Eurasian Law: Breaking News

South Ossetian Ex-Presidential Candidate Hospitalized after Police Storm

2012-02-10T02:51:00.005-05:00

South Ossetian opposition leader Ala Dzhioeva was hospitalized after law enforcers broke into her headquarters to arrest her. Reportedly, she had a hypertensic crisis. Meanwhile, acting president Vadim Borovtsev accused Dzhioeva of the preparation of a coup d'etat. "Dzhioeva publicly announced her inauguration on February 10, which contradicts the decisions of the South Ossetian parliament," Borovtsev said. Dzhioeva won the 2011 presidential elections defeating Russia-backed candidate Anatoliy Bibilov. However, the republic’s Supreme Court annulled the vote. Dzhioeva refused to acknowledge the annulment and declared herself President-elect.

http://en.gazeta.ru/news/2012/02/10/a_3995613.shtml

Tomsk Duma Speaker Proposes Burning Oppositionists at Stake

2012-02-10T02:30:00.003-05:00

The Speaker of the city Duma of Tomsk, Sergey Ilyinikh, said he thinks opposition activists who call the ruling United Russia party "the party of swindlers and thieves" should be burned at the stake.
Speaking during the regional Audit Chamber session Ilyinikh said: "I distinguish those who participated in protest rallies from those who use certain forces to persuade people that the United Russia is the party of swindlers and thieves. This is very dangerous, I am sometimes afraid of what I read on the Internet. Those who write such things should be burned at the stake." “The party of swindlers and thieves” is a nickname of the ruling United Russia party popularized by anti-corruption activist Alexey Navalny. Notably, in 2007 a musician from the city of Syktyvkar, Savva Terentyev, received a year of probation after he, in his blog, suggested burning “wrong” (apparently meaning corrupt) policemen.

http://en.gazeta.ru/news/2012/02/09/a_3994817.shtml
http://www.gazeta.ru/news/lenta/2012/02/09/n_2198437.shtml

Kommersant Newspaper Demands Prosecution for Pro-Putin Activist

2012-02-09T05:19:00.008-05:00

Kommersant Director General Demyan Kudryavtsev demanded prosecution for press secretary of the pro-Kremlin Nashi movement Kristina Potupchik for preparing DDoS-attacks on Kommersant's website in 2008. According to Kudryavtsev, the content of Potupchik's email, which was recently published by the Anonimous hacker group in the Internet clearly indicates that she was involved in preparing attacks on the newspapers' website. In one of the letters, dated back to February 2008, Potupchik writes to one of her colleagues, offering tactics of how to paralyze the work of Kommersant. In particular, she says that some DDoS attacks are needed to "psychologically and physically finish off" the newspaper. After a while Kommersant's website was hacked and was unavailable for over a day. "Kommersant will require from the Interior Ministry initiating criminal proceedings against Ms. Potupchik and other persons involved in the case... Now that there is no need to look for the guilty, it is important to make sure that they do not go unpunished," Kudryavtsev stated. Kommersant is a leading Russian business newspaper and publishing house.

http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/1869292
http://rapsinews.com/judicial_news/20120209/260078331.html
http://en.gazeta.ru/news/2012/02/09/a_3994197.shtml
http://lj.rossia.org/users/kremlingate/7598.html (document)

UPDATE: Potupchik vows to sue Kudryavtsev in libel
http://lenta.ru/news/2012/02/10/back/

Fugitive Kyrgyz President Obtains Belarus Citizenship

2012-02-08T10:20:00.001-05:00

Deposed Kyrgyzstan President Kurmanbek Bakiyev obtained the citizenship of Belarus. Bakiyev fled Kyrgyzstan in April 2010 in the wake of a coup d’état, and obtained asylum in Belarus. The General Attorney’s Office of Kyrgyzstan have requested Bakiyev’s extradition twice, but to no avail. It appears that Bakiyev obtained the Belarus citizenship in August 2010, but journalists have discovered it only now.

http://www.lenta.ru/news/2012/02/08/citizenship/

Pro-Putin Rally Participants Complain of Fraud

2012-02-08T08:53:00.010-05:00

Dozens of participants of the recent pro-Putin rally complained to journalists that rally organizers have failed to pay them the money promised for the participation. It appears that the rally organizers have contacted casting agents specialized in finding extra players for movies and TV shows to hire some rally participants. Allegedly, the organizers promised to pay 500 rubles ($17) to each participant, and 50 rubles ($1.7) per hired person to the agents. However, many of the hired participants and agents have not received their money. Some of the defrauded complained to the prosecutor office, to the ruling United Russia party, and to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin personally, but to no avail. Then they contacted journalists. The rally organizers call the complaint “a provocation.” “The organizing committee has held a number of meetings on this issue and specifically prohibited all invited organizations from purchasing extras or paying for the participation,” committee representative Alexey Zhuravlev stated.

http://en.gazeta.ru/news/2012/02/08/a_3992805.shtml
http://youtu.be/Bgz25Ft6wfw (video)

Russia Denies Threatening Qatar

2012-02-08T04:38:00.005-05:00

Russia's U.N. ambassador Vitaly Churkin called a special press conference to deny reports that he threatened Qatar could be wiped off the map. According to some media reports, during the UN Security Council meeting on Saturday, just moments before the Arab League-backed peace plan resolution on Syria (ultimately vetoed by Russia and China) was put to a vote, bin Jassim, Qatar’s Prime Minister, addressed Churkin by saying: “I warn Russia: if it doesn’t abstain from vetoing and doesn’t support the U.N. decision, it will lose all Arab nations”. Allegedly, Churkin responded by saying “You speak to me again in that tone and Qatar won’t live long enough to see tomorrow”. Churkin said Russia's U.N. Mission has been deluged with calls about the reports, which he said are lies. “There is disinformation. There are lies, there are blatant lies. One has to come up with some different stronger description in order to characterize this kind of a thing,” Churkin stated. Qatar has not commented.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/russia-denies-threatening-qatar-talks-15530746#.TzI9F8UjEYQ
http://english.ruvr.ru/2012/02/08/65591647.html
http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/1868470

Russian TV Channel Censors Discussion of Censorship

2012-02-08T02:14:00.004-05:00

Russian bloggers and web media noticed that the major Russian TV channel “Pervy Kanal” cut out a discussion of censorship from the program “Posner” by well-known journalist Vladimir Posner. The fragment was present in the live program broadcasted for the Russian Far East but disappeared from a later recorded broadcast for the European part of Russia, including Moscow. In the fragment Posner asked his guest, a pro-Kremlin TV presenter Tina Kandelaki, whether she thinks the Kremlin is behind the apparent ban for certain political figures (such as Alexey Navalny) to appear on TV, which she denied. This is not the first time when a politically sensitive material broadcasted by central channels for the Far East disappears from a later European broadcast.

http://www.lenta.ru/news/2012/02/07/pozner/
http://jurij7070.livejournal.com/463449.html
http://youtu.be/ymOaOJpVVRs (uncensored fragment)
http://youtu.be/IiUfSJy9_fQ (censored fragment)

Russia Introduces Castration for Pedophiles

2012-02-07T09:50:00.000-05:00

The Russian parliament has approved a law on pedophilia. According to it, people found guilty of sex crimes against children under the age of 14 will face chemical castration, while repeat offenders face a life sentence. Previous laws on sex crimes against juveniles were more lenient, with the toughest sentence being an 8-15-year prison term.

http://www.lenta.ru/news/2012/02/07/law/
http://rt.com/news/pedophilia-russia-chemical-castration-059/

Uzbekistan Convicts Tajik Spies

2012-02-07T08:25:00.003-05:00

Four persons have been convicted in Uzbekistan on espionage charges to 14 to 20 years in jail. Allegedly, the defendants (among whom there are citizens of both Uzbekistan and Tajikistan) gathered secret information for Tajikistan. During recent years dozens of defendants were convicted in Uzbekistan as Tajik spies, and in Tajikistan - as Uzbek spies.

http://www.lenta.ru/news/2012/02/07/espionage/

Medvedev: 199 Spies Caught in 2011

2012-02-07T07:40:00.000-05:00

Russian counterintelligence exposed 199 foreign spies in 2011, proving that “activity of [foreign] intelligence services is not decreasing,” according to outgoing President Dmitry Medvedev. The list included 41 professional spies and 158 agents in the pay of foreign spymasters, Medvedev said at a meeting with the staff of the Federal Security Service (FSB). He did not elaborate on the spies’ home countries, but added some of the agents were Russian nationals.

http://en.ria.ru/russia/20120207/171195509.html
http://www.lenta.ru/news/2012/02/07/agents/

Magnitsky May Be Convicted Posthumously

2012-02-07T02:16:00.001-05:00

Russian Interior Ministry investigators are ready to file formal charges against late Russian attorney Sergei Magnitsky and Hermitage Capital head William Browder, Hermitage Capital investment fund reported today. In a letter to Magnitsky’s family and the team of Hermitage Capital attorneys, Interior Ministry Investigator Boris Kibis stated that the Magnitsky case was coming to a head and it would soon be brought to trial. To avoid this posthumous prosecution, the late lawyers’ relatives were offered to “abandon their right to defend his honor and dignity” (which apparently means waiving any possible defamation claims). There have never been posthumous criminal cases in modern history before, William Browder said.

http://english.ruvr.ru/2012/02/07/65497151.html
http://www.lenta.ru/news/2012/02/07/claim/
http://www.gazeta.ru/social/2012/02/07/3991433.shtml

Russia Bans Ukrainian Cheese

2012-02-07T01:56:00.003-05:00

The Russian Federal Service for Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare has banned, as of today, the imports of some Ukrainian-made cheeses, the Service Head Gennady Onishchenko has said. Onishchenko, Russia’s Chief Sanitary Authority, said in January that some Ukrainian cheeses contained a large amount of palm oil. Ukraine said the objections to Ukrainian-made cheese quality were unfounded.

http://english.ruvr.ru/2012/02/07/65490136.html
http://lenta.ru/news/2012/02/07/stop/

Kyrgyzstan to Ban Moon Church

2012-02-07T01:30:00.002-05:00

Kyrgyzstan’s Prosecutor General’s Office requested a court ban on the Unification Church, the controversial religious movement founded by Korean leader Sun Myung Moon. The prosecutors ruled the religious group “a danger to the country’s security,” said Abdilatif Zhumabayev, who heads a government commission on religion.

