Russia – making bloggers ‘law-abiding’?

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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Golos hopes to receive state grant, to reset relations with authorities

File Image of Map of Russia for Polling Place Webcams

(Interfax – MOSCOW, July 15, 2013) The Russian voter rights movement Golos (Voice) said it counted on receiving 14 million rubles from the state budget for its program whose aim is to increase public confidence in elections. “We have drafted a project, which is aimed at increasing society’s trust in the voting infrastructure and have written an application, which we […]

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Urlashov falls victim to politics – Prokhorov

Yevgeny Urlashov file photo

(Interfax – MOSCOW, July 16, 2013) Civil Platform leader Mikhail Prokhorov wrote on his Internet blog that he offered birthday congratulations to Yaroslavl Mayor Yevgeny Urlashov, arrested over a bribery case. Prokhorov said that what was happening to Urlashov was politically motivated. “What has happened to you is direct result of our political enemies’ attitude toward you – in other […]

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All polling stations to be equipped with video surveillance for Moscow mayoral elections

Arm and Torso of Person in Brown Sweater Placing Paper Ballot into Ballot Box

(Interfax – July 16, 2013) It will be possible to watch voting during the early Moscow mayoral elections on September 8 on the Internet, same as during the presidential elections of 2012. “The next step in ensuring the transparency of elections will be the creation of a video surveillance system for regional elections,” acting Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said at […]

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Navalny to Be Registered for Elections on Eve of KirovLes Verdict, Report Says

File Photo of Alexei Navalny Being Grabbed by Police at Protest

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – July 16, 2013) Opposition leader Alexei Navalny will be registered on Wednesday as a candidate for the Moscow mayoral elections, just one day before the verdict for the KirovLes embezzlement case is scheduled to be delivered, Kommersant reported. The Kremlin critic is awaiting the verdict in a criminal case alleging that he embezzled 16 million […]

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United Russia MPs meet prime minister before summer recess

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’

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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Russia Faces Authoritarian or Democratic Disintegration, Analyst Says

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble Staunton, July 14, 2013) The Pugachev events like “a magic crystal” allow one to look into Russia’s future, a future that will involve either an authoritarian disintegration resembling that of the former Yugoslavia and likely extending over several years or a democratic one that could occur more quickly and easily, according to a Russian […]

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Kremlin Rights Council Chief Slams Parliament for Hasty Laws

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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JRL NEWSBