Meticulously crafted over decades as a major revenue stream for the Kremlin

A robot fractured a seven-year-old boy's finger during a chess tournament in Moscow last week, BBC reports citing Russian news agencies. Sergey Lazarev, president of the Moscow Chess Federation said "The robot broke the child's finger. Of course, this is bad."

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Iran starting Tuesday is intended to deepen ties with regional heavyweights as part of Moscow’s challenge to the United States and Europe amid its grinding campaign in Ukraine.

Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming has said the ongoing tragedy in Ukraine has broken hearts of many and that China stands for peace and opposes war.

A taxi drives into a crowd of pedestrians near Moscow's Red Square, injuring seven people including two Mexicans in the city for the soccer World Cup which Russia is hosting, officials and eyewitnesses say.

Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia urges the United States and its allies on Thursday to refrain from military action against Syria over a suspected chemical weapons attack and says he "cannot exclude" war between Washington and Moscow.

Moscow tells Britain it must cut just over 50 more of its diplomatic and technical staff in Russia as a standoff deepened over the poisoning of a Russian former spy and his daughter in England, the Russian Foreign Ministry says.

Moscow has told Britain it must cut "just over 50" more of its diplomatic and technical staff in Russia in a worsening standoff over the poisoning of a Russian former spy and his daughter in England, the Russian Foreign Ministry says.

Three people being taken to stand trial in a Moscow court are shot dead after they tried to grab side-arms from court security officers and escape, Russian law enforcement officials say.

Maria Sharapova said Wednesday she refused to feel sorry for herself during her doping ban, occupying her time by studying at Harvard, writing a book and even learning how to box.

16 migrant workers mostly from Kyrgyzstan die in a fire that broke out at a Moscow warehouse early Saturday, Russian authorities say.

Russian warships in the Mediterranean Sea fire cruise missiles at targets near Aleppo on Friday, a further sign of Moscow's broadening military effort in Syria days after it began to fly bombing missions from an airbase in Iran.

Police in the Russian capital Moscow arrests a woman on suspicion of murdering a child after she was found apparently carrying a severed head.

Russia was initially surprised by Bangladesh joining the Saudi-led 34-nation “Islamic Alliance” to combat terrorism, but is not worried over the present activities of the coalition.

Twelve people, including three children, die in a huge fire at a textile factory in the east of the Russian capital Moscow, officials say.

Security is being stepped up in major European cities ahead of New Year celebrations, with officials wary of possible terror plots.

In an unusual incident, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was pulled back by a Russian official as he walked past the guard of honour accorded to him while Indian national anthem was being played soon after his arrival at the Moscow airport.

US Secretary of State John Kerry is in Moscow for talks to try to bridge gaps with Russia over the political process to end Syria's civil war.

Thai police say they were warned by Moscow that 10 Syrians working for the so-called Islamic State (IS) entered Thailand in October to target Russians.

Russia has announced a package of economic sanctions against Turkey over the shooting down of a Russian jet on the Syrian border on Tuesday.