Russian government denies removal of director of Opera and Ballet Theatre was censorship.

Revamped airfields on target in key Siberian locations as military is boosted in energy-rich region.

They think wearing their jeans so tight that it pushes their manbits up into the stomachs looks cool, hard and/or fashionable.

'We're Russian Koreans,' comes the reply.

Officially, Alexander I died of typhus aged 47 on 1 December 1825, but evidence suggests he faked his demise and lived as a holy man.

Quality of life in booming oil capital Tyumen is better than that in Moscow or St Petersburg, says financial survey.

Locals get time off week for rare visit to the beach.

This famous ballet troupe toured the UK, becoming unique cultural ambassadors and putting their native Krasnoyarsk on the map in the West.

Feeling ill during foreign assignment, she was sent alone on 300 km train journey less than 48 hours before she died of serious blood infection.