Moscow  - Vladimir Putin is swapping the presidency for the prime minister's post when he steps down Wednesday to leave room for his hand picked successor-elect, Dmitry Medvedev.

Moscow- A 118-year-old man from the semi-autonomous Russian republic of Dagestan in the North Ca

Moscow  -  As Russia's military rehearsed for a military parade in Moscow's Red Square Monday, President Vladimir Putin said the planned Victory Day parade is not meant as a threat.

Brussels  - The European Union is "seriously concerned" by the rising tensions between Russia and Georgia and urges all sides to return to dialogue, the bloc said in a statement Monday.

Moscow  - Five police were killed and two were injured in a bomb explosion in Chechnya, reported Interfax news agency Monday.

Berlin - Delivery of pipes for a controversial new gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea begins this week, although the project has yet to win clearance from several nations with Baltic coasts.