By Douglas Holtz-Eakin
The young drop coverage to avoid higher premiums
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
The State Duma ( (Gosudarstvennaya Duma), common abbreviation: Госдума (Gosduma)) in the Russian Federation is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia (legislature), the upper house being the Federation Council of Russia. The Duma is headquartered in central Moscow, a few steps from Manege Square. Its members are referred to as deputies. The State Duma replaced the Supreme Soviet as a result of the new constitution introduced by Boris Yeltsin in the aftermath of the Russian constitutional crisis of 1993, and approved by the Russian public in a referendum. - Source: Wikipedia
Russia has taken a step closer toward enacting strict new tobacco prohibitions that set most public places off limits to smokers.
Thousands marched through Moscow on Sunday to protest Russia's new law banning Americans from adopting Russian children, a far bigger number than expected in a sign that outrage over the ban has breathed some life into the dispirited anti-Kremlin opposition movement.
Russia's parliament on Wednesday gave overwhelming preliminary approval to a measure banning Americans from adopting Russian children, a harsh retaliatory move against U.S. human rights legislation.
Russia's parliament is preparing to debate a measure that would ban adoption of Russian children by Americans, raising the stakes in a dispute with Washington over human rights legislation.
Russia will retaliate quickly against U.S. officials after the U.S. Congress approved a bill imposing sanctions on Russian officials accused of human rights violations, the lower house's speaker said Monday.
Russia's lower house of parliament on Tuesday quickly rubber-stamped a new bill widely expanding the definition of high treason. Critics alleged the legislation is part of a wider crackdown on dissent by President Vladimir Putin, who already has pushed through laws targeting street protests, aid organizations and opposition leaders.
Russia's parliament on Friday expelled a lawmaker who turned against President Vladimir Putin, paving the way for similar action against others who have joined the opposition movement in a clear sign that the Kremlin is intensifying its crackdown on political dissent.
Police on Tuesday detained at least two dozen people protesting outside the Russian parliament as it debated a controversial bill that would raise fines 150-fold for people taking part in unsanctioned rallies.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin vehemently rejected opposition calls for a rerun of the parliamentary election, accusing those who organized massive protests against vote fraud of working to weaken Russia at the West's behest.
Police clashed on Tuesday on a central Moscow square with demonstrators trying to hold a second day of protests against alleged vote fraud in Russia's parliamentary elections.
Exit polls cited by Russian state television showed Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's party with less than 50 percent of the vote in Sunday's parliamentary elections, a significant drop that reflects Russians' growing weariness with his rule.
Russians cast their ballots with muted enthusiasm in national parliamentary elections Sunday, and exit polls cited by Russian state television showed Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's party tallying less than 50 percent of the vote.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin insisted Wednesday that Russia must be strong to fend off foreign threats and lauded a long list of his own achievements, a show of muscle seen as a signal that the powerful leader intends to reclaim the country's presidency next year.
The Obama administration has begun examining whether it can make cuts to its nuclear-weapons stockpiles that go beyond those outlined in a recent treaty with Russia.
The Obama administration has begun examining whether it can make cuts to its nuclear weapons stockpiles that go beyond those outlined in a recent treaty with Russia.
