Former Soviet Air Force officer and Nicolas Cage character Viktor Bout was recently sentenced to 25 years in prison for arms trafficking, which gives him even more time to catch up on his reading. A "former associate" of Bout's, Andrew Smulian, who turned him in to the DEA spoke with the Post, and has read over 400 books during his two years in solitary confinement, submitting the list to persuade the court to credit him for time served. The list includes Moby Dick and The Brothers Karamazov, so presumably he was trying to change his personality from a Dmitri to an Ivan*. more ›

Sheesh can the Leader of the Free World and the Handmaiden to Vlad the Shirtless ever have a private conversation? In his visit to South Korea for an international summit, President Obama spoke to Russian President Dimitri Medvedev when he believed the microphones were off about the testy issue of a missile defense system the U.S. is planning on building in Europe. “On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this can be solved, but it’s important for him to give me space,” Obama says, referring to President-elect Putin. “This is my last election. After my election, I have more flexibility.” You hear that? If Barry's reelected he's gonna institute MANDATORY YOGA. more ›

This year, Time's Person of the Year is sort of you: It's The Protester. Time's managing editor Rick Stengel said, "No one could have known that when a Tunisian fruit vendor in a town barely on a map set himself on fire in a public square, it would spark protests that would bring down dictators in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya and rattle regimes in Syria, Yemen and Bahrain. Or that that spirit of dissent would spur Mexicans to rise up against the terror of drug cartels, Greeks to march against unaccountable leaders, Americans to occupy public spaces to protest income inequality, and Russians to marshal themselves against a corrupt autocracy." more ›

Russians—urbane, successful Russians—aren't happy that Vladimir Putin will likely be their next president, again. Over 30,000 took to Red Square over the weekend to protest against ongoing election-tampering and the sense of inevitability that Putin's party, United Russia, will rule in perpetuity. But billionaire oligarch and majority owner of the New Jersey Nets Mikhail D. Prokhorov, announced that he will collect the 2 million signatures needed to run as an independent in March. “I made a decision, probably the most serious decision in my life: I am going to the presidential election," Prokhorov said at a press conference. more ›

Apparently, Jersey Shore isn't the only American export Russians just can't enough of—they love our fast food, too. American chains are starting to do big business in Russia, with no signs of stopping. And man, those Russians are going to be pissed when they find out they're getting charged way more than us for crappy pizza and fried chicken. more ›

So far, ex-IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn's has had slim pickings in terms of people coming to his defense on charges that he sexually assaulted a maid; when Ben Stein is the best you got, you know you're in trouble. But someone who knows a thing or two about conspiracies has come to his aid—(terrifying) Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin: "It is hard for me to evaluate the hidden political motives. But I cannot believe that it looks the way it was initially introduced. It doesn't sit right in my head," Putin said in comments posted on the official Kremlin Web site. more ›

An explosion at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport has left at lead 31 people dead and 130 injured. The explosion reportedly occurred in a baggage area, and CNN reports, "In a post on its website, the Russian Investigative Committee is blaming terrorists for the attack." According to the NY Times, "The airport, southeast of the capital, is Russia’s largest hub for international travelers, with more than 20 million passengers passing through last year... Russian news agencies, citing witnesses, said airport halls were filled with so much smoke that it was difficult to count the dead." more ›

Break out the "In Russia, drunks fly you!" jokes: The Russian junior hockey team, which won the World Junior Hockey Championship last night in Buffalo, was kicked off a flight from Carl Paladino's hometown to Atlanta (with a stopover at JFK) for unruly behavior. A Delta spokeswman told the Buffalo News, "The crew of a flight from Buffalo to Atlanta denied boarding to 30 passengers as a result of unruly behavior. This was an effort to ensure safe operation of the flight. They will be rebooked on a future flight." more ›

