Last year marked two decades of Vladimir Putin in power in Russia. Here are the events that have shaped — or been shaped — by the former KGB officer.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is trading in his current ride, a Mercedes Benz, for a Russian-made Zil limousine.
U.S. forces are supposed to be out of combat roles in Afghanistan by 2015. As that date marches ever closer, some Afghans are wondering what the future holds for the country's security, and its economy.
There are many Russians who say a critical factor in the demise of the USSR was the power struggle that broke out between Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin.
Sergei Mikhalkov wrote the lyrics to the Soviet national anthem during World War II, but rewrote it decades later to better reflect the times.
The global financial crisis has hit Russia's oil and gas industries, the backbone of the economy, and ordinary Russians are starting to feel the pain. The World's Laura Lynch reports from Moscow.
Anchor Lisa Mullins speaks with the BBC's Jenny Norton about some of the key moments in the recent history of relations among Russia, Georgia, and Georgia's breakaway provinces, all of which are involved in the current conflict in Georgia.
The history, events and factors that led to the current conflict between Russia and Georgia.