http://en.rian.ru/society/20120206/171183025.html

Putin: No Political Prisoners in Russia

2012-02-07T01:23:00.000-05:00

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin dismissed the idea of a political amnesty because there are no political prisoners in the country. “I don’t quite understand what is meant by political amnesty. I don’t think we have any political prisoners, thank God,” he said, adding that there is talk about political prisoners but no names are provided. “They [the opposition] should have shown at least one person who is in prison for political reasons,” Putin said. Meanwhile, opposition activists said at the recent mass anti-Putin rally they had prepared a list of some 40 political prisoners (including, e.g., former Yukos head Mikhail Khodorkovsky) and would shortly present it to the Kremlin.

http://en.ria.ru/society/20120206/171181161.html

Russia, China Block UN Action on Syria

2012-02-06T04:22:00.003-05:00

Western and Arab states voiced outrage after Russia and China vetoed a U.N. resolution that would have backed an Arab plan urging Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to give up power, and Washington vowed harsher sanctions against Damascus. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the veto a "travesty." It came a day after activists say Syrian forces bombarded a district of Homs, killing more than 200 people in the worst night of bloodshed of the 11-month uprising. Russia said the resolution was biased and would have meant taking sides in a civil war. Syria is Moscow's only big ally in the Middle East, home to a Russian naval base and customer for its arms. China's veto appeared to follow Russia's lead.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/05/us-syria-idUSTRE80S08620120205

Hundreds of Thousands Demonstrate in Frosty Moscow

2012-02-06T04:07:00.009-05:00

Protests were held on Saturday in Moscow to demand fair elections with the number of those at the rally ranging from official police reports of 36,000 to 120,000, according to the organizers. The protesters hit the streets in minus 20 degrees Celsius (just under 0 degrees Fahrenheit) to voice their concerns over fair and transparent presidential elections which are slated for March 4. At the same time a rally in support of Putin took place on Poklonnaya Gora. The number of its participants according to different reports varies from 38,000 to 138,000. Numerous media and blog reports said many of the pro-Putin rally participants were state employees who were forced to attend, though authorities denied all these allegations. Several smaller demonstrations took place in other places in Moscow, making the total number of demonstrators some 200,000.

http://en.rian.ru/video/20120204/171146489.html
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20120204/171119597.html
http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/1866656
http://youtu.be/HtRF72Ins3E (video)

Moscow: Ashton Interferes in Russia’s Home Affairs

2012-02-03T04:08:00.000-05:00

The Russian Foreign Ministry's official spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said that the call by the European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Russia to review its decision to bar liberal opposition leader Grigory Yavlinsky from taking part in the upcoming presidential elections is an interference into Russia’s home affairs. Yavlinsky, leader of the liberal Yabloko party and two-time presidential candidate, was disqualified last week after officials judged that 25.6 percent of the 2 million signatures submitted as part of his application were invalid or fake. “I call on the responsible authorities to review as a matter of urgency the decision not to register Grigory Yavlinsky,” Ashton said during the European Parliament’s debates on Russia in Brussels. “The EU leadership would better pay attention to their home problems, rather than lecturing others on democracy,” Lukashevich commented.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20120202/171100341.html
http://www.mid.ru/brp_4.nsf/newsline/EC650834717156B944257998005B04F5 (statement)

Voice of America Publishes Fake Interview with Navalny

2012-02-03T03:14:00.002-05:00

Whistleblower lawyer, blogger and opposition leader Alexei Navalny has dismissed an interview with him posted on the Voice of America web site as a fake. “Voice of America has gone completely nuts. [They] have published a huge fake 'Interview with Navalny',” the blogger said on his Twitter account. The interview, titled “If you want to do something well, do it yourself,” features details from Navalny’s childhood, his participation in a nationalist march and his opinion of opposition activists. In response VoA apologized. “To obtain that material we used the channels that we, at that moment, believed to be reliable,” explained the VOA Russian service editorial board in a statement. Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20120201/171070888.html
http://www.voanews.com/russian/news/Navalny-interview-2012-01-31-138443484.html

Putin Orders Share Buyback

2012-02-03T01:56:00.002-05:00

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin instructed the country's No.2 bank VTB to compensate small investors who lost money in its stock market flotation. Shares in VTB, which is 75.5 percent owned by the government, are trading at around 7 kopecks, just over half the price of 13.6 kopecks at which they were floated in 2007 when over 100,000 small investors bought the stock during its so-called “people’s IPO.” Answering a question of an unhappy foreign investor at an investor conference, Putin offered to buy back VTB's shares at the original issue price. "I can instruct the bank's management to work out a plan to buy back these shares so that you do not suffer any losses," Putin said. Calling on a surprised Andrei Kostin, the head of VTB who happened to be sitting in the audience, the prime minister announced that they would meet to discuss a share buy-back on Monday. The buyback should cost the bank about $500 mln.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/02/russia-putin-vtb-idUSL5E8D24SC20120202
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5583c0c6-4dbf-11e1-a66e-00144feabdc0.html?ftcamp=rss#axzz1lIYqs4hw

Medvedev’s Rights Councils Suggests Pardoning Khodorkovsky

2012-02-02T08:02:00.000-05:00

A working group of the Presidential Council for Human Rights proposed pardoning 30 defendants and convicts, including former YUKOS manages Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev. The list of those to be pardoned comprises five scholars, twelve entrepreneurs (convicted in relation to their business activity), five alleged terrorists, and eight persons convicted, in the opinion of the working group, in relation with their civil protest activity. Working group member Tamara Morshchakova, formerly a Constitutional court Judge, opined that no formal petition of a convict (admitting the guilt) is needed for the President to issue a pardon decree. Earlier President Dmitry Medvedev stated that such a petition is necessary.

http://rapsinews.ru/incident_news/20120202/259916236.html

Ukraine’s Interior Ministry Admits Copyright Infringement

2012-02-02T03:40:00.002-05:00

Ukrainian Ministry of Interior’s spokesman Vlolodymyr Polishchuk confessed that the computer software used by the Ministry is largely pirated. “Approximately 47% of the software in the Ministry is not properly licensed. However, the Ministry has informed Microsoft. Now the company carries on negotiations with the state bodies on how to legalize the software,” Polishchuk stated. The official added that the Ministry does not purchase computers with pre-installed pirated software since 2006.

http://www.pravda.com.ua/rus/news/2012/02/1/6945809/

Ukraine Shuts Down Largest File Sharing Website

2012-02-01T10:13:00.004-05:00

Ukrainian police shut down country's most popular file sharing website, Ex.ua, accusing its owners of illegally distributing copyright-protected software, music and videos. The move was a result of complaints by software companies such as Microsoft and Adobe, police said. "During a search at the website (owners') office and data centers, police confiscated numerous computers... including 200 servers containing about 6,000 terabytes of information in total," the Interior Ministry said in a statement. "Police have found out that the website was run by a citizen of Latvia." Under Ukrainian laws, the website's owners could face up to five years in prison if found guilty, it said. Ex.ua's users numbered in the millions, according to police.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/31/us-ukraine-website-idUSTRE80U1IR20120131

Russian FM Avoids Clinton's Calls on Syria

2012-02-01T02:01:00.005-05:00

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on January 31 he was amazed by the hullabaloo over his failure to discuss a UN Syria resolution with US State Secretary Hillary Clinton. Clinton tried to reach Lavrov by telephone for two days but he was "apparently unavailable" while on visit to Australia, according to US Department of State press briefings of January 30 and 31. Clinton herself blamed the spotty connection in Australia for her failure to get in touch with Lavrov. However, Lavrov explained he was busy negotiating with his Australian partners, adding that he and Clinton would talk later.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20120131/171050256.html
http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/290800/20120201/clinton-denies-snub-russian-fm-australia.htm
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2012/01/182732.htm (transcript)
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2012/01/182830.htm (transcript)

Freedom of Assembly Demonstration Dispersed in Moscow

2012-02-01T01:34:00.000-05:00

On January 31, Moscow opposition activists held their traditional demonstration on the Triumfalnaya Square in support of Article 31 of the Russian Constitution (freedom of assembly). As usual, the demonstration was banned by the authorities and dispersed by the police special forces. Some 50 activists were arrested.

http://lenta.ru/news/2012/01/31/fifty/
http://youtu.be/58L-4BG1itg (video)

Notaries Receive Enforcement Power

2012-01-31T15:21:00.001-05:00

At the end of 2011, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev signed a number of legislative amendments concerning notaries, including a law allowing extra-judicial enforcement of mortgage agreements. Under the new law, if the borrower fails to pay under the mortgage agreement, the lender can obtain a writ of execution from the notary who notarized the agreement. The lender can take the writ directly to the court bailiffs for seizure of the collateral, bypassing the courts.

Russian Constitutional Court Head: UN Security Council Libyan Resolution “Legally Questionable”

2012-01-26T03:02:00.005-05:00

Russia’s Constitutional Court Chairman Valery Zorkin published an article sharply criticizing Western countries for intervening in the internal affairs of other countries, such as Libya and Russia, and Russian oppositionists – for their “anti-state” position. “Certain states openly and demonstratively assume the right to act as if they were ‘much more equal,’” Zorkin states. He quotes as an example the actions of the Western coalition in Libya on the basis of what Zorkin calls “a legally questionable document entitled ‘UN Security Council Resolution No. 1973.’” Addressing the Russian oppositionists who question the fairness of the recent Russian elections, Zorkin rhetorically asks them whether they are “ready to invite some Varangians [foreigners], including NATO countries’ armed forces, to support the establishing a 'new statehood' in Russia, following the Libya model.”

http://www.lenta.ru/news/2012/01/26/words/
http://www.rg.ru/2012/01/26/zorkin.html (article)

WikiLeaks Founder Gets Show on Russian TV

2012-01-26T01:55:00.000-05:00

Controversial WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has a new talk show that will be broadcast on the Kremlin-funded English-language TV channel RT, formerly known as Russia Today, the station said. The RT statement said Assange is filming the series from the location of his house arrest in Britain. He is currently fighting extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted on sex crimes allegations. United States officials are weighing possible charges linked to the leaks, the biggest disclosures of secret documents in U.S. history. WikiLeaks said on its site that "iconoclasts, visionaries and power insiders" would be invite them to the show so that Assange could challenge their vision of world affairs and "their ideas on how to secure a brighter future."  The names of the guests are still to be disclosed.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/wikileaks-founder-gets-show-on-rt/451671.html

