KOMSOMOLSK-ON-AMUR, Russia (Reuters) – A senior Russian official suggested Monday an atomic-powered submarine could have been carrying nuclear weapons when it was engulfed by fire during repairs at a dockyard in December.

Authorities initially said all nuclear weapons aboard the submarine Yekaterinburg had been unloaded well before a fire broke out on December 29, and that there had been no risk of a radiation leak.

NOVOSIBIRSK, Russia, Feb 17 (Reuters) – Hackers have
tried to crash a vast network of web cameras which Vladimir
Putin has ordered to allay fears of vote-rigging in the March
presidential election, a deputy minister said on Friday.

Putin, facing the biggest protests of his 12-year rule after
a disputed December parliamentary election the opposition said
was rigged, ordered 182,000 web cameras to be installed at the
91,000 polling stations.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Few people would recognise Vyacheslav Volodin on the streets of Moscow but the man who is the brains behind Vladimir Putin’s presidential election campaign would have it no other way.

The square-faced, 48-year-old bureaucrat has quietly risen through the ranks to become the grey cardinal plotting the prime minister’s return to the presidency in an election on March 4.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Few people would recognize Vyacheslav Volodin on the streets of Moscow but the man who is the brains behind Vladimir Putin’s presidential election campaign would have it no other way.

The square-faced, 48-year-old bureaucrat has quietly risen through the ranks to become the grey cardinal plotting the prime minister’s return to the presidency in an election on March 4.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian authorities have launched an investigation into a bank that holds accounts related to anti-government blogger Alexei Navalny, one of the organisers of protests against Vladimir Putin before next month’s presidential election.

The central bank said the investigation at the mid-sized Vyatka bank was intended to establish whether it was financially viable, and made no mention of Navalny.

MOSCOW, Feb 15 (Reuters) – Russian authorities have
launched an investigation into a bank that holds accounts
related to anti-government blogger Alexei Navalny, one of the
organisers of protests against Vladimir Putin before next
month’s presidential election.

The central bank said the investigation at the mid-sized
Vyatka bank was intended to establish whether it was financially
viable, and made no mention of Navalny.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – The head of the Russian Orthodox church on Wednesday called the 12 years of Vladimir Putin’s rule a “miracle of God” and criticised his opponents, at a gathering where religious leaders heaped praise on the prime minister.

Putin wants support from spiritual figures for his campaign to win his third term in the Kremlin in a March 4 election. He is facing a growing protest movement and needs to consolidate his core support to avoid a runoff.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday the world faced a growing “cult of violence” and Moscow must not let events like those in Libya and Syria be repeated in Russia, warning the West against interference in a country he intends to lead for years to come.

Weeks ahead of a March presidential election he is almost sure to win despite the biggest opposition protests of his 12-year rule, Putin also sent a stark signal to political foes that he will not tolerate threats to stability.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Vladimir Putin promised on Tuesday to turn back the clock and restore winter time in Russia if elected president, in a bid to woo millions of voters who have complained about waking up and going to work in darkness.

President Dmitry Medvedev, who will step down in May, scrapped winter time in 2011, arguing that switching the clock back and forth was bad for people’s health. Medvedev’s critics joked it was the incumbent’s boldest move during his presidency.