Evgeny Belousov, head traumatologist of Pacific Fleet was committed to 50,000 rub fine for rendering illegal medical aid to injured Islamic gang member.

The brother of a murdered Chechen rebel has appealed for help and protection in an open letter to Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, who he believes is not informed of the "true state of affairs" of political murders in Chechnya.

The Russian ambassador to NATO has dismissed concerns about recent war games between Russia and Belarus close to the Polish border, which NATO says were "the largest since the end of the Cold War."

Russia's Constitutional Court has ruled to extend a moratorium on the death penalty that had been set to expire in January 2010, but has yet to ban the practice altogether.