Ukraine’s feuding president and prime minister on Sunday agreed to hold an early parliamentary election on September 30, diffusing the country’s months-long political crisis that had threatened to escalate into violence. ”We found a decision, which is a compromise,” Yushchenko was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.
Mstislav Rostropovich played the cello with grace and verve — and lived his life offstage the same way. His death at age 80 takes away one of modern Russia’s most compelling figures, admired both for his musical mastery and his defiance of Soviet repression. Rostropovich stirred souls with playing that was both intense and seemingly effortless.
Mstislav Rostropovich played the cello with grace and verve — and lived his life offstage the same way. His death at age 80 takes away one of modern Russia’s most compelling figures, admired both for his musical mastery and his defiance of Soviet repression. Rostropovich stirred souls with playing that was both intense and seemingly effortless.
Russian veterinary workers incinerated thousands of slaughtered fowl on Wednesday in an attempt to prevent a bird-flu epidemic blamed on wild ducks from spreading further west toward Europe. An expert blamed Russia’s growing problem on a failure to keep domestic fowl isolated from wild birds.
They lived in the same apartment, worked in the same market and — possibly — died within moments of each other on separate airliners that crashed in Russia last week. New details emerged on Monday about the two Chechen women who are the focus of suspicions that the planes were blown up by terrorists. But questions also arose.
Beleaguered Russian oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky has offered to relinquish his stake in oil giant Yukos to pay off its tax debts. Khodorkovsky made the offer on the first day of his trial for fraud and tax evasion. Khodorkovsky faces up to ten years in prison should he be convicted.