NEWSLINK: Top 10 events in Russian politics in 2012

December 23, 2012 JRL Russia List Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Military, Nonprofits, Activists, NGO's, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections

[Top 10 events in Russian politics in 2012 – Russia Beyond the Headlines – Olga Doronina – December 20, 2012 – http://rbth.ru/articles/2012/12/20/top_10_events_in_russian_politics_in_2012_21313.html]

Russia Beyond the Headlines sets out its list of top news stories for 2012:

This past year, the Russian public chose a new president, went to protest rallies, followed the Pussy Riot trial, and became used to a raft of new laws, including the introduction of a “black list” of websites.

1. The presidential election

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2. Medvedev’s Cabinet

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3. United Russia’s new leader

Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev swapped jobs and not only in public office …

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4. Strident new laws

… the status of “foreign agent” for nonprofit organizations in receipt of funding from abroad.

The penalty for treason and divulging state secrets was stiffened. Furthermore, a law was adopted on “black lists” of websites …

5. Protest actions

The wave of protests that began after the parliamentary polls of 2011 only intensified after the presidential elections …

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6. Duma deputies’ illegal business

The State Duma initiated a campaign to combat the illegal involvement of Duma deputies in business. …

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7. The return of gubernatorial elections

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In each region, the incumbent regional leaders and representatives of the pro-government United Russia were victorious.

8. Party reforms

One result of the protest movement was a reduction in the number of members required to register a political party: the number shrunk from 40,000 to just 500. Consequently, by the end of the year, the number of political parties in Russia had grown from seven to 44. …

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9. Pussy Riot

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10. The new defense minister

In November 2012, Anatoly Serdyukov, an economist by trade and head of the Russian Ministry of Defense since 2007, was embroiled in a corruption scandal … The former minister of emergency situations, Sergei Shoigu … was appointed as the new defense minister.

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