President Vladimir Putin has given his best wishes to Russia’s Jews for the Passover holiday, underscoring the community’s importance in fostering “interethnic and interreligious” dialogue. The president’s letter was published on the Kremlin website on Monday.

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The Russian lower house of parliament, the State Duma, adopted amendments to the Criminal Code on Tuesday, which would impose tougher punishment for crimes committed during “wartime,” “martial law” or a “mobilization period.”