The following lists events that happened in 2014 in Russia.
Incumbents President of Russia: Vladimir Putin Prime Minister of Russia: Dmitry Medvedev
Governors
Events
January 9 January – Russian authorities investigate six suspicious deaths and at least one car explosion in southern Russia's Stavropol territory, about 300 miles from Sochi, the site of next month's Winter Olympics. 14 January – Russia expels American journalist David Satter from the country in the first such case since 1982. 17 January – Vladimir Putin cautions gay people should not "spread gay propaganda" when visiting the host city of Sochi. 18 January – Seven suspected militants are killed by Russian security forces in a shootout near Makhachkala in Dagestan. 20 January An Islamist group claims responsibility for the bombings and threatens attacks on the 2014 Winter Olympic Games to be held in Sochi. Mike Rogers accuses Edward Snowden of collaborating with Russia. 23 January – Supreme Court of Russia releases Platon Lebedev, a business partner of Russian magnate and former head of Yukos Mikhail Khodorkovsky, after he spent more than 10 years in jail. 29 January – Largest Russian TV providers disconnected leading independent TV Rain channel. The previous days the channel was criticised by Vladimir Putin's press secretary and Russian parliament members.
February 3 February – Two people are shot and killed and 29 students are taken hostage at a high school in Moscow. The suspected shooter, a 15-year-old student at the school, surrenders to authorities. It is one of the first school shootings to occur in Russia. 7 February Russia's Foreign Ministry calls new US sanctions against Iran a "direct violation of the Geneva deal" and "unacceptable". 2014 Winter Olympics: The opening ceremony is held in Sochi. A man attempts to hijack a Pegasus Airlines flight from Kharkiv, Ukraine, and demands to be flown to Sochi; the pilots turned off the inflight monitors and landed in Istanbul, Turkey, where the passenger was arrested. 9 February – A gunman kills two people at a Russian Orthodox cathedral in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Sakhalin. 12 February Russia says it will veto a U.N. resolution on humanitarian aid access in Syria, claiming that the draft is an effort to prepare for military strikes against President Bashar al-Assad's regime. Russians Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov win the gold in pairs figure skating, becoming the first to do on home ice since Maxi Herber and Ernst Baier at the 1936 Winter Olympics. 13 February Egypt–Russia relations: During a two-day visit by an Egyptian delegation in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow and Cairo have agreed to speed up work on drafting agreements on military-technological cooperation. Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu added that this could include joint military exercises and training of Egyptian officers in Russian military academies. Russian President Vladimir Putin says he supports Egyptian Defense Minister Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's bid for the upcoming presidential election in Egypt. 17 February – Iran's ambassador to Russia says that Russia could build a second reactor at Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant in exchange for Iranian oil, under an oil-for-goods deal being negotiated that has alarmed the United States. 19 February – Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, former members of Pussy Riot, are arrested and subsequently released after protesting during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. 20 February Alpine skier Bogdana Matsotska of the Ukraine Olympic team decides to pull out of the Winter Games in Sochi, as widespread anti-government protests back home leave dozens dead and hundreds injured. Adelina Sotnikova wins the gold at the Olympics, giving Russia its first Olympic gold medal in ladies' singles figure skating. 23 February Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych is blocked by Ukraine's customs in Donetsk from taking a plane to Russia. The Winter Olympics in Sochi officially concludes. 24 February – Police arrested over 400 people in Manege Square hours after picking up some 200 people outside the court where the Bolotnaya square case defendants were being tried. 25 February – Russia's leading opposition activists Boris Nemtsov, Alexei Navalny, Ilya Yashin are jailed for 7–10 days for disobeying a police officer while protesting against the Bolotnaya square case. The previous day, in Moscow police detained over 400 people, including Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina. 26 February – The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, orders snap military exercises near the Ukraine border. 27 February 2014 Crimean crisis: The Parliament of Ukraine's Autonomous Republic of Crimea announces a referendum to determine the region's future and ousts the regional government. Ousted President Viktor Yanukovich, whose whereabouts remained unknown before he turned up in Russia, issues a statement saying that he is still the legitimate president and "ready to fight to the end" to fulfill his deal with the opposition. Around 50 armed men bearing Russian national symbols seize the building of the Supreme Council of Crimea following clashes between the ethnic Tatar and Russian protesters. The interim authorities of Ukraine put security forces on alert. The Autonomous Republic of Crimea has announced that it plans to hold a referendum for independence the same day as the elections in Ukraine. 28 February 2014 Crimean crisis: Members of the Russian Parliament propose new laws that would make it easier for Russia to incorporate parts of Ukraine. Russia finally confirms that it has moved troops in Ukraine's Crimea region to protect its own interests. Acting General Prosecutor General Oleh Makhnitskyi formally calls on Russia to extradite ousted President Viktor Yanukovych along with 10 other figures; the list includes former Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka, former Interior Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko, Yanukovich aide Andriy Klyuyev, and former Justice Minister Olena Lukash. Interim President of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov says the Russian military is "directly involved" in the crisis in Crimea, while Interior Minister Arsen Avakov describes the events as "a military invasion and occupation". News agency Interfax-Ukraine reports that armed pro-Russian men have taken over control of two airports, among which Simferopol International Airport, and raised the Russian Navy flag. Russian businessman and oppositionist Gleb Fetisov, a co-chair of the Alliance of Greens and Social Democrats, detained in Moscow. The leader of the People's Alliance opposition party Alexei Navalny placed under house arrest.
March 1 March 2014 Crimean crisis: Russian President Vladimir Putin formally asks the Federation Council of the Russian Parliament for approval to use armed forces in Ukraine. He receives unanimous support. The council also demands for President Putin to recall the Russian Federation ambassador to the United States. US President Barack Obama warns Russia, saying that any violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity would be "deeply destabilizing," and that "the United States will stand with the international community in affirming that there will be costs for any military intervention in Ukraine." De facto Prime Minister of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov claims control of all military, police and other forces in Crimea and asks the President of Russia Vladimir Putin for assistance. Russian Federation ambassador to the United Kingdom is summoned by the British Secretary of State William Hague. The U.N. Security Council is to be summoned for the second time in just two days. 2 March 2014 Crimean crisis: Ukraine's Navy commander-in-chief, Denis Berezovsky who was appointed only 1 March, defects to the Russia-backed Crimea government. Ukraine's acting president Oleksandr Turchynov says Ukraine's airspace has been closed to any non-civilian aircraft. In Russia, police detained several hundred anti-war protesters in Moscow. 3 March 2014 Crimean crisis: The commander of the Ukrainian frigate Hetman Sahaydachniy reportedly confirms that the ship never defected to Russia as reported in Russian media. Ireland's deputy leader Eamon Gilmore responds by summoning his Russian ambassador for talks. The Lithuanian and Polish presidents call for NATO treaty Article 4 consultations on the basis that Russia is executing military maneuvers in Kaliningrad, close to the borders with Lithuania and Poland. Reuters reports that armed men have seized a ferry checkpoint between Crimea and Russia. 4 March 2014 Crimean crisis: Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a press conference, saying that “force isn't needed right now” after deploying roughly 16,000 troops to Crimea. Swedish foreign secretary Carl Bildt compares the ousted Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych to Norwegian traitor Vidkun Quisling after Yanukovych asked Russia to intervene to restore "law and order" in the country. Russia's UN ambassador says to the UN Security Council that Ukraine's fugitive former President Viktor Yanukovych requested Russian soldiers in the strategic Crimea region "to establish legitimacy, peace, law and order," contradicting the president's own comments last week. Vladimir Putin orders troops near the Ukraine border to return to their bases with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov calling the military exercises a "success". 5 March 2014 Crimean crisis: UN Envoy Robert Serry is ordered to leave Crimea at gunpoint after being threatened by 10–15 armed men. Saying she cannot be part of a network that "whitewashes the actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin", Washington-based anchor Liz Wahl resigns on-air from the Russian government-backed news channel RT. 6 March – A special referendum date is moved again. Now it becomes 16 March 2014 instead of the previously announced 30 March. Voters will be asked whether they wish to stay part of Ukraine or join the Russian Federation. 7 March 2014 Crimean crisis: Armed men – thought to be Russian – attempt to seize a Ukrainian military base in Sevastopol, withdrawing soon afterwards. Turkey scrambles fighter jets after a Russian surveillance plane flew along its Black Sea coast. 10 March – A pro-Russian military force of just about a dozen men take control of the Ukrainian naval base near the town of Bakhchysarai. 12 March – Russia says planned U.S. financial aid to Ukraine is illegal. 13 March 2014 Crimean crisis: Leaders in the Ukrainian Kherson Oblast threaten to shut off all power and water to Crimea if the referendum goes forward. Russia masses its military near the Ukrainian border again as new military operations are announced. 14 March – United States Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov meet in London, United Kingdom, to discuss the current Crimean crisis. 15 March – The March of Peace took place in Russia a day before the Crimean referendum. 30,000 people participated in anti-war protests in Moscow. 16 March – Voters in Crimea vote overwhelmingly to leave Ukraine and rejoin Russia. Ukraine, the European Union, and the United States condemn the referendum, which did not give voters the option of the status quo. 17 March President of the United States Barack Obama announces that the United States will sanction Russian officials that contributed to the current Crimean crisis. The Republic of Crimea is declared. 18 March A Ukrainian military serviceman is killed in an attack on a base in Crimea's main city, Simferopol. 2014 Crimean crisis: Japan announces it will fall in line with American sanctions against Russia for its role in promoting the secession of Crimea from Ukraine. The parliaments of Russia and Crimea sign an accession treaty. Transnistria formally requests to join the Russian Federation.