MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia urged Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his foes on Monday to agree to daily humanitarian truces, backing an initiative from the International Committee of the Red Cross to treat the wounded in the violence-torn country.

Russia is one of Syria’s main remaining international allies but it is unclear how much influence Moscow can wield over Damascus more than a year into a bloody uprising against Assad.

MOSCOW, March 18 (Reuters) – Russian police detained more
than 100 people on Sunday, including leaders of the largest
protest movement against Vladimir Putin’s 12-year rule, as
hundreds rallied against him weeks after his re-election to the
presidency.

At least 500 protesters gathered near Moscow’s largest
television tower at Ostankino to condemn what they said was the
Kremlin’s domination of the media and to denounce a recent
documentary that portrayed them as floundering traitors.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – A pro-Kremlin documentary alleging Russians were paid to attend the biggest protests against Vladimir Putin’s 12-year rule provoked an angry response from the opposition on Friday and the promise of more demonstrations over the weekend.

The opposition said it would stage a rally outside Moscow’s Ostankino television broadcast tower on Sunday to protest against the video aired on Thursday on the television station NTV, which is controlled by state-owned gas behemoth Gazprom.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Less than half of all Russians trust the official results of the election in which Vladimir Putin won a return to the presidency for a six-year term, a state-controlled polling agency said on Thursday.

International monitors have said the election was slanted in favor of Putin, who is now prime minister, and opponents have refused to recognize the results, which gave him more than 63 percent of the vote.

HONG KONG/MOSCOW, March 13 (Reuters) – Russian
billionaire Viktor Vekselberg quit on Tuesday as chairman of the
world’s largest aluminium producer, UC RUSAL, saying
the heavily indebted company was in deep crisis after a long
battle with fellow oligarch Oleg Deripaska.

The resignation tightens Deripaska’s grip on RUSAL but the
company faces a struggle to recover because of a fall in global
aluminium prices and its large debt, acquired a stake in Norilsk
Nickel, the world’s largest nickel and palladium
miner.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Thousands of people chanting “Time for change” challenged Vladimir Putin’s presidential election victory on Saturday but far fewer turned out to protest against the Russian leader than in previous weeks.

People who demonstrated in bright sunshine in central Moscow waved flags, balloons and banners and wore white ribbons, the symbol of protests that began three months ago. Echoing chants from previous rallies, they shouted “Russia without Putin”.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian police detained at least 100 people at protests calling on Vladimir Putin to resign after a presidential election they say was unfairly skewed in his favor.

Putin says he won a fair and open contest, but thousands of protesters chanted “Russia without Putin” at Moscow’s Pushkin Square, the scene of dissident protests during Soviet times.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – A few days before Russia’s presidential election, Sergei Smirnov received a phone call from a man who called himself Mikhail and told him the terms of the deal: you will vote for Vladimir Putin four times and receive 2,000 roubles in return.

The sum was promised to dozens of other young men and women who met on Sunday outside a popular fast food joint on the southwest fringe of Moscow, waiting to be taken to various polling stations in the province that rings the capital.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – A few days before Russia’s presidential election, Sergei Smirnov received a phone call from a man who called himself Mikhail and told him the terms of the deal: you will vote for Vladimir Putin four times and receive 2,000 roubles ($70) in return.

The sum was promised to dozens of other young men and women who met on Sunday outside a popular fast food joint on the southwest fringe of Moscow, waiting to be taken to various polling stations in the province that rings the capital.

NOVOMOSKOVSK, Russia (Reuters) – A flashy campaign advertisement sets the scene after Russia’s presidential election: Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov steps out of a black Mercedes in front of the Kremlin, the seat of power since Soviet times.

After three failed attempts to win the presidency, the perennial loser of Russian politics is trying to convince the country once again to vote him into the top office in Sunday’s election.