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Russia has taken de facto armed control in Ukraine’s Crimea region, despite Western demands that it withdraw.
Thousands of Russian troops are securing the region and further armor and ship movements have been reported.
Ukraine has ordered full mobilization, issuing call-up papers and asking for more international support.
Russia says it is protecting its interests and those of Russian-speakers in Crimea and elsewhere in Ukraine following the ousting of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych last month.
The crisis hit Russian stock markets on Monday, with Moscow’s main MICEX index dropping 9% in early trading. The rouble fell to a fresh all-time low against the US dollar and Russia’s central bank raised its key lending rate to 7% from 5.5%.
Russia has taken de facto armed control in Ukraine’s Crimea region
Thousands of newly arrived Russian elite troops far outnumber Ukraine’s military presence with roadblocks cutting off Crimea.
Ukrainian border guards have reported a build-up of armored vehicles on the Russian side of the sea channel dividing Russia and Crimea.
Pro-Russian troops have taken over the ferry terminal in far-eastern Crimea that operates services to Russia.
There have also been further movements of Russian ships in the Black Sea – Sevastopol is the base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
Some mobile phone services are reported to be blocked.
Ukrainian navy commanders on Monday confirmed their loyalty to Ukraine, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported, despite an attempt by pro-Russian personnel to enter the navy HQ in Simferopol and force them to switch allegiance.
Ukraine’s interim government has called for more international support to force Russian troops to leave.
While Kiev hopes to resolve this crisis through dialogue, it is now mobilizing its military forces.
Men across Ukraine have been receiving call-up papers and will start reporting for 10 days training from Monday.
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Russia’s military build-up in Ukraine has been condemned by its G8 partners amid fresh diplomatic efforts to avert a dangerous escalation of the crisis.
The world’s seven major industrialized powers also suspended preparations for the G8 summit in Sochi in June.
Meanwhile, the EU foreign ministers are due to meet in emergency session in Brussels.
The moves come as Russian military forces continue to strengthen their grip on the Crimean peninsula.
Ukraine’s interim government has accused Russia of having declared war, and has ordered the mobilization of its armed forces.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has so far defied calls from the West to pull back his troops.
He insists Russia has a right to protect its interests and those of Russian-speakers in Crimea and elsewhere in Ukraine.
The UN said on Sunday that Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson was travelling to Ukraine to be “personally apprised of the facts on the ground”.
Russia’s military build-up in Ukraine has been condemned by its G8 partners
A statement said he would brief UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon “on the next steps the United Nations could take to support the de-escalation of the situation”.
On Monday morning, the MICEX index of stocks in Moscow suffered an initial fall of about 5% and the rouble fell 2.5% to an all-time low against the US dollar.
Russia’s central bank also raised its main interest rate to 7% from 5.5%.
The G7 of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US urged Russia to hold talks with Ukraine to address any human rights or security concerns it had.
In a statement released from the White House, the grouping said it condemned “the Russian Federation’s clear violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine”.
It added: “We have decided for the time being to suspend our participation in activities associated with the preparation of the scheduled G8 Summit in Sochi in June.”
G7 finance ministers said they were ready “to provide strong financial backing to Ukraine”.
“The International Monetary Fund [IMF] remains the institution best prepared to help Ukraine address its immediate economic challenges through policy advice and financing,” a statement said.
Ukraine needs $35 billion over the next two years, according to the finance ministry.
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Ukraine is calling up military reservists following Russia’s decision to deploy troops in Crimea.
Ukraine’s acting President Oleksandr Turchynov had already ordered increased security at key sites, including nuclear plants.
Meanwhile President Barack Obama has called the Russian decision a “violation of Ukrainian sovereignty”.
Heavily armed groups continue to occupy key sites in Crimea, including airports and communications hubs
Ukraine has said it will seek the help of US and UK leaders in guaranteeing its security. NATO has called emergency talks to be held on Sunday at 12:00 GMT.
The new Ukrainian PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk has warned that military action by Moscow would be “the beginning of war and the end of relations”.
Heavily armed groups continue to occupy key sites in Crimea, including airports and communications hubs, although there has been no actual violence.
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President Barack Obama has urged his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to pull his troops back from Ukraine.
In a 90-minute phone conversation, Barack Obama urged Vladimir Putin to pull forces back to bases in Crimea.
Vladimir Putin responded by saying that Moscow reserves the right to protect its interests and those of Russian speakers in Ukraine, the Kremlin said.
Meanwhile, Canada has recalled its ambassador to Moscow for consultations.
