Free Republic

Vladimir Putin has escaped to his secret lakeside 'palace' amid brutal suppression of anti-mobilisation demonstrations in Moscow and St Petersburg. Despite denials from the Kremlin, Putin appears to have vanished on holiday to his 'most secret official dacha' in northern Russia. The residence, nestled in the forests of the Valdai Hills - about halfway between Moscow and St Petersburg - boasts a three-storey spa complex with a 'personal beauty parlour' nicknamed the 'temple to his asceticism'.

UNITED NATIONS - A former Russian top spy says his agents helped the Russian government steal nearly $500 million from the U.N.'s oil-for-food program in Iraq before the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Sergei Tretyakov, who defected to the United States in 2000 as a double agent, says he oversaw an operation that helped Saddam's regime manipulate the price of Iraqi oil sold under the program — and allow Russia to skim profits. Tretyakov, former deputy head of intelligence at Russia's U.N. mission from 1995 to 2000, names some names, but sticks mainly to code names. Among the spies...

The first family is returning this summer to Martha’s Vineyard, the third time the Obamas have vacationed on the exclusive Massachusetts island in the past four years. President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will arrive August 10 and stay through August 18, the White House said earlier this month. The vacation is drawing some criticism about the president relaxing among the rich and famous while drastic cuts to the federal budget known as sequester kick in with full force, including the start this month of furloughs for 85 percent of the Defense Department’s civilian workforce.

Kremlin holiday retreat that was a favourite of Boris Yeltsin, the late Russian president, complete with tennis court, sauna and crystal chandeliers is to be auctioned off for more than £6 million after falling into a state of disrepair. In what is being billed as a unique opportunity to snap up a piece of modern Russian history, Yeltsin's dacha or country estate in northwest Russia is to go on the block next month with a recommended starting price of £6.25 million. Included in the sale are the indoor tennis court Yeltsin used to play on, the sauna he used to...