Yavlinsky Loses Chance to Run for Kremlin

2012-01-26T01:46:00.002-05:00

Yabloko party founder Grigory Yavlinsky will be banned from the presidential race over invalid signatures in his support, the Central Elections Commission said on Tuesday. Some analysts said the removal was part of the Kremlin’s plan to allow Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to win in the first round of the vote, though others denied ulterior motives behind the decision. Yavlinsky collected two million signatures in support of his bid as required by law, but two audits, the second of which was completed Tuesday evening, showed 25.66 percent of the signatures to be invalid, commission secretary Nikolai Konkin said. The law caps the amount of faulty signatures at five percent. “The commission will hold a session later this week to officially refuse registering Grigory Yavlinsky” for the March 4 vote, Konkin said.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20120124/170930955.html

Law Tightening Internet Use In Belarus Goes Into Effect

2012-01-24T06:28:00.000-05:00

A law restricting the use of the Internet by Belarusian firms and state institutions has come into force. One aspect of the law, seen as the most invasive, requires Internet cafes and service providers to identify and keep track of all of their clients along with the web pages they visit. Thirty-five websites are banned for Internet users at state institutions, including the pages of "Charter'97.org" and "Belarusian Partisan." Belarusian companies are required to use the Belarusian Internet domain -- .by -- in order to sell goods or services within Belarus.

http://www.rferl.org/content/law_tightening_internet_use_in_belarus_goes_into_effect/24443892.html

Russia’s Supreme Court Cancels Opposition Party Ban

2012-01-24T05:34:00.000-05:00

Nearly a year after the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the 2007 closure of the tiny opposition Republican Party by the Russian authorities was illegal, Russia’s Supreme Court ruled on Monday to reverse its earlier decision, the first such reversal in years. The party, headed by opposition leader Vladimir Ryzhkov, was closed in May 2007 after the Supreme Court found that the party had less than 50,000 members and fewer than 45 branches with over 500 members as required by the law on political parties. In April 2011, the ECHR declared the ruling unjustified, in particular criticizing the Russian law setting minimum membership requirements for political parties that are the highest in Europe.

http://en.ria.ru/society/20120123/170907040.html

Russia Sells Combat Jets to Syria

2012-01-23T04:27:00.002-05:00

Russia and Syria have signed a $550-million contract on the delivery of 36 Yakovlev Yak-130 Mitten combat trainer, according to Kommersant daily, quoting a source close to Russia’s state arms exporter Rosoboronexport. Under the deal struck in late December, the jets are to be supplied to Syria when Damascus makes a prepayment, the source said. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said last week that Russia need not justify its actions before the West, because Russia is not violating “any international agreements or any [UN] Security Council resolutions.”

http://en.ria.ru/world/20120123/170901812.html

Putin Proposes to Criminalize Migration Violations

2012-01-23T04:27:00.000-05:00

Russia should have stricter registration rules for internal migrants and introduce criminal responsibility for violation of migration laws, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said in an article on modern problems of multiethnic Russia for the Nezavisimaya Gazeta daily. The article is the presidential candidate’s second publication as part of his election program.

http://en.rian.ru/society/20120123/170895398.html

Russia to Review Soviet Laws

2012-01-17T09:51:00.001-05:00

Russia’s Ministry of Justice launched a large-scale review of Soviet statutes and regulations still in effect. Deputy Minister of Justice Viktor Evtukhov stated that about 45,000 acts adopted in the Soviet times are currently in force. They are supposed to be either incorporated into Russian laws, or abolished.

http://rg.ru/2012/01/17/zakon.html

Russian Web Gang Exposed

2012-01-17T07:28:00.003-05:00

Five men believed to be responsible for spreading the notorious Koobface computer worm on Facebook and other social networks — and pocketing several million dollars from online schemes — are hiding in St. Petersburg, Russia, according to investigators at Facebook and several independent computer security researchers. Beginning in July 2008, the gang enticed Web users with invitations to watch a funny or sexy video. Those curious enough to click the link got a message to update their computer’s Flash software, which began the download of the Koobface malware. Victims’ computers were then drafted into a “botnet,” or network of infected PCs, exploited by the criminals for their improper purposes. The security software firm Kaspersky Labs has estimated the network includes 400,000 to 800,000 PCs worldwide at its height in 2010. Victims are often unaware their machines have been compromised.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/17/technology/koobface-gang-uses-facebook-to-spread-powerful-worm.html

Medvedev Submits Bill to Reinstate Governor Elections

2012-01-17T04:18:00.003-05:00

Russian regional governors will be elected by a direct vote of the people, President Dmitry Medvedev said in an explanatory note to a bill on reintroducing elections for local governors that he submitted to parliament on Monday. “Under the draft federal law, the top official in a federation constituency … is elected by Russian citizens on the basis of a general, equal and direct voting right with a secret vote,” the note to the bill said. The new bill which will be drafted within a month comes on the heels of street protests against alleged fraud in the December 4 parliamentary elections and increasing popular discontent with the political status quo. Governors have been appointed by the president since 2004, when then-President Vladimir Putin changed the law in order to strengthen national security. In 2009 Medvedev stated that he did not see a possibility to reinstate the direct governor elections even in 100 years.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20120116/170780108.html

Russian Space Chief: Failures May Be Sabotage

2012-01-17T02:49:00.001-05:00

Some recent Russian satellite failures may have been the result of sabotage by foreign forces, Russia's space chief suggested. Roscosmos chief Vladimir Popovkin spoke when asked about the failure of the $170 million unmanned Phobos-Grunt probe, which was to explore one of Mars' two moons, Phobos, but became stranded while orbiting Earth after its launch and ultimately fell back to Earth. Popovkin pointed out that some Russian craft had suffered "unexplained" malfunctions while flying over another side of the globe beyond the reach of his nation's tracking facilities. "I wouldn't like to accuse anyone, but today there exists powerful means to influence spacecraft, and their use can't be excluded," Popovkin stated.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45943952/ns/technology_and_science-space/t/russian-space-chief-claims-space-failures-may-be-sabotage
http://www.izvestia.ru/news/511258 (interview)

Russian Regional Antitrust Chief Shot 3 Times

2012-01-17T02:03:00.003-05:00

The chief of the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service's regional branch in Ivanovo was shot Monday morning while heading to work. Alexander Borovkov was shot three times and seriously wounded, the Investigative Committee said in a statement. He was shot as he got out of his car to enter the service's office building in the town of Ivanovo, about 200 kilometers northeast of Moscow. The unknown gunman fled the scene in a vehicle accompanied by an accomplice in a second car. The cars were later found on a nearby street. Investigators suspect a possible motive for the crime may be linked to Borovkov's professional activity.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/regional-antitrust-chief-shot-3-times/451140.html
http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/1852368 (video)

Russian General Prosecutor: Opposition Rallies Financed from Abroad

2012-01-12T10:18:00.003-05:00

Russian General Prosecutor (Attorney General) Yuri Chaika stated in an interview that the recent mass rallies for fair elections have been financed from abroad. “It is inadmissible that certain persons use people for those persons’ political goals, that are far from being clean,” Chaika said commenting on the rallies. “The money for all that often comes from sources outside Russia,” he went on to add. However, Chaika did not offer any specific examples of such foreign financing. In response one of opposition leaders, Boris Nemtsov, published an article entitled “General Prosecutor is a Liar.” Nemtsov stated that the costs of the first rally ($10,000) were covered by himself and his colleague, and the money for the second rally was raised from the public through a web payment system, with detailed reports available.

http://lenta.ru/news/2012/01/12/chaika/
http://echo.msk.ru/blog/nemtsov_boris/847983-echo/

Russian Court: DTTs Do Not Override Thin Cap Rules

2012-01-12T04:47:00.007-05:00

The Supreme Arbitrazh (Economic) Court (VAS) published its Presidium (acting as the last-instance economic court) decision resolving the much debated issue of whether or not an international double-tax treaty (DTT) overrides the Russian national thin capitalization rules, applicable to loans from foreign parent companies. According to the VAS’ holding in the Severny Kuzbass case, the non-discrimination clause of a DTT does NOT override the thin cap legislation. Accordingly, interest payments made to a foreign parent may be taxed differently from those made to a Russian parent.

http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/1849093
http://www.arbitr.ru/bras.net/f.aspx?id_casedoc=1_1_8fb6828f-7e79-45f6-9652-2b9f002eede7 (document)

Cyprus Releases Russian Syria-Bound Ammunition Ship

2012-01-11T07:34:00.005-05:00

A Russian-owned ship reportedly carrying ammunition to Syria was allowed to leave Cyprus after giving assurances it would switch course. The cargo ship, flying the St. Vincent and Grenadines flag, was en route from St. Petersburg to the Syrian port of Latakia when it was forced to dock at a Cypriot port for refueling amid rough seas. Cypriot media said the ship, named by the authorities as the M/V Chariot and owned by the St. Petersburg firm Westberg Ltd, was carrying from 35 to 60 tons of ammunition and explosives meant for the Syrian Defense Ministry. Originally the Cypriot authorities banned the departure of the ship, but then changed their mind. “It has been decided the vessel will be released after the ship decided to change its destination and will not go to Syria,” Cypriot government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said. “It was established that there was no violation of the relevant EU restrictions on Syria,” the Cyprus Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20120111/170709471.html
http://famagusta-gazette.com/cyprus-ministry-of-foreign-affairs-statement-regarding-arms-ship-p14124-69.htm (document)

UPDATE: Ship with Russian ammunition arrived to Syria
http://ria.ru/world/20120112/537865214.html

Strasbourg Court Orders Russia to Reform Pre-Trial Detention System

2012-01-11T07:07:00.007-05:00

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg issued a judgment ordering Russia to radically reform its pre-trial detention system. This is a so-called “pilot judgment” not only awarding compensation to victims, but also directing the country to implement legislative or other measures to remedy its systemic problems with human rights. In the Ananyev v. Russia judgment (which is not yet final and can be appealed) the court said: “Detainees suffered inhumane and degrading treatment because of an acute lack of personal space in their cells, shortage of sleeping places, limited access to light and fresh air and non-existent privacy when using the sanitary facilities.” The judges said a further 250 cases were pending before the court in which the applicants complained about their detention conditions. The Russian government will have six months, from the date on which the judgment becomes final, to produce a binding timetable to adopt a host of reforms aimed at improving conditions, the court ruled. These include the scaling down of prison populations, the provision of privacy to use the toilets in cells, ensuring that pre-trial detention is only used in the most serious cases as well as establishing maximum capacity for each remand prison.

http://en.ria.ru/russia/20120111/170706507.html
http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/1848778

