Greenpeace Russia An investigation into a violent attack on environmental activists has ended without any arrests or charges, according to reporting by OVD-info . In September 2016, eight men assaulted environmental activists from Greenpeace and Ecological Watch who were working as volunteer firefighters in the Krasnodar region of Russia. The assailants slashed car tires and even threw a flash-bang grenade into an activist's vehicle.

Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP Russia’s military intervention in Syria has paid important foreign and domestic policy returns for the Kremlin. The Kremlin has demonstrated that it is willing and able to project military force well beyond its immediate neighborhood. It has complicated the military mission of the U.S. and its coalition allies in Syria, and increased pressure on Europe by adding to the flow of refugees.

Protecting human rights should not create a threat to statesovereignty, undermine “the moral standards of the society” or “disrupt itsreligious identity,” Valery Zorkin, chief justice of Russia’s ConstitutionalCourt, said Thursday at the St. Petersburg International Law Forum. Zorkin argued that defending the rights of the majority isequally as important as defending the rights of various minority groups.

Natalie-Kate Pangilinan integrated a white tiled wall into her display of designs for a staging of Josef Brodsky's poem 'Gorbunov and Gorchakov' to create her own psychiatric ward, complete with white curtains and medical instruments. A.A. BAKHRUSHIN STATE CENTRAL THEATER MUSEUM Until recently, Medical Clinic No. 32 was little different from thousands of other hospitals abandoned after the collapse of the USSR.

Юбилей: anniversary and party When youbegin to study a foreign language, at first you are struck by all thedifferences — and how wrong all those differences are. I mean, six main casesin Russian — really? And aspect? You really think I can take the time to figureout if I’m talking about a habitual or a one-time action before I say when I’mgoing to go home tonight ( возвращаться or вернуться )? And consonant clusters like in взгляд (view)? Come on, Russian! Give me a break!

Russian gas monopoly Gazprom Head Alexei Miller (R) and Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin. Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF) published its latest investigative work on Friday, revealing what it says is a cartel of businesses owned by Yevgeny Prigozhin and contracted by the Defense Ministry. Widely known as “Vladimir Putin’s favorite chef,” Prigozhin is a billionaire restaurateur with a history of catering to St.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his former wife Lyudmila are seen at a reception following his inauguration at the Kremlin Palace in Moscow, in this May 7, 2000 file photo. AP / Kremlin Press Service The former wife of Russian PresidentVladimir Putin has been linked to a Russian company collectingmillions of dollars from an historic property in Moscow, aninvestigation by the Reuters news agency has revealed.

Kremlin Press Service Vladimir Putin has recently returned from the "One Belt, One Road" forum in Beijing, and everyone is satisfied. For China, it was very important that Putin attended. The forum, held over the weekend, was supposed to solidify China’s new role as a motor of economic integration in Eurasia. China has already decided to make the forum a regular event, and Russians involved in organizing the event feel China is essentially attempting to create a parallel G20.

The Soviet Union had three massive youth organizations: Oktyabryata for young children in elementary school students, Pioneers for middle schoolers, and Komsomol for high-school students. Today, the Pioneer Organization, whose motto was "always ready" marks its 95th anniversary. Here, the Moscow Times presents a visual history of youth movement from its Soviet days.

AP The Ukrainian government is preparing to prosecute deceased Soviet dictator Josef Stalin for his 1944 deportation of the Crimean Tatars. Stalin and his chief of secret police, Lavrenty Beria, could both be charged with genocide, Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office announced on its website.

A Moscow court has ordered the parents of deceased Russian singer Jeanna Friske to return 21.6 million rubles ($379,000) to the Russian Help Foundation, after ruling that they have failed to spend money collected ahead of Friske’s death from brain cancer in June 2015. Friske’s parents have denied the charges, saying that their accountant is preparing a full financial disclosure. Friske’s mother, Olga, did not attend Friday’s hearing.

Ivan Sekretarev / AP In a bid to shore up his popularity among parents, President Vladimir Putin will meet with the creators of Russia’s two most popular cartoon shows, according to the independent television station Dozhd . Two sources reportedly told the network that the president will likely sit down with the producers of “Kikoriki” and “Masha and the Bear” on May 31, just before International Children's Day.

Russia's astrologists, clairvoyants andtraditional healers could soon face jail time for operating workingwithout a license in a proposed clampdown on “occult magicalactivity.” The new bill, which was submitted tothe Russian parliament on Friday, would punish mystics if theiradvice harms human health or damages property. Traditional healers or other alternative therapists wouldface a maximum of five years imprisonment if their work resulted in aclient's death.

Russia’sNational Guard is planning to train IT experts and specialists to monitor social networks, the Interfax news agency reported Friday, citing first deputycommander of the National Guard Sergei Melikov. “We’relooking at areas of work we would like to develop” Melikov told reporters. "Mainly social media monitoring." Monitoringsocial networks would help the law enforcement agency to prevent attacks against the national guard like the one in the Republic of Chechnya in late March this year.

Lev Fedoseyev / TASS On May 9, Muscovites gathered on Red Square for an annual tradition: the Victory Day military parade. Formally, the parade marks the Soviet Union’s triumph over Nazi Germany in World War II. Informally, it gives the Kremlin a chance to send its latest tanks and missiles rolling down the street and show off its resurgent military might.