Steve Gutterman

Russia says any US sanctions imposed on Moscow over the crisis in Ukraine will boomerang and that Crimea has the right to self-determination.

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova has said their release from prison was not a humanitarian gesture, but a propaganda stunt ahead of the Winter Olympics.

Failure to renew an arms embargo on Syria could hamper US-Russian peace talks with the worn-torn nation.

Pussy Riot's lawyer says he has seen signs of a backlash against their Western support that may not bode well for softer sentences.

Russian authorities say they detained four suspects over attacks that wounded a top Islamic leader and killed his deputy.

Kofi Annan was in Moscow on Sunday for talks with President Dmitry Medvedev, which has crucial influence over efforts to end violence in Syria.

Russia says it will veto a draft UN resolution calling on Syria's president to step down unless a clause ruling out military intervention was added.

A long-time ally of Vladimir Putin has called for the creation of a liberal party to fill a void in Russian politics exposed by mass protests.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin vowed revenge on Tuesday for a suicide bombing that killed at least 35 people at Russia's busiest airport.

Cold weather so painful that even winter-hardened Russians complained about it has gripped Moscow and much of the rest of the country. At least two dozen people have reportedly died of exposure nationwide and Russians used a record amount of electricity to keep warm. Temperatures dropped to minus 30 degrees Celsius overnight.

The head of the United Nations refugee agency said on Thursday he is concerned about the fate of more than 40 000 highland quake survivors expected to flee their mountain villages as the frigid Himalayan winter hits, while a Nato official said troops are racing against time to get aid to the most vulnerable.