On Wednesday, May 16, Beit Bella synagogue - the only one in modern Estonia - was opened in Tallinn. The building, which served as a synagogue in the beginning of the 20th century, was destroyed during WWII.

Thousands of Russians belonging to different political parties hit the streets of Moscow holding marches and rallies on May Day.

The son of Russia's Deputy Prime Minister was jailed for attacking a fellow investment banker in a drunken brawl at a party in London's East End.

U.S. President George W. Bush has called for Russian participation in the U.S. missile defense plans for Poland and Czech Republic. Bush has said it is in Russia's security interests to take part in developing missile defense plans in Eastern Europe.

The United States has rejected a proposal from Russia to explore the moon together, Anatoly Perminov, head of the Russian space agency, said. Meanwhile NASA spokesman Michael Braukus said that the agency had received no lunar exploration proposal from Roscosmos.

Ukraine's parliament adopted a resolution on simultaneous parliamentary and presidential elections.

Estonia is to set up a Red Army monument in a military cemetery in time for the anniversary of the end of World War Two after its removal from the center of the capital sparked riots, officials said.

On Friday, April 27, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a bill to set up a state-owned nuclear power holding that will control the country's civilian nuclear energy industry. The holding, called Atomenergoprom, will in turn become a part of a larger corporation that will control both civilian and military nuclear energy in Russia.

Estonia's parliament was behind barricades Saturday for the first time since Soviet tanks tried to crush the independence movement in 1991, as violence rocked Tallinn for a second night after the removal of a Soviet war memorial.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said after a meeting with Czech President Vaclav Klaus today that the U.S. plan to build an anti-missile base in Europe is a threat similar to U.S. Pershing missiles

The latest reports say 18 servicemen have died in a Mil Mi-8 helicopter crash in Chechnya, a source at the headquarters of the joint federal force in the North Caucasus has said.

A military helicopter went down in Russia's volatile province of Chechnya killing all 17 people on board, the RIA-Novosti news agency reported quoting a source in the military.

Russia's state-controlled oil company Rosneft published results of independent audit of its reserves, which show that the firm has the world's largest reserves of oil and gas condensate according to specificiations of the U.S. Society of Petroleum Engineers. This information was contained in Rosneft's official press release, published on Friday, April 27.

The Inaugural Summit on Peace and Tolerance devoted to the contemporary state and perspectives of the international inter-confessional dialogue has opened in the Ukrainian capital.

Mstislav Rostropovich, the ebullient master cellist who fought for the rights of Soviet-era dissidents and later triumphantly played Bach suites below the crumbling Berlin Wall, has died. He was 80.

Police clashed with protesters Thursday at a Soviet war memorial in Estonia's capital as authorities prepared to remove the bodies despite Russia's angry objections.

Russian chess star and opposition leader Garry Kasparov urged Western leaders to stand up to President Vladimir Putin saying that inaction would make them accomplices in "crimes to come."

NATO voiced "grave concern" over Russian President Vladimir Putin's threat to pull out of a Cold War-era arms control treaty, as the strategic confrontation between the two former enemies escalated.

Russian Agriculture Minister Alexei Gordeyev said on Thursday, April 26, that resumption of talks on Polish-Russian trade dispute that has held up a key EU-Russia agreement depends on Warsaw.

Russian President Vladimir Putin strongly rejected speculation that he would try to seek a third term, but did not mention who he sees as his preferred successor.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he was suspending Russia's obligations under the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty, a move he linked to U.S. plans for a missile defence shield in Europe.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has dismissed as "ludicrous" Russian concerns that Washington's plans to deploy anti-missile defenses in Europe would endanger Moscow's nuclear arsenal.

Ukrainian Prime Minister called the presidential decree on disbanding the Supreme Rada and holding new parliamentary elections on June 24 unconstitutional.

President Vladimir Putin on Thursday decried an alleged increase in foreign funding for interference in Russia's affairs, an accusation that officials have made repeatedly in recent months as the country approaches parliamentary and presidential elections.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday Russian leaders are divided over how to respond to a US offer to partner with Moscow on missile defense in Europe.

Excavations at a common gravesite near the monument to Soviet soldiers in Tallinn apparently started early on Thursday.

Royal Dutch/Shell and its partners have agreed to pay a substantial annual dividend to the Russian government as part of the deal to salvage the $20 billion Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project in Russia's Far East. This information was reported by the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, April 26. The paper cited people familiar with the situation.

On Wednesday, April 25, the EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs and European MPs adopted a joint statement, urging Russia to stop using its energy as a political weapon and resume oil supplies to Lithuania.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has signed a decree scheduling early parliamentary elections for June 24, 2007.

Aluminum mogul Oleg Deripaska will buy a 30 percent stake in Austrian builder Strabag for 1.2 billion euros ($1.6 billion), boosting the clout of Europe's fifth-largest builder in Russia.