Tymoshenko’s Husband Obtains Asylum in Czech Republic

2012-01-10T02:51:00.005-05:00

The husband of jailed former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has won asylum in the Czech Republic, after successfully arguing that the authorities were persecuting him in order to pressure his wife. The heroine of the 2004 pro-Western Orange revolution, Mrs. Tymoshenko, insisted that her conviction on "abuse of office" charges was President Yanukovych's way of preventing her from challenging him at the ballot box again.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/8997723/Yulia-Tymoshenko-husband-wins-asylum-in-Czech-Republic.html

‘Infidel Santa’ Killed in Tajikistan

2012-01-10T02:36:00.002-05:00

A young man, Parviz Davlatbekov, dressed up as Father Frost, the Russian counterpart of Santa Claus, has been brutally killed in Tajikistan. The assailants reportedly shouted “infidel” as they stabbed him to death. According to some local media and reports on social networks, the attackers were Muslim radicals who had targeted Davlatbekov for wearing a Father Frost outfit. Reports say some 30 people participated in the killing. However, the religious motive is being denied by the police, who say they are treating the killing as an ordinary, secular crime. Three people have been detained for their role in the assault, all of whom are university students. The issue of how or even whether a Muslim should celebrate New Year made the headlines in Tajikistan recently. An influential cleric said in an interview that both the Christian Gregorian calendar and the New Year are alien to the country where 98 per cent of the population is Muslim. The statement split Tajikistan, where the holiday has been celebrated for many decades.

http://rt.com/news/infidel-santa-killed-tajikistan-133/

Russian Court Acquits Tajik President’s Relative

2012-01-10T02:16:00.007-05:00

A court in Moscow cleared Rustam Khukumov, a relative of Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon, of drug trafficking charges, on which he was earlier sentenced to 9.5 years in jail (he was arrested with 10 kilos of Afghani heroin). The appeals court found the charges “unproved.” According to some media reports (predating the court hearings), Khukumov has in fact been released in exchange for the release of a Russian pilot arrested in Tajikistan on smuggling charges. However, both the Russian Foreign Ministry and Khukumov’s attorney deny the swap deal.

http://lenta.ru/news/2012/01/07/over/

Fugitive Russian Prosecutor Arrested in Poland

2012-01-10T01:46:00.002-05:00

Poland has detained former Russian high-ranking prosecutor Aleksandr Ignatenko, wanted by Moscow for his alleged involvement in a network of illegal casinos. Ignatenko was taken into custody on a road leading to Poland's southern Tatra Mountains resort of Zakopane, where he was to meet his wife and child. Reports say he was in possession of a Lithuanian passport. In May, Russian authorities issued an arrest warrant for Ignatenko, who had been fired from his post as a prosecutor in April after the network of illegal casinos was cracked in the Moscow region in mid-February.

http://www.rferl.org/content/russian_ex-prosecutor_arrested_in_poland/24440416.html
http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/1848115

Moscow Police Descend on '31' Protest, Detain 60

2012-01-10T01:45:00.004-05:00

On December 31, 2011, Moscow oppositionists held their traditional demonstration on the Triumfalnaya Square in support of Article 31 of the Russian Constitution (concerning freedom of assembly). As usual, the police arrested anyone who was carrying a placard or giving an interview to media correspondents, of whom several dozen were present. Police later said "approximately 60" people were detained. They estimated the total number of protesters at 200 plus 100 accompanying journalists and bloggers. One of the detainees was well-known conductor Mikhail Arkadiev who recently publicly refused to join Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's electoral organization ("All-Russia People's Front") and was fired from the Pacific Symphonic Orchestra.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20111231/170578888.html
http://lenta.ru/news/2011/12/31/triumph/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RbGK9lUuRk (video)

Circassians Want to Move from Syria to Russia

2011-12-28T09:54:00.001-05:00

A group of 115 Circassians (Adygs) who are citizens of Syria have written a letter to the Russian leadership and Circassian public organizations in Russia with a request to help them to return to their historical motherland. The legislative assembly of Adygei, a Russian constituency in the North Caucasus, welcomed the idea and asked Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Russian governmental bodies to assist the Syria’s Circassians. Syria’s Circassians are descendants of those who left Russia in the 19th century in the wake of the Great Caucasus War. Some 400,000 natives of North Caucasus had to flee then. Currently about 700,000 Circassians reside in Russia, while 5 to 7 mln are in Turkey. Syria hosts 100,000 to 200,000 Circassians.

http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/12/26/62931812.html
http://www.lenta.ru/news/2011/12/28/adyge/

Russia Accuses U.S. of Human Rights Violations

2011-12-28T08:47:00.000-05:00

Russia's Foreign Ministry has attacked the U.S. human rights record in a report on injustice and violations around the globe. In its first-ever report on breaches of human rights abroad, Russia focused on EU nations, Canada and Georgia, but the longest section of the report highlights violations in the U.S. In particular, Moscow criticized President Barack Obama for "legalizing indefinite and extrajudicial custody and the return of court-martials." Moscow laments the ongoing operation of the "notorious" prison in Guantanomo Bay, prying into citizens' personal lives and judicial errors. Russia also slams the “extraterritorial application of American law” in the Bout and Yaroshenko cases. Russia's Foreign Ministry in the past has reacted angrily to the accusations of human rights breaches that the U.S. State Department has leveled at it in its annual reports.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hX2aeBtA2-7hWGvathOM5Ec4xK6g?docId=11ffe3fb3ed24bb4be75ba4e8a98199e
http://www.mid.ru/brp_4.nsf/newsline/2B4694CD44B6411E44257974003E49C4 (document)

Russian Prosecutors Seek to Ban Hare Krishna Holy Scripture

2011-12-28T03:34:00.011-05:00

Russian prosecutors are seeking a ban on a Hindu holy book, claiming it is extremist literature. In December, a court in Tomsk in Siberia should hold a final hearing on the book “Bhagavad-Gītā As It Is.” This is a Russian version of the ancient Hindu text translated from the annotated English edition by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. The Russian prosecutors say the book incites religious hatred and enmity and ask the court to ban it as extremist. If the court agrees, the book will become illegal in all of Russia. The trial has caused an uproar in India and has also sparked protests in Russia. Ahead of the final court hearing, India’s external affairs minister, S M Krishna, met with the Russian ambassador to express his concerns over the issue. The Indian ambassador to Russia, Ajai Malhotra, called the procedures in Tomsk “absurd” and “bordering on the bizarre.” The Russian Ambassador to India, Alexander Kadakin, concurred: “Well, it seems that even the lovely city of Tomsk has its own neighborhood madmen.” Last week scores of Indian right-wing activists burnt the Russian flag in New Delhi in protest against a possible ban of the Gita. However, Russian authorities have rejected the complaints. “This is not about the book itself but about a poor translation and the preface written by the author," said Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Lukashevich.

http://rt.com/news/hindu-book-extremism-trial-763/ (video)
http://rusembassy.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3680

UPDATE: Court Refuses to Hold Gita Extremist
http://lenta.ru/news/2011/12/28/gita/

Medvedev’s Rights Council Calls for New Elections

2011-12-26T02:15:00.003-05:00

The Russian presidential council on human rights has called the head of the Central Election Commission, Vladimir Churov, to resign after considering complaints about alleged violations during the December 4 parliamentary elections. The council posted a statement on its website late night Friday, saying that its members “admit that the numerous reports of ballot box stuffing, rewriting of protocol on voting results, the removal of observers and journalists, the banning of photography and videos, and other violations of voting rights, as well as unexplained contraditions in election statistics, caused citizens to call the whole election process and results into question.” The council also said that it is necessary to ensure the speedy adoption of a new electoral law in order to conduct early parliamentary elections. However, the Central Election Commission seems to remain unimpressed. “There are no legal or judicial implications in the [Human Rights Council] decision,” said Central Election Commission member Elena Dubrovina. The council convened just hours before the start of a major rally against the results of the vote and the alleged vote-rigging in Moscow.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20111224/170461715.html
http://rt.com/politics/human-rights-council-churov-595/

100,000 Muscovites Rally against Putin

2011-12-26T01:59:00.006-05:00

Tens of thousands of demonstrators cheered opposition leaders and jeered the Kremlin in the biggest show of outrage yet against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's 12-year rule. The Moscow demonstration was even bigger than a similar rally two weeks ago, signaling that the protest movement ignited by the tainted Dec. 4 parliamentary election may be growing. Protest were also held in dozens of other cities and towns across Russia. Rally participants densely packed a broad avenue, which has room for nearly 100,000 people, about some 1.5 miles from the Kremlin, as the temperature dipped well below freezing. They chanted "Russia without Putin!" The police reported that 28,000 people participated in the demonstration, but rally organisers said the true number was around 120,000. The journalists of the Novaya Gazeta, who counted participants at the entrance to the demonstration site, estimate the number at 102,000.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2011-12-24/russia-opposition-protests/52202792/1 (video)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16324644
http://lenta.ru/news/2011/12/25/thousands/

Russia Slams German Ombudsman for “Misguided” Comments

2011-12-26T01:51:00.003-05:00

The Russian Foreign Ministry lashed out at criticism of the country’s human rights record and the state of its democracy leveled by a German government official. German Human Rights Commissioner Markus Loening has lambasted the human rights situation in Russia and called for the introduction of sanctions against Russian politicians and security and law enforcement officials “responsible for human rights violations.” Loening said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has been paying lip service to the rule of law throughout his presidency and called Prime Minister Vladimir Putin “the opposite of an irreproachable democrat.” Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said Loening’s remarks were “inadmissible, overfree, and misguided.” “It is surprising that he has appropriated the right to speak on behalf of the German government and even of all Europeans, calling for direct pressure on Russia - in effect, for interference in our internal affairs,” Lukashevich said. "As Germany has officially informed us, nobody has authorized him for that," the Russian official went on to add.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20111223/170442975.html
http://www.mid.ru/brp_4.nsf/newsline/98BF888CB54A4D234425796F0030AB7E (document)
http://www.welt.de/politik/ausland/article13776313/Putin-Gegenteil-eines-lupenreinen-Demokraten.html (interview)

Medvedev Proposes Political Reform

2011-12-22T07:19:00.002-05:00

Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev in his address to the newly elected State Duma (parliament) proposed a plan of political reforms. In particular, he proposed reinstating direct elections of regional governors (abolished by his predecessor, Vladimir Putin, in 2004); simplifying the procedure for registering political parties; making the presidential elections next year “honest and transparent”; creating a “public” TV channel free from state influence; etc. Notably, Medvedev is coming forward with a far-reaching reform plan only months before the expiration of his presidential term, whereas in 2009, he stated, “I see no reason for us to [reinstate direct governor elections] neither now, nor in 100 years.” Newly elected State Duma speaker and former presidential administration head Sergey Naryshkin disclaimed any relation between Medvedev’s proposals and the demands for liberalization by the participants of the recent mass protests.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16299093
http://www.lenta.ru/news/2011/12/22/naryshkin/
http://rt.com/politics/medvedev-address-federal-assembly-moscow-355/ (video)
http://eurasian-law-breaking-news.blogspot.com/2009/09/russian-president-no-governor-elections.html

