In the run up to the 2008 presidential election, Dmitry Medvedev was asked what his first act would be if he got the top job. "I don't think there is anything specific or urgent to be done," he replied. "There are no such issues that are not already being addressed by the government. That's what makes the present situation so attractive."

• June 18, 2010

Russia has not been notified by Bulgaria on plans to abandon the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline project, Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko said on Thursday.

• June 18, 2010

Russia understands the reasons behind Bulgaria's decision to suspend the joint construction of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline and to halt the construction of the Belene Nuclear Power Plant, Russian Ambassador to Bulgaria Yuri Isakov said on Wednesday.

• June 18, 2010

The St Petersburg International Economic Forum, which starts on Thursday, will be used by Russian officials to promote the Kremlin's push to modernise the country's economy.

• June 17, 2010

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev made a surprise visit to Chechnya on Monday after a series of attacks in the troubled North Caucasus region, where the Kremlin is struggling to contain an Islamist insurgency.

• June 16, 2010

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said on Friday that Bulgaria was “giving up” on the billion-.5 billion Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline project decision, and that construction on the planned Belene nuclear power plant had been suspended.

• June 16, 2010

The sites for two new nuclear power plants, in Russia's Kaliningrad exclave and in Belarus, were selected with no environmental assessment and without consulting neighboring countries, Lithuania's president said on Monday.

• June 15, 2010

The development of the Russian-sponsored energy projects is strategically important for Bulgaria, according to former PM and socialist opposition leader, Sergey Stanishev.

• June 14, 2010