7 out of top 10 regions for confiscations are in Siberia or Russian Far East.
It should be called the 'Pacific region', he suggests.
Veto of plan for $30,000 statue of prophet holding the Ten Commandments.
People feel better about themselves and their lives, defying the international stereotype of Siberia.
Ukraine has moved its Consulate General from Vladivostok to Novosibirsk. The former Soviet state has other Consultates General around Russia already.
At least 30,000 homes are hit by flooding in Amur region, with Vladimir Putin ordering more emergency aid to stricken people.
Sergeants Nadezhda Durachenko and Galina Mikhailova both named among the victims.
The senior politician called for a change of identity for the vast eastern third of Russia, as the country angles itself towards Asia.
The Amur River rises past 7.35 metres in Khabarovsk city, with Komsomolsk-on-Amur, and Nikolayevsk-on-Amur also braced for new flooding.