MOSCOW, May 12 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian...

MOSCOW, May 12 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian government"s foreign debt, including liabilities of the former Soviet Union, declined 2.7% in January-March 2009 to $39.5 billion, the Finance Ministry reported on Tuesday. However, exchange rate differences mean that when calculated in euros, the government"s foreign debt increased 3.8% to 29.9 billion euros, the ministry said. Non-restructured debts to official creditors that are parties to the Paris Club of creditor nations declined $100 million to $1.3 billion in the reporting period, the ministry said. Debts to official creditors outside the Paris Club ($1.9 billion), former Communist bloc countries ($1.4 billion) and also former Soviet debts to foreign commercial creditors ($1.2 billion) were unchanged in January-March 2009, the ministry said. Also unchanged in the reporting period were outstanding government domestic foreign currency-denominated bonds (OVGVZ) at $1.8 billion and Russia"s foreign currency denominated government guarantees at $0.6 billion. The Russian government"s liabilities to international financial institutions shrank by $300 million to $4.3 billion, and the amount of Russia"s outstanding Eurobonds declined from $27.7 billion as of January 1 to $27 billion as of April 1, the ministry said.

MOSCOW, October 1 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's...

MOSCOW, October 1 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's top court ruled on Wednesday "to exonerate" the country's last tsar and his family, executed by the Bolsheviks in 1918, as victims of political repression.

The Russian government has allocated funds...

The Russian government has allocated funds for an Arctic expedition to provide scientific grounds for the enlargement of the country"s Arctic shelf, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said on Friday.