The figures are out on the volume of bribery in Russia and they are staggering. Experts estimate that bribery accounts for 20% to 30% of Russia's GDP. To prove the experts right, a police detective demanded a multimillion-dollar bribe and got arrested in Moscow.

We'd like to join the end-of-the-year lists party and bring you a peculiar interactive list of the top Russian news stories of 2009. That is, the list that shows what the people in Russia thought were the top news stories. Oh, wait! The list shows what the Russian media said and what the people in Russia thought were the main stories.

CNN reported today that the remains of Adolf Hitler were burned in 1970 by the KGB operatives at the German military base.

A fire broke out in a night club in Perm, an industrial city in Urals, killing over a 100 people and injuring dozens.

Vitaly Ginzburg, a physics genius, whose career spanned 7 decades and included development of the hydrogen bomb warheads as well as the work on superconductivity, for which he shared a Nobel prize in 2003, died this week.

In his advertisement on Russian radio, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg says in Russian: "I love this town and know how to make it better." Russian-speaking voters would appreciate Mr. Bloomberg's effort, if only the mayor did not say this phrase with the worst Russian accent of all time.

Update: Latvian mobile operator Tele2 confessed that the meteorite was a hoax, but with good intentions. The company promised to pay the damages caused by the hoax, including fire department and police emergency costs.

Large meteorite fell on a field near a small town in Latvia, creating a 20-meter crater. Nobody was hurt. Local farmers called 911 to let them know about "the flying fire." Scientists, dispatched to the scene, removed the meteorite to determine its composition.

According to the law that comes into effect today at 12:00 AM, all Russian casinos are supposed to close. The antivice plan introduced by Vladimir Putin allows casinos and slot machines to operate only in four regions of Russia, attempting to create the US-style gambling zones. As of today, neither of the zones is ready to host casinos. The delays were caused by lack of government financing and interest from real estate developers, hit by the financial crisis. However, the government has denied repeated pleas from the gambling industry to push back the July 1 deadline.