Special Coverage

Holy case: Hindu text under prosecutor's pressure

The situation surrounding the Russian version of “Bhagavad Gita”, a sacred text of Hindus, has evoked an international uproar. The Prosecutor’s Office in Siberia seeks to declare the book and its commentary extremist.

16:23 22.03.2012

Viktor Bout: My case is political, rather than criminal

Media have dubbed Russian citizen Viktor Bout an arms baron. He is now in jail in New York without any hope for an acquittal. His motions have been denied and the court will hand down his sentence on March 12. Bout spoke with RIA Novosti correspondent Larisa Sayenko about his case and shared his views on the situation in the United States and Russia.

18:49 13.02.2012

Supreme Commercial Court accepts investment fund's appeal in Magnitsky case

The Supreme Commercial Court has registered an appeal against the court ruling denying the Hermitage Capital investment fund's subsidiaries ownership of three companies that were allegedly used to drain $178.6 million from the state budget.

10:34 08.02.2012

Streaming court hearings over the Internet will help justice

Prime Minister and presidential candidate Vladimir Putin in his election platform proposed streaming court hearings over the Internet and publishing their transcripts. He also pointed out the need to develop a single and accessible precedent base of judicial decisions for the trial court system. Similar base is used by the commercial courts.

13:36 07.02.2012

Supreme Commercial Court chairman: Time to change business model

The commercial court system will celebrate its 20th anniversary in late January. In the run-up to the event, Supreme Commercial Court Chairman Anton Ivanov spoke with Sergei Feklyunin, the Russian Legal Information Agency, about the system's work in 2011.

11:13 27.01.2012

Russians stole $363 mln from government in 2011

Theft and robbery were the most common cases heard by Russian courts in 2011, whereas cases involving illegal enterprise were the least frequent, according to the Judicial Department’s report on Russian criminal court proceedings for the first six months of 2011. Russia lost $363 mln due to crime in the same period.

12:06 11.01.2012

Copyright worth $236.65 million

The dispute between Russian publishing houses Terra and Astrel over the books of science-fiction writer Alexander Belyayev is extraordinary for at least two reasons. The first reason is the unprecedented size of the claim. Terra, which believes that its rights to Belyayev’s works were infringed, is seeking 7.5 billion rubles ($236.65 million) from Astrel. The figure amounts to 12.5 percent of annual sales on the Russian book market.

10:00 02.01.2012

RAPSI choice: The most significant judicial and legal events of 2011

This year the Russian legal system resolved public conflicts of past years, determined which participants of nationalist riots and murders were right and wrong, finished hearing the second and last (for now) YUKOS case, and granted citizens two rights – posthumous trials and permanent residence registration at country cottages.

18:30 23.12.2011

International Legal Conference participants propose a number of legislative innovations

During the first day of the conference “Law and Modernization: Experience, Prospects, Trends” organized by the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI/rapsinews.com) and RIA Novosti, participants summed up the results of the outgoing year and spoke about important legislative innovations that will soon probably have to be obeyed by all without exception.

09:50 02.12.2011

Opening word by Chief Justice Vyacheslav Lebedev - International Legal Conference

Dear participants of the International Legal Congress! The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation welcomes and congratulates you with the opening of the international forum on wich actial legal problems in political, economic and social challenges that faces the world community will be discussed.

11:20 01.12.2011

Top news

Russian courts allowed not to implement rulings of Europe's human rights court

Russia's Supreme Court proposed not to implement rulings of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the provisions of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR).

12:53 09.12.2025

Redomiciliation stalls: How sanctions are shaping new practices for Russian companies

The mechanism for redomiciliating foreign companies to Russian jurisdiction, in effect since 2018, has recently encountered serious obstacles. Taking into account the background of sanctions-related restrictions introduced in 2022 through 2025, it has become extremely difficult to achieve the goal. The situation gave rise to the phenomenon of dual domicile and led to a rise in the number of new litigations, both in Russia and abroad.

12:32 09.12.2025

Soldiers jailed for killing US journalist Russell Bentley

A military court in Donetsk sentenced three soldiers to up to 12 years in prison for torturing and killing Russell Bentley, a 63-year-old U.S. national who collaborated with Sputnik news agency.

14:05 08.12.2025