Kavkaz

MOSCOW (Reuters) – A top manager of the now defunct YUKOS business empire was sentenced on Friday by a Russian court to life in prison for ordering a series of high profile murders, a verdict he dismissed as the result of a show trial organized by the Kremlin.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – California will no longer exist on the Russian map. Russia’s north-western region of Nizhny Novgorod has decided to eliminate the tiny village of California due to the lack of inhabitants, Itar-Tass news agency reported on Thursday.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Dmitry Medvedev expressed frustration on Thursday over his government’s inability to break the vicious circle of red tape and corruption which he said was hampering small businesses.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – A Russian oil executive detained in Libya since last year has been freed, his employers LUKOIL said on Thursday, hours before Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was due to host the country’s prime minister.

SUKHUMI, Georgia (Reuters) – Russia has started to withdraw soldiers it sent to repair railways in Georgia’s breakaway region of Abkhazia, a spokesman for the troops said on Wednesday.

BELGRADE (Reuters) – The legal team of war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic has filed an appeal to delay his extradition to the United Nations tribunal in The Hague, Karadzic’s brother said on Sunday.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia announced plans on Sunday to revive its once-mighty navy by building several aircraft carriers and upgrading its fleet of nuclear submarines in the coming years.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia will withdraw in early August around 400 soldiers sent to repair railways in Georgia’s breakaway region of Abkhazia, Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Thursday.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia said on Thursday it opposed any artificial deadlines being issued to Iran to force it to respond to incentives from world powers on suspending its nuclear activities.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The United States is making a diplomatic drive to bring Russia, Georgia and leaders of the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia together for peace talks in Berlin next week, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday.