Construction on the Kerch straits bridge, meant to connect Crimea to mainland Russia, has been halted. Putin’s close friend needs some more money.

The new head of Russia’s Central Election Commission announced the formation of a task force comprising several branches of the security services to prevent election rigging. Just whom they will actually be fighting remains an open question.

Another week, another reshuffling of the deck: Having already coopted his sources of financial support, Vladimir Putin starts to cull Medvedev’s siloviki support network, just to make sure his likely successor is as weak as possible.

Putin defended his import ban on European foods as necessary for “protecting national interests”. Now, even as he struggles to loosen Western sanctions, he is introducing wider and wider loopholes in his retaliatory measure.

China is ready to invest in a major Russian oil firm—but only if one significant pre-condition is met.

Is the Russian President an opportunist or a master strategist? And what is his game plan for Ukraine?

Power struggles and shakedowns among Russia’s security services help explain why and how Putin has decided to shuffle the deck.

Vladimir Putin convened his Council of Economic Advisors for the first time in two years this week, with his former Finance Minister on board. But it was only for a “brainstorming session”, the Kremlin said, suggesting that serious reforms were not about to be unveiled.

It wasn’t exactly a prisoner swap, as most media are reporting. Did Putin get something else, or is he just trying to improve his image abroad during challenging times?

Russia’s PM speaks to disgruntled Crimean pensioners.