Russia’s intellectuals recall Brezhnev era

A photograph taken by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sold on Saturday for 1.2 million euros -- even more than the amount a painting by his predecessor Vladimir Putin fetched last year.The black-and-white photo of the Tobolsk Kremlin, or fortress, in western Siberia taken by Medvedev from a helicopter sold at auction for 51 million rubles (1.2 million euros, 1.7 million dollars).Mikhail Zingarevich, a member of the board for wood and paper company Ilim, bought the photo at the charity auction. Medvedev worked as legal affairs director for the company in the 1990s.

Japan said Tuesday it will recall its ambassador to Russia following President Dmitry Medvedev's visit to the Kuril Islands, which are at the source of a long-running row between the two nations."I decided to recall ambassador to Russia (Masaharu) Kono temporarily," Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara told reporters.Maehara said he wanted to get more information from the ambassador following Medvedev's visit to a disputed islet in the Kuril Islands on Monday, which was condemned by Tokyo as "very regrettable".

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has fired one of his top advisors for abuse of office in one of the biggest changes to his Kremlin administration since taking power, media reported on Thursday.Mikhail Lesin, media advisor to Medvedev, "was relieved of his duties at his own request", the Kremlin said in a statement posted in its website without giving further details.But a source in the presidential administration told the Interfax news agency that Lesin had departed his job due to "failure to observe the rules and ethical behaviour of state service".

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev is to showcase the country's investment opportunities and openness to global business at the World Economic Forum next week, his top economic aide said Friday.But the Russian delegation is also likely to face some uneasy questions after oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky was sentenced to a new jail term in a trial closely watched by the world as a key test of the business environment.

Russia’s president Dmitry Medvedev makes a surprise visit to the North Caucasus region of Dagestan and vows that Russia would destroy those behind the suicide bombings that killed at least 50 people in separate attacks this week