January 3 - Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, grants Russian citizenship to Gérard Depardieu who has renounced his French citizenship due to high taxes.
January 4 - Six Russian tourists are killed and two tourists are seriously injured after a snowmobile towing a sled veers off a ski slope, crashes into a barrier, and flies into a ditch on Italy's Mount Cermis.
January 15 - Russia launches three Kosmos series military-purpose satellites using Rokot launch vehicle.
January 16 - Russian mafia boss Aslan Usoyan is killed in Moscow.
January 22 - The Russian government organizes an evacuation from the Syrian Civil War for some of its citizens by transporting them to Lebanon and then flying them to Russia.
January 24 - Russian police announces that 13 rebels, including Khuseyn Gakayev and his brother, are killed in fighting in the Vedensky District, Chechnya.
January 24 - The government of Ukraine signs a major $10 billion shale gas deal with Royal Dutch Shell to reduce its dependency on Russian gas imports.
January 25 - Scuffles occur on the streets of Moscow as supporters and opponents clash over the Russian parliament's attempts to implement anti-gay legislation. If legalised it would result in fines for those who promote events with a gay theme.
January 31 - Volgograd passes a measure to refer to itself by its previous name, Stalingrad, on Victory Day and five key dates relating to the Battle of Stalingrad.
February 11 - An underground methane gas explosion killed up to 18 miners at a coal pit in northern Russia.[1]
February 13 -President Vladimir Putin submits a bill that would ban Russian Cabinet members and other senior officials from having foreign bank accounts and owning foreign stock.[2]
February 15 - A meteor broke up in the vicinity of the city of Chelyabinsk. According to Chelyabinsk's health department, around 1,200 people were injured, two of whom seriously, from the shattering of windows caused by the shockwaves and the debris.[3][4][5]
April 22 - A man went on a shooting rampage outside a firearm shop in Belgorod, killing six people.[7]
April 25 - The State Duma pass a bill banning government officials from holding overseas bank accounts and foreign-issued equities. The bill was backed by 443 deputies.[8]
April 26 - A fire in a psychiatric hospital in the settlement of Ramensky killed 38 people.[9][10]
June 19 - At least 43 people sought medical help and more than 6,500 residents were evacuated in southwestern Samara Oblast, after ammunition explosions shook a military training area.[13]
August 20 - police killed nine suspected militants, including a prominent warlord, in a clash in the restive North Caucasus republic of Dagestan.[16][17]