Khodorkovsky Verdict May Impact Russia's WTO Bid

According to an unnamed, senior Obama administration official, the recent verdict against Mikhail Khodorkovsky, former head of oil-giant YUKOS, will complicate Russia's on-going bid to gain membership in the WTO.  "The WTO is a rules based, rule of law organization," said the Obama administration official.  "Most countries around the world do not look at this verdict as a demonstration of the deepening of the rule of law in Russia.  It will definitely have an affect on Russia's reputation," the official added. 

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6BT36I20101230

Russian Patent Office Announces Coordinated Approval Process with Finland

The Russian Patent Office ("ROSPATENT") announced a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Patent & Registration Office of Finland, aimed at accelerating patent approval and prosecution proceedings through the creation of a Patent Prosecution Highway ("PPH").  Dozens of PPHs exist around the world, including one between ROSPATENT and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which allow participating patent offices to share information concerning examination and approval of patents, ultimately streamlining the patent prosecution process, coordinating approval efforts, and reducing duplication of labor and resources.  The Russian-Finnish PPH will begin coordinated operations in March of 2011.

http://www.rupto.ru/mejd_sotr/sod/pph/Inform_soobshenija_i_pressrelizi/nbpr.htm

Khodorkovsky, Lebedev Sentenced to 13 1/2 Years Each

Judge Viktor Danilkin sentenced Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev each to 13 1/2  years of imprisonment on the charges of stealing some 200 million tons of oil from the YUKOS oil company that they managed. The sentence is partially added to the prison terms they received in the "first trial”, to give each of them 14 years in total starting from the date of their arrests in 2003, which means that they should be released in 2017.

http://lenta.ru/news/2010/12/30/prigovor/

Russian Dissidents Poisoned in Germany

German prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation into whether two Russian dissidents living in Berlin were poisoned by Russian agents. Viktor Kalashnikov, 58, a former colonel in the Soviet KGB, and his historian wife Marina Kalashnikov, were found by doctors to have dangerously high levels of mercury. The couple have worked as freelance journalists since the late 1990s, publishing articles that criticized current Russian authorities.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/8227644/German-inquiry-into-poisoning-of-Russian-dissidents.html
http://lenta.ru/news/2010/12/27/vergiftung/

Russian President Orders Probe into Meltdown of Moscow Airports

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered the country's top prosecutor to investigate what experts are calling the worst meltdown in Russian air travel in 15 years, after a Moscow ice storm all but paralyzed the country's two biggest airports. Thousands of passengers were stuck in the airports for days, many of them without food, water, or hotel rooms. Passengers shouted slogans against air companies, and several airline employees, including women, were beaten by angry passengers.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204467204576047813180629084.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvayhbD_MBU (video)

Former Belarus President Suggests That Russia Should Occupy Belarus

Former Belarus President Stanislav Shushkevich refused to recognize the victory of current President Alexander Lukashenko in recent presidential elections. Shushkevich stated that Russia, as a member of the Union State with Belarus, could intervene to protect the human rights of Belarus citizens. “Perhaps it would be better, instead of deploying [Russian] troops in other countries who declared their independence [apparently meaning South Ossetia and Abkhazia], to bring troops to Belarus to protect human lives and human health,” stated Shushkevich. Shushkevich is known as one of the three Presidents (along with the Presidents of Russia and Ukraine) who declared the USSR dissolved in 1991.

http://lenta.ru/news/2010/12/22/shushkevich/
http://www.svobodanews.ru/content/transcript/2255723.html

Russian Businessman Accuses Putin of Corruption

Russian entrepreneur Sergey Kolesnikov published an open letter to President Dmitry Medvedev accusing Prime Minister Vladimir Putin of corruption. According to the letter, “[A] palace is being built on the Black Sea for the personal use of the Prime Minister of Russia,” which costs at least $1 billion. Allegedly, the construction is being financed by donations from Russian entrepreneurs, and partially from state funds as well. According to Kolesnikov, he personally participated in the construction project for a certain period, and got acquainted with relevant documentation. In response to a request from the Vedomosti newspaper, Putin’s Press Secretary stated that Putin has no relation to the palace.

http://www.vedomosti.ru/newspaper/article/252708/sor_iz_dvorca
http://corruptionfreerussia.com/

Former Russian Senator Convicted of Fourteen Murders

The Moscow City Court sentenced former entrepreneur and Senator Igor Izmestyev to life imprisonment on charges of heading a gang that committed numerous murders and attempted murders.  Twelve other defendants were sentenced to a range of four to 23 years of imprisonment. According to the prosecution, the gang murdered 14 people between 1992 and 2004, including those who were Izmestyev’s business competitors, and the gang also attempted to assassinate several others, including the son of the Bashkir President. Originally Izmestyev was supposed to be tried by a jury, but in May 2010 (because of changes in legislation) the jury was dismissed, and the case was passed to a professional judge. Izmestyev, who was a Council of Federation member from 2001 to 2006, denies wrongdoing and alleges that his prosecution is motivated by political reasons.

http://lenta.ru/articles/2010/12/29/forlife/

Khodorkovsky, Lebedev Convicted

Judge Viktor Danilkin found Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev, former top managers of defunct Russian oil giant YUKOS, guilty of stealing some 200 million tons of crude oil and laundering the proceeds. The sentence is still to be announced. The defense calls the charges absurd and politically grounded, and intends to appeal. The police arrested the most active of the demonstrators who gathered around the Khamovnichesky Court in Moscow to support the defendants.

http://lenta.ru/news/2010/12/27/prigovor2/
http://www.echo.msk.ru/blog/echomsk/737265-echo/ (photo)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUnbio-nndY (video)