Today in Moscow, the judge apparently found the former oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky guilty in his second trial, according to the reports by Russian news agencies. However, the judge, Victor Danilkin, requested all media to leave the court room before the verdict has been formally announced.

A special edition of Russia! will hit bookstores on Dec. 1. Its cover story is the seizure of the Lenta retail chain by the U.S. fund TPG Capital and VTB, a major Russian bank.

LIVING IN MOSCOW IN THE ’00s TURNED ME INTO CITY-GUIDE GIRL, for better or for worse. It was due to pity, basically. If there’s any destination more forbidding or user-unfriendly than Russia, I have yet to find it.

Nothing unique happened to Pete Doherty on his recent trip to Moscow: he got waisted on the Moscow-bound train, lost a hat, bought a hat, and played a handsomely-paid gig. But he did one really cool thing: he jammed with a street accordionist.

United Company Rusal and the management of Norilsk Nickel, the world’s largest producer of nickel, continued their bitter fight for control of the mining firm last week, as Norilsk shareholders rebuffed a request from Rusal to change the board of directors. It is a struggle that media observers have described as the Russian corporate scandal of the year.

Arnold Schwarzenegger visited Moscow this weekend, and his travel agenda was less than inspiring.

California Governor rode the Moscow metro today. We have to say, Mr. Schwarzenegger is becoming one of the most popular politicians in Russia -- the blogosphere here is filled with “Arnie for Moscow Mayor” slogans and suggestions of metro stops worth visiting.

Didn’t want to let this one go without a raised eyebrow. Arnold Schwarzenegger landed in Moscow to visit his friend, President Dmitry Medvedev, and discuss Skolkovo, the newest Russian national effort (that is, creating the Silicon Valley 30 miles from Moscow).

Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev dismissed the long-serving Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov today amid a bitter and conflicted dispute. Luzhkov was a dominant figure in Russian politics and business, and one of the main questions after his departure is who is going to take over Moscow, one of the most lucrative real estate and financial centers in the world.

Since taking the top job in 2008, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has been accused in everything from being Vladimir Putin’s puppet to complete lack of taste when it comes to picking a tie. Yet he has never been “accused” of being gay. Let’s dive under the jump to see why we think he might be gay and how this can be the greatest PR for Russia since WWII.

Nice, a southern French resort town, once popular among Russian intelligentsia and aristocracy, is getting a regular train service to Moscow again, almost a 100 years since it’s been shut down by the Soviet government (apparently, there was not much travel between Moscow and Nice in those days).

While you won’t see Brad Pitt getting a bloody nose from some anonymous office face with chronic insomnia, Moscow’s new October Boxing Club hints at a similar concept.

As Moscow battles the unprecedented heat wave (this weekend is expected to the hottest ever here with temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius / 104 F), it finds itself completely unprepared for such extreme weather, making it yet harder for Muscovites.

A turbulent economy and soaring real estate prices that transformed Moscow into one of the most exciting cities in the world, failed to reach for Kasimov, a small town a mere 150 miles East of Russian capital. Russia! continues its apparently doomed search for a decent breakfast in the provincia.

The heat wave in Moscow breaks all temperature records possible. All air conditioners are sold out, the government is taking emergency measures to help farmers amid the worst draught in 130 years, people are drowning while trying to cool off, and the Kremlin guard regiment has been cancelled due to danger of heat exhaustion.