The Russian government is allotting 664.7 billion rubles (about $10 billion) to the preparation of key infrastructure for the 2018 World Cup. Half of that amount (337.4 billion rubles) will go towards the development of transportation infrastructure.

Due to the ongoing economic crisis in the country, the final sum has been reduced...

14:22 07.01.2016(updated 14:25 07.01.2016) Get short URL

"Advanced robotic systems of a new generation designed for military application are tested within the framework of development work. A number of them will be delivered to the army in 2016," Col. Gen. Pavel Popov said in an interview with Krasnaya Zvezda (Red Star) newspaper.

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Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia has called on people not to despair over the economic problems in Russia.

"Problems are now generally relative: people earn a little more or a little less (only God forbid that the economic situation should worsen), but generally there is currently no tragedy in the country," the patriarch said in an...

Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill has expressed support of Russia's military operation in Syria.

"What is now happening in the seemingly remote Syria, which in fact is not remote, it's literally our neighbor, is defense of the Fatherland," the patriarch said in an interview that will air on Rossiya 1 television (VGTRK) on...

The majority of Russians celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7, as the Orthodox Church follows the Julian calendar. For Russian kids impatient for presents, New Year's Eve is the date to look forward to, leaving Christmas as a solemn, religious celebration that rounds off the festive season. Celebrations begin in earnest on 6 January, when the faithful...

Milk on tap

“The thing I remember most fondly is how milk was sold on tap,” said Polina Maslovskaya, a retiree. “You had to buy it before going to work, around 7 a.m., since stores used to run out of a day’s supply by the afternoon. This kind of milk would turn sour very rapidly, and if that happened, my mother used it to coo...

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov has discussed with Sung Kim, U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, the prospects of settling the nuclear problem of the Korean Peninsula in connection with the hydrogen bomb test in North Korea.

"There was an in-depth exchange of opinions on the prospects of settling the...

For almost two decades after the end of the Second World War, a great hero remained unsung in the Soviet Union. In 1963, Nikita Khrushchev saw a French film titled Who are you, Mr Sorge?, which was based on the remarkable life of Soviet master spy Richard Sorge.  According to eminent scholar and historian Stuart D. Goldman, the Soviet leader asked ...

03:20 07.01.2016Get short URL

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Russian leader attended a midnight service and lit a candle at the church where his parents were baptized in 1911 (according to records found in the regional archives).

Putin visited the church’s spiritual-educational center for children, built after the Russian president received a relevant ...

23:55 06.01.2016(updated 06:21 07.01.2016) Get short URL

​The church in Turginovo, about two and a half hours northwest of Moscow, is where Putin’s parents were baptized.  

Putin’s attendance at the mass was unannounced, and parishioners were surprised to see the president come to celebrate Christmas with them.

After lighting a candle at an ...