Tag: Duma

Amnesty proposed by Russian rights body could see high-profile prisoners freed

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Human Rights, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Russian Jail File Photo Showing Outer Wall, Windows, Barbed Wire

(Interfax – October 16, 2013) Anti-Kremlin protesters prosecuted in the so-called “Bolotnaya case” could be freed under the amnesty proposed by the Human Rights Council (HRC) under the Russian president, privately-owned Russian news agency Interfax reported on 16 October. The draft submitted to President Vladimir Putin specifically mentions people who “took part or were convicted for taking part in public […]

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Russian Parliament Introduces Fines for Smoking in Public

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Health, Epidemics, Substance Abuse
No Smoking Symbol

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, October 15, 2013) Russia’s lower house of parliament on Tuesday approved the third and final reading of a bill toughening the country’s anti-smoking legislation by introducing fines for smoking in public and encouraging minors to smoke. The bill is part of broader anti-smoking legislation that came into force in June. It sets fines of up to […]

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Interfax: Navalny may be subject to planned amnesty – Human Rights Council head

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Human Rights, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Alexei Navalny file photo

(Interfax – October 16, 2013) Prominent opposition activist and anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny, whom the Kirov Regional Court gave a five-year suspended prison sentence on Wednesday for embezzlement of assets belonging to the state-run timber company Kirovles, may be subject to the amnesty that the State Duma is expected to announce soon, Russian Presidential Human Rights Council head Mikhail Fedotov […]

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Russian State Duma passes bill in first reading giving new grounds to inspect NGOs

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Human Rights, Nonprofits, Activists, NGO's, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Russian Duma Building

(Interfax – MOSCOW, October 9, 2013) The Russian State Duma has passed a bill in the first reading expanding grounds for unscheduled inspections of non-governmental organizations (NGO). According to the explanatory materials to the bill, it is expected to expand the list of grounds over which the Justice Ministry can hold unscheduled inspections of NGOs regarding which the information on […]

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Putin’s Legal Vertical: Kremlin Seeks To Consolidate Court System

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Vladimir Putin at Valdai Club 2013 Meeting, Adapted from Screenshot of Valdai Club Video at youtube.com

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Tom Balmforth – MOSCOW, October 9, 2013) Russia’s Supreme Arbitration Court is widely viewed as the country’s most impartial court. But it might not be for much longer. The Kremlin this week submitted legislation to the State Duma that would essentially abolish the body, which resolves economic disputes, by merging it with the Supreme Court. The […]

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Lawmaking in Russia: Tricks of the Trade

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Duma Session file photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alexander Kolesnichenko, special to RBTH – October 7, 2013) The lower chamber of the Russian parliament, the Duma, set a new record before the 2013 summer recess by passing as many as 261 new bills. Some of them have caused quite a stir, including the laws banning the propaganda of homosexuality, making it […]

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Split of ruling elites causes October 1993 events in Moscow – poll

History, Soviet Union, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Parliament Building Billowing Smoke in 1993

(Interfax – MOSCOW, October 2, 2013) Eighty percent of Russians remember the standoff between Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Speaker Ruslan Khasbulatov’s parliament that resulted in disturbances in Moscow in October 1993, sociologists told Interfax. Sixteen percent of the 1,600 respondents polled in 130 towns and cities in 42 regions in September learned about those events from the sociologists. Most […]

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How October 1993 led to President Putin

History, Soviet Union, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Parliament Building Billowing Smoke in 1993

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alexander Kolesnichenko, special to RBTH – October 3, 2013) Twenty years later, the changes to Russia’s political system enacted in the aftermath of the October 1993 attempted coup still reverberate. On Oct. 3, 1993, post-Soviet Russia faced its first major political crisis. The two-day conflict between then-President Boris Yeltsin and the State Duma […]

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Black October Revisited

History, Soviet Union
File Photo of Parliament Building Billowing Smoke in 1993

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – October 3, 2013) See the Black October Revisited Photogallery: www.themoscowtimes.com/multimedia/photogalleries/black-october-revisited/5114.html People commemorated on Thursday the 20th anniversary of Black October, a 10-day standoff between President Boris Yeltsin and the parliament that ended in military force and the deaths of at least 187 people. Members of the Alfa special forces and other law enforcement agencies who […]

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Putin chief of staff: 1993 constitution saves Russia’s ‘sovereignty and unity’

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, History, Soviet Union, Human Rights, Military, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Parliament Building Billowing Smoke in 1993

