The man behind Russia’s tightly controlled political system, has resigned – but did he jump or was he pushed?

Five years after his savage, unsolved beating, the campaigning journalist is buried

Russia has put aside its anger over what it sees as an unfair levy on major deposits held in Cypriot banks, and agreed to support Europe’s bailout of the island by refinancing a major loan to the country. The usually hawkish President Vladimir Putin had no sharp rhetoric for the EU or Cyprus today, but instead confirmed that Russia would backstop the EU bailout by restructuring a €2.5bn loan first extended two years ago.

The deal will see investors with more than €100,000 in the nation’s largest banks forfeit a large chunk of their deposits

Easy visa access and lax banking regulations have made Cyprus a favoured tax haven for Russian businessmen

A controversial Russian banker has been granted political asylum in Britain in a move which is likely to increase tension between London and Moscow.

President Vladimir Putin signed an anti-smoking bill into law today that looks set to transform Russian public life. The legislation will see smoking outlawed in government buildings and other public institutions from this summer, and in all restaurants, bars and cafes from next year.

State of emergency after dozens die

The London court case brought by Pavel Karpov is an interesting development, because if the case comes in front of a judge it would be likely to throw up details that officials fingered for their alleged involvement in the fraud would perhaps prefer to keep quiet.

Everyone from nervous, hasty converts to tin-foiled pilgrims looking for room in a mountain were left somewhat wanting, says Peter Popham

Vladimir Putin is waging the biggest public health drive since former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev failed to wean his country off alcohol abuse with a crackdown on tobacco and drink.

Many Russians say that their country is returning to a Brezhnev-style era of stagnation. The question is not merely whether they're right, but what can be done about it

Firing off bullets into the sky has been a jubilant climax to thousands of weddings in Russia's remote areas - but now the custom is under threat, as armed guests venture closer to cities and stray bullets cause an increasing amount of mayhem.

And you thought Vladimir Putin commuted to the Kremlin topless on the back of a lion. Nope, the President gets around the Russian capital like millions of other Muscovites: via its notoriously snarled-up streets. So bad is gridlock in Moscow that the President has now taken to working from his suburban home to save angering his subjects with his massive motorcade, for which everything must give way.