Nataliya Vasilyeva

Read the latest stories and analysis from Nataliya Vasilyeva.

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with Security Council members in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 21, 2014. There is no need for Russia to further retaliate against U.S. sanctions, President Vladimir Putin said Friday as Russia's upper house of parliament endorsed the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

Russian stocks down as banks suffer amid sanctions

Nataliya Vasilyeva · March 21, 2014 2:23 pm

Russian economy, tycoons take hit in Crimea crisis

Nataliya Vasilyeva · March 20, 2014 3:58 pm

A beachgoer reaches down to touch the Black Sea as Fisht Olympic Stadium stands in the background, home of tonight's 2014 Winter Olympics closing ceremony, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014, in Sochi, Russia. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Future of multibillion Sochi investment unclear

Nataliya Vasilyeva · February 24, 2014 9:22 am

Konstantin Ernst, chief creative director of the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, wears a T-shirt with the Olympic rings where one of the five rings is a snowflake during a news conference on the last day of the Olympics in Sochi, Russia, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014. The T-shirt is a reference to the opening ceremony, when five snowflakes were supposed to open up into the five Olympic rings, but one failed to open. Ernst was met with applause and laughter when he took off his jumper at the press conference, revealing the T-shirt with the glitch. (AP Photo/Dorothee Thiesing)

SOCHI SCENE: Those rings, redux

Nataliya Vasilyeva · February 23, 2014 9:29 am

Cossack ‘held accountable’ in attack on Pussy Riot

Nataliya Vasilyeva · February 22, 2014 2:55 pm

Pussy Riot members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, center, and Maria Alekhina, left, arrive for a press conference while followed by a person in a chicken costume protesting the punk group - who have feuded with Vladmir Putin's government for years - Thursday, Feb. 20, 2014, in Sochi, Russia. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Pussy Riot presents Sochi punk video

Nataliya Vasilyeva · February 20, 2014 2:05 pm

Russian punk group Pussy Riot members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, in the blue balaclava, and Maria Alekhina, in the pink balaclava, make their way through a crowd after they were released from a police station, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2014, in Adler, Russia. No charges were filed against Tolokonnikova and Alekhina along with the three others who were detained. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Sochi tension: Pussy Riot members briefly detained

Nataliya Vasilyeva · February 18, 2014 7:55 pm

Vladimir Luxuria, center, a former Communist lawmaker in the Italian parliament and prominent crusader for transgender rights, is led away by friends to attend a women's ice hockey match after posing for photos on the Olympic Plaza at the 2014 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 17, 2014, in Sochi, Russia. Luxuria was soon after detained by police upon entering the Shayba Arena. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

IOC defends Monday’s removal of gay activist

Nataliya Vasilyeva · February 18, 2014 9:02 am

Bathhouse master Ivan Tkach, right, walks through the outdoor sauna area at the British Banya bathhouse, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2014, in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. "The most important thing about the banya is to have a good spirit in the body," Tkach says. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Russian banya a treat at the Sochi Olympics

Nataliya Vasilyeva · February 16, 2014 12:23 pm

A spectator waves a RUssian flag during the ski jumping portion of the Nordic combined at the 2014 Winter Olympics, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014, in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Sochi activists sent to prison for 3 years

Nataliya Vasilyeva · February 12, 2014 3:39 pm

In this photo taken Saturday, Feb. 8, 2014, Andrei Sarkisian, second from right, who goes by the stage name of Miss Zhuzha, gets ready backstage before a performance at the Mayak cabaret, the most reputable gay club in Sochi, Russia, host to the 2014 Winter Olympics. Russia adopted a law last year, prohibiting vaguely defined propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations and pedophilia. The legislation makes it illegal to disseminate information to children even if it merely shows that gay people are just like everybody else. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Life goes on for gays in Olympic Sochi

Nataliya Vasilyeva · February 9, 2014 4:20 pm

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych watches the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics, Friday, Feb. 7, 2014, in Sochi, Russia. (AP Photo/David Goldman, Pool)

Putin meets Ukraine’s Yanukovych in Sochi

Nataliya Vasilyeva · February 8, 2014 2:32 pm