director of Human Rights Watch, had...

Russia Censors South Park Putin Scene
Russia Censors South Park Putin Scene

Russia Censors South Park Putin Scene

(Newser) - South Park has angered another vigilant parent—Mother Russia. A Russian channel cut a scene from a rerun this week because it depicted Vladimir Putin as greedy and desperate, a network spokesman announced today. It's unclear whether the decision came from the channel's executives or regulators, but the move prompted...

Obama Meets Putin, Touts Democracy in Speech

(Newser) - Barack Obama began his second day in Russia by meeting with Vladimir Putin at the president-turned-prime minister's country home outside Moscow. The two leaders both expressed a desire for improved relations, and observers said they had a cordial discussion. The president then addressed a Moscow economics university, where he told...

US vs. Russia: Who's Won Summits Past?

(Newser) - As Barack Obama arrives in Moscow for his toughest diplomatic challenge since taking office, the Guardian looks back on earlier US-Russia showdowns to gauge who had the upper hand.
  • Kennedy vs. Khrushchev, 1961: The ultimate cold war summit, shadowed by the space race and the Berlin Wall. A draw, although
...

Russia Agrees to Let US Use Airspace for Afghan War

Deal on supply lines forged ahead of Obama's Russian visit

(Newser) - Russia has agreed to let American planes transporting troops and equipment to Afghanistan fly over its airspace, the BBC reports. The deal will be officially announced next week when President Obama visits Moscow. Volatility affecting supply lines through Pakistan and Central Asia made securing such an agreement one of Obama's...

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