By Denis Dyomkin SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - The head of the Council of Europe told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday he was concerned a law requiring non-governmental organizations which received funding from abroad to register as foreign agents could have a "chilling effect". Prosecutors have conducted a wave of inspections at the offices of all kinds of NGOs in ...

Russian oligarchs foot most of 2014 Sochi Olympics Associated Press Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Updated 11:49 pm, Sunday, May 19, 2013 SOCHI, Russia (AP) — The mountains of Sochi are now home to Potanin's slope, Gazprom's gondola lift and Sberbank's ski jump. Other countries that have hosted the ...

  Two years have elapsed since my last visit to Moscow. It remains one of the ugliest and least hospitable cities on this earth. Its traffic jams, if anything, have grown worse. Moscow new architecture is Stalin-McDonalds kitsch. Skyscrapers feature Kremlin turrets, rounded middles or corners, or round structures like Capitol Records in LA. Shopping centers resemble plastic multi-colored Lego ...

Marina Litvinenko speaks out after coroner agrees to exclude material suggesting Russian agencies were involved in killingThe widow of Alexander Litvinenko has launched a blistering attack on William Hague and David Cameron, accusing them of sabotaging the inquest into her husband's murder and hiding the Russian state's role in his death.Marina Litvinenko said she was "utterly dismayed" after a coroner ...

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, saying it is important not to "lose momentum" in the effort to convene a peace conference on Syria. Ban was only the latest in a string of foreign dignitaries who have come to Russia, seeking Putin's blessing for such a conference, expected to be held in early ...