VLADIMIR PUTIN

Dmitry Medvedev sat down with Financial Times for an extensive interview. What was he asked immediately? Not surprisingly, his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, arguably the most intriguing one in the modern political world.

Russian President Dimitry Medvedev would love to have a second term in the Kremlin but would not run against Prime Minister and mentor Vladimir Putin if the latter wanted to have another go at the top post. Medvedev made it clear there was nothing inhibiting him from wanting a second term as president, except perhaps the fact that heavy eight Putin is angling for the same job.

Jailed former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky was transferred from Moscow to a prison camp in an undisclosed location, his lawyers said on Friday, decrying the move as an attempt to block his parole hearing.

The appointment of French finance minister Christine Lagarde as head of the International Monetary Fund is a done deal, rival Grigori Marchenko was quoted as saying on Friday.

Russian spy Anna Chapman has taken over as editor–in–chief of a new business magazine, five months after launching a TV show, giving a new direction to her career that saw her deported from the United States last summer.

The owner of the New Jersey Nets, Mikhail Prokhorov, is seeking the leadership of the Right Cause party in Russia.

The man suspected of shooting Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya in 2006 has been arrested in Chechnya and is due to be brought to Moscow, the BBC reported.

In a surprise move, Russia took the side of Britain and France over Libya for the first time yesterday, calling for the Middle-East despot to leave office.

MOSCOW, May 21 - Russia's oil pipeline monopoly said on Saturday it would appeal a court ruling ordering it to release board meeting minutes, saying an anti-corruption blogger wanted the information as part of a conspiracy against Russia.

Russia flexes its military might during Victory Day parades.

Moving to the beat of 1990s pop hit American Boy, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's stiff dance moves became an immediate viral hit on YouTube on Wednesday.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said he had no plans to crack down on the Internet ahead of 2012 elections, seeking to play down concerns over recent hacker attacks on a blogging website.

Russia is looking to the experience of other countries, including China, to regulate Internet use, though Moscow has no plans to broaden web censorship, a government spokesman said on Saturday.

A Swedish firm has become the first known foreign company to use Russian positioning technology GLONASS, in a sign that the system could become a credible challenge to established U.S. rival GPS.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday called on law enforcement agencies to look into a cyber attack that took his blog offline for at least an hour a day earlier.

The Indian government on Monday released new tiger population numbers at 1,706, an increase of 295 in the last four years. India has half of the world’s remaining wild tigers population and the decline in their numbers has been alarmingly high in the last five decades.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has shrugged off reports that he and President Dmitry Medvedev are split over Russian policy in Libya.

A chorus of voices from government officials around the world have condemned (or at least questioned) the decision by a handful of western countries (in tandem with some Arab allies) to launch air strikes on military targets in Libya.

The crisis in Libya has led to the revelation of a rare public disagreement between the two most powerful political leaders in Russia, according to the RIA Novosti news agency.

Russian spy Anna Chapman is in from the cold and out on the Internet with an official website featuring photos, news and an upbeat message urging Russians to smile and be self-reliant.

With warships and missiles, Russia is flexing its muscles in the Far East in a bid to defend its position as an Asian power against China's growing might.