Soviet Union

Vladimir Putin was the latest world leader to call and congratulate new Greek PM Alexis Tsipras, with a Kremlin official saying on Thursday that Russia’s “unofficial Czar” phoned and even invited the Greek leftist to Moscow.

The sudden death of former Bulgarian President Zhelyu Zhelev, who died at the age of 79 on Friday, was widely reported in international media.

Bloomberg notes that under Zhelev's presidency, Bulgaria, described as ''the former Soviet Union's staunchest ally'', began its transition from communism to market economy and democracy.

Gorbachev: New Cold War could turn into armed conflict

MOSCOW -- Mikhail Gorbachev says that a new Cold War has been declared "between Russians and Americans" - and that it could grow into an armed conflict.

Islamophobia is not the only right-wing trend rising in Europe: It is just one of the results of escalating xenophobia as anti-Semitic tendencies are also on the rise, according to Turkey's ambassador to France With Turkish authorities constantly warning of Islamophobia, the Turkish Ambassador to Paris, Hakk?

With less than two weeks to go until critical snap elections, political parties are to ratchet up their rhetoric following a weekend of vehement campaigning that included Prime Minister Antonis Samaras pledging a series of tax cuts as part of a ?roadmap for a post-bailout Greece.?

A torch-lit march held in Kyiv to honor a controversial anti-Soviet resistance leader shows Ukraine is following in the footsteps of the Nazis, a senior Russian foreign ministry official said Jan. 2.
       

Lithuania joined the eurozone Thursday, becoming its 19th member.

Starting January 1, Lithuanians can swap their old currency, litas (LTL), in exchange for euros (EUR).

The exchange rate is set at 1 EUR = 3.45280 LTL.

Circassians in Turkey are increasingly looking to gain rights from the state amid a process of questioning their identity and their place between Ankara and Moscow, according to a professor of international relations at Kadir Has University.

“We can’t keep doing the same thing for five decades and expect a different result. It’s time for a new approach. We will end an outdated approach that failed to advance our interests and instead begin to normalize relations between our countries.”

U.S. needs its own "perestroika", says Gorbachev

MOSCOW -- Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has said that the United States "needs reforms similar to those during perestroika ("restructuring")."