TOKYO, May 19 (Reuters) - Russia and China are ready to support each other on a wide range of issues, including national unity and protection of sovereignty, President Vladimir Putin said in a video address ahead of a visit to China starting on Tuesday.

Russia hopes the turmoil in energy markets from the Middle East conflict will make China more flexible in negotiations on a contract for gas prices for the planned Power of Siberia 2 pipeline project,

A former senior Kremlin official says Russians are beginning to imagine a future without Vladimir Putin, as elites quietly distance themselves, inflation bites, and the state seizes billions in private assets.

Belarus says it has launched joint drills with Russia to practice the use of nuclear weapons that Moscow has deployed on the territory of its neighbor and ally.

Four years after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia is facing a spring of discontent.

MOSCOW, May 18 (Reuters) - Russia has high expectations for President Vladimir Putin's trip to China this week, and the two sides will use it to develop their "privileged partnership", the Kremlin said on Monday.

Set in Russia in the years following the fall of communism, The Wizard of the Kremlin doesn't always work dramatically. But you leave with a better understanding of how Vladimir Putin came to power.