Medvedev’s Rights Council: Khodorkovsky Verdict Must be Annulled

2011-12-22T02:04:00.003-05:00

An advisory council to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has called for the second conviction against ex-tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky to be overturned. The council said that there were "fundamental violations" during Khodorkovsky's second trial. “Taking into account effective means of legal support which are present in the national judicial system, it is necessary to raise with the Prosecutor General the issue of appealing the current verdict in order to annul it,” the president’s council on human rights and civil society said in a report. Khodorkovsky and his business partner, Platon Lebedev, were convicted in a second trial in December 2010. The trial was widely condemned abroad as unfair. The council's decisions are non-binding, and the Russian authorities have rarely acted on the council's recommendations.

http://en.ria.ru/russia/20111221/170407320.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16289603

Opposition Accuses Kremlin in Release of Nemtsov's Phone Conversations

2011-12-21T02:14:00.004-05:00

Russian opposition activists are accusing the authorities of seeking to sow discord in their ranks after a pro-Kremlin website posted recordings of their telephone conversations just days before mass antigovernment protests. In the recordings, posted on the website Lifenews.ru, leading opposition figure Boris Nemtsov refers to environmental campaigner Yevgenia Chirikova as "just a bitch, or else an idiot." In another recording, he disparaged protestors as "hamsters," "vegetables," and "penguins." In a statement posted on his blog, Nemtsov immediately apologized for his remarks and accused the Kremlin of masterminding their release in an effort to split the opposition ahead of antigovernment demonstrations scheduled for December 24. Chirikova quickly expressed support for Nemtsov. " Decent people do not listen to other people's conversations," she wrote on Twitter. "I hope that Boris sees those who organized and implemented this leak in the dock." Nemtsov applied to the Investigation Committee of Russia demanding the initiation of criminal procedures against those (so far unidentified) persons who tapped his phone and against LifeNews Editor-in-Chief Ashot Gabrelyanov. According to Nemtsov, their acts are punishable under the Criminal Code as a communication privacy violation.

http://www.rferl.org/content/russias_nemtsov_accuses_kremlin_over_phone_tapping/24427959.html
http://lenta.ru/news/2011/12/21/transcripts/

Strasbourg Court Awards $1.6 Mln against Russia over Moscow Theater Terror Siege

2011-12-20T08:40:00.000-05:00

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has awarded about 1.25 million Euros against the Russian government in favor of victims of the 2002 Moscow theater hostage crisis. On October 23, 2002 a group of terrorists belonging to the Chechen separatist movement took hostages in the “Dubrovka” theater in Moscow (also known as the “Nord-Ost” theater). For three days, 912 people were held at gunpoint in the theater’s auditorium. The terrorists refused to surrender, so in the early morning of October 26, 2002, the Russian security forces pumped an unknown gas into the main auditorium through the building’s ventilation system. When the terrorists lost consciousness under the influence of the gas, the special squad stormed the building. As a result of the operation the majority of the hostages were released (over 730 people). However, a large number of hostages were affected by the gas; 130 hostages died on the spot, in hospitals or on their way there, and some of those who survived continue to suffer serious health problems. The Court found that Russia violated Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (“right to life”) because of the inadequate planning and conduct of the rescue operation and because of the authorities’ failure to conduct an effective investigation into the rescue operation. The Court ruled that the Russian government is to pay between 9,000 euros and 66,000 euros to each of the 64 applicants, who lost their relatives during the hostage crisis, or were themselves amongst the hostages. However, the decision by the authorities to resolve the hostage crisis by force and to use the gas was not in breach of the Convention, according to the Court.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20111220/170386980.html
http://lenta.ru/news/2011/12/20/espch/ (link to document)

EU-Ukraine Pact Stalls over Tymoshenko

2011-12-20T02:08:00.002-05:00

A Ukraine-EU summit in Kiev has focused on a possible political and trade agreement. But the jailing of opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko has become a spoke in the wheel. Hermann Van Rompuy, the President of the European Council, says the signing of any deal depends on “political circumstances.” The European Union has strongly criticized the jailing of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko over a gas deal with Russia in 2009, calling the decision to imprison her politically motivated. “The perceived deterioration of the quality of democracy and rule of law in Ukraine has a direct impact in our Member-States, in our public at large, and in the European Parliament,” Rompuy said. Other issues, he said, include comprehensive justice reform, media freedom and freedom of assembly. In this context, the parliamentary elections to be held next year will be a litmus test, Rompuy said. Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych responded to the criticism, saying Kiev would take into account all of the EU’s remarks over the “deteriorating quality of democracy in the country.” “I would like to confirm that the EU remarks will not be ignored,” he said.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20111219/170374785.html
http://www.euronews.net/2011/12/20/eu-ukraine-summit-founders-over-tymoshenko/

Russia Gains WTO Membership

2011-12-19T02:02:00.000-05:00

The World Trade Organization officially welcomed Russia as a member Friday, bringing the country's 18-year accession process to an end. Russia now has 220 days to ratify official WTO documents, and will become a full-fledged member 30 days after ratification. Russia's final hurdle to membership was removed last month when it resolved its dispute with Georgia (which was blocking Russia's entry into the organization) over monitoring trade on the borders of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Another major barrier that had long hampered Russia's accession to the WTO was intellectual property violations, with pirated software and DVDs being available in kiosks and marketplaces across the country and via the Internet. With its accession to the WTO, Russia must combat web sites with domestically located servers that distribute content illegally and "investigate and prosecute companies that illegally distribute objects of copyright or related rights," the WTO said on its web site last month. Medvedev promised cooperation on intellectual property and other trade issues, and lauded the country's accession to the WTO "[as] a result of long, difficult negotiations" that will be beneficial for Russia and other member states. Among other things, Russia's entry into the WTO opens up the country's economy of almost $2 trillion to foreign companies and is widely expected to boost the country's economic growth and attract investment.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/wait-for-wto-membership-is-over/450089.html

Protests Continue in Moscow

2011-12-19T01:49:00.000-05:00

Thousands of Russians gathered in downtown Moscow at Bolotnaya Square to protest against alleged fraud in the December 4 parliamentary elections in Russia. The authorized rally was organized by opposition party Yabloko.

http://en.rian.ru/video/20111217/170325227.html

Mass Disorders in Kazakhstan Leave 15 Dead

2011-12-19T01:44:00.001-05:00

At least 14 people have been killed in violent clashes between police and demonstrators in an oil town in western Kazakhstan on the 20th anniversary of the country's independence. Hundreds of workers who have been sacked from oilfields near Zhanaozen have been protesting since May over pay and conditions. They had occupied the main square in the town, and the trigger for the violence may have been when police moved in to clear it for the Independence Day celebrations. Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev declared a state of emergency in the town. Later the disorders continued in the town of Shetpe, leaving one more dead. Dozens are reported wounded or arrested. The UN called on the Kazakh authorities to investigate the incident and to refrain from the excessive use of force.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/kazakhstan/8961669/Oil-worker-riot-kills-10-in-Kazakhstan.html (video)
http://lenta.ru/news/2011/12/19/deathtoll/
http://youtu.be/QipuMCU1QzI (video)

Russian Advocates Keep Non-Commercial Status

2011-12-18T23:17:00.000-05:00

Russian "advocates" (a small and the only regulated section of the country's lawyers) will retain their exemption from being treated as subjects of commercial activity and will therefore still be allowed rent municipal and other government property without participating in tenders. Proposed new anti-monopoly legislation would have ended this exemption, but the Federal Chamber of Advocates convinced the drafters of the legislation to allow advocates to maintain their non-commercial status.
http://www.clj.ru/news/69298.html?print=1

Proposal to End Mandatory Reading of Full Court Decisions

2011-12-18T21:47:00.000-05:00

At a meeting of Russia's Council of Judges, the Chief Judge of the Higher Arbitrazh (Economic) Court, Anton Ivanov, expressed his support for a proposal to change the current practice of announcing court decisions by having judges read them aloud in full text in open court, which sometimes takes several days for a single decision. The proposed new procedure would reduce the burden on the courts by allowing judges to read the introduction and conclusion of a decision rather than the entire text.
http://www.clj.ru/news/69294.html?print=1

Journalist Murdered in Russia’s Dagestan

2011-12-16T01:38:00.000-05:00

Khadzhimurad Kamalov, a well-known investigative journalist and founder of political newspaper Chernovik (Rough Copy), was shot dead in the Russian North Caucasus republic of Dagestan. Kamalov was killed by an unknown suspect late on Thursday night in central Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan. Over 70 journalists have been killed in Russia since 1992. Dagestan is also the site of frequent militant attacks on police officers and officials. Around 50% of all terrorist attacks in Russia in 2010 occurred there.

http://en.rian.ru/crime/20111216/170289433.html

European Parliament Calls for New Elections in Russia

2011-12-14T13:47:00.000-05:00

The European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for new "free and fair" elections in Russia. The Parliament also called for an immediate and full investigation of all reports of fraud and intimidation in the elections held on 4 December, and characterized the recent demonstrations in Russia against election fraud as an expression of the will of the people.

