A one-day visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Netherlands on Monday was surrounded by protests against "anti-gay propaganda" legislation in Russia. While Putin was participating in talks with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and other ministers at the Maritime Museum in Amsterdam, more than 1,000 people protested against the Russian "anti-gay propaganda" law. In January, Russia's parliament backed a draft law which will make it a criminal offence to hold public events or spread information about homosexuality to minors. During a press conference after the meet

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that the recent financial meltdown in Cyprus proved how "risky" and "insecure" investments in Western financial institutions can be. “The more you 'pinch' foreign investors in the financial institutions of your countries, the better for us, because the affected, offended and frightened (not all of them, but many) should, as we hope, come to our financial institutions and keep their money in our banks,” Putin told German broadcaster ARD in an interview at his Novo-Ogarevo residence near Moscow. Asked whether Moscow was angry that t

President Vladimir Putin insisted on Friday that the Kremlin was committed to the goal of democratic development, but said Russia needs more time to overcome the legacy of almost 70 years of Soviet rule. “It is obvious that we have made a decisive choice for democracy and we cannot imagine any other path of development,” Putin told the German broadcaster ARD in an interview at his Novo-Ogarevo residence near Moscow. “Just compare the situation in the Soviet Union and in modern Russia in terms of the development of the economy, political sphere, and all other areas associated wi

By Alexei Anishchuk and Thomas Escritt AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin defended Russia's treatment of homosexuals on Monday in Amsterdam, where 1,000 gay rights activists waved pink and orange balloons and blasted out dance music to press home their protest. Western nations need Russia for energy and as a market for exports but are uneasy about Putin's human rights policies and his treatment of opponents in his new Kremlin term.