Canadian PM Stephen Harper said he was also suspending Canada’s preparations for a G8 summit in the Russian resort of Sochi in June.
Ukraine says it has put its army on full combat alert after Russia’s parliament approved the deployment of Russian troops.
In a 90-minute phone conversation, Barack Obama urged Vladimir Putin to pull forces back to bases in Crimea
Ukraine’s acting President Oleksandr Turchynov said he had also stepped up security at key sites, including nuclear plants.
According to the White House, Barack Obama told Vladimir Putin that the appropriate way to address any concerns “is peacefully through direct engagement” with the Ukrainian government and international mediating bodies.
“President Obama expressed his deep concern over Russia’s clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the White House said.
Barack Obama told Vladimir Putin his actions were a “breach of international law, including Russia’s obligations under the UN Charter, and of its 1997 military basing agreement with Ukraine”, a statement added.
The Kremlin said that in his phone call with Barack Obama, President Vladimir Putin “underlined that there are real threats to the life and health of Russian citizens and compatriots on Ukrainian territory”.
As diplomatic efforts increased, US Secretary of State John Kerry said he had spoken with foreign ministers from Europe and Canada as well as EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and the Japanese envoy to the US “to co-ordinate on next steps”.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for “an immediate restoration of calm and direct dialogue”, whilst NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen tweeted: “Urgent need for de-escalation in Crimea.”
The UN Security Council held an emergency session on the crisis on Saturday, and NATO has called emergency talks to be held on Sunday at 1200 GMT.
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President Vladimir Putin’s request for Russian forces to be used in Ukraine has been approved by the upper house of parliament.
Vladimir Putin had asked that Russian forces be used “until the normalization of the political situation in the country”.
Russia’s Black Sea Fleet is based in the Ukrainian region of Crimea, where many ethnic Russians live.
Kiev has reacted angrily to days of military movements in Crimea, accusing Moscow of trying to provoke the new government into an armed conflict.
Interim President Oleksandr Turchynov has called an emergency session of his security chiefs.
Vladimir Putin submitted the request for troops “in connection with the extraordinary situation in Ukraine and the threat to the lives of Russian citizens”, the Kremlin said.
The upper house went into a special session almost immediately after Vladimir Putin made the request, in what seems to have been a carefully co-ordinated series of events during the day
Earlier, the lower house of parliament had urged the president to take whatever measures were necessary to “stabilize” the situation in Crimea.
Russia’s upper house of parliament has approved Vladimir Putin’s request for Russian troops deployment in Ukraine
During the upper house debate, one legislator accused President Barack Obama of crossing “a red line” with his comments that there would be costs if Russia intervened militarily in Ukraine.
The upper house has recommended that the Russian ambassador the US should be recalled, although the decision lies with Vladimir Putin.
The request follow days of military activity in Crimea during which unidentified armed men moved in to take over the regional parliament, state television and telecommunications hubs.
Soldiers from Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, which is based in Crimea, are reported to be guarding some administrative buildings and military bases.
Amid the closure of airspace over Crimea’s regional capital Simferopol on Friday evening, there were unconfirmed reports that Russian planes were flying in thousands of troops.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Ihor Tenyukh said on Saturday there are now an extra 6,000 Russian troops in Crimea, alongside an additional 30 armored vehicles.
Under the agreement governing the presence of the fleet in Crimea, the Russians must co-ordinate all troop movements outside the fleet’s base with the Ukrainian authorities beforehand.
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Pro-Moscow leader of Ukraine’s autonomous Crimea region Sergey Aksyonov has asked Russian President Vladimir Putin for help to ensure peace.
A Kremlin source said it would “not leave unnoticed” the request from Sergiy Aksyonov.
Meanwhile President Barack Obama warned Moscow against intervention after mysterious troop movements.
Ukraine’s interim PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk accused Russia of seeking to provoke an escalation.
Arseniy Yatsenyuk was speaking at the first meeting of his cabinet, installed after the overthrow of President Viktor Yanukovych. The new Defense Minister, Ihor Tenyukh, accused Russia of “recently” deploying 6,000 extra soldiers to Ukraine.
Unidentified soldiers are guarding key buildings in Crimea
Sergey Aksyonov, 41,who leads the main pro-Russian party in Crimea, was elected prime minister of Crimea by the region’s parliament this week in an emergency session, replacing Anatoliy Mohylyov.
In the same vote, the parliament called a referendum on the status of Crimea, a region dominated by ethnic Russians.
The Crimean prime minister has brought forward the vote to March 30, from May 25 – the date of Ukraine’s early presidential election.
