Clinton also will stress that it is imperative for the international community to speak with one voice on the issue, but administration officials acknowledge there is still deep resistance to military strikes among the Russians, the French, the Chinese and other Security Council members.

CNN: AllPolitics

Unlike many other peoples in history, the Hungarians have survived as a separate nation with an Asiatic language like no other in Europe, boxed in among the Germans, the Russians and the southern Slavs.

ECONOMIST: On being Hungarian

Cubans, Italians and Russians were among the arrivals on Monday.

CNN: Athletes fret on lost bus as wave of Olympic arrivals begins

NATO, after all, has been assuring everyone that it is now a defence-cum-peacekeeping outfit that threatens absolutely nobody, least of all its old adversaries the Russians (among whose fellow-Slavs are the Serbs).

ECONOMIST: Intervene in Kosovo? | The

Looking at the poll, there hardly seems to be an overwhelming desire among Russians for their country to distance itself from the current Syrian regime.

FORBES: Russians Strongly Oppose Military Intervention in Syria

Many conservatives seem to think that the US will become more popular among Russians if it antagonizes, criticizes, confronts, disparages, and generally makes life difficult for their government.

FORBES: Some Evidence That 'The Reset' Has Done Its Job

In Russia, the State Duma (lower house of parliament) features a spoof draft law submitted by deputy Sergei Ivanov, in which he proposes banning the consumption of garlic - popular among Russians - in public places.

BBC: April Fools Day: 10 stories that look like pranks but aren't

They say the country's business model of attracting foreign investors, among them many Russians, with low taxes and lax financial regulation has backfired and must be upended.

NPR: Cyprus Secures Bailout, Avoids Bankruptcy