Outstanding Russian film director and script writer Tatyana Lioznova has died, aged 87, in Moscow today.

Famous Russian writer Victor Pelevin is included to the list of pretenders for the Nobel Prize in Literature 2011. Bookmakers estimate his chances as 50 to 1.

Ex-governor of St. Petersburg Valentina Matvienko has been elected Speaker of the Federation Council.

Russian opera singers has won all the awards, including the coveted first prize of 10,000 euros, at one of the most prominent opera contests - the Competizione dell’Opera.

Russian Peter Svidler has won the FIDE Chess World Cup 2011 in the Siberian city of Khanty-Mansiysk, beating his main contender Russian Alexander Grischuk in the final.

On Tuesday, one of the most well-known Russian animators, Yuriy Norstein, marked his 70th birthday. Though the Russian animation industry is going through dark times, the award-winning animator is still full of optimism and ideas for his new works.

Russian mathematician Grigory Perelman is put forward for academician candidature as a full member of the prestigious Russian Academy of Sciences.

Today a famous Russian boxer Nikolai Valuev, the former WBA heavyweight world champion, starts his expedition to Western Siberia after Yeti to "talk to him about life".

A world-favourite epic, Star Wars, has influenced a recent wedding in the capital of the Ural Region. Only 85-year old grandfather of the bride refused to dress up, explaining that he is too old for this sort of entertainment.

12-year-old schoolgirl Maryana Naumova soon will find herself in the Guinness Book of Records as she has become the first girl under 15 years to bench press an incredible 70 kilograms.