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/pressroom/content/20111214IPR34088/html/Russian-elections-MEPs-call-for-new-free-and-fair-elections

Russian Journalists Protest against Intimidation

2011-12-14T05:50:00.000-05:00

Dozens of journalists of the leading Russian media holding Kommersant published an open letter in support of their colleague Maxim Kovalsky, whom Kommersant's owner, tycoon Alisher Usmanov, fired from the position of editor-in-chief of the weekly Kommersant-Vlast' after it published an article on the recent parliamentary elections, including a photo of a ballot bearing an obscene message that the voter addressed to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The journalists call the dismissal “an act of intimidation” intended to suppress criticism of Putin.

http://www.lenta.ru/news/2011/12/14/kommersant/
http://www.openspace.ru/media/paper/details/32772/ (document)

Russian Media Holding Management Fired over Election Coverage

2011-12-13T02:46:00.003-05:00

The owner of the most influential Russian media holding Kommersant, Alisher Usmanov, fired the CEO of the holding Andrey Galiev and the chief editor of the Kommerant-Vlast' weekly Maxim Kovalsky. According to Usmanov, some recently published materials violated journalism ethics and "border on hooliganism.” Although Usmanov did not specify the offending materials, apparently he referred to an article published in Kommersant-Vlast' on voting in the Russian embassy in London for the recent parliamentary elections. According to the article, the local electoral commission committed only several minor violations, including invaliding ballots for the Yabloko party because of “a message addressed personally to the Prime Minister of Russia” which one voter added to the ballot. The article carried a photo of the ballot bearing an obscene variation on “Putin, go to hell!” The caption said: "A correctly completed ballot that was found invalid." The CEO of another group entity, Kommersant Publishing House, Demian Kudriavtsev, admitted that the publication was in violation of “professional journalism standards and legislation of the Russian Federation” and submitted a voluntary resignation letter.

http://www.gazeta.ru/news/lastnews/2011/12/13/n_2133038.shtml
http://ria.ru/media/20111213/515530601.html
http://kommersant.ru/doc/1832739?stamp=634593707323589121 (article; photo removed)

(photo edited)

South Ossetian President Resigns under Opposition Pressure

2011-12-12T02:51:00.003-05:00

South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity, who has led the breakaway republic since 2001, announced his resignation under a deal reached with the opposition. "I am stepping down in order to fight for further consolidation of society and the strengthening of South Ossetian statehood," Kokoity announced at the government house in the capital, Tskhinvali. The resignation comes 13 days after presidential elections failed to produce a clear winner to replace Kokoity, who was not running for another term.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20111210/169601366.html

Putin: US Incites Russian Election Protests

2011-12-12T02:40:00.004-05:00

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin blamed the United States for encouraging protests over Russia's recent parliamentary election. He accused Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of giving "the signal" to opposition leaders, who gather thousands of people for protests. Clinton has repeatedly criticised the parliamentary vote in Russia that gave Putin's United Russia party nearly 50% of the vote amid widespread reports of fraud. Putin’s conclusions have been endorsed by Constitutional Court Chairman Valery Zorkin who stated in an article published in the official newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta: “[D]espite the conclusions of the majority of international observers who were present at the elections and certified the democratic character of the election procedures, [Mrs. Clinton] incites a rally wave, putting in question the legitimacy of the election results.”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2011/dec/08/vladimir-putin-russia-election-protests-video (video)
http://rg.ru/2011/12/11/zorkin-site.html

Tens of Thousands of Russians Protest against Election Fraud

2011-12-12T02:20:00.003-05:00

Tens of thousands of people streamed into central Moscow on Saturday to demand a rerun of last weekend’s parliamentary polls and vent their anger at Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his United Russia party. Demonstrations against alleged electoral fraud in favor of the ruling United Russia took place across the country. Some 7,000 people rallied in Russia’s second city, St. Petersburg, police said. But by far the biggest show of dissent took place in Moscow, where police said around 25,000 people gathered peacefully in driving sleet at Bolotnaya Square, a short walk from the Kremlin. Organizers put the crowd at nearer to 40,000. There were no arrests, police said. Demonstrators shouted "Putin out!" and “Putin is a thief!” and also “Give us back our elections!” Unusually, all federal TV channels covered the opposition demonstration in their news. Reportedly, this was a result of a direct order of President Dmitry Medvedev (in derogation of the general prohibition on covering opposition activities).

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20111210/169663206.html
http://www.gazeta.ru/news/lenta/2011/12/10/n_2130306.shtml
http://youtu.be/kuDZzVIrkwQ (video)

Kremlin: Medvedev Did Not Publish Obscene Statement

2011-12-08T01:48:00.004-05:00

An obscene comment slamming the Russian opposition was posted on President Dmitry Medvedev’s official Twitter account. The post was quickly deleted from the account, but not before screen shots of it were captured by Internet users and circulated widely through Russian social networks and media websites. The Presidential Press Office in a statement blamed the incident on “interference” by an administration technical employee. The post was a re-tweet from the blog of businessman and United Russia party member Konstantin Rykov posted late on Tuesday as Moscow saw a second day of protests against alleged electoral fraud by the United Russia party at last Sunday’s parliamentary polls. “If a person writes in his blog ‘The Party of Swindlers and Thieves,’ he’s just a c**ksucking moron,” Rykov said in the post that was reproduced on Medvedev’s blog. “The Party of Swindlers and Thieves” is ruling United Russia party’s nickname, popularized by well-known lawyer and political activist Alexei Navalny, who is currently serving a 15-day prison term over his role in a recent election protest.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20111207/169455331.html
http://www.lenta.ru/news/2011/12/07/tupobaran/
http://news.kremlin.ru/misc/13889 (document)

Mass Protests and Mass Arrests Continue in Moscow

2011-12-07T02:40:00.003-05:00

According to the latest police data, 569 people were detained on Tuesday in Moscow during a second evening of protests over alleged mass electoral fraud in favor of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's United Russia party in this weekend's parliamentary polls. The demonstration, banned by the authorities, was attended by around 1,000 people and took place at the city's Triumfalnaya Square, a short distance from the Kremlin. Several well-known public figures (such as politicians Boris Nemtsov and Sergey Mitrokhin), who were arrested that night, have been released, but most other detainees remain under arrest some 12 hours after the demonstration. The rally came in the aftermath of a much larger protest on Monday, which drew up to 6,000 and saw some 300 arrested.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20111206/169421308.html
http://www.lenta.ru/news/2011/12/07/freed/
http://grani.ru/Politics/Russia/activism/m.193756.html (video)

Russia Slams US over Election Criticism

2011-12-07T02:22:00.004-05:00

The Russian Foreign Ministry shot back at US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her criticism that Russia’s elections were “neither free nor fair.” In a strongly-worded written statement, Moscow called Clinton’s words “inadmissible” and expressed its regret that “Washington is sticking to long-outdated stereotypes and continuing to pin labels, without even trying to look into what is actually happening on our electoral field.” The Ministry went on to state that US's own electoral system is “far from perfect” and “can not serve a standard of openness and fairness.” “The US executive power would better take care of analyzing the reasons of this situation [with US elections] and the ways to improve it,” recommends the anonymous “official representative of the Foreign Ministry of Russia” in the statement.

http://rt.com/news/us-russia-clinton-election-199/ (video)
http://www.mid.ru/brp_4.nsf/0/DA0070AA2551B9BE4425795E005877C4 (document)

Hundreds of Protesters Arrested in Moscow

2011-12-06T01:54:00.010-05:00

The parliamentary election results have left opposition supporters in an angry mood. Moscow has seen crowds of up to 10,000 take to the streets; over 300 have been arrested. The demonstrators contend that the ruling United Russia party rigged the voting results. An angry crowd tried to march to the city center, but their passage was blocked by police. Some young men managed to break through the police cordon. But as the demonstrators moved deeper into the city, they were met with a heavy police presence intent on preventing the spontaneous march. Unlike earlier precedents, most of the arrested protesters have not been released after the end of the demonstration. Well-known politicians Ilya Yashin and Alexey Navalny are among the arrested. Some 12 hours after being arrested, their whereabouts are unknown and their attorneys have not been allowed to see them.

http://rt.com/news/dozens-arrested-moscow-election-103/ (video)
http://grani-tv.ru/entries/2069/ (video)
http://www.lenta.ru/news/2011/12/06/navalny/

UPDATE:
Yashin and Navalny sentenced to 15 days in jail each, most other detainees fined
http://lenta.ru/news/2011/12/06/navalny1/

Putin’s Party Suffers Election Blow Despite Alleged Foul Play

2011-12-05T02:35:00.005-05:00

Russian voters dealt Vladimir Putin's ruling party a heavy blow by cutting its parliamentary majority in an election that showed growing unease with Putin's domination of the country as he prepares to reclaim the Presidency. The result marked the biggest electoral setback for Putin since he first emerged to national leadership in 1999. Putin's United Russia won about 50 percent of the vote, compared with more than 64 percent four years ago. Opposition parties say even that result is inflated by fraud. Numerous violations have been reported, including massive ballot throw-ins. Meanwhile, all major Russian independent media web sites were disabled during the whole election day because of a massive DDoS attack.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/05/us-russia-election-idUSTRE7B019B20111205
http://youtu.be/tvOTFKqXq-E (video, AFP)
http://lenta.ru/news/2011/12/05/voiceofelections/ (violations)
http://youtu.be/S8__1rCKHjo (video, ballot throw-in)
http://lenta.ru/news/2011/12/04/backtolife/ (DDoS attack)

Russian Election Watchdog under Governmental Attack

2011-12-02T09:25:00.003-05:00

The main independent Russian election observer group, Golos (Voice), said it has been coming under mounting government-orchestrated pressure aimed at discrediting it and its findings. Most recently, lawmakers from three major parties asked prosecutors to investigate the foreign funded body - just five days before Russians go to the polls in a crucial parliamentary vote. Deputies with the ruling United Russia party, the ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR), and the A Just Russia party made a formal request to the Prosecutor General’s Office to look into Golos’ payroll. Further, one of the central TV channels broadcasted a film, “Voice form Nowhere” alleging that Golos is an “agent of influence” of the U.S. and “falsifies election monitoring.” Nevertheless, Golos intends to deploy 3,000 observers during Sunday’s parliamentary elections.

http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20111130/169181213.html
http://en.rian.ru/society/20111202/169251048.html
http://www.lenta.ru/news/2011/12/02/propaganda/ (video links)

NTV film

NTV reporters attack Golos' office

Belarus Bombers Sentenced to Firing Squad

2011-11-30T09:10:00.003-05:00

Two Belarusians convicted of carrying out a bomb attack that killed 15 people were sentenced to death with no option for appeal. Dmitry Konovalov and Vladislav Kovalyov were found guilty of detonating an explosive device at a Minsk subway station on April 11. The blast also injured more than 200 people. The Supreme Court’s ruling is final and may not be appealed. Konovalov and Kovalyov are to be executed by firing squad. Persons sentenced to death may only appeal to the President for pardon.

http://en.rian.ru/crime/20111130/169181760.html

Russia Backs South Ossetian Elections Annulment

2011-11-30T04:35:00.004-05:00

Russia’s Foreign Ministry backed the annulment of presidential elections results in South Ossetia, a breakaway province of Georgia recognized by Russia as an independent state. According to the preliminary results announced by the Election Commission, former Education Minister Alla Dzhioyeva won the elections with a significant lead. However, the Moscow-backed candidate, Emergency Situations Minister Anatoly Bibilov, alleged “numerous violations” by Dzhioyeva’s supporters. The Supreme Court of South Ossetia promptly annulled the elections results and, in addition, banned Dzhioyeva from participating in new elections. Meanwhile, Dzhioyeva has declared herself President and has started issuing “presidential decrees.” The statement by Russia's Foreign Ministry urges “all political forces” of South Ossetia to respect “legitimate decisions of the highest authorities” (obviously meaning the Supreme Court decision rather than Dzhioyeva’s decrees).

