A Moscow cinema that had been showing a satirical film about Soviet leader Josef Stalin in defiance of an official Russian government ban cancelled further screenings today.

Police have shown up at a Moscow cinema that screened a satirical film about Soviet leader Josef Stalin in defiance of an official Russian government ban.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has strongly denounced Soviet-era political repressions, describing them as a crime that should never be forgotten.

Xenophobia and the resurgence of hard-line nationalists reflect disappointment with the unification project, and much of the blame lies with an economically imperialist and arrogant Germany and with the unwillingness of other member states to take the lead, says Lucian Kim

Some of the stranger stories from around the globe

A nice Sunday evening in by the telly. Lovely.

A prominent professor of history at University College Cork has expressed surprise at a French university’s refusal to stock one of his books in their Paris library, allegedly due to its lack of “neutrality”.

The European Court of Human Rights has rejected a complaint by the grandson of Josef Stalin over a Russian newspaper article that called the Soviet dictator a “bloodthirsty cannibal”.

The European Court of Human Rights has rejected a complaint by the grandson of Josef Stalin over a Russian newspaper article that called the Soviet dictator a “bloodthirsty cannibal”.

The Boston bombings show that the West was wrong in supporting militants in Chechnya, Russian President Vladimir Putin says.

Russians are marking the 60th anniversary of the death of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin today, with devotees laying flowers at his tomb in Moscow while critics blame the former Soviet leader for millions of deaths in purges and prison camps.

Though the Mayans never really predicted that the world would end tomorrow, some New Agers are convinced that humanity’s demise is imminent. Or at least that it’s a good excuse for a party.

American POWs sent secret coded messages to Washington with news of a Soviet atrocity: In 1943 they saw rows of corpses in an advanced state of decay in the Katyn forest, on the western edge of Russia, proof that the killers could not have been the Nazis who had only recently occupied the area.

The American POWs sent secret coded messages to Washington with news of a Soviet atrocity: in 1943 they saw rows of corpses in an advanced state of decay in the Katyn forest, on the western edge of Russia, proof that the killers could not have been the Nazis who had only recently occupied the area.

The United States of America deliberately helped Russia cover up one of its most infamous Second World War atrocities to gain favour with Stalin, new documents suggest.

Tens of thousands of Russians flooded Moscow's tree-lined boulevards today in the first massive protest against president Vladimir Putin's rule since his inauguration in May - a rally that came even as police interrogated key opposition leaders.

Russian investigators searched the apartments of several opposition leaders today and called them in for questioning, raising tensions on the eve of a large protest against President Vladimir Putin.

They say that frequently fact is stranger than fiction. In 1945, George Orwell wrote Animal Farm.

SOVIET dictator Josef Stalin’s daughter, whose defection to the US during the Cold War embarrassed the ruling communists and made her a best-selling author, has died aged 85.

The Irish Government has essentially thumbed its nose at the Vatican by announcing the closure of the Irish diplomatic mission to the Holy See.

FORMER Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko was jailed for seven years in a trial widely condemned in the West as politically motivated.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has defended his decision not to seek a second term, saying that the nation likes Vladimir Putin more.

Estonia’s centre-right government is poised to stay in power for a second term after winning a clear parliamentary majority in the Baltic country’s first election as a eurozone member, preliminary results showed.

SECOND World War Katyn massacres were committed on the direct order of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, Russia’s lower house of parliament said yesterday — a statement hailed by Polish officials.

The Second World War Katyn massacres were committed on the direct order of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, Russia’s lower house of parliament said today – a statement hailed by Polish officials.

MOSCOW’S ousted mayor yesterday launched a withering attack on President Dmitry Medvedev, accusing him of promoting a climate of repression and censorship reminiscent of the Stalin era.

British, French and US troops strode across Red Square for the first time today in a Victory Day parade marked both by the usual impressive display of Russia’s military might and by an unusual emphasis on international co-operation.

An elaborate state funeral for Poland's President Lech Kaczynski and his wife, Maria, began today bereft of many world leaders whose travel plans were paralysed by the plume of volcanic ash that has covered Europe.

The bodies of President Lech Kaczynski and his wife were flown from Warsaw to Krakow today for burial among Polish kings and poets at a tradition-laden ceremony that will be bereft of many world leaders whose travel plans were paralysed by a plume of volcanic ash.

Thousands of mourners threw flowers on a slow-moving hearse and joined an enormous viewing line at Warsaw’s Presidential Palace to pay their respects to Lech Kaczynski and his wife as their bodies lay in state.

The body of Poland's first lady was flown home from Russia to an emotional welcome today.

THE body of President Lech Kaczynski was returned to Poland yesterday where it was greeted by grieving dignitaries and thousands of Poles lining the route from Warsaw’s airport to the presidential palace.

Thousands of people stood silent in the streets of Poland’s cities today in a silent memorial to President Lech Kaczynski and the other 95 people killed in a devastating plane crash.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said there can be no justification for the Soviet-era oppression that left millions of people dead at the hands of their own state.

AN AIDS awareness video is using an Adolf Hitler lookalike to illustrate its point that “AIDS is a mass murderer”.

IRAN’s police chief acknowledged yesterday that detained protesters were abused in prison and the country’s top prosecutor said those responsible for the mistreatment should be punished, in unusually pointed criticism of security officials.

A Russian state television network says Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, who sent millions to their deaths in the Great Purge of the 1930s, has been voted the country’s third-greatest historical figure.

SOVIET dictator Josef Stalin remains one of Russia’s most popular historical figures despite the purges that marked his rule, according to the results in a nationwide poll.

Russian tanks and troops roamed freely around Gori today and made forays toward the Georgian capital, keeping control of the road that slices through Georgia’s midsection despite Russia’s announcement that a withdrawal had begun.

Author Alexander Solzhenitsyn was buried today in a Russian Orthodox ceremony that included goose-stepping honour guards and a religious choir singing dirges.

WHEN Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich appeared in the literary magazine Novy Mir back in November 1962, taboos were shattered. Secrets were unearthed. And the Soviet Union was shaken to its foundations.

Ninety years after he was executed, Tsar Nicholas II is leading a tight race to be named the greatest Russian in history.

Russian president Vladimir Putin warned against political ideas “placed above basic values” as he, for the first time, joined public commemorations on the 70th anniversary of mass killings ordered by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.

Russian president Vladimir Putin made a proposal concerning Iran's nuclear programme to Tehran's leader at a private meeting during his brief stay in the country.

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin insisted yesterday he would travel to Iran today despite reports about a possible assassination attempt, arguing direct contact and “peaceful means” were the only way to deal with the country’s nuclear program.

Builders renovating a Moscow house have unearthed more than 30 bodies apparently dating back to the era of Josef Stalin’s political purges.

Workers rebuilding a 19th century Moscow house dug up the remains of nearly three dozen people and investigators were trying to determine their identities, a city police official said Thursday.

Poisoned former KGB man Alexander Litvinenko met two other Russian agents in Moscow in 1998 to make an extraordinary video in which they claimed their bosses had ordered them to kill, kidnap and frame prominent Russians.