Sergey Aksyonov’s election was not approved by the new authorities in Kiev, who traditionally appoint the prime minister of Crimea, in consultation with the regional parliament. He also refused to recognize Ukraine’s new government.
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Rumors that Russian President Vladimir Putin has married former gymnast Alina Kabayeva have sparked again after his alleged mistress was shown on television apparently wearing a wedding ring.
While Vladimir Putin, 61, was hosting the winter Olympics in Sochi, Alina Kabayeva, 30, was at a children’s sporting event in the city of Nizhnekamsk, and flashed a sparkling ring to television cameras.
The Kremlin has previously denied that Vladimir Putin married Alina Kabayeva in the town of Valdai in September.
When Vladimir Putin was shown wearing a wedding ring in a meeting with the Egyptian defense minister last week, the Kremlin-friendly news agency pulled the photograph, and claimed that it was taken before Putin’s divorce in 2013 from his wife Lyudmila and had been posted accidentally.
Alina Kabayeva was at a children’s sporting event in the city of Nizhnekamsk and flashed a sparkling ring to TV camera
Rumors that Vladimir Putin and Alina Kabayeva are involved in a longstanding affair and even they have children together have long been denied by the president’s aides.
Vladimir Putin shut down the newspaper Moskovsky Korrespondent after it reported in 2008 that Putin was about to divorce his wife and marry Alina Kabayeva.
In an interview in 2013, Alina Kabayeva said she had me a man she “loved very much”, and wanted to marry and have children.
Alina Kabayeva was among the final six elite Russian athletes to carry the Olympic flame during the opening ceremony at the Sochi Winter Games.
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Vladimir Putin has announced he backs Egypt’s military chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi in his “bid for the presidency”.
Vladimir Putin, meeting Field Marshal Sisi in Moscow to discuss an arms deal, said he was “aware” of his decision to run.
However, there has been no announcement on the matter from the Egyptian side.
General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi led the overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi last July, and the new constitution calls for an election by mid-April.
Correspondents say Field Marshal Sisi would be likely to win, given his popularity and the lack of any serious rivals.
Vladimir Putin said: “I know that you, mister defence minister, have decided to run for president of Egypt.
“I wish you luck both from myself personally and from the Russian people.”
Vladimir Putin has announced he backs Egypt’s military chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi in his bid for the presidency
Field Marshal Sisi is in Russia to negotiate a $2 billion arms deal, after the US suspended some of its annual military assistance in response to Mohamed Morsi’s removal.
Field Marshal Sisi said: “Our visit offers a new start to the development of military and technological co-operation between Egypt and Russia. We hope to speed up this co-operation.”
No details have been released about the military discussions, although Russian media pointed to Egyptian interest in acquiring air defence missiles, MiG-29 jets and helicopters, among other weapons.
Two weeks ago Egypt’s Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) gave its public support to any presidential bid by Field Marshal Sisi.
However, last week, the military issued a denial after a Kuwaiti newspaper quoted the field marshal as saying he would run for the presidency.
The military said at the time that any announcement would “be done via clear and direct statements that cannot be doubted or misinterpreted”.
The 59-year-old former military intelligence chief was appointed head of the armed forces and defence minister by Mohamed Morsi in August 2012.
But after mass protests demanding Mohamed Morsi’s resignation took place on the first anniversary of his taking office, it was the field marshal who gave the president an ultimatum that he would have to satisfy the public’s demands or see the army step in.
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President Vladimir Putin met his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yanukovych on the sidelines of the Winter Olympics, officials say.
Neither side would confirm what was discussed during the informal conversation during the opening ceremony in the Russian city of Sochi.
Russia has frozen delivery of a $15 billion bailout program pending the formation of a new government in Kiev.
Mass anti-government protests erupted in Ukraine in late November.
Vladimir Putin met his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yanukovych on the sidelines of the Winter Olympics
Under pressure from Moscow, Viktor Yanukovych had refused to sign a far-reaching association and trade agreement with the EU.
Amid continuing protests, Viktor Yanukovych has accepted the resignation of PM Mykola Azarov – widely seen as pro-Moscow – and a new prime minister has yet to be nominated.
The meeting between Vladimir Putin and Viktor Yanukovych in Sochi on Friday evening was confirmed by senior Russian and Ukrainian officials.
There was no information about what was discussed, but correspondents speculate it was likely to include the suspended Russian financial package – which Ukraine desperately needs in the face of a sliding currency, dwindling foreign reserves and rising borrowing costs.
