Russia

Listen to this BosNewsLife report via Vatican Radio: By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Tensions are rising in Moscow after an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed a narrow victory in Sunday's mayoral race, while a leading opposition candidate demanded a second election round for the Russian capital's top job.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife with additional reporting by Vatican Radio's Laura Ieraci KIEV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- The leader of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, which suffered persecution under Communism, has urged voters to act against corruption and political candidates to stay away of populism.

By BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- The ruling body of the Russian Orthodox Church on Saturday, December 6, elected Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad as the interim leader of the country's main denomination following the death on Friday, December 5, of Patriarch Alexy II, the patriarchate said.

By Stefan J. Bos. Chief International Correspondent KYIV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- Non-Russian Orthodox Christians in eastern Ukraine fear for their after pro-Russian separatists in the east rejected a presidential peace offer.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife

KYIV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- Ukrainian officials say dozens of people have died after pro-Russian forces shot down a military aircraft in the east, amid heavy fighting and U.S. concerns over Russian tanks entering the country. 

Listen to Stefan Bos' report:   By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)--The recent attack which left at least five people dead in Stavropol, in southern Russia, has heightened security fears ahead of the Olympic Winter Games due to take place in the Black Sea resort of Sochi next month. The United States, which will send 250 athletes to compete in the games, says the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will have dozens of people in Moscow and some in Sochi to assist the Russians.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife KYIV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- Ukrainian Christians gathered for prayers as pro-Russian activists attacked a pro-Kyiv rally on Ukraine's disputed Crimea's peninsula with clubs and whips on Sunday, March 9, while thousands took to the streets across Ukraine in rival demonstrations. The protests came while Interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk vowed Ukraine would not cede "an inch" of its territory to Moscow.

By BosNewsLife News Center with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos CHELYABINSK/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Christian missionaries and a pastor in Russia's Ural Mountains appealed for prayers late Friday, February 15, after a meteor with the power of an atomic bomb exploded over the region injuring more than 1,000 people.

By BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- As New Year approached, Christians in Russia’s predominantly Muslim internal republic of Tatarstan were still awaiting the outcome of an investigation into the destruction of at least seven churches during 2013.

Listen to this BosNewsLife News report via Vatican Radio vatiadoptioption  By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife) Pro-Kremlin activists have rallied in central Moscow to demand that the government extends a ban on American families adopting Russian children to all foreign nationals, adding to a sense of urgency among Russian Christians to prepare for more adoptions in this large nation.