The latest: Russian Voters Want Putin to Run for 3rd Term

08.06.2006
Russian Voters Want Putin to Run for 3rd Term
Fifty-nine percent of Russians believe the constitution should be changed to allow President Vladimir Putin to run for a third term, a new opinion poll showed. The law requires Putin to step down when his second term ends in 2008 and he insists that is what he will do.

08.06.2006
Zarqawi Killing Short-term Victory for U.S. — Russian MP
A senior member of Russia’s parliament said Thursday the elimination of the al-Qaeda leader in Iraq was a major but short-term victory for the U.S.-led coalition forces in the country.

08.06.2006
Some Russians Believe Their Team Will Win World Cup In Which It Is Not Playing
According to the latest poll, about 6 per cent of Russians believe that their country would win the world soccer championship, which starts Friday in Germany. This year, Russia is not taking part in the World Cup.

08.06.2006
Russia’s Kuznetsova Advances to French Open Final
Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova fought through to her first French Open final on Thursday with a dogged 5-7 7-6 6-2 victory over Czech teenager Nicole Vaidisova.

08.06.2006
Indian President Known as “Missile Man” Pilots Russian Fighter Jet
President Abdul Kalam has become the oldest Indian to co-pilot a fighter jet when he made a sortie in a Russian-made Sukhoi 30 MKI multirole fighter-bomber over western India.

08.06.2006
Russian State Companies to Sell Their Media Assets — Official
The head of the Russian Agency for Press and Mass Communications has said that the major state companies would dispose of their media assets in the near future.

08.06.2006
Policeman Jailed for 20 Years for Detonating Grenade in Courtroom
A St. Petersburg police officer has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for detonating a hand grenade in a court room, killing a patrolman and wounding ten other people.

08.06.2006
Number of HIV-infected Women in Russia Growing
Russia’s chief medical officer, Gennady Onishchenko, raised concerns at a Moscow conference on HIV/AIDS in Eurasia Thursday over the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS among women, echoing comments made by other health officials that the disease was spreading at increasing rates through sexual contacts.

08.06.2006
Moscow Janitor Turns in $20,000 to Police
A Moscow janitor who found $20,000 in a plastic bag while mowing grass has turned it in to the police.

08.06.2006
Amnesty International Starts Support Action for Jailed Belarus Opposition Activists
Amnesty International has announced the beginning of “summer postcard action” - human rights activists from all over the world are invited to send postcards with messages of support to jailed Belarus oppositionists.

08.06.2006
Tajik Students Attacked in Russian Capital, Police Reportedly Involved
Prosecutors have launched a probe into an attack on Tajik students that took place at a student hostel in southeastern Moscow. Media reports said earier a group of policemen broke into the hostel on Wednesday night and beat up several students, taking away their money and cell phones.

08.06.2006
UN War Crimes Prosecutor Says Russia Fails to Cooperate
The prosecutor for the UN war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia criticized Russia on Wednesday for failing to hand over a Bosnian Serb accused of rape and torture during the Bosnian war.

08.06.2006
Russian Grandpa Jailed for Robbing Grandson’s Piggy-Bank
A Russian court has sentenced a man to three years in jail for robbing his grandson’s piggy-bank. The money, originally saved to buy a big fluffy toy, was spent on vodka instead.

08.06.2006
FBI Sought Russian Satellite Photos to Track Oklahoma City Bomber
In the months after the Oklahoma City bombing, the FBI tried to buy satellite photos from a Russian company to track Timothy McVeigh’s movements before the attack.

08.06.2006
Russia Warns Against NATO Taking in Former Soviet Ukraine and Georgia
Russia warned against NATO taking in the former Soviet republics of Ukraine and Georgia, saying such a colossal geopolitical shift would threaten relations.

08.06.2006
Latvia’s Vike-Freiberga Blasts Russia for Failure to Acknowledge Stalin Atrocities
Latvia’s President Vaira Vike-Freiberga rebuked Russia for failing to acknowledge decades of Stalinist era oppression. Latvia, she said, is ready to develop “a friendly, future-oriented and pragmatic partnership with Russia based on mutual respect, non-interference and the true respect for human rights.”

08.06.2006
Christian Relic Brought to Russian Capital
Thousands of believers gathered at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow Wednesday to pray over a relic — the right hand of St. John the Baptist.