(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 26, 2013) President Vladimir Putin’s chief of staff has credited Russia’s 1993 constitution with making it possible to “preserve the sovereignty and unity of Russia.” “The constitution has made it possible to preserve the sovereignty and unity of Russia. It has made it possible to step back from a very dangerous point and put political processes […]

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Science Reform Bill Passes Federation Council

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Science, Technology, Engineering
Federation Council file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Allison Quinn – September 26, 2013) The Federation Council on Wednesday approved a controversial bill to reform the Russian Academy of Sciences, paving the way for it to be signed into law by President Vladimir Putin, as opponents of the bill protested against it outside the upper house of parliament. The bill has prompted numerous […]

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New Issue of Konstitutsionny Vestnik on the the 20th anniversary of the Russian Constitution

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, History, Soviet Union, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Parliament Building Billowing Smoke in 1993

From: “Alexander Domrin” <adomrin@rumyantsevconsulting.ru> Subject: new issue of  Konstitutsionny Vestnik on the the 20th anniversary of the Russian Constitution Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2013 Dear David ­ I am pleased to tell you and JRL readers that a new Konstitutsionny Vestnik issue of  can be downloaded from the web site of the Russian Foundation for Legal Reform: http://www.rfcr.ru/news_upload/kv3.pdf The issue […]

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Moscow’s Plan to Restructure Academy of Sciences Will Spark Separatism, Scholars Say

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Science, Technology, Engineering
Federation Council file photo

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, September 24, 2013) If the Federation Council approves the government-backed and Duma-approved plan to restructure the Russian Academy of Sciences, a group of Russian scientists say, this will lead to a weakening or even breakdown of horizontal ties across the country and to “the growth of separatist tendencies.” In an open letter […]

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A Dividing Issue, 20 Years On: Russia’s 1993 Constitutional Crisis

History, Soviet Union, Human Rights, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Parliament Building Billowing Smoke in 1993

(RIA Novosti – Konstantin von Eggert – September 23, 2013) Konstantin Eggert was Diplomatic Correspondent for Izvestia in the 1990s and later the BBC Russian Service Moscow Bureau Editor. Konstantin has also spent some time working as ExxonMobil Vice President in Russia. Conflict is raging in Russia again. Luckily, not on the streets but in the country’s spirited blogosphere. The […]

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Russian Parliament Gives Approval for State to Take Over Academy of Sciences

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Science, Technology, Engineering
Duma Session file photo

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, September 18, 2013) ­ A bill to hand over control of research institutions in Russia from the country’s Academy of Sciences to the federal government was approved on Wednesday in the federal parliament despite vehement objections from the scientific community. The landmark bill, which has yet to be approved by the upper house of parliament and […]

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Duma to Consider Science Reform Amid Protest

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Science, Technology, Engineering
Russian Duma Building

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Natalya Krainova – September 18, 2013) The State Duma on Wednesday is set to review a controversial reform of the Russian Academy of Sciences in a key second reading amid a flurry of scandalous accusations against both the academy’s leadership and federal lawmakers who’ve sponsored the reform. The proposed reform has been met with major […]

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Campaign of lies launched against Academy – ex-president

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Science, Technology, Engineering
Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 17, 2013) Academician Yury Osipov, who was the Russian Academy of Sciences’ president for 12 years, said an unseemly and insulting campaign has been launched in the media against the Academy. “A well-orchestrated and large-scale information campaign against the Academy of Sciences, which is apparently linked to the Academy reform, aims to convince the public, whose […]

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Interfax: Pushkov worries U.S. may interpret accords on Syria in its own way

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Syria, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Alexei Pushkov file photo

(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 16, 2013) The Geneva agreements between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry are doubtlessly a significant diplomatic success but the question is whether or not they may be given different interpretations, State Duma International Affairs Committee Chairman Alexei Pushkov said. “An important diplomatic success has been achieved in Geneva. First […]

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Systemic parties losing support, elites shift to new parties – Civic Initiatives Committee report

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Regions, Cities, Municipalities
Map of Russia

(Interfax – September 16, 2013) Parliamentary parties are losing the support of regional and local elites some of whom are shifting towards new political forces, the Civil Initiatives Committee think tank suggested. “There is an outflow of regional and local elites and voters from practically every “systemic” party [which has seats at the State Duma]. Candidates are moving from one […]

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Interfax: Russian Duma statement warns against Syria ‘aggression’, attacks USA

Middle East, North Africa, Nuclear, Missile Defense, Syria, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Russian Duma Building

