Moscow unveils monument to arms designer Kalashnikov

Viktor Sviridov had been given a three-year jail term for corruption and immediately turned a gun on himself. The man, who was allegedly suffering from cancer, previously served as a top prison official in Russia.

The "Rescue Hangar", a project of the Orthodox Church's social department, runs mostly on donations, normally serves around 100 people per day, also offering showers, haircuts and helping broke out-of-towners with tickets home. But during the lockdown, the number of people seeking a hot meal has gone up 500 on some days. And with only one government shelter in the city of 12 million, it has been up to charity groups to fill the demand from the growing homeless population during the lockdown.

Moscow's streets remain depopulated despite thousands of employees heading back to work. More than 500,000 Moscow employees in industry and construction have been authorized to return to work.

Some women's advocacy groups in Russia are reporting a 70% increase in calls for help. With shelters in quarantine over the coronavirus, one Moscow hotel is giving women a place to go.

Russia has ended lockdown restrictions in Moscow after two months of stay-at-home orders and has eased travel curbs. Meanwhile, Brazil now has the second-highest number of cases after the US. Follow DW for the latest.

Russian security officials say they have shot dead a man who was allegedly planning a mass shooting in Moscow. The man had links to a militant group in Syria, authorities said

The Russian capital is decorated for the holidays despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Officers detain protesters at a demonstration in Moscow in support of prominent Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. He called the demonstrations after he was detained returning to Russia from Germany where he had been recovering from being poisoned with a Soviet-designed nerve agent.

Russia's capital Moscow has eased Covid restrictions, citing the improving health situation, even as many countries tighten anti-virus measures. Moscow bars, restaurants and nightclubs -- which previously were required to close by 11pm -- can remain open through the night, although they will still have to enforce social distancing and sanitary guidelines.

Since January, women have been allowed to operate trains in the Moscow metro system — a job that used to be one of several hundred that were forbidden for women in Russia. But the Russian Ministry of Labor has now reduced that list to 100.

Russia is offering its Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine for free to citizens. In Moscow, where infection rates are high, widespread vaccination is seen as the way out of pandemic restrictions. Muscovites can even get the jab on a shopping trip.

Some 200 people, including scores of opposition politicians, were detained during a meeting in Moscow. The police claim participants were breaking COVID-19 rules.