http://www.lenta.ru/news/2011/11/30/mid/
http://www.mid.ru/brp_4.nsf/0/AB9B0A77B878960A4425795800263778

Hermitage Capital: Magnitsky Was Beaten to Death

2011-11-29T02:12:00.002-05:00

New evidence released Monday added weight to suspicions that Hermitage Capital lawyer Sergei Magnitsky was beaten to death by prison guards in 2009 and did not die from health problems as previously claimed by the authorities. Hermitage Capital investment fund released an in-depth and documented report accusing Russian officials of false arrest, torture and pre-trial death of its auditor Sergei Magnitsky, and the subsequent cover-up by Russian officials. “Most shockingly, this report proves that nearly every high level Russian official in the law enforcement system publicly lied to cover up the fact that he was systematically denied medical care for a life threatening illness,” Hermitage Capital said in a press release. Magnitsky was arrested and jailed without trial in November 2008 and died in police custody a year later after being denied medical care. The 37-year-old lawyer had accused tax and police officials of carrying out a hefty $230-million tax scam. In November 2009, officials stated that Magnitsky had “acute pancreatitis, cholecystitis and gallstones” and should be transferred to Matrosskaya Tishina jail for “emergency hospitalization”. “Upon arrival to Matrosskaya Tishina, instead of hospitalizing him [Magnitsky], a team of 8 riot troopers placed him in an isolation cell, handcuffed him to a bed and beat him with rubber batons,” the Hermitage Capital report said. After an hour the lawyer died.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/report-lawyer-beaten-to-death/448808.html
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20111128/169106111.html
http://www.gazeta.ru/social/2011/11/28/3850610.shtml (video)

Kremlin Favorite Refuses to Acknowledge Defeat in South Ossetia Elections

2011-11-29T01:52:00.004-05:00

One day after the vote, the Supreme Court of South Ossetia has ordered the Central Election Commission to refrain from releasing official results of the second round of the presidential election. The court said results should not be announced until after it hears a complaint by Emergency Situations Minister Anatoly Bibilov, the Moscow-backed candidate in the runoff, about alleged electoral violations. Bibilov has charged his opponent, former Education Minister Alla Dzhioyeva, with bribing and intimidating voters. Despite the Supreme Court's order, Election Commission Chairwoman Bella Pliyeva announced preliminary results that indicate a significant lead for Dzhioyeva. With 74 of 85 polling stations counted, Dzhioyeva was reported as leading by 56.7 percent to 40 percent. The Election Commission said final results would be available in about five days. Dzhioyeva urged Bibilov to concede defeat. Georgia refuses to recognize the legitimacy of the vote, or of South Ossetia's split from Georgia -- with Russia's support -- following a conflict in the early 1990s.

http://www.rferl.org/content/results_due_from_south_ossetian_poll_/24403999.html

UPDATE:
South Ossetian Supreme Court Annuls Election Results
http://www.lenta.ru/news/2011/11/29/elections/

Putin Nominated for Presidency

2011-11-28T10:17:00.009-05:00

At its recent congress, Russia’s ruling United Russia party nominated party leader, Vladimir Putin, as its presidential candidate in next year's election. The nomination seems to be only a formality because the plan to swap roles between now-President Dmitry Mededev and now-Prime Minister Putin was announced by them some two months ago. The voting bulletin for the nomination of a presidential candidate included only one name: Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. Although formally the voting was “secret,” in practice those party congress participants who wanted to vote against Putin would have had to openly strike his name off the bulletin. Nobody voted against Putin, though.

http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/1825827
http://echo.msk.ru/blog/ganapolsky/834238-echo/ (document)

Russia Denies Drug-Dealer-for-Pilot Swap Deal with Tajikistan

2011-11-28T03:19:00.004-05:00

Russia’s Foreign Ministry official Maxim Peshkov refuted media reports that the Russian pilot, recently released by a Tajikistan court, was exchanged for a Tajik drug dealer, earlier convicted in Russia, who happened to be a relative of the Tajik President. Russian pilot Vladimir Sadovnichy was sentenced by a Tajik court to 8 1/2 years in jail for smuggling, but weeks later was pardoned and released. Rustam Khukumov, a Tajik citizen, was sentenced by a Russian court to 9 1/2 years in jail for drug dealing (he was arrested with 10 kilos of heroin) in 2010. Peshkov said the Ministry has not received any requests concerning the exchange of Khukumov for Sadovnichy. Peshkov further said he did not know whether Khukumov had actually been released and called the reports that Khukumov is a relative [son-in-law’s brother] of Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon "rumours".

http://www.lenta.ru/news/2011/11/25/relative/

YUKOS Manager Wants Parole without Guilty Plea

2011-11-24T01:39:00.006-05:00

Platon Lebedev, jailed in the Yukos case along with Mikhail Khodorkovsky, has filed a challenge in the Constitutional Court against a law that (as interpreted by courts) requires convicts to acknowledge their guilt to qualify for parole. Lebedev's parole request was thrown out this summer; the judge cited Lebedev's “lack of repentance” among the reasons for the verdict. The demand for a guilty plea goes against the constitutional right to not testify against oneself, Lebedev said in his complaint to the Constitutional Court. Lebedev and Khodorkovsky are jailed until 2016 on economic charges. Their supporters claim that the charges were fabricated for political reasons on the order of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/lebedev-seeks-parole--no-plea/448519.html
http://lenta.ru/news/2011/11/23/platon/

Russia May Move Missiles to EU Borders

2011-11-23T10:00:00.004-05:00

Russia may deploy offensive weaponry on its borders with Europe in response to a U.S.-backed European missile shield, President Dmitry Medvedev stated. Medvedev outlined a series of possible “appropriate measures” against the U.S. interceptor missiles and radars being deployed in Europe if missile defense talks between Moscow and Washington result in failure. “If the measures listed [in the statement] are not be sufficient, Russia will deploy in the west and the south of the country advanced offensive weapons systems which will target the European component of the [U.S.] missile defense network,” Medvedev said.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20111123/168969932.html
http://www.vesti.ru/videos?vid=378104 (video)

Saakashvili Offers His Organs for Territories

2011-11-23T02:27:00.005-05:00

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said he was ready to donate to Russian politicians any part of his body to restore Georgian integrity. “They [Russian leaders] want to hang us by some part of a body,” Saakashvili said. "I am ready to send any part of my body with great pleasure so that they return at least a part of our territories. Or, preferably, all territories.” Saakashvili obviously referred to the words of Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin who in 2008 said to French President Nicolas Sarkozy “I am going to hang Saakashvili by the balls” (as quoted by Sarkozy’s chief adviser). The former Georgian republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia broke away from Georgia in the early 1990s. Georgian forces attempted to bring South Ossetia back under central control in August 2008, but were repelled by the Russian military in a 5-day Russia-Georgian war.

http://www.lenta.ru/news/2011/11/22/saako/
http://en.ria.ru/world/20111122/168948407.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/3454154/Vladimir-Putin-threatened-to-hang-Georgia-leader-by-the-balls.html

Spokesman: Putin Not Booed

2011-11-22T08:36:00.003-05:00

Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov convened a special press conference to refute numerous media reports that Putin was “booed” during a recent mixed fight bout between Russia’s Fyodor Yemelyanenko and the US’s Jeff Monson. When the Prime Minister climbed into the ring at Moscow's Olympiisky Stadium to congratulate Yemelyanenko on his victory there was a chorus of boos and catcalls from the 20,000-strong crowd. Peskov opined that that it was a US boxer, not Putin, who had actually been booed by the audience, and Putin, in contrast, had been “cheered.” Notably, while the audience reaction was clearly heard in live broadcast, later state-controlled TV reports seem to be heavily edited to suppress the “boos.”

http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/11/22/60795950.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2064342/Vladimir-Putin-booed-Moscow-martial-arts-fight-TV-coverage-shows-CHEERED.html
http://lenta.ru/news/2011/11/21/explain/ (video links)

Tajikistan Releases Russian, Estonian Pilots

2011-11-22T08:03:00.005-05:00

After two weeks of diplomatic and economic wrangling with Russian authorities, a court in Tajikistan freed Russian and Estonian pilots previously sentenced to eight and a half years in jail for smuggling and border violations. On November 8, Vladimir Sadovnichy and Estonian national, Alexei Rudenko, were arrested and jailed, after flying into southern Tajikistan last March. Moscow said the charges were "politically motivated” and deported several hundred Tajik migrant workers, a move it denied was connected to the case. Prosecutor Azim Azimov, who earlier said the sentence was "too harsh," asked the court on Tuesday to reduce the term to two and a half years. He also suggested that the pilots be released in amnesty on December 1 because they had already spent six months in custody. The court granted the appeal.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20111122/168925781.html

Kalashnikov Accuses Communists of Improper Use of his Image

2011-11-22T03:43:00.004-05:00

Famous Russian arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov, 92, accused the Russian Communist Party of illegal use of his image in the electoral campaign. In the Samara Region, the communists displayed billboard posters of local State Duma communist candidate, named Leonid Kalashnikov, posing together with Mikhail Kalashnikov, and, in addition, a separate photo of Mikhail Kalashnikov holding his famous machine gun. The posters say: “Kalashnikov: The Choice of Millions” and “Vote for Kalashnikov!” It appears that Mikhail Kalashnikov indeed met Leonid Kalashnikov, but he did not agree that the communists could use his photo in their campaign. The arms designer, who is one of the founders of the ruling “United Russia” party, filed complaints to the Prosecutor Office and to the Central Electoral Commission.

http://www.mk.ru/daily/newspaper/article/2011/11/21/645244-kalashnikov-protiv-kalashnikova.html
http://www.newsru.com/russia/22nov2011/kalashnikov.html
http://www.pravda.ru/politics/parties/cprf/22-11-2011/1099465-kalashnikpv-0/ (poster)

Russia: US Anti-Iran Sanctions Unacceptable and Illegal

2011-11-22T01:38:00.002-05:00

Russia’s Foreign Ministry slammed the US for new sanctions against Iran’s petrochemical and banking sectors. “The Russian Federation considers such extraterritorial measures as unacceptable and contrary to international law,” Ministry’s spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in a statement.

