Yuri Luzhkov

Russian President Vladimir Putin can take any one of his four state-assigned luxury yachts or 43 jets to rest in his choice of 20 government mansions as he ponders the best way to tackle state affairs.

The Moscow City Court on Thursday upheld a lower court's ruling banning Gay Pride parades in Moscow until the year 2112. ?The Moscow City Court on Thursday upheld a lower court's ruling banning Gay Pride parades in Moscow until the year 2112. The ruling comes after gay rights activists attempted an end run around City Hall by submitting last year requests to hold such events for the next 100 years. The court dismissed the requests and issued a 100-year ban on Gay Pride parades, Gayrussia.ru reported. Nikolai Alexeyev, who helms GayRussia, told the website that he would appeal the decision to the European Court on Human Rights in Strasbourg. ?This ruling reminds us that Pride is every bit as meaningful today as it was after Stonewall in 1969 ? millions around the world are still fighting for the basic right to live openly and love who they choose,? Andre Banks, executive director of human rights group AllOut.org, said in a statement. ?Much like that memorable summer, this fight will con

Moscow police Sunday thwarted an attempt to hold a small gay pride rally in the Russian capital, arresting both homosexual activists and anti-gay conservatives who showed up, an AFP correspondent said.

Nikolai Alexeyev was among the roughly dozen activists arrested Sunday attempting to hold a Gay Pride parade in downtown Moscow. Nikolai Alexeyev was among the roughly dozen activists arrested Sunday attempting to hold a Gay Pride parade in downtown Moscow. The administration of Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin had rejected the activists' application to hold a Gay Pride event in the city for the seventh year in a row. Organizer Alexeyev said the rally would be staged without the city's authorization. The event was supposed to celebrate the 19th anniversary of the decriminalization of gay relations in Russia, RIA-Novosti reported. The activists were arrested outside the Moscow City Duma (City Council). The Moscow Times reported that three of those arrested were Orthodox Christian activists who planned to disrupted the protest. Other reports showed a man holding a rainbow flag being physically attacked by an anti-gay rights demonstrator. Former Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov aggressively shut dow

The administration of Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin has rejected an application to hold a Gay Pride event in the city. The administration of Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin has rejected an application to hold a Gay Pride event in the city, marking the seventh consecutive rejection for gay rights advocates in Moscow. The event, a May 27 march from the downtown Turgenevskya metro station to Revolution Square, was supposed to celebrate the 19th anniversary of the decriminalization of gay relations in Russia. Gay activists have challenged previous rejections in the European Court of Human Rights. In 2010, the court agreed that such bans were illegal. ?We'll appeal in the Tverskoi court on Monday, we disagree with the refusal,? gay activist Nikolai Alexeyev told Ria Novosti. ?We'll hold the rally in any case.? Former Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov aggressively shut down any unauthorized pro-gay demonstrations, which he called ?Satanic acts? and ?one of the factors in the spread of HIV infection.? Lu

LONDON (Reuters) - It sounded too good to be true: autocratic ruler with one foot in the past relinquishes power to trusted, more liberal protege, setting country on road to reform.

LONDON (Reuters) - It sounded too good to be true: autocratic ruler with one foot in the past relinquishes power to trusted, more liberal protege, setting country on road to reform.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia faces instability and its future is in question if it fails to carry out political reforms and reduce its dependence on energy exports, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev said in an article published on Wednesday.

Piles of bricks by the road, the endless throb of drills and a quarter of the city's pavements torn up. It's been a traumatic summer for Muscovites unable to escape the Russian capital for the holidays.

The bank founded by Moscow's deposed city chief received the largest bailout package in Russia's history on Friday following its takeover by the state-controlled lender VTB.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - On an overcast day in May, a clutch of the world's most powerful investors gathered in a 19th-century mansion in Moscow to hear a proposition from Vladimir Putin: invest in Russia, and we will invest with you.

Moscow police Saturday detained three global gay rights leaders and dozens of Russians in a violent end to a daring rally that activists tried to stage near the Kremlin wall.

Moscow police arrest 18 people, including Dan Choi, Andy Thayer and Louis-Georges Tin, at Moscow Gay Pride parade. Americans Lt. Dan Choi and Andy Thayer and France's Louis-Georges Tin were among the 18 arrested Saturday attempting to? hold a Gay Pride parade in Moscow, the AP reported. Maxim Kolosvegtov, a police spokesman, told Russian news agencies that 14 opponents were also arrested. The administration of Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin last week rejected an application to hold a Gay Pride event in the city, stunning gay rights activists who were led to believe that authorities would allow the event to proceed for the first time in six years. Officials cited a risk to public order in announcing their decision. Activists made two attempts to hold demonstrations: one at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier outside the Kremlin and later outside Sobyanin's office. Nikolai Alexeyev, who helms Moscow Gay Pride, told CNN that an ultra-Orthodox group attacked them as soon as they unfurled their b

A Russian theatre has banned an irreverent new play about the tandem of President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that also features Arnold Schwarzenegger, its author said Monday.

Moscow has authorised the city's first gay pride parade after seeing similar unsanctioned rallies degenerate into mass arrests and Western condemnation, organisers said Tuesday.

Moscow authorities on Tuesday agreed to allow for the first time a Gay Pride march to proceed. Moscow authorities on Tuesday agreed to allow for the first time a Gay Pride march to proceed, The Moscow News reported. Gay rights activists were jubilant at the news. ?This is a crippling blow to Russian homophobia on all counts,? Nikolai Alexeyev, head of Moscow Pride, said. The former administration of Yury Luzhkov banned such events for the past five years and aggressively shut down any unauthorized demonstrations. Last January, Luzhkov vowed to ?crack down? on gay pride parades. ?For several years, Moscow has experienced unprecedented pressure to conduct a gay pride parade, which cannot be called anything but a Satanic act,? Luzhkov said. ?We have prevented such a parade and we will not allow it in the future. Everyone needs to accept this as an axiom.? ?It is high time to crack down on the parade with all the power and justice of the law, instead of talking about human rights,? he adde

The number of Russian billionaires almost doubled over the last year to 101, the Russian edition of Forbes magazine said Friday in its annual rating.

Russian investigators have issued a summons for the president of the Bank of Moscow, reportedly hiding in London, in their probe of an alleged fraudulent loan, the RIA Novosti agency said.

Russian investigators have issued a summons for the president of the Bank of Moscow, reportedly hiding in London, in their probe of an alleged fraudulent loan, the RIA Novosti agency said Wednesday.

Moscow's Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has announced a freeze on new construction in the capital's historic downtown area, in a sharp departure from his predecessor's policy.