Russia holds presidential elections Sunday. Former president and current prime minister Vladimir Putin is the projected favorite, despite the new strings of protests against him. Weekends on All Things Considered guest host Jacki Lyden talks with Russian writer Boris Akunin about how these elections in Russia are much different than past. Also, NPR's Martha Wexler reports from Moscow the night before the elections.

The Syrian government continued shelling the city of Homs overnight. The latest United Nations report estimates 7,500 people have been killed since unrest began nearly a year ago. The government has also continued to refuse entry to the International Committee of the Red Cross. NPR's Kelly McEvers reports.

As the violence in Syria continues, the international community has been unable to do much more than condemn it. Host Scott Simon talks with Andrew Tabler of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy about the mounting debate over intervention and the new humanitarian access to the country.

Three years ago this month, President Obama said he hoped to promote more cooperation between the U.S. and Russia. It would be hard to see how that may happen as Vladimir Putin approaches power once again. Host Scott Simon speaks with the U.S. ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, about Sunday's elections in Russia.

Despite his likely victory in Sunday's presidential election, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is certain to face growing anger from an educated, urban middle-class that's been demonstrating on the streets of Moscow. Residents first came out to protest alleged vote rigging, but many see electoral fraud as part of a wider problem, abuse of power.

A new fiscal treaty has alleviated the air of crisis in the European Union, but with unemployment at a 10-year high and austerity measures intensifying the economic slowdown, leaders aren't quite sure how to reconcile the need to stimulate growth with the discipline required by the new pact.