http://www.rg.ru/2011/11/22/mid-anons.html

Medvedev: Russian-Georgian War Prevented NATO’s Expansion

2011-11-21T10:09:00.001-05:00

By going to war with Georgia in 2008, Russia halted NATO's expansion eastward, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev explained on Monday. “If we had wavered in 2008, the geopolitical layout would have been different; a range of countries which the North Atlantic [Treaty Organization] tries to artificially ‘protect’ would have been within it,” Medvedev said at a meeting with military officers in Vladikavkaz in southern Russia. The former Georgian republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia broke away from Georgia in the early 1990s. Georgian forces attempted to bring South Ossetia back under central control in August 2008, but were repelled by the Russian military. Russia has since recognized the independence of both republics.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20111121/168901195.html

European Parliament Demands That Russia “End Occupation” of Georgian Territories

2011-11-18T02:10:00.004-05:00

European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on the European Union to recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia as “occupied territories.” It also recommended that European institutions call on Russia “to reverse its recognition” of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and “to end the occupation of those Georgian territories.” The resolution expresses concern over the terrorist attacks in Tbilisi that were said to be masterminded by a Russian military officer based in Abkhazia. The resolution calls on Georgia and Russia to cooperate in investigating those cases and also “to de-escalate rhetoric about bombings.” A day before the resolution was passed, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said that the document was “very important” for Georgia. In contrast, Russia seems to remain unimpressed. “The less attention Russia pays to such hot air, the better,” commented Andrey Klimov, International Affairs Committee Chair of the Russian State Duma.

http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=24156
http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/1818262

21,000 Kosovo Serbs Seek Russian Citizenship

2011-11-15T04:43:00.006-05:00

Citing Zlatibor Djordjevic, a spokesman for the Old Serbia movement, Serbian media reported that thousands of Kosovo Serbs have applied for Russian citizenship. "We have handed over 21,733 Russian citizenship requests to the Russian embassy in Belgrade," Djordjevic stated. He said the requests, addressed to the Russian State Duma, will be delivered to the lower chamber of the Russian parliament via the Foreign Ministry. Djordjevic added that more Serbs may turn to Russia for protection. "By all possible means, we tried to get protection from our country [Serbia], but it pushes us back into the state which refuses to recognize [Kosovo]," Djordjevic said, adding that his supporters do not recognize any agreements reached during talks between Pristina and Belgrade, which began with an EU mediation this March in Brussels. Kosovo, a landlocked region with a population of mainly ethnic Albanians, declared its independence from Serbia in February 2008. About 5 to 10 % of Kosovo's two-million residents are ethnic Serbs. Apparently, the applicants do not intend to move to Russia, but rather expect to obtain Russian protection in Kosovo where they reside. Russia does not recognize the independence of Kosovo, believing, as many Serbs do, that it is legally a part of Serbia.

http://en.ria.ru/world/20111115/168702903.html
http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/1816430

Increased Regulation of Russian Lawyers Proposed

2011-11-14T11:45:00.000-05:00

Russia's Ministry of Justice has issued a draft program, "Justice," for the years 2012-2020, which calls for increasing regulation of the legal profession. The program notes that the lack of regulation of the legal profession allows lawyers to engage in corruption and other illegal activity with impunity. The program proposes that "advocates," the small portion of lawyers who are subject to a disciplinary code, be granted exclusivity or preferential status in the provision of "sigificant types" of legal services.

http://www.clj.ru/news/68451.html

Judges Oppose Disciplinary Proposals

2011-11-12T17:21:00.007-05:00

Draft legislation proposed by the Russian Ministry of Justice would allow the dismissal of judges for issuing an illegal decision reversed by a higher court. The Council of Judges has condemned the proposal as a violation of judicial independence.

http://pravo.ru/news/view/64042/

Russian Government Teaches Constitutional Court a Law Lesson

2011-11-11T10:17:00.005-05:00

In hearings in the Russian Constitutional Court in a sex discrimination case, Mikhail Barshchevksy an attorney for the government, sharply criticized the Court's “wrong practice” of closing legislative loopholes. “The presence of a loophole does not make a norm unconstitutional,” explained Barshchevksy to the Court. “The law [on the Constitutional Court] does not permit you to create new norms.” Barshchevsky believes that the Constitutional Court, upon finding a loophole, may only propose to the government and the legislature to rectify the norm. The same position was expressed in a previous case by Mikhail Krotov, the President's representative in the Court. “The Constitutional Court may not make up deficiencies in laws, substituting itself for the legislature.” Meanwhile the Constitutional Court, the highest authority in interpreting the Russian Constitution, seems to have a different opinion on the matter. “If the legislature created a loophole violating constitutional rights of citizens, then the Constitution applies directly, and the norm is to be found unconstitutional in that respect,” stated Constitutional Court Chairman Valery Zorkin. For example, in 2010 the Constitutional Court closed a loophole in civil procedure legislation authorizing courts to reconsider their judgments “on newly discovered circumstances” where the judgment is in contradiction with a new decision of the European Court of Human Rights. The outcome of the two cases under consideration will show whether the Court is ready to change its position as the government urges.

http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/1812881

Russia to Expel 100 Tajiks over Jailed Pilot

2011-11-11T06:30:00.004-05:00

Konstantin Romodanovsky, Russia’s top migration official, said: “The Federal Migration Service is ready to send back about 100 Tajiks who committed legal offences.” The official added that another 134 Tajiks could be deported as well for improper documents. A diplomatic source said this measure was “Russia’s asymmetric response” to a recent Tajik court decision sentencing Russian pilot Vladimir Sadovnichy and his Estonian colleague Alexei Rudenko to eight and a half years in jail for smuggling and illegally crossing the border. Moscow called the sentence “politically motivated” and brought the Russian ambassador home for consultations.

http://en.ria.ru/world/20111111/168596798.html

Khodorkovsky: Russia Heading towards Revolution

2011-11-09T06:08:00.002-05:00

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the jailed former owner of oil major Yukos, answered (in writing) the questions of Echo of Moscow radio station. “We are on the verge of national suicide. We are paying a high price for the attempts to preserve the empire instead of building a constitutional state,” the disgraced tycoon said. “I’m afraid that the country could face lingering stagnation, political crisis and a revolutionary coup, hopefully bloodless,” Khodorkovsky said. “The liberal opposition's task is to protect the values of freedom and human rights in the years of stagnation and ease the consequences of revolution,” he said, adding that the opposition should become “an active and constructive part of the post-revolutionary coalition.”

http://rt.com/politics/khodorkovsky-stagnation-political-crisis-793/
http://top.rbc.ru/english/index.shtml?/news/english/2011/11/08/08174147_bod.shtml
http://echo.msk.ru/blog/echomsk/827940-echo/ (full text in Russian)

Russian, Estonian Pilots Convicted in Tajikistan

2011-11-08T09:30:00.003-05:00

A court in Tajikistan has sentenced Russian pilot Vladimir Sadovnichy and Estonian Alexei Rudenko to eight and a half years in prison each for smuggling and border violations. They had both denied the charges. The pair were detained by Tajikistan's security service in March after landing at Kurgan-Tyube airfield with two aircraft, one of which was carrying a spare engine, which the court described as a "smuggled engine." The aircraft was en route to Moscow from from Kabul, Afghanistan, where it was carrying out humanitarian relief work. After entering Tajikistan airspace, local air traffic controllers ordered the plane to return to Kabul. The pilots said they could not comply due to lack of fuel but landed at Kurgan-Tyube instead. The Russian Foreign Ministry described the sentences as "extremely severe" and "politically charged," and said the case would harm Russian-Tajik relations.

http://en.ria.ru/world/20111108/168511094.html

Russian Ruling Party Accused of Plagiarism

2011-11-08T04:01:00.003-05:00

Journalists and bloggers noticed that the election campaign posters of the ruling “United Russia” party displayed in Moscow streets are almost completely copied from information posters of the Moscow Electoral Committee (a state body responsible for elections) inviting citizens to vote, but with the addition of “United Russia” party symbols. The development of the electoral information posters design was paid for from state funds. The Moscow committee has not objected to the use of its style by the ruling party. However, the Russian Communist Party, an opponent of “United Russia”, intends to complain to the Central Electoral Committee alleging a violation of the electoral laws.

http://gazeta.ru/politics/elections2011/2011/11/07_a_3825294.shtml
http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/1811229
http://oleg-kozyrev.livejournal.com/3802802.html (photo)

United Russia poster

Electoral Committee poster

New Charges Filed Against Ukraine's Tymoshenko

2011-11-07T06:37:00.001-05:00

A lawyer for former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said today that prosecutors have filed four new criminal charges against her. Lawyer Serhyi Vlasenko said all charges are tax-related and connected with her management of a natural gas import company in Ukraine during the 1990s. A Kyiv court in October found Tymoshenko, the most prominent leader of Ukraine's political opposition, guilty of illegally ordering the signing of a 2009 natural-gas import agreement with Russia, and sentenced her to seven years in prison. Western nations criticized Tymoshenko's jailing as politically motivated.

http://www.rferl.org/content/tymoshenko_ukraine_new_charges/24383531.html

170,000 Muslims Pray in Moscow Streets

2011-11-07T03:08:00.002-05:00

Tens of thousands of Muslim men knelt shoulder-to-shoulder in prayer in the freezing streets of Moscow on Sunday to celebrate the religious holiday of Eid al-Adha (known as Kurban-Bayram in Russia). Estimates of the number of Muslims living or working in the Russian capital run from 2 million to as high as 5 million, but the city only has a few mosques. Police said 170,000 people celebrated the holiday in Moscow, including 80,000 who gathered on the street outside what was once the main mosque. The 100-year-old pastel green Cathedral Mosque was torn down in September and a new mosque being built next to it is still under construction. Many of those who braved temperatures of minus 8 degrees Celsius (18 degrees Fahrenheit) to pray on Sunday morning were migrant workers from countries in Central Asia that were once part of the Soviet Union. Russia’s Council of Muftis said that this year, for the first time, the ritual slaughter of sheep was performed at 10 slaughterhouses on the outskirts of Moscow. In past years, Muscovites have complained angrily about the killing of sheep in the courtyards of apartment buildings in the city center.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/80000-muslims-pray-together-on-the-freezing-streets-of-moscow-to-celebrate-eid-al-adha/2011/11/06/gIQAWblmrM_story.html
http://rt.com/news/russian-muslims-kurban-bairam-647/ (video)