VLADIMIR PUTIN

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin Thursday deflected opposition allegations that fraud helped his ruling party win a parliamentary election, saying the result reflected the views of the population.

Boris Gryzlov, the 60-year-old speaker of the Duma, the lower house of Parliament, has quit.

Another apparent UFO sighting emerged, most recently during the protests taking place in Russia on Saturday when someone out of the crowd was able to capture a video of what most believed to be a UFO hovering over and watching the 25,000 pro-democracy protesters in Moscow's Bolotnaya Square.

The Internet must be subject to reasonable regulation, the head of Russia's Security Council said in remarks published on Wednesday, a fresh sign of Kremlin concern about the use of social networks to promote anti-government protests.

New Jersey Nets owner and Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov is planning a presidential run-against Vladimir Putin in the March 2012 Russian Presidential election. For the first time the United States now faces a frightening billionaire gap.

Does Prokhorov have what it takes to dethrone Vladimir Putin?

New Jersey Nets owner Mikahil Prokhorov told reporters on Monday that he plans to challenge Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in the March presidential election.

President Dmitry Medvedev ordered an investigation on Sunday into allegations of fraud in Russia's parliamentary election, one day after tens of thousands of protesters demanded it be annulled and re-run.

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across Russia on Saturday to demand an end to Vladimir Putin's rule and a rerun of a parliamentary election in the biggest opposition protests since he rose to power more than a decade ago.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's opponents hope to bring large numbers of people out onto the streets across Russia on Saturday for rallies that will test their ability to channel outrage over allegations of election fraud into a powerful protest movement.

Oh, irony, your sweet breath sends chills down my spine! Now Hilary Clinton called the Russian Election rigged and is urging the Occupy Kremlin crowd to speak up...Say nyet, she urges foreign protestors, to corruption and cronyism that infects the Putin government and its one percenters. But silence, near as I can tell, to cracking down on ours.

The Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, accused the U.S. of encouraging protests over the country's recent Parliamentary elections. He said hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign funds were used to influence the vote.

With a number of protests targeting the ruling party in Russia and alleging them of election fraud, the past few months have been less than smooth for the Russians. Whatever the case may be, the F-word is probably the last thing one would expect to appear on Twitter, particularly in the feed of a top international leader, in this case President Medvedev.

A Russian Spring is coming, according to long-time U.S. Senator John McCain.

The growth rates of all four BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) economies have surpassed expectations in the decade since the term came into existence. However, India's record in terms of productivity, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and reform has been the most disappointing, according to Jim O'Neil, the Chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his United Russia Party's grip on Russian politics weakened after a State Duma (lower house of parliament) vote on Sunday.

Vladimir Putin's ruling party clung to a much reduced majority in parliament on Monday after an election that showed growing weariness with the man who has dominated Russia for more than a decade and plans to return to the presidency next year.

Russian voters have dealt Vladimir Putin's ruling party a heavy blow by slashing its parliamentary majority in an election that showed growing unease with his domination of the country as he prepares to reclaim the presidency.

What do Vladimir Putin, a real Don, and Herman Cain, a real Godfather Pizza Don, have in common? The connection is psychological, maybe even Dostoevskian. But it isn't about depression, unless it's ours, the voting public. It's about delusion.

Vladimir Putin's ruling party suffered a serious blow in a parliamentary election on Sunday, exit polls showed, as voters signalled growing unease with his domination of Russian politics before a planned return to the presidency next year.

The head of an independent Russian election watchdog was detained for 12 hours at a Moscow airport Saturday as part of attempts to stop it monitoring Sunday's vote for a new parliament, the group's lawyer said.