President Barack Obama on Friday signed a bill that brings U.S. trade relations with Russia into the 21st century but also ushers in a testy era in which the United States could publicly "name and shame" Russian human rights violators. The measure, which Congress passed by an overwhelming margin, allows Obama to establish "permanent normal trade relations" - or PNTR - with Russia by lifting a Cold Wa ...

  Russia may develop a non-nuclear precision-guided payload capability for its new hundred-ton class liquid-fueled ICBM if need be, Strategic Missile Forces (RSVN) Commander Col. Gen. Sergei Karakayev said on Friday. "The availability of a powerful liquid-fueled ICBM allows us the capability of creating a strategic high-accuracy weapons system with a conventional payload with practically global range, ...

  In a bullish state-of-the-nation address in Moscow on Wednesday, Mr Putin promised to smite corruption, create millions of new jobs and boost Russia’s military might while warning that foreign meddling in the country’s internal affairs was unacceptable. He claimed the country shared universal democratic values, adding: “Russian democracy is the power of the Russian people with their own traditions of ...

  A newly revealed top secret document indicates that the US once instituted a military plan by which it would launch an instantaneous “full nuclear attack” against both China and Russia, if attacked by one of the two, even accidentally or by conventional arms. The document, published Wednesday by the Washington-based National Security Archives, shows that until 1968, the US had a protocol in place by ...

  U.S. meat supplies to Russia have been banned. The Russian Federation and the United States differ in the assessment of the causes of the situation. Russia claims that the reason for the ban was the presence of ractopamine drug in US meat. America insists that Russia's actions were a response to the adoption of the Magnitsky Act by the Senate and accuses Russia of violating WTO rules. On December 7, ...

  Yekaterina Steniakina is one of Russia's young politicians, the leader of the influential pro-Kremlin movement called the Youth Guards. She has dyed blonde hair and a forceful voice, and she's determined to change many things about the present state of her country starting with the Mormons. Ms Steniakina is leading the charge to change Russia's legislation and ban Mormon missionaries from the nation. ...

  A flurry of leaks from the Pentagon and US state department accusing Syria of preparing to use chemical weapons is being used by the Obama administration to underpin threats of military action against the regime of Bashar al-Assad. The US claims have been met with incredulity by Syria's principal ally, Russia, which has suggested they are being used as a pretext to increase pressure on Assad and to p ...

Dmitry Medvedev has been caught making some unusual comments off-air after failing to realise television cameras were still rolling. The Russian prime minister let his guard down after an interview with five Russian television stations - offering his strange views on Father Christmas and aliens as well as taking a pot shot at President Vladimir Putin and the federal police. "I believe in Father Frost. But n ...

Moscow’s permanent representative to NATO has informed his colleagues in the military alliance that Russia needs clear technical documentation that the US missile defense will not pose a security risk for his country. Russia says it wants solid guarantees “expressed in a legally-binding manner” that the US missile defense shield will never target Russian territory, Aleksandr Grushko said on Friday. He stres ...

A Russian supergrass who was helping Swiss prosecutors uncover a multi-million pound money laundering scheme used by corrupt Russian officials has died in mysterious circumstances outside his Surrey home, The Independent can reveal. Alexander Perepilichnyy, a wealthy businessman who sought sanctuary in Britain three years ago after falling out with a powerful crime syndicate, collapsed outside his mansion o ...