Gorbachev Warns of Egypt-Style Russian Revolt

Gorbachev Warns of Egypt-Style Russian Revolt - WSJ.com: "MOSCOW—Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev said he is 'ashamed' with the way Russia is run today and warned the Kremlin could face an Egypt-style uprising.
Nearly two decades after his reforms led to the collapse of the Soviet Union, Mr. Gorbachev denounced Russia's 'ruling class' as 'rich and dissolute,' in an interview published Wednesday in Novaya Gazeta, the opposition newspaper of which he is part-owner. 'I'm ashamed for us and for the country,' he said.
He lambasted the Kremlin for eroding the free media and elections that he introduced in the 1980s, and warned that its grip on power could be threatened."

Steel tycoons top a list of Russia's super-rich

BBC News - Steel tycoons top a list of Russia's super-rich: "Two steel tycoons have kept the top two positions in the 2011 list of Russia's richest people from Finans magazine.
NLMK owner Vladimir Lisin, who topped the list, has seen his wealth rise by $9.5bn to $28.3bn (£17.7bn), thanks largely to rising metal prices.
Mikhail Prokhorov of Onexim Group was in second place. Alisher Usmanov, an Arsenal Football Club shareholder, jumped four positions to third.
The number of US-dollar billionaires also rose to 114 from 77 in a year.

Russian cosmonauts imitate landing on Mars

Russian cosmonauts imitate landing on Mars — RT: "Almost nine months of isolation, training and preparation have finally paid off, as cosmonauts have “set foot” on the Red Planet for the first time.Italy’s Diego Urbina and Russia’s Aleksandr Smoleevsky have made their first steps on the Martian surface – at least virtually. They have taken samples of Martian soil and measured the magnetic field, as well as planted the flags of China, Russia and the European Space Agency.Mars 500 may be a simulated mission, with the planet's surface modeled in the Moscow Region, but the “space walk” was monitored by Russia's real mission control.

Russian pensioner pays $1,300 for ex-lover's murder

Russian pensioner pays $1,300 for ex-lover's murder: "SAINT PETERSBURG - A 70-YEAR-OLD retired Russian woman has been charged with offering to pay 30,000 rubles (S$1,300) for the murder of her former lover, a policeman less than half her age, an official said Tuesday.
'The woman plotted the murder of a 32-year-old policeman with whom she had an intimate relationship some time before,' a spokesperson for the regional investigative committee in the Far North city of Murmansk told AFP.

Russian wins World Cup sprint at home

Russian wins World Cup sprint at home: "Alexei Petukhov of Russia won the 1.3-kilometer World Cup freestyle sprint race Saturday at Demino, and Vesna Fabjan led the Slovenian 1-2 finish in the women's event.
Petukhov led the final heat from the start to clock 2 minutes, 32.7 seconds. Ola Vigen Hattestad was 1.4 seconds behind for second, followed by Norwegian teammate Anders Gloeersen."

Russia Remembers Yeltsin On Late Leader's 80th Birthday

Russia Remembers Yeltsin On Late Leader's 80th Birthday - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty © 2011: "Today is the 80th anniversary of the birth of Boris Yeltsin, the first president of the Russian Federation.

The anniversary is being marked this week in Russia with a series of programs, exhibits, and tributes.

President Dmitry Medvedev hailed the late former leader as a man of 'conviction and will' who, despite all the difficulties, stayed Russia's pro-democracy course in the 1990s.

Medvedev today unveiled a monument to Yeltsin in Yekaterinburg, the former leader's home city in the Urals region.

Russian Tourists Refuse to Leave Egypt

Russian Tourists Refuse to Leave Egypt News The Moscow Times: "Most of the 30,000 Russian tourists currently vacationing in Egypt are reluctant to pack their bags despite violent anti-government protests that have killed at least 100 Egyptians and injured thousands more in the past week and prompted tourists from other countries to rush to the airport, the Federal Tourism Agency said Sunday.
No Russians have been killed or wounded in Egypt as of Sunday, but Azeri diplomat Nidzhat Godzhayev was shot dead in Cairo amid the violence dubbed the 'Nile Revolution,' which began last Tuesday with thousands of protesters demanding the ouster of Hosni Mubarak, an 82-year-old authoritarian leader who has ruled the country for 30 years."

Russian investigators uncover identity of Moscow bomber

Russian investigators uncover identity of Moscow bomber World news The Observer: "Russian investigators have said they now know the identity of the suicide bomber who claimed the lives of 35 people in an attack on Moscow's busiest airport last Monday.
The attacker is a 20-year-old man from the unsettled Caucasus region in the south of the country. Islamist rebels have been battling to form an independent state in the region for several years.
Federal investigators have yet to name the man amid fears that it would damage efforts to arrest the masterminds behind the attack on Domodedovo airport. 'It was no accident that the terrorist attack was carried out in the international arrivals hall,' the investigators said. 'The terrorist attack was aimed first and foremost at foreign citizens.'"

Terrorist games linked to Russian airport bomb

Terrorist games linked to Russian airport bomb: "The Russian media have begun to explore possible links between a computer game called Call of Duty and this week's deadly Moscow airport bombing.
A news report from Russia Today television has compared a famous airport scene from the game with the aftermath of the bombing at Domodedovo International Airport in which 35 people were killed.
Even before its release 2009, the enormously popular Activision game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, began attracting controversy after leaked footage revealed players could join a group of Russian ultra-nationalist terrorists planning to massacre civilians in an airport.

Russia wins women"s biathlon World Cup relay

Russia wins women"s biathlon World Cup relay : Voice of Russia: "Russia dominated a women's biathlon World Cup relay in Italy on Saturday, beating second-place Sweden by nearly a minute. The quartet of Svetlana Sleptsova, Anna Bogaliy-Titivets, Natala Guseva and Olga Zaitzeva completed the 4x6-kilometre course in one hour, 11 minutes and 14.7 seconds. Bronze medals went to Germany.
Saturday’s triumph came in the wake of an array of mishaps at preliminary stages, which, however, failed to prevent Russian biathlonists from finally prevailing over their rivals.