The Russian and South Ossetian defense ministers have signed an agreement that allows South Ossetian citizens to serve in the Russian armed forces, and regulates the work of Russian peacekeepers in the republic.
The parliament of the Chechen Republic has passed a bill allowing schoolchildren to dress according to their religious beliefs, meaning the female Muslim hijab headscarf will be permitted in local schools.
Russia’s president has it is wrong for political figures to use anti-corruption campaigns for political advantage rather than actually try to do something about it, while noting that his administration and allies have always been staunchly anti-corruption.
A Russian civil rights commission will investigate the unsanctioned protests that took place in Moscow on Sunday and resulted in the detention of about 600 people, including key organizer Aleksey Navalny.
A quarter of respondents in a recent poll said that the Russian government should recognize the Donetsk and Lugansk Republics, although 30 percent said they would prefer Russia not to take sides in the Ukrainian conflict.
Upper house speaker Valentina Matviyenko has called for an anti-terrorist committee to be set up in the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, noting that Russia has repeatedly pushed for more unified efforts in fighting the scourge of terrorism.
The Russian government has drafted a bill that, if passed, would oblige auditors to report any operations conducted by their clients that raise suspicion of money laundering or sponsorship of terrorism.
An MP in Russia’s lower house of parliament has proposed launching special hot lines that concerned citizens could call to report the activities of banned sects or other destructive groups.
The fight against anti-Soviet activities, Russophobia and nationalism will be key campaign points for the Russian Communist Party in its 2018 presidential election agenda. However, the party has still not decided who it will put forward as a candidate.
A Russian senator has proposed a ban on surrogacy, saying that current imperfect laws provide little protection for all participants of the process as well as alleging that the procedure can hurt babies born through it.