Viktor Yanukovych’s meeting with Vladimir Putin follows talks in Kiev last Wednesday between Yanukovych and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
Sochi has opened the 22nd Winter Olympics with a spectacular ceremony.
More than 2,900 athletes from 87 nations paraded before 40,000 people in the Fisht Stadium before President Vladimir Putin declared the Games open.
The Olympic flame was lit by Russian former triple gold medalists Vladislav Tretiak and Irina Rodnina as fireworks illuminated the night sky.
At a cost of $50 billion, the Sochi Games is the most expensive Olympics in history.
International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach used his welcome speech at the ceremony to promote Olympic values of diversity and non-discrimination.
“The Olympics are about building bridges to bring people together,” Thomas Bach said.
“They are not about erecting walls to keep people apart. Embrace human diversity and unity.”
President Barack Obama and UK’s PM David Cameron stayed away from the ceremony, which was attended by 44 heads of state.
Vladimir Putin avoided making a political statement as he stuck to protocol by using a single sentence to declare the Games open.
Sochi has opened the 22nd Winter Olympics with a spectacular ceremony
Spectators inside the stadium and television viewers worldwide were treated to a glittering show lasting nearly three hours and featuring 22 tonnes of fireworks.
In a grand finale, tennis star Maria Sharapova, who grew up in Sochi, carried the Olympic flame into the stadium before it passed through the hands of pole vault world record holder Yelena Isinbayeva, wrestler Aleksandr Karelin and gymnast Alina Kabaeva,
It was carried out of the arena by former figure skater Irina Rodnina and ice hockey player Vladislav Tretiak, who lit the cauldron in the middle of the Olympic park while Igor Stravinksy’s Firebird Suite filled the stadium.
In a break from Olympic tradition, the teams had earlier entered in the order of the Russian alphabet, with the host nation coming in last to deafening cheers.
Athletes from the competing nations appeared to emerge from their country’s map courtesy of a dazzling light show.
While some nations – including Nepal, Mexico and Pakistan – are sending only one competitor, the US team of 230 athletes is the largest in the history of the Winter Games.
The US have never appeared at an Olympics on Russian soil having boycotted the Moscow summer Games in 1980.
The ceremony featured a colorful journey through Russian history, celebrating the country’s rich heritage in art, music and ballet, with 3,000 performers and 2,000 volunteers taking part.
In a moving sequence the lights were lowered as performers, dressed in white to symbolize peace, danced to the strains of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
Hosting an Olympics for the first time since 1980, Russian athletes are under pressure to improve on the embarrassment of 11th place at the last Winter Games in Vancouver.
Russia has devoted $940 million to elite winter sport since winning the bid to host these Games seven years ago.
The first medals of the Games will be decided on Saturday with five golds up for grabs in biathlon, cross country skiing, freestyle skiing, snowboarding and speed skating.
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2004 Olympic rhythmic gymnastics champion Alina Kabaeva, Vladimir Putin’s alleged girlfriend, may be selected to light the Olympic Torch at the opening ceremonies in Sochi.
The lighting is traditionally performed by a prominent person from the host country, so Alina Kabaeva would certainly qualify on her own merits.
Rumors of Alina Kabaeva’s relationship with Vladimir Putin – who has been single since his divorce last year – have never been officially confirmed.
Alina Kabaeva, Vladimir Putin’s alleged girlfriend, may be selected to light the Olympic Torch at the opening ceremonies in Sochi
Vladimir Putin, for his part, dismissed the conjecture about Alina Kabaeva possibly lighting the torch.
“I’m aware of this [the speculation], I was told of this by [Kremlin spokesman] Dmitry Peskov. These are the usual red herrings,” News.com.au quotes President Vladimir Putin as saying while he toured a nature reserve near Sochi.
“We have many outstanding sportspeople who are significant and known in the whole world, and I am not going to interfere in this process,” Vladimir Putin said in comments broadcast on state television.
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President Vladimir Putin has taken senior Olympics officials on a tour of a Persian leopard sanctuary ahead of the Winter Games in Sochi.
Vladimir Putin tried to calm one leopard cub, which had become agitated and attacked two journalists, Russian media said.
The visit to Sochi National Park comes amid efforts to show the games are positive for the environment.
Vladimir Putin is well known for his encounters with wild animals which have helped burnish his outdoors image.
In the past, the president has been shown on state TV tagging whales, saving a TV crew from a tiger and taking to the skies to fly with Siberian cranes.
Vladimir Putin drove Jean Claude Killy, former French Olympian and International Olympic Committee (IOC) official, and IOC Executive Director Gilbert Felli to the nature reserve near the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
Vladimir Putin has taken senior Olympics officials on a tour of a Persian leopard sanctuary ahead of the Winter Games in Sochi
But a six-month-old Persian leopard cub, Grom (Thunder), attacked two journalists inside a cage, scratching one on the hand and biting the other on the knee, RIA Novosti news agency said.
Footage broadcast on state TV showed the Russian president cuddling the leopard seemingly at ease, commenting: “I like animals, it seems I have a feeling for them. We liked each other.”
Russia is working to re-introduce the Persian leopard to southern Russia where they became extinct in 1970.
“We’ve decided to restore the population of the Persian leopard because of the Olympic Games,” Vladimir Putin said.
During the visit Vladimir Putin insisted that the enormous construction effort to prepare Sochi for the Games had greatly improved the environment.
Environmentalists have accused the Russian authorities of damaging the environment beside the sea and in the mountains of the Sochi area during construction for the Games.
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Madonna has decided to introduce two members of Russian protest punk rock act Pussy Riot at a concert promoting human rights at the Barclays Center in New York City.
Madonna said she was “honored” to introduce “my fellow freedom fighters” Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova at the Amnesty event.
“I have admired their courage and have long supported their commitment and the sacrifices they have made,” the singer added.
Madonna will introduce two members of Pussy Riot at a concert promoting human rights at the Barclays Center
Maria (Masha) Alyokhina and Nadezhda (Nadya) Tolokonnikova were released in December after spending 16 months in prison.
They and Yekaterina Samutsevich were arrested in August 2012 for singing a protest song in a Moscow cathedral.
Amnesty International announced last week that “Masha” and “Nadya” would make an appearance at the concert on February 5.
It will form part of their first trip to New York since being granted amnesty by Russian President Vladimir Putin – a gesture the pair dismissed as a publicity stunt.
Lauryn Hill, Bob Geldof, Yoko Ono and Imagine Dragons are also on the bill of the Bringing Human Rights Home event at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
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Platon Lebedev, the former business partner of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, with whom he was jailed in 2005, will be released, Russia’s Supreme Court has ordered.
Platon Lebedev and Mikhail Khodorkovsky were convicted of tax evasion and theft after funding opposition parties and falling out with President Vladimir Putin.
Vladimir Putin pardoned Mikhail Khodorkovsky last month, but Platon Lebedev, who was due for release in May, did not seek a pardon and stayed in jail.
The Russian Supreme Court ruled that his sentence should be reduced and that he would be able to walk free on Friday.
“Release Lebedev,” Supreme Court Judge Pyotr Serkov declared in the ruling, after reducing his sentence so that it amounted to time served.
Platon Lebedev and his former business partner Mikhail Khodorkovsky were jailed in 2005
Both men’s convictions remain in place, despite repeated appeals.
It did not change a court order under which Platon Lebedev and Mikhail Khodorkovsky must pay 17 billion roubles ($500 million) in tax arrears.
That debt is an obstacle to Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s return to Russia after leaving for Germany in December.
The releases are believed by many to be part of a drive to improve Russia’s international image ahead of the Sochi Winter Olympics next month.
Other prominent inmates freed in the past few weeks included two women from the Pussy Riot protest group, jailed over the performance of a “punk prayer” critical of Vladimir Putin in a Russian Orthodox church.
Platon Lebedev used to head NFO Menatep, while Mikhail Khodorkovsky ran oil giant Yukos and was once Russia’s richest man.
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Sochi police are hunting for Ruzanna Ibragimova, a woman they fear may be planning to carry out a suicide bomb attack ahead of Winter Olympics.
They have put up wanted posters in hostels around the town, which is hosting the Winter Olympics next month.
The 23-year-old Ruzanna Ibragimova from Dagestan in the North Caucasus region, is believed to be the widow of an Islamist militant.
She is thought to have slipped into Sochi earlier this month, bypassing tight security ahead of the Games.
At least two other potential female suicide bombers are also at large in the region, other police posters state.
Ruzanna Ibragimova from Dagestan in the North Caucasus region, is believed to be the widow of an Islamist militant
President Vladimir Putin has launched one of the biggest security operations in Olympic history, and has personally inspected the sites.
More than 30,000 police and interior ministry troops have been deployed and access to the area limited.
Security fears were heightened after two suicide bomb attacks killed 34 people in the southern city of Volgograd on December 29 and 30.
President Barack Obama, in a telephone conversation with the Kremlin on Tuesday, offered America’s “full assistance” in making the Olympics “safe and secure”, the White House said.
Two US warships will be on standby in the Black Sea when the Games begin on February 7. Washington has also offered to supply Russia with hi-tech equipment to help detect improvised explosives.
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Mikhail Khodorkovsky has applied for a visa to travel to Switzerland, the Swiss foreign ministry says.
A ministry’s spokesman said Russian former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky submitted his request for a three-month Schengen visa at the Swiss embassy in Berlin.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky, 50, a staunch critic of President Vladimir Putin, spent 10 years in a Russian prison for fraud and tax evasion.
He was pardoned and freed on Friday and immediately flew to Germany.
Swiss foreign ministry spokesman Stefan von Below told the Associated Press news agency that the three-month visa request would probably be processed in the coming days.
He declined to give further details.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky has applied for a visa to travel to Switzerland
Schengen visas allow holders to travel to most EU countries without having their passports or other documents checked at the border.
Earlier, Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s spokeswoman, Olga Pispanen, told AFP news agency that he was considering moving to Switzerland where his twin sons go to school.
Olga Pispanen said he was due to be reunited with his wife, Inna, and their three children in Berlin on Christmas Eve and he planned to discuss the idea with them.
“He is waiting for the family’s arrival. They will sit down and discuss everything,” she added.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky has always insisted that his conviction was politically motivated.
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Mikhail Khodorkovsky flew to Berlin on board of a private jet, hours after being pardoned by Russian President Vladimir Putin and freed from a decade in jail.
In a statement Mikhail Khodorkovsky, 50, confirmed he had asked Vladimir Putin for a pardon due to “family circumstances” – his mother is suffering from cancer.
The former tycoon did not admit guilt and referred to those who were “unjustly convicted and continue to be persecuted” in his case.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky met German ex-foreign minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher in Berlin, hours after being pardoned by President Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin earlier said he had signed the pardon on “the principles of humanity”.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former head of the now defunct oil giant Yukos, was once Russia’s richest man and had used his wealth to fund opposition parties.
He was jailed for tax evasion and theft.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was “happy” that Mikhail Khodorkovsky had been freed.
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Mikhail Khodorkovsky has been released from jail following a pardon from Russian President Vladimir Putin, his lawyers say.
Vladimir Putin signed a decree earlier pardoning former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky on the basis of “the principles of humanity”.
He said on Thursday that Mikhail Khodorkovsky, 50, had asked him for clemency because his mother was ill.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky – in custody for a decade – was jailed for tax evasion and theft after funding opposition parties.
The pardon comes after Russian MPs backed a wide-ranging amnesty for at least 20,000 prisoners.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky has been released from jail following a pardon from Russian President Vladimir Putin
Analysts say Vladimir Putin may be trying to ease international criticism of Russia’s human rights record ahead of February’s Winter Olympics in Sochi.
A document published by the Kremlin on Friday said the decree would come into force from the day of its signing.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s lawyer Vadim Klyuvgant said prison officials had confirmed that had left the he penal colony where he was being held in the Karelia region of north-western Russia.
The former tycoon had eaten lunch at the prison in Segezha as normal on Friday while his release papers were being drawn up, Russian news website Lenta.ru reports quoted an official as saying.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky was jailed after being convicted of stealing oil and laundering money in 2010. He had been in prison since 2003 when he was arrested and later convicted on charges of tax evasion. He was due to be released in August 2014.
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President Vladimir Putin has announced he will soon pardon jailed former tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
The Russian president said he had received a request from Mikhail Khodorkovsky – in custody for a decade – to pardon him on humanitarian grounds as his mother is ill.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s representatives said they needed to meet him before commenting but that the family would be “elated to see him finally freed”.
On Wednesday, MPs backed a wide-ranging amnesty for at least 20,000 prisoners.
Speaking to reporters after his annual news conference in Moscow on Thursday, Vladimir Putin confirmed the amnesty would apply to the two members of punk band Pussy Riot still in prison and Greenpeace activists detained for their protest at a Russian oil rig in the Arctic.
Analysts say Vladimir Putin may be trying to ease international criticism of Russia’s human rights record ahead of February’s Winter Olympics in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky, 50, and fellow defendant Platon Lebedev were convicted of stealing oil and laundering money in 2010. They were already serving time for tax evasion.
As head of the now defunct oil giant Yukos, Mikhail Khodorkovsky was once Russia’s richest man.
President Vladimir Putin has announced he will soon pardon jailed former tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky
Vladimir Putin said he had not received a request from Mikhail Khodorkovsky in the past.
“And then quite recently he wrote such a document and addressed a request for a pardon to me,” Vladimir Putin said.
“He has already been in detention more than 10 years, this is a serious punishment and he is referring to humanitarian circumstances as his mother is ill.
“I think given the circumstances we can take the decision and very soon the decree to pardon him will be signed,” Vladimir Putin said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told AFP news agency the request had been personally “signed” by Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s mother, Marina, said she did not know about any clemency request by her son.
“I spoke to Mikhail last Saturday for about three minutes, but we did not discuss this. He only asked about my health,” she said.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky is currently scheduled to leave jail next August. His supporters have long argued he is a political prisoner.
A statement from his press centre reads: “Until his legal team can meet with Mikhail Khodorkovsky, it cannot be commented on whether a request on a pardon was made, by whom and for what reasons.
“All of his family and supporters would of course be elated to see him finally free after 10 years of imprisonment.”
The amnesty passed in the State Duma on Wednesday covers at least 20,000 prisoners, including minors, disabled people, veterans, pregnant women and mothers.
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Vladimir Putin has abolished Russia’s state-owned news agency RIA Novosti.
In a surprise decree published on the Kremlin’s website on Monday, President Vladimir Putin announced it would be replaced by a news agency called Russia Today.
Russia Today will be headed by journalist and keen Kremlin supporter Dmitry Kiselev.
The state-owned Voice of Russia radio station has also been closed. The decree was effective immediately.
Sergey Ivanov, the head of the Kremlin administration, has told journalists in Moscow that the news agency is being restructured in order to make it more economical while increasing its reach, Interfax reports.
He was quoted as saying that the agency, which is being dissolved and reorganized as International News Agency Russia Today, needs to make “more rational use of public money” and that it has to be more effective.
Vladimir Putin announced Russia’s state-owned news agency RIA Novosti would be replaced by Russia Today
“Russia pursues an independent policy and robustly defends its national interests. It’s not easy to explain that to the world, but we can and must do this,” Sergey Ivanov said.
During Vladimir Putin’s time as Russia’s leader, RIA Novosti has tried hard to produce balanced coverage for Russian and international audiences.
Although state-owned, RIA Novosti has reflected the views of the opposition and covered difficult topics for the Kremlin.
Dmitry Kiselev is known for his ultra-conservative views, including recently saying that gay people should be banned from giving blood, and that their hearts should be burnt rather than used in transplants.
Reporting on its own demise, RIA Novosti noted in its news report that “the move is the latest in a series of shifts in Russia’s news landscape, which appear to point toward a tightening of state control in the already heavily regulated media sector”.
Differences between Russia and Ukraine on reducing the price of Russian gas have been narrowed after talks in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russian officials announced.
President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitriy Peskov said the talks would continue at a later date.
Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had been expected to debate Kiev joining a Moscow-led customs union.
But Dmitry Peskov said the issue was not discussed.
Last month Viktor Yanukovych shelved a partnership deal with the EU, triggering angry protests in Ukraine’s capital Kiev.
Russia was unhappy with the deal and Vladimir Putin has been urging Ukraine to join a Russian customs union with Belarus and Kazakhstan.
The two neighbors have also been trying to resolve a long-running dispute over energy supplies.
Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin
Ukraine depends on imports of Russian gas, but the supplier, Gazprom, has recently complained that Kiev had fallen behind in payments.
Disputes over supplies to Ukraine before 2009 saw Gazprom temporarily cutting off supplies.
Pipelines passing through Ukraine also pump Russian gas to many EU member states.
Dmitriy Peskov told Interfax news agency that “great attention has been devoted to the co-operation in the energy sphere”.
“Both sides narrowed the gap between their positions as a result of the discussion. However, no final agreement has been reached.”
He added: “The issue of Ukraine joining the customs union was not discussed during the meeting in Sochi.”
Ukraine has so far not commented on the talks.
Correspondents had earlier speculated that an agreement on Ukraine joining the customs union might be reached in return for reduced energy prices.
Many Ukrainians were furious that Viktor Yanukovych refused to sign the association agreement with the EU, which had followed years of negotiations.
On Saturday, nearly 1,000 supporters of the EU deal braved snow and swirling winds as they maintained control of Kiev’s Independence Square for the seventh successive day.
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Elton John’s concerts in Russia “will go ahead as planned” despite concerns over the country’s crackdown on gay rights, the Russian promoters announced.
In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a national law banning the “propaganda of homos**uality” to minors.
Elton John vowed last month to raise the issue on stage when he plays tonight’s sold out date in Moscow and a show in the Volga city of Kazan on Saturday.
Elton John’s concerts in Russia will go ahead as planned
The singer said he also planned to “meet with the LGBT community” there.
Russian promoters, SAV Entertainment, issued a statement reassuring fans that the two shows would be going ahead.
“Despite the groundless rumors spread by the internet and media that Elton John’s concerts in Russia could be cancelled, the organizer assures you that Elton John’s shows in Moscow and Kazan will go ahead as planned,” it said.
Elton John will be the first major Western star known for his support of gay rights to play in Russia since the new law, which critics fear could be used to ban any gay rights event.
Russia has criticized the Netherlands for “inaction”, failing to prevent a Greenpeace protest at an oil rig in September, hours before a state visit to Moscow by Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima.
Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxim met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima’s trip marks the end of a year which some media reports refer to as the least successful cross-cultural initiative in recent European history.
Russia and the Netherlands have also clashed over their differing attitudes to gay rights.
Edward Snowden, who is now living off scant donations under Russia asylum since July, will be starting a job at an undisclosed but large Russian website.
Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden has found a job working for a website in Russia, where he was granted asylum after fleeing the United States, a Russian lawyer who is helping him said on Thursday.
“Edward starts work in November,” lawyer Anatoly Kucherena said, according to state-run news agency RIA.
“He will provide support for a large Russian site,” he said, adding that he would not name the site “for security reasons.”
Edward Snowden, 30, a former National Security Agency contractor who disclosed secret U.S. internet telephone surveillance programs, fled to Hong Kong and then to Russia in June.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected U.S. pleas to send Edward Snowden home to face charges including espionage, and the temporary asylum he was granted in early August can be extended annually.
Edward Snowden will be starting a job at an undisclosed but large Russian website
Edward Snowden’s location in Russia has not been disclosed and since July he has appeared only in a handful of photographs and video clips from a meeting this month with visiting former US national security officials who support his cause.
Vladimir Putin, a former KGB spy, said repeatedly that Russia would only shelter Edward Snowden if he stopped harming the US.
But state media have treated him as a whistleblower and the decision to grant him asylum seemed to underscore Vladimir Putin’s accusations that the US government preaches to the world about rights and freedoms it does not uphold at home.
Vladimir Putin has dismissed the widespread assumption that Russian intelligence officers had grilled Edward Snowden for information after he arrived, and Anqatoly Kucherena has portrayed him as trying to live as normal a life as possible under the circumstances.
He said earlier that he hoped Edward Snowden would find a job because he was living on scant funds, mostly from donations.
A tabloid news site on Thursday published what it said was a photo of Edward Snowden on a Moscow river cruise this summer, and the same site earlier published a photo of a man who looked like Snowden pushing a shopping cart in a supermarket parking lot.
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Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has topped Forbes magazine’s World’s Most Powerful People list in 2013.
Vladimir Putin has beaten President Barack Obama into second place on the list.
Pope Francis features at number four after Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Barack Obama’s “lame duck period” had started earlier than usual while Vladimir Putin had consolidated his control of Russia, Forbes says.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel ranked number five – one of only two women to feature in the top 20.
British PM David Cameron is 11th most powerful, in the magazine’s opinion – well ahead of his French counterpart but well behind American philanthropist Bill Gates.
It is the first time in three years that Barack Obama has dropped to second place on the Forbes list.
It comes as relations between the US and Russia have been hit by the civil war in Syria.
Vladimir Putin, who has been dominating Russian politics for 12 years, was re-elected president in March 2012.
Vladimir Putin has topped Forbes magazine’s World’s Most Powerful People list in 2013
Barack Obama, on the other hand, has emerged bruised from a 16-day US government shutdown caused by a budget and debt crisis in Washington, Forbes says:
“Putin has solidified his control over Russia, while Obama’s lame duck period has seemingly set in earlier than usual for a two-term president – latest example: the government shutdown mess.”
Russia granted asylum in August to former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, who is wanted in the US over intelligence leaks.
A month later, Vladimir Putin “played the trump card again” by averting Barack Obama’s threatened missile strikes on Syria with a plan for Damascus to hand over chemical weapons, the magazine says.
“Anyone watching this year’s chess match over Syria and NSA leaks has a clear idea of the shifting individual power dynamics,” it adds.
Top 10 Most Powerful People – Forbes 2013
1. Vladimir Putin, Russian President
2. Barack Obama, US President
3. Xi Jinping, Chinese President
4. Pope Francis, Roman Catholic Church
5. Angela Merkel, German Chancellor
6. Bill Gates, co-chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
7. Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve chairman
8. Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud
9. Mario Draghi, European Central Bank president
10. Michael Duke, Wal-Mart CEO
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