News

Putin signs new anti-smoking bill

President Vladimir Putin has signed the law banning smoking in public places from June this year. "The federal law has been adopted to incorporate the provisions of the framework convention of the World Health Organization, which Russia ratified in 2008. It will regulate the protection of people from tobacco smoke and the hazardous effects of smoking," reads the Kremlin statement.

11:00 25.02.2013

Russian MPs suggest fining media and officials for using foreign words

A group of the State Duma lawmakers has proposed a bill instituting a 50,000 rubles fine ($1664) against media and officials for using foreign words instead of Russian analogs.

16:35 21.02.2013

Russian lawmaker proposes blog advertising tax

State Duma Deputy Sergei Zheleznyak has suggested amending the tax legislation, so as to tax bloggers for mentioning brands. He said the tax should be imposed on direct and indirect advertising.

16:03 21.02.2013

Latvian parliament shoots down bill on direct mayoral elections

Latvias parliament has shot down on Thursday a bill on direct mayoral elections submitted by an opposition party alliance, the parliament's press service said.

15:48 21.02.2013

Upper house backs bill fining employers for refusing to hire disabled

The Federation Council, the Russian parliaments upper house, approved a bill on Wednesday which fines employers who refuse to hire people with disabilities.

15:04 20.02.2013

New Zealand puts tobacco plain packaging law on hold

Philip Morris International announced Tuesday that the New Zealand government has decided to wait to implement its plan to require “plain” packaging for all tobacco products until Australian government has resolved its standing legal battles with Philip Morris and several other tobacco giants.

19:24 19.02.2013

State Duma extends free housing privatization until 2015

The State Duma passed a bill in all three readings on Tuesday, extending free housing privatization until March 1, 2015.

15:51 19.02.2013

Russia to lift restrictions on foreigners opening small businesses

The Russian government has approved amendments to the federal law on small and medium enterprises which will lift the restrictions on foreign nationals opening small and medium-sized businesses.

15:03 18.02.2013

Constitutional Court calls for lower protest fines

The minimum level of fines for violations of laws governing protests should be lowered, Russia’s Constitutional Court said on Thursday. The law raised the minimum fine for participation by private citizens in illegal protests from 100 rubles ($3.30) to 10,000 rubles ($330).

17:08 14.02.2013

Russia to draft new measures to help families with children - Medvedev

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced plans to provide financial support for families that have more than one child.

16:43 14.02.2013

Top news

Russian courts allowed not to implement rulings of Europe's human rights court

Russia's Supreme Court proposed not to implement rulings of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the provisions of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR).

12:53 09.12.2025

Redomiciliation stalls: How sanctions are shaping new practices for Russian companies

The mechanism for redomiciliating foreign companies to Russian jurisdiction, in effect since 2018, has recently encountered serious obstacles. Taking into account the background of sanctions-related restrictions introduced in 2022 through 2025, it has become extremely difficult to achieve the goal. The situation gave rise to the phenomenon of dual domicile and led to a rise in the number of new litigations, both in Russia and abroad.

12:32 09.12.2025

Soldiers jailed for killing US journalist Russell Bentley

A military court in Donetsk sentenced three soldiers to up to 12 years in prison for torturing and killing Russell Bentley, a 63-year-old U.S. national who collaborated with Sputnik news agency.

14:05 08.12.2025