You know what ex-boyfriends are good for? Selling naked photos of you to Playboy after you're unmasked as a Russian spy and deported from the United States. Anna Chapman became infamous as the "sexy," if not very good, spy—her cover: NYC party girl— attempting to gain access to American secrets, thanks to some fetching Facebook pictures and is now basically a national hero in Russia (she is heading up the youth wing of Vladimir Putin's party). Now, Playboy is publishing nude photographs of the 28-year-old in its January issue. more ›

Morgan Freeman may play the voice of God and Bill Clinton may have rescued American reporters from North Korea... but they couldn't help the United States Soccer Federation's bid committee land the World Cup in 2022. FIFA just announced that the 2018 World Cup will be in Russia and the 2022 World Cup will be in Qatar. The U.S. bid committee was aiming to submit bids for both, but then withdrew from the 2018 process in October to focus on the 2022 bid. more ›

U.S. and South Korean ships have begun joint military exercises in the Yellow Sea, as tensions between North Korea and South Korean—and the rest of the region rise. North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said that the exercises were "no more than an attempt to find a pretext for aggression and ignite a war at any cost" and added they "are putting the Korean Peninsula at a state of ultra-emergency." This comes after the Tuesday incident where North Korea fired artillery at South Korea's Yeonpyeong Island. more ›

Who doesn't miss Anna Chapman, the redheaded, nipple clamp-loving Russian spy? Since she was sent back to Moscow in July, she's kept out of the limelight and been relatively quiet, except for the occasional Facebook update. Those updates couldn't possibly get her in trouble, and bring her back into our lives, could they?? more ›

Aw, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin celebrated with the "Deep Cover" Russian spies who were arrested in the U.S. and sent to Moscow in a "spy swap" earlier this month. He said, "I met them. We talked about life. We sang, not karaoke, but to live music. We sang From What the Motherland Begins," which the Guardian explains is a "a sentimental Soviet song... about a daring Russian agent who is sent to Germany during the second world war and infiltrates the SS." Putin added, "I'm not joking, I am serious. And other songs with a similar content." more ›

In the latest Facebook musing from alleged spy Anna Chapman, she denies a Page Six story that claims she's trying to sell her story for $250,000 and wants the money sent to a Swiss bank account. Chapman writes, "This is an absolute lie." more ›

Ah, to be beautiful, mysterious, and now, thoroughly political: now that Russian "spy babe" Anna Chapman's story is worthy of a book deal, we all know from the Obama line of political thinking that she is ready to run for office - in this case, parliament. The head of the chapter of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia in Chapman's native Volgograd is pushing for her to run for parliament in 2012 and "will do everything to promote her candidacy for a Duma seat in the next parliament elections." Everything? What about making the public un-see the embarassing nude pics? Or calling on her international Insane Facebook Posse to bring her to victory? The rumored invite from Angelina Jolie to attend the Moscow premiere of Salt? more ›

The Post noticed how accused Russian spy Anna Chapman—the NYC party girl whose fetching and topless photos have made her a little more infamous than her peers—is back on Facebook. Chapman's status was updated, on July 9, to read, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... (Charles Dickens)" Aww, kind of sucks to know that calling your dad after a suspicious interaction with an undercover FBI agent helped accelerate one's arrest and shipment back to Russia. But she could be getting literary for a reason—Chapman wants to sell her story! more ›

Aha: The Washington Post suggests that the arrest of ten alleged Russian spies was prompted by a phone call that A NYC party girl and social networking enthusiast made to her father, because the FBI informant posing as a Russian contact was a bit suspicious: "An anxious June 26 phone call from Russian spy Anna Chapman to her father, a KGB veteran working in Moscow's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led the Obama administration to hasten the arrests the next day of Chapman and nine other 'illegals' in the United States, according to U.S. law enforcement and intelligence sources." more ›

The son of the an alleged spy told reporters that his mother and stepfather were innocent, in spite of their guilty pleas. Waldo Mariscal, whose mother Vicky Peleaz and stepfather Juan Lazaro left the country yesterday for Russia, said of Peleaz, "The only Russian thing she likes is vodka with passion fruit." And of Lazaro, who said in court that his name was actually Mikhail Vasenkov, Mariscal insisted, "I still believe Juan Lazaro is from Uruguay." more ›

