900 Baseball Bats Seized From Moscow Drivers in 4 Days

Moscow traffic police officers seized 912 baseball bats from drivers during a special operation on the first four days of November, local media reported. Nearly 11,000 vehicles were stopped during the operation, which also turned up about 330 knives, 180 rubber-bullet handguns and several rifles, the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper reported Tuesday. Sixteen drivers were found to be using fake licenses, the report said. Drivers’ rights advocates have cried foul over the reported seizures, arguing that there is no law against having baseball bats in one’s car.

http://en.ria.ru/russia/20131107/184558314/900-Baseball-Bats-Seized-From-Moscow-Drivers-in-4-Days.html

Russian Driver Beaten to Death at Road Crash Scene

A car driver involved in a traffic accident in which a motorcyclist died was himself killed at the scene by the biker's friends, local police in Russia’s eastern Primorye Region said Tuesday. A car being driven by a man and his son – a transport police officer – hit a motorcycle carrying two passengers when the car turned across the road into oncoming traffic. The motorbike rider died on the spot, while his female passenger died in hospital. Their friends arrived at the scene of the accident and attacked the car’s driver and passenger, killing the driver. His son was hospitalized with head and face injuries, a local police spokesperson said. Three people have been detained over the incident, and police are searching for a fourth. “After the beating, he [the passenger] managed to call the police. His father was killed,” the spokesperson said, adding that the suspects were severely drunk when they were detained.

http://en.ria.ru/crime/20130717/182280784/Russian-Driver-Beaten-to-Death-at-Road-Crash-Scene.html

Russian Social Network Founder Denies Fleeing to US

The founder of Russia’s most popular social networking website, VKontakte, denied on Monday media reports that he has gone to the United States to create a new social network. Pavel Durov said he has not been to the US for a year and has so far no plans to go there again. Durov has been summoned for questioning over a traffic incident in which a police officer was injured, an investigative committee official told RAPSI last Thursday. St. Petersburg news website Fontaka.ru reported that local police believe Durov, 28, was involved in an April 5 traffic accident in the city. News channels said a traffic police officer had been injured when a white Mercedes tried to swerve past him after he flagged it down for a driving offense, and struck him a glancing blow. Media reports said the police believed Durov was behind the wheel of the car as it fled the scene. Durov’s representatives say he does not drive and uses the city’s subway system. The car in question is registered in the name of Durov's deputy, Ilya Perekopsky, Vesti reported. Established in 2006, VKontakte has some 200 million registered users and is more popular than Facebook in Russia.

http://en.ria.ru/russia/20130422/180775672.html
http://youtu.be/NcLWnBttrhU (video)

Russian Police Look into Speeding Schoolgirl Video

A Russian motorist has been branded 'the world's worst father' after he forced his eight-year-old daughter to drive his car at more than 60mph on an icy road. Dmitry Mihulchik, 28, filmed his daughter Karina taking the family Audi for a spin and uploaded the shocking footage online. As the speed increases, with the father occasionally clutching the wheel to control the car, he tells his daughter: 'Push it to at least 100kph.' The mom was sitting on the backs seat. Neither the eight-year-old driver nor her parents were wearing seatbelts during the drive lasting more than six minutes. The couple from St Petersburg are facing a police probe over the hair raising drive. 'An investigation has been opened,' said a spokesman. It is unclear what punishment the parents might face, but some have suggested it could be a fine of 2,500 roubles ($80) for allowing their daughter to drive without a licence.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2285387/Girl-8-drives-60-mph-Russian-father-puts-wheel.html
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/8-year-old-hits-60mph-icy-russian-road-article-1.1275739
http://www.echo.msk.ru/blog/echomsk/1020786-echo/ (video)

Tank on Russian Highway "Broke No Traffic Rules"

The crew of a tank that traversed a busy street in the Urals city of Nizhny Tagil did not break any traffic rules, tank maker Uralvagonzavod said on Monday. A video recently posted on the Internet shows a tank crossing a busy road in front of a number of cars. “The car drivers who did not stop at the red traffic light were wrong,” an Uralvagonzavod spokeswoman said. “The tank drove through at green.” The street is intersected by a road leading to the tank plant and it has the appropriate road signs, she said. “The video clearly shows that there is a red light for the cars.”

http://www.rapsinews.com/news/20130128/266207918.html
http://www.echo.msk.ru/blog/echomsk/999598-echo/ (video)