American mixed martial arts (MMA) star Jeff Monson was granted honorary citizenship on Thursday by the internationally unrecognized Republic of Abkhazia, which declared independence from Georgia in 1999. The honor was bestowed upon Monson during a meeting with the breakaway region's president, Raul Khadzhimba, in the Abkhazian capital of Sukhumi. Monson is in town for an MMA match Thursday evening.

Eva Hartog A monument to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in the Siberian city of Surgut has been removed, Interfax news agency reported Thursday. Surgut’s administration told the news agency that the bust of the dictator had been erected illegally and that an administrative working commission had made the decision to remove it on Tuesday, adding that it was currently in storage.

Fifteen percent of all Russian bankemployees have lost their jobs since the start of the country'seconomic crisis in 2014, new data has revealed. Figures from the state statistics agencyRosstat show that almost 120,000 people working in large ormedium-sized banks have lost their job in the past two and and a halfyears. A number accepted a demotion, whileothers moved to a different field within the banking sector, the RBCnewspaper reported Thursday.

As reports that theObama administration are, once again, considering launching airstrikes against Syrian President Bashar Assad, the Russian DefenseMinistry on Thursday issued a clear warning that it will shoot downAmerican aircraft if such a campaign was launched. The statement comesjust days after reports that Moscow had deployed additional S-300surface-to-air missile batteries to its air base in theAssad-controlled Syrian region of Latakia.

Denis Abramov / Vedomosti Russian bankers predict that Rosneft's new privatization plan could lead to a foreign currency deficit, the RBK website reported. Raiffaisenbank’s analysts believe that Rosneft’s plan to buy a 19.5 percent stake in itself from its majority shareholder, state energy company Rosneftegaz, would force the company to transfer virtually all its accumulated foreign currency liquidity to the federal budget.

Renzo Piano Building Workshop An ambitious project to convert a former electric power station on the banks of the Moscow river into a new venue for contemporary art is underway. A collaboration between one of the largest private art institutions in Russia — the V-A-C Foundation — and leading architecture firm the Renzo Piano Building Workshop, it is hoped the GES2 complex will become a major cultural destination in the capital.

Denis Abramov / Vedomosti The real number of Russians emigrating abroad is between three and four times higher than official data, according to a report published by Russia’s Committee of Civil Initiatives. The report, published Thursday, points to significant discrepancies in official Russian statistics compared tp those of the countries that Russians emigrate to. Official U.S.

Russia is financing pensions and state salaries in theself-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, a separatist leader has claimed. Alexander Khodakovsky, commander of "Vostok" batalion and former secretary of Donetsk Security Council, told the Reuters news agency that Russia covered both expenditures “as a priority.” He was removed from the Donetskadministration earlier this year after an internal dispute.

The “Working Youth of Siberia” group originally submitted a request for a permit for the bust, but when they received no answer, went ahead anyway. Eva Hartog SURGUT — Wedged in between the tall cranes of a busy port and the flashy city center of western Siberia’s oil capital Surgut, lies a riverside boulevard. The walkway is freshly paved and lined with faux old-fashioned street lanterns, the frivolities of a city flushed with oil money.

Oksana Pushkina YouTube The head of the State Duma’s committee on family, women, and children has gone public with a bold new suggestion: all the women in the lower house of the Russian parliament should team up and launch a television program. Oksana Pushkina says the reality TV show could be the key to establishing a smooth working relationship between the State Duma’s 70 women deputies, the Interfax news agency reported .

I was conscripted into the Soviet Army in November 1983, barely two months after the tragic night of Sept. 1, when a Soviet Su-15 interceptor jet downed a Korean civilian airliner (KAL007) over the Sea of Japan. By coincidence, my regiment was one of the units directly responsible for the tragedy. Back then, it took eight days for the aging Politburo to agree that Soviet Air Defense had committed a dramatic mistake.

Fight Club Akhmat / VK Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov's three sons, the oldest of whom is just 10 years old, have taken part in a mixed martial arts (MMA) tournament held in the Chechen capital Grozny, the Meduza news site reported. Kadyrov's three sons: 10-year-old Ahmad, 9-year-old Zelimkhan, and 8-year-old Adam took part in the televised event which was hosted on the eve of Kadyrov's birthday on Oct. 4.

Maxim Zmeyev / Reuters Half of Russians believe that Ukrainewas responsible for the downing of Malaysian Airlines passenger jetMH17, a survey by state-run pollster VTsIOM has revealed. The flight was shot down over eastern Ukrainein July 2014, killing all 298 on board. Older Russians were more likely tobelieve that Kiev was responsible for the crash, with 64 percent ofthose aged 60 or older blaming the Ukrainian army. Only 28 percent ofthose aged 18-24 held similar views.

President Vladimir Putin has dismissed the acting governor of Kaliningrad, Evgeny Zinichev, after just two months on the job, according to Interfax news agency. Zinichev, one of Putin’s former bodyguards, was appointed by the president on July 28. According to Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s official spokesperson, Zinichev asked to be transferred to another position, citing “family reasons.” Anton Alikhanov, the head of the regional Kaliningrad government, has been appointed to take his place.

The Russian Army is set to introduceshort-term contracts for soldiers fighting the Islamic State inSyria, the Vedomosti newspaper reported Thursday. A new bill submitted to Russia's StateDuma will allow soldiers to sign contracts for the duration of theiroverseas combat missions if they last for less than 12 months. The army is currently only permitted touse short-term contracts in exceptional circumstances such as naturaldisasters or civil unrest.