(Interfax – Moscow, September 11, 2013) The State Duma on Wednesday (11 September) called on the international community not to allow aggression against Syria, where the conflict, in the opinion of deputies, can only be resolved as part of the Geneva conference. “In an effort to use all available means to avert a catastrophe, the State Duma appeals to the […]

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How the Moscow mayoral election was stolen

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Sergei Sobyanin file photo

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – MOSCOW BLOG, September 12, 2013) Everyone assumes that the Kremlin cheats when it comes to elections. Did the Kremlin steal the Moscow City election for mayor on September 8 from opposition blogger Alexei Navalny? Ballot stuffing has been par for the course. It is widely accepted that the authorities added about 12% to the […]

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Russia passes proof of chemical weapons use by Syrian militants to UN Security Council – Duma deputy

Chemical Weapons, Biological Weapons, ChemBio, Middle East, North Africa, Syria, United Nations
UN Building file photo

(Interfax – September 11, 2013) Syrian insurgents possess chemical weapons, and Russia has given proof that they have used these weapons on Syrian territory to the UN Security Council, Russian State Duma international affairs committee head Alexei Pushkov said at a Duma plenary session on Wednesday. The Duma plans to issue a statement on the situation in Syria later in […]

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Interfax: Pushkov hopes Obama won’t reject Russian initiative on Syria

Middle East, North Africa, Syria, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Alexei Pushkov file photo

(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 10, 2013) The Russian proposal to put Syrian chemical weapons under international control is advantageous for the U.S. administration and Russia hopes the U.S. president will confirm his support of this initiative, State Duma International Affairs Committee Chairman Alexei Pushkov told reporters on Tuesday. “Let us hope that President Obama will confirm the support that he […]

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Debate on NGOs as foreign agents continues in Russia; Deputies asked to explain the definition of “political activity”

Nonprofits, Activists, NGO's
Russian Duma Building

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Marina Obrazkova, RBTH – September 9, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting of the Council on Civil Society and Human Rights on Sept. 4, during which he attempted to clarify his position on civil rights advocates in nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). He reminded those present that the Russian law is constructed in […]

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Senior Russian MP says U.S. strike on Syria would spread nuclear weapons

Middle East, North Africa, Nuclear Proliferation, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Syria, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Alexei Pushkov file photo

(Interfax – Moscow, September 5, 2013) A US military strike on Syria may prompt a whole range of countries to acquire nuclear weapons for the sake of their own security, Aleksey Pushkov, head of the Russian State Duma International Affairs Committee, has said. “They (the Americans) think that a strike will show the determination of the USA to firmly respond […]

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Russian Lower House Speaker Compares Snowden to Don Quixote

Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Edward Snowden file photo

(RIA Novosti – BRATISLAVA, August 29, 2013) ­ The chairman of Russia’s lower house of parliament has likened fugitive US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden to the hero of Miguel de Cervantes’ novel. “You know, I compare him [Snowden] to Cervantes’ hero, Don Quixote,” State Duma speaker Sergei Naryshkin said Wednesday in an interview with Slovak television during an official visit […]

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None of State Duma deputies prefers foreign assets to parliament seat

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
World Map Showing Continents, Greens, Browns, Ice

(Interfax – MOSCOW, August 19, 2013) At least 39 State Duma deputies were supposed to make decisions regarding their foreign assets and real estate abroad before August 19. A law, which came into effect on May 19, 2013, compelled deputies to abandon either their assets or their parliament seats. Deputies and public servants are permitted to have real estate abroad […]

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Understanding Russia’s perspective on “gay propaganda”

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Patrick Sewell, special to RBTH – August 14, 2013) Despite the now notorious “gay propaganda” bill, frustrated westerners would be wrong to view Russian society as innately homophobic. As much as I love Russia, I’ll be honest – I’ve seen some angry Russians in my time. There are a lot of half-baked stereotypes […]

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New Khodorkovsky Investigation Gathering Pace – Report

YUKOS, Khodorkovsky
Mikhail Khodorkovsky file photo

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, August 8, 2013) ­ Deputies from Russia’s State Duma and senior officials could be questioned by investigators looking into a decade-old case against jailed tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, sparking renewed fears that fresh charges against the once powerful businessman are imminent, Vedomosti newspaper reported Thursday. Legal experts were first questioned in September last year in connection with […]

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Investigation into State Duma deputy Starovoitova’s murder reopened – aide

Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Russian Duma Building

(Interfax – ST. PETERSBURG. Aug 6, 2013) The Federal Security Service (FSB) department for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region has reopened an investigation into the 1998 assassination of State Duma deputy Galina Starovoitova, Ruslan Linkov, Starovoitova’s former aide, told Interfax on Tuesday. “The investigation was reopened on August 1. It was done because certain investigative procedures can be conducted […]

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Russia honors fallen WWI soldiers for the first time

History, Soviet Union, Military
Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Russia Beyong the Headlines – rbth.ru – August 1, 2013) For the first time, Russia will honor the Russian soldiers who died during World War I. State Duma Chairman Sergey Naryshkin ­ who also serves as both chairman of the organizing committee to mark the centennial of the beginning of World War I and president of the Russian Historical Society […]

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Verdict in Bradley Manning WikiLeaks case will show Snowden’s possible fate in U.S. – Russian parliamentarian

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Alexei Pushkov file photo

(Interfax – July 30, 2013) The verdict to be handed down on Tuesday to Bradley Manning, a soldier accused of the biggest leak of classified information in U.S. history, will show what could have happened to former CIA employee Edward Snowden if he had returned to the United States, Alexei Pushkov, chairman of the Russian State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee, […]

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Proposed bill aims to make lives of journalists safer

Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television
File Photo of Mourners with Photo of Anna Politkovskaya

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Yulia Ponomareva, RBTH – July 22, 2013) After the latest in a series of murders in the North Caucasus, Russian Duma deputies are proposing an increase on the maximum prison sentence for violence against journalists­from six years to ten. On Wednesday, July 10, a bill toughening the penalty for offenses against journalists was […]

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Putin Angered by Lack of Far East Progress

Far East, Siberia, APEC, Oil, Gas, Energy
File Photo of People Working on Car Amidst Siberian Woodlands and Meadows

(Moscow Times – themoscowtime.com – Anatoly Medetsky – July 17, 2013) President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday again said the Cabinet was slacking off. He blamed ministers for getting behind schedule in executing measures to develop the country’s Far East. “I’ll tell you what, dear friends, will you ever get to work or not? What is this?” Putin said, according to […]

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Russia – making bloggers ‘law-abiding’?

Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Natalia Antonova, Acting Editor-in-Chief, July 15, 2013) The latest legislative initiative from the State Duma would award popular blogs the status of media outlets. I am using the word “award” somewhat ironically here. United Russia Deputy Sergei Zheleznyak, who saw himself and his family attacked in the blogosphere after it was revealed that his daughters […]

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United Russia MPs meet prime minister before summer recess

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Dmitry Medvedev with United Russia Logos Behind Him

(Interfax – Moscow, July 15, 2013) State Duma Speaker Sergey Naryshkin believes that the spring session allowed the lower house of the Russian parliament to learn political lessons. “The past session was not easy, and, in some sense, it was a breakthrough session as far as both the amount of work and the political lessons learnt are concerned,” he said […]

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Medvedev: Duma disbandment would be ‘very dangerous’

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Russian Duma Building

(Interfax – MOSCOW. July 15, 2013) Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has rejected suggestions for dissolving the State Duma, arguing that disbanding Russia’s lower house of parliament would be “very dangerous for our country.” “A legitimately elected body of government must remain in rule for exactly the period that is set for this. The opposite is very dangerous for our country,” […]

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Experts differ on Russia’s likely response to US move to expand Magnitskiy list

Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Human Rights, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Memorial Flowers and Photo of Sergei Magnitsky

(Interfax – July 12, 2013) Aleksey Pushkov, chairman of the State Duma International Affairs Committee, has warned against “whipping up” tension in relations between Russia and the USA, commenting on reports that Washington is planning to expand the Magnitskiy list after a court in Moscow found the late lawyer, Sergey Magnitskiy, and the head of the Hermitage Capital Management fund, […]

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Kremlin Rights Council Chief Slams Parliament for Hasty Laws

Human Rights, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Russian Duma Building

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, July 12, 2013) The head of the Kremlin’s human rights council on Friday harshly criticized Russia’s lower chamber of parliament, the State Duma, for being too hasty in passing legislation. “The State Duma is currently approving bills in vast quantities. Recently, 56 laws were adopted at once,” Mikhail Fedotov told Russia’s Public Chamber, a regulatory body […]

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Russian Duma members take on nepotism in state institutions

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Duma Session file photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Marina Obrazkova, RBTH – July 10, 2013) Members of parliament have submitted a bill to the State Duma that they believe will help eradicate nepotism and corruption among state agencies. The bill proposes adding two new articles to the federal anti-corruption law. The first would ban money transfers from state agencies to organisations […]

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Ponomaryov Accused of Orchestrating Bolotnaya Riots

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Russian Duma Building

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – July 11, 2013) A State Duma deputy from the leftist A Just Russia party Ilya Ponomaryov has been accused of helping to organize mass riots on Bolotnaya Ploshchad in central Moscow, one of the officers in charge of policing at the rally testified. “Ilya Ponomaryov ­ along with Udaltsov ­ has organized mass riots,” Dmitry […]

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Academicians fear reform may kill ‘oasis of freedom and democracy’

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Science, Technology, Engineering
Adaptions of Image from Livermore.gov of Element 118 Atoms

(Interfax – MOSCOW, July 9, 2013) Academicians may draft their own amendments to the bill reforming the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academy corresponding member and Economics Institute Director Ruslan Grinberg said. “This reform is a sore subject; we may draft our own amendments….The main attack is being made on the Academy’s self-government. Even assets do not matter. Sure, these are […]

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Collateral Damage from Three New Russian Laws

Arctic, Environment, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Race, Ethnic, Extremism, Xenophobia, Science, Technology, Engineering
Russian Duma Building

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, July 6, 2013) Three new pieces of Russian legislation appear likely to inflict serious collateral damage on that country, eliminating a defender of Lake Baikal against industrial pollution, inflicting new suffering on the already hard-pressed numerically small peoples of the north, and destroying some of the last vestiges of federalism in the […]

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Arab Spring has led to chaos rather than democracy – Russian Duma deputy

Middle East, North Africa, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Alexei Pushkov file photo

(Interfax – MOSCOW, July 4, 2013) The ongoing events in Egypt confirm that the so-called Arab Spring has led not to democratic renewal but to chaos, says Russian State Duma international affairs committee head Alexei Pushkov. “The events in Egypt show that there can’t be a quick and gentle transition from an authoritarian regime to political democracy. There can’t be […]

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Academy reform to be done in 3 years, no dismissals planned – Duma committee head

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Science, Technology, Engineering
Russian Duma Building

(Interfax – MOSCOW, July 4, 2013) Transformations in the Russian Academy of Sciences will be evolutionary and take three years. Corresponding members may become academicians in that period, the Academy administration will be abolished, and the Academy’s Agency for Scientific Institutes will manage Academy property and research centers. “There will be no haste; transformations will begin unhurriedly, one or two […]

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Scientists Slam Academy Reform

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Science, Technology, Engineering
File Photo of Test Tubes with Algae Displaying Different Colors, Part of U.S. Energy-Related Research; from nrel.gov

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Natalya Krainova – July 3, 2013) The State Duma is set to vote Wednesday in a first reading on a heavily criticized bill sponsored by the government that would strip the Russian Academy of Sciences of an important source of revenue: the right to lease its premises. On Tuesday, around a thousand researchers held a […]

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Russian Duma Gives Green Light to Science Academy Reform

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Science, Technology, Engineering
Adaptions of Image from Livermore.gov of Element 118 Atoms

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, July 3, 2013) ­ A government-backed bill on a sweeping overhaul of Russia’s Academy of Sciences was passed in the first reading by the lower house of the federal parliament on Wednesday, despite fierce opposition from the academy’s leadership. The bill proposes handing control over the academy’s vast assets and 434 scholarly institutes to a new […]

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Duma Makes Nominations For Audit Chamber Chief

Budget, Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Russian Duma Building

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Guennadi Moukine – July 2, 2013) The State Duma has approved the nominations of Sergei Stepashin, Tatyana Golikova and Andrei Makarov as candidates to head the Audit Chamber, leaving it up to President Vladimir Putin to choose one of them or award the position to somebody else by October 1, 2013, news reports said Monday. […]

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Banning insults to religion in Russia: cui bono?

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Religion
Church Domes with Crosses file photo

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Natalia Antonova, Acting Editor-in-Chief – July 1, 2013) New laws are being adopted at a breakneck pace in Russia – almost as if some sort of legal Apocalypse will soon be upon us, and lawmakers are afraid that they are running out of time. One of the newest bills just signed into law by President […]

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Moscow News: Why gay pride parades aren’t getting us very far in Russia

Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Moscow News – Anna Arutunyan, Editor and Correspondent at themoscownews.com – July 1, 2013) This article contains information not suitable for readers younger than 18 years of age, according to Russian legislation. I have a very good friend who is convinced that being gay is a curable disease. Or, at least, he was convinced, until we spoke about it. During […]

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