The 10 people accused by the Justice Department of being spies for the Russian government were swapped for supposed American spies detained in Russia at an airport in Vienna, Austria. The NY Times reports, "Planes carrying 10 convicted Russian sleeper agents and 4 men accused by Moscow of spying for the West swooped into the Austrian capital, once a hub of clandestine East-West maneuvering, and the men and women were transferred, the Justice Department said. The planes soon took off again in a coda fitting of an espionage novel." more ›

Oh, Anna Chapman—how could you leave just as we're learning about your penchant for nipple clamps and appreciation of the American Dream? A lawyer for the accused Russian spy tells ABC News that she "will appear in New York court today and then head directly to the airport to fly back to Moscow." And ABC News adds, "Chapman's mother, Irina Kushenko, said her daughter will arrive by noon Friday in Moscow." more ›

Could the Russian spy saga—which was only starting to offer topless pictures and admissions of, yes, being spies— come to a boring end? Well, the NY Times suggests that could very well be: "The federal government is in talks with lawyers for the defendants about a broad and rapid resolution to the case, according to people who have been briefed on the discussions. The proposed resolution could allow all the defendants to plead guilty to fewer charges or charges carrying lesser penalties or even time served, and it could result in deportations or agreements that allow them to return to Russia." more ›

Oh, Anna Chapman. Thanks to a reputation as a NYC party girl, as well as plenty of photographs on social networking sites, she has emerged as the tabloids' favorite alleged spy to write about. Which also means that her ex-husband can share topless photos of her and discuss their sex life. more ›

According to court papers, a couple living in Arlington, Virginia (you know, CLOSE TO WASHINGTON D.C.) admitted to being spies for Russia. Federal prosecutors says that Michael Zottoli said he was Russian national named Mikhail Kutzik while Patricia Mills confessed she's Russian citizen Natalia Pereverzeva. CNN reports, "Prosecutors said that the couple waived their rights to remain silent and made the admissions soon after being arrested at their Arlington, Virginia residence over the weekend." more ›

The British ex-husband of a NYC party girl who is accused of being a spy told the Daily Telegraph that he was interviewed by the British intelligence service MI5. Alex Chapman, a psychologist-in-training, said of ex-wife Anna, "When I saw that she had been arrested on suspicion of spying it didn’t come as much of a surprise to be honest. Towards the end of our marriage she became very secretive, going for meetings on her own with 'Russian friends’, and I guess it might have been because she was in contact with the Russian government." more ›

Yesterday, federal prosecutors claimed that Juan Lazaro, a former professor at Baruch College, admitted to being a spy. Lazaro is one of eleven people recently arrested by U.S. authorities, who say they were working for Russia's intelligence agency, the Foreign Intelligence Service. And, while allegedly admitting to being a spy, Lazaro told prosecutors that while he "loved his son, he would not violate his loyalty to the ‘Service’ even for his son." more ›

The cover of today's Post feature a huge photograph of alleged Russian spy, Anna Chapman, and the headline "SPYVY LEAGUE." But the story is actually about another suspected mole, Cynthia Murphy, and how she allegedly used her cred as a recent MBA graduate from Columbia Business School to recruit more spies for Mother Russia! But Murphy only gets a little inset photo, because there are no photos of Murphy looking over her shoulder fetchingly while wearing some sort of baby blue lingerie-type top. more ›

Who doesn't love a story about alleged Russian spies living amongst us in the city and the suburbs? And when one of those "spies" seems to be a party girl with a "Victoria's Secret body." The Post takes a real shine to Anna Chapman, who wrote on her Facebook page, "America is a free country. Over here, it is easy to meet successful people. In Moscow, it is practically impossible because you have to be as successful as they are... here you can meet successful people on the street and go have dinner with them." more ›