Vladimir Putin

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Russia Moves to Ban 'Homosexual Propaganda'

In a bid to clamp down on Western values

(Newser) - Kissing his boyfriend during a protest in front of Russia's parliament earned Pavel Samburov 30 hours of detention on a charge of "hooliganism." But if a bill that comes up for a vote later this month becomes law, such a kiss could be deemed illegal "homosexual...

Russia Rolls Out Red Carpet for Depardieu

What 75% tax? Russia offers tax-dodger a free apartment

(Newser) - Things are looking up for Gerard Depardieu: Not only is the French actor a newly minted Russian , he's already broken bread with Vladimir Putin, gotten a hero's welcome, and scored a free apartment. Depardieu grabbed his shiny new Russia passport from Pooty-Poot last night over dinner in Sochi,...

Putin to Depardieu: You Are Now Russian!

No word on whether actor, upset over French tax plan, accepts the offer

(Newser) - Gerard Depardieu, who has waged a battle against a proposed super-tax on millionaires in his native country of France, has been granted Russian citizenship. A brief announcement on the Kremlin website revealed that President Vladimir Putin, who had previously expressed solidarity with Depardieu , signed the citizenship grant today. A representative...

Americans Now Banned From Adopting Russian Kids

With 60K US adoptions over 20 years, critics say children will be real losers

(Newser) - As expected , Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a controversial new bill banning US citizens from adopting Russian children, reports Reuters . In addition to the adoption ban, the Russian law, set to take effect Jan. 1, could close some Russian NGOs that receive US funding and bans Americans accused...

Putin: I Am Not Authoritarian
 Putin: I Am Not Authoritarian 

Putin: I Am Not Authoritarian

But he thinks the US is arrogant

(Newser) - For a man with a bad back, Russian President Vladimir Putin sat up straight for more than four hours today in his annual marathon news conference, brushing off claims that he's an authoritarian leader and lashing out at the US:
  • He complained that a recent US law that allows
...

Ben Affleck for Senate? He Won't Say

Plus, Putin offers Depardieu a Russian passport

(Newser) - John Kerry is likely to leave his Massachusetts Senate seat to become secretary of state, and the rumor mill has now churned out one Ben Affleck to add to the list of his possible replacements. Affleck was actually meeting with Kerry and other lawmakers in DC yesterday to talk about...

Moscow Court Yanks Pussy Riot Video From Web

Says cathedral performance was extremist

(Newser) - Pussy Riot's band members are sealed away in a labor camp , and a Moscow court is looking to similarly vanquish video of their controversial "punk prayer" performance into the ether. The court today ruled that the clip should be removed from the web, reports the AP , with the...

Putin Hurt in Judo Fight: Belarus President

Russian prez twisted spine after 'throwing guy'

(Newser) - Maybe it wasn't the bird flight after all. The latest intel on Vladimir Putin's health is that he was injured in a judo match. Of course, it's not that he lost; rather, "he lifted a guy, threw him, and twisted his spine," says Belarus president...

Merkel Slams Putin—to His Face—Over Pussy Riot

They really deserved 2 years in a labor camp? she asks

(Newser) - Usually, joint public appearances involving heads of state are filled with small talk and diplomatic niceties. Not so today with Germany's Angela Merkel and Russia's Vladimir Putin as the two sparred over the jail sentence handed down to punk rockers Pussy Riot in Moscow, reports the Guardian .
  • Merkel:
...

Russia's Tough Treason Law Now in Effect

Putin promised to review bill 2 days ago, signed it instead

(Newser) - An ever-benevolent Vladimir Putin listened to fears surrounding a vaguely worded treason bill on Monday, ultimately promising to proceed with caution and "return to this again, to look more attentively." The next day, he just signed it, reports Reuters . The ruling expands the definition of treason to include...

Kremlin Insists: Putin Not Hurt During Bird Flight

But he did pull a muscle...

(Newser) - Breaking news out of Russia: Vladimir Putin pulled a muscle. But the Kremlin insists it didn't happen while flying with birds. Putin, as you'll remember, took to the skies last month, leading a flock of endangered Siberian cranes to their winter feeding grounds. Rumors about the president's...

Pussy Riot Members Sent to Prison Colonies

Russia sends remaining 2 members hundreds of miles from capital

(Newser) - A lawyer for the two jailed Pussy Riot band members says they have been transferred to prison colonies hundreds of miles from Moscow to serve their sentences. Mark Feygin said today that Maria Alekhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova were transferred over the weekend from the Moscow prison where they were kept...

Russia Court Frees 1 Member of Pussy Riot

Two others still facing 2-year sentence are defiant at appeal hearing

(Newser) - A trio of judges has freed one of the three members of the Russian activist punk rock group Pussy Riot, while the other two still face up to two years in prison following their raucous anti-Putin protest at the altar of Moscow's main cathedral, reports the BBC . The bandmates...

Russian Church: OK, Free Pussy Riot

If they repent for their 'punk prayer'

(Newser) - The Russian Orthodox Church is again getting in on the Pussy Riot controversy, today reversing course and urging clemency for the imprisoned punk rockers if they repent for their "punk prayer," reports the AP . The church issued a statement today—a day before the women are set to...

How Putin Channels Stalin

 How Putin 
 Channels  
 Stalin 
OPINION

How Putin Channels Stalin

His intervention on behalf of writer plays to Russian tradition: Author

(Newser) - After a Russian editor refused to cover Vladimir Putin's latest goofy stunt and promptly got fired as a result, Putin himself called her to sympathize and pulled strings to get her job back. (She refused, as she recounted in the International Times Herald .) But hey, Putin's gesture...

Russia's Medvedev: Pussy Riot Should Go Free

Prime minister's stance may mean release is near

(Newser) - The members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot who were thrown in prison could be freed soon after Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev called for their release today, reports AP . The three women were sentenced to two years in prison in August for entering Russia's main cathedral and...

'Free Pussy Riot Fest' Flouts Officials' Warnings

Band's lawyers set for interrogation over earlier protests

(Newser) - St. Petersburg officials warned against it, but supporters of Pussy Riot held a fundraising concert in the band's honor anyway. Some 1,000 people attended the "Free Pussy Riot Fest" in Vladimir Putin's native city, even after firefighters said they'd shut down the hall over safety...

Pussy Riot Burns Putin Photo in Video for MTV

Video thanks Madonna, Green Day, and other supporters

(Newser) - Pussy Riot has released a punchy new video in which three members, dressed in the band's trademark colorful masks, repel down a massive wall adorned with a Pussy Riot banner and then set fire to a portrait of Vladimir Putin. Hanging alongside Putin's image is one of Belarussian...

Putin Explains Why Group Sex Is Great

 Putin Explains Why 
 Group Sex Is Great 
Interview

Putin Explains Why Group Sex Is Great

...something about not having to 'hit the ball all the time'

(Newser) - Ladies of Russia, take note: Vladimir Putin might just be into orgies. In an interview with Russia Today , Putin threw out an off-handed comment on the upside of group sex while discussing Pussy Riot, the Telegraph notes. Putin says that Pussy Riot—which he faults for making "everyone say...

It's a Bird! No, It's Putin's Latest Crazy Gambit

Pooty-poot escorts endangered cranes ... dressed like a bird

(Newser) - Vladimir Putin hasn't proven to be the biggest hit with Russians of late, so what's a hockey star / fake archaeologist / shirtless horseman / whale hunter / virgin lover to do? Most politicians might kiss a baby, but Putin opted for the logical alternative: The Russian president...

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