Putin says Arctic must remain 'zone of peace'

Russian officials are becoming increasingly concerned about polar bear poachers in their country using Canadian documents to disguise illegally hunted pelts. “I think it is a real problem,” said Nikita Ovsyanikov, one of Russia’s top polar bear scientists and a member of the polar bear specialist group, the leading international research consortium on the mighty and controversial predators.

In an annual Q+A session today, Russian President Vladimir Putin made his first public comments on the Boston Marathon bombings, believed to have been perpetrated by two Chechen Russians immigrants.

HELSINKI, Finland — Vladimir Putin, banned in Finland? Finnish police say the Russian president’s name was mistakenly placed on a secret criminal register that could theoretically have gotten him arrested at the border.

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin called Wednesday for the revival of a Soviet-era physical evaluation program that required all schoolchildren to pass fitness tests. To do so, he made an appearance with American action movie star Steven Seagal. Putin, a judo enthusiast and a regular swimmer, said that the restoration of GTO, the Russian acronym for Ready for Labor and Defense, would teach children “to stand up for themselves, their family and, in the final run, the Fatherland.”

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin called Wednesday for the revival of a Soviet-era physical evaluation program that required all schoolchildren to pass fitness tests. To do so, he made an appearance with American action movie star Steven Seagal. Putin, a judo enthusiast and a regular swimmer, said that the restoration of GTO, the Russian acronym for Ready for Labor and Defense, would teach children “to stand up for themselves, their family and, in the final run, the Fatherland.”

LONDON — British police said Sunday they have no evidence to suggest third-party involvement in the death of Boris Berezovsky, the self-exiled Russian tycoon who went from Kremlin kingmaker to fiery critic.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin pledged on Thursday to turn the Northeast passage into a key shipping route and modernise its Arctic infrastructure as Moscow seeks to stake out a claim over the energy-rich region."We see the future of the Northeast passage as that of an international transport artery capable of competing with traditional maritime routes when it comes to service fees, safety and quality," Putin told an international Arctic forum.