A Russian teenager faces 5 years in jail for crimes committed in Minecraft.

In this week's Odder News: a propaganda failure, fishing robots, and a cross-dressing bandit.

“Usually, to put money on a card, you need an ATM; with magicians, everything is much simpler: just rub a coin and it becomes invisible.”

– Eugene, at Nevyansk prison, as he shows off a magic trick.

Police search for perpetrator guilty of killing an entire herd of horses in a deadly rivalry between farmers. 

The Rostov Oblast puts new limitations on the behavior of wedding-goers.

A high-school biology teacher wasn't expecting officials of the Russian Orthodox Church to be so vocal about a recent lesson.

Fiscal sanctions may be devastating for an economy, but food sanctions are a punch to the gut.

Russians put mayonnaise on everything. Even robberies, apparently.

Our bimonthly roundup of news on Russia most others missed.

"Since I am also a lawyer, I can act as an attorney for Father Christmas, and remind the plaintiff that Father Christmas fulfills wishes and gives gifts only to good girls and boys. Let him analyze his behavior and, perhaps, find something that has prevented Father Christmas from presenting him with gifts for the New Year holidays. This will be the main line of defense."

–  On December 23, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to defend Father Christmas after a St. Petersburg lawyer sued the gift-bringer.

A Krasnodar man, sentenced to serve time for theft, marked his release by doing what he does best.

A man disturbed the quiet slumber of the dead while looking for a place to catch himself forty winks.