Russia's security services openly named the US intelligence agency's Moscow station chief Friday in a rare breach of protocol after arresting an alleged CIA agent working undercover at the US embassy. Russia announced this week that it had caught alleged agent Ryan Fogle as he prepared to recruit a member of the Russian security forces. Footage was aired showing him wearing a blond wig and his array of spying equipment, including a compass and an old-fashioned mobile phone.

Russia on Tuesday ordered the expulsion of an alleged American CIA agent working undercover at the US embassy who was discovered with a large stash of money trying to recruit a Russian agent. Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB, ex-KGB) identified the man as Ryan C. Fogle -- third secretary of the political section of Washington's embassy in Moscow -- and said he had been handed back to the embassy after his detention.

By Timothy Heritage MOSCOW (Reuters) - Deputy Prime Minister Vladislav Surkov, once one of Russia's most influential men and the creator of Vladimir Putin's tightly controlled political system, was ousted on Wednesday in a power struggle between Kremlin and government. The Kremlin said President Putin had accepted the resignation of the man who for a decade wielded immense power as the grey cardinal behind the scenes under the former KGB spy but later moved over to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's camp.

Fighter jets screamed over Red Square and heavy tanks rumbled over its cobblestones Thursday as Russia flexed its military muscle on the anniversary of its costly victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. The first decision to hold Victory Day parades was taken by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin himself after the country lost an estimated 27 million people defending its territory and the Eastern Front. The tradition has been given extra fanfare by President Vladimir Putin -- an ardent nationalist whose patriotic fervour has helped him win strong backing from the middle class.