Oliver Stone Andrew Medichini / AP In a preview of Oliver Stone’s documentary “The Putin Interviews,” Russian President Vladimir Putin drops a bombshell. Asked by Stone if he has grandchildren, Putin smiles and answers “yes.” Questions about Putin’s personal affairs are Russian media’s most explicit no-go area. The makeup of the country’s first family remains a mystery. State media are under strict instructions to never mention Putin’s daughters or ex-wife, unless commanded to do so.

Kremlin Press Service The audience of Direct Line, a live question and answer session with President Putin, were gathered in a health resort outside Moscow where they were briefed on how to behave during the upcoming show, the RBC news outlet reported June 14. The guests were divided into groups and asked to read their questions for Putin to “girls from the television” who “made notes in a notebook,” an RBC source said.

Police detain a protester In Moscow, Russia, June 12, 2017. Evgeny Feldman / Pool Photo via AP As protesters gathered in Moscow on June 12, one thing was clear: This was not a repeat of the 2011-2012 anti-government protests on Bolotnaya Square. You could hear it in the demonstrators’ voices. Young protesters — few older than their early twenties — were singing the national anthem on Pushkinskaya Ploshchad in the very center of Moscow.

Vedomosti A bill outlining Moscow authorities' controversial demolition program passed its third, and final, reading in the State Duma on Wednesday. The demolition plans have sparked the widespread protests in the city in recent months. Just two lawmakers voted against the bill, one abstained, and 399 deputies voted for it, the Republic news website reported. Ahead of the vote several dozen Muscovites picketed the parliament building, demanding the bill be abolished.

State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin said that Western sanctions against Russia and Belarus are the result of its contempt towards ethnic Slavs, the Interfax news agency reported today. “This is beyond logic,” Volodin said, adding "those who stand behind these sanctions can be suspected of conspiring against Slavs.” The statement comes after U.S. President Donald Trump proposed extending sanctions against Belarus yesterday and U.S.

Actress Inna Churikova plays the long-reigning UK monarch in the Russian version of the play. SERGEI PETROV / THEATER OF NATIONS As prime minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron traveled to Buckingham Palace every Tuesday for a private audience with the Queen. A long-standing tradition in the country, these meetings are an opportunity for monarch and prime minister to discuss important matters of state. What actually went on behind the gilded doors is a matter of speculation.

@belamova / Twitter Firefighters have extinguished a blazeat a World Cup stadium in the Russian city of Volgograd. Emergency workers were called to thestadium, which is still under construction, before 7 a.m. onWednesday morning. В Волгограде горит стадион, строящийся к ЧМ-2018 pic.twitter.com/hYrNivCTIK — РБ головного мозга (@belamova) June 14, 2017 The fire began after a portable heater set light to a pile of styrofoam, according to the Volgograd region's Emergency Situation Ministry.