POLITICS
Russia’s parliament approved on Wednesday legislation to give the state powers to block blacklisted websites, a move criticized by internet freedom activists who say the law could be used to crack down on dissent
(Vedomosti, Kommersant, Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Nezavisimaya Gazeta)
Cuban leader Raul Castro paid a visit to Moscow and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin
(Kommersant)
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev met with members of the ruling United Russia party to discuss with them bills currently pending consideration in the parliament
(Kommersant)
Ryazan Governor Oleg Kovalyov resigned on Wednesday, but was immediately appointed acting governor by President Vladimir Putin, and pledged to run for election this fall to retake the office
(The Moscow Times)
A leading Russian motorist rights group, the Blue Buckets, has been denied official registration in what it says is an attempt to pressure it into abandoning activism
(Vedomosti)
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Billionaire Alexander Lebedev said his National Reserve Bank will release a debit card giving a percentage of all transactions to opposition leader Alexei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Fund
(The Moscow Times)
OIL & GAS
Russian energy giant Gazprom plans to sell dollar-denominated Eurobonds with a targeted yield of 5.5 percent per annum
(Vedomosti)
DEFENSE
Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan want Moscow to pay more for Russian military bases stationed in the two Central Asian states
(Kommersant)
MOSCOW
The four wild boars that wandered into Krylatskoye on the city’s western flank not long ago were bearing a message: Something is not right with the Moscow region’s woods
(The Moscow Times)
WORLD
A group of Americans detained in Chukotka after crossing the Bering Strait on jet skis were released Wednesday and have made the return trip across the icy waters to the U.S. state of Alaska
(The Moscow Times)
RULE OF LAW
A Turkish mediator for a Swedish manager from the IKEA furniture chain in Russia has been sentenced to five years prison after a Moscow court convicted him of large-scale extortion
(Kommersant)
A district court in Moscow ruled that the dispensation of various goods for money in the capital’s Christ the Savior Cathedral is a charity activity and not a business
(Nezavisimaya Gazeta)
For more details on all the news in Russia today, visit our website at http://en.ria.ru
