Putin bans officials from owning foreign accounts

President Vladimir Putin has submitted a bill that would ban Russian Cabinet members and other senior officials from having foreign bank accounts and owning foreign stock.

Putin consolidates power, hires ousted ministers

Taking a tough stand against dissent, President Vladimir Putin ignored public opposition and hired some Russia's most unpopular former ministers Tuesday and Russian lawmakers debated a draconian bill that raises fines for joining unsanctioned protests 200-fold. Opposition lawmakers denounced the new sanctions against protesters as an attempt to stifle public debate, warning that it would fuel public outrage and destabilize the country by depriving the public of an ability to express discontent. Sergei Mironov, the leader of the opposition Just Russia party, said

Putin to visit China after skipping US

Russia's newly sworn-in President Vladimir Putin will make what could be his first foreign trip to China next month after deciding to skip the G8 summit in the US, a diplomatic source said on Friday. Putin's June 5-7 visit will include talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao and attendance at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, the source told Russian news agencies. Putin, sworn in for a third term as president on Monday after spending the past four years as premier, had earlier informed Obama he was turning down an invitation to visit Camp David for the G8 summit next week.