The St. Petersburg-Moscow express train has taken off on its maiden voyage. It is capable of traveling at three hundred and fifty kilometers an hour and has been nicknamed

Russia should shift its focus from oil and gas and begin developing alternative energy. But members of the International Energy forum say innovations will require state investment and social and economic policy changes.

A top military official from the 480-strong Czech contingent in Afghanistan has resigned following an incident with two Czech soldiers caught wearing Nazi symbols while serving in Afghanistan.

Moscow and Washington will not sign a new START treaty this week as some problems are still to be negotiated.

Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin says Russia is putting the worst of the recession behind it with November GDP up 8% on October and 4Q 2009 Growth set to come in at 2%.

The Russian human rights defense organization Memorial and its three leaders have received the European Parliament

Independent political analyst Vladimir Kozin claims he is still quite skeptical about the warming between Russia and NATO.

Inflation, traditional seen as a weak link of the Russian economy has dropped thought the second half of 2009, with analysts looking for a continued drop over the coming year.

A political analyst from the Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Aleksandr Pikaev, explained the Federation Council

Gazprom has been the major exception amongst global gas producers in the economic downturn. It has lost market share in Europe, keeping prices high, while rival producers, like Qatar, have sold gas more cheaply.