A woman casting her ballot for the parliamentary elections in Riga, Latvia. Latvia's ruling coalition will remain in power after winning a majority of seats in Saturday's parliamentary elections, a political exercise dominated by debates about the country's ties with Russia, and with its own Russian-speaking population. Opposition party Harmony Center, popular among the country's large Russian-speaking population, received 23.3 percent of the votes, earning 25 seats in the 100-seat parliament.

NOON AGAINST PUTIN Russians Abroad Take Part in Anti-Putin Election Protest, In Pictures Russians living across the world took part in the anti-Putin protest on the last day of voting in the presidential election. 1 Min read

Legendary theater director Yury Lyubimov, pictured in July 2005, passed away Sunday morning at the age of 97. Yury Lyubimov, who died late Sunday morning at the age of 97, was a man of and for his times. There is something uncanny about the way his life played out in time. The algorithms aren't perfect, but something in them suggests a higher plan. Lyubimov was born a week before the 1917 Revolution. He died on Oct. 5, three years short of age 100, five days after his 97th birthday.

Russian investment bank VTB Capital is switching focus to Asian markets, the chairman of the bank's board of directors said, after the West imposed sanctions on its parent, VTB Bank. Russian investment bank VTB Capital is switching focus to Asian markets, the chairman of the bank's board of directors said, after the West imposed sanctions on its parent, VTB Bank.

Despite a cease-fire declared a month ago between the Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian rebels, the biggest city in eastern Ukraine remains embroiled in fighting that includes daily artillery and rocket barrage hitting residential areas. The fighting focusing on the airport of the rebel-held city of Donetsk shows the difficulties of enforcing a truce that has held in most other areas of eastern Ukraine since it was declared on Sept. 5. Day after day, artillery shells and rockets fly overhead.

President Vladimir Putin has pardoned a former Federal Security Service officer who was sentenced to 11 years in prison on a murder conviction in 2012. The decree, a copy of which was published on the government's website for official legal information, pardons Dmitry Maximov and expunges his criminal record. Maximov was convicted of killing a man in a street fight, news site Znak.com reported.

Vorobyev’s proposal is rooted in the fact that Russia, as the host of the 2018 World Cup football tournament, is automatically included in the 32-team field, thus its national team does not have to face the rigors of the qualifying round. Originally published by EurasiaNet.org Football may soon provide a gauge of the extent by which reason governs political decision-making in Russia.

Warmer, sunnier days are headed Moscow's way, the director of the state weather forecast agency told Interfax on Sunday. Central Russia will experience temperatures as high as 15 degrees by the end of the week, a significant improvement from Sunday's high of 8 degrees Celsius, said Roman Vilfand of the Hydrometeorological Center.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will attend a summit of European and Asian leaders on a trip starting next week that will also include the signing of energy and high-speed rail deals with Russia, the government and state media said. Li's Oct. 9-16 swing through the continent is the second this year, and culminates in the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit in the Italian city of Milan, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Russian Premier League club Lokomotiv Moscow appointed Miodrag Bozovic as its head coach on Saturday. The Railwaymen, who finished third last season, have been without a manager since Leonid Kuchuk was relieved of his duties last month following a run of poor results. Kuchuk has not been formally dismissed and is still under contract with Lokomotiv, so 46-year-old Montenegrin Bozovic will initially take over in a caretaker role.

A St. Petersburg currency exchange from September 16th shows the Russian ruble hitting 38.05 to the dollar. Russia's beaten-down stocks may have tempted U.S. fund giant Franklin Templeton but few other investors are following, as the country's economic meltdown fuels a nosedive in its currency that could render any investment worthless.

A suicide bombing in the Chechen capital Grozny killed at least four police officers on Sunday, around 12:15 p.m. Moscow time. The bomber was identified as 19-year-old Opti Mudarov, Interfax reported, citing an undisclosed source close to the case. The bomber's identity could not immediately be independently verified. At least five bodies could be seen at the site of the explosion in pictures posted on social networks by people at the scene.

Norwegian energy firm Statoil has signed a deal to sell gas to Ukraine state gas firm Naftogaz, the Nordic firm said on Friday, providing another source of gas for Ukraine after Russia cut off supplies. On Thursday a source in the Ukrainian energy sector told Reuters Ukraine had received its first supplies from Norway via Slovakia and that the price was much lower than for Russian gas. "Statoil has signed an agreement with yet another new-to-Statoil gas customer in the European gas market.

Legendary Spartak Moscow midfielder Fyodor Cherenkov passed away on Saturday at the age of 55, the club said in an online statement. Cherenkov played 494 matches for Spartak between 1977 and 1993, more than any other player in the club's history. He played on the Soviet national team, scoring 12 goals in 32 appearances, and was named the country's best footballer on two occasions.

Synthetic marijuana and other smoking blends known generally as “spice” have hit the market, propelled by online sales and Internet marketing. Drugs claim the lives of the overwhelming majority of Russians who die young, a leading official told a television interviewer Saturday. In the past five years, 550,000 people between the ages of 18 and 34 have lost their lives in Russia, Viktor Ivanov, head of the Federal Drug Control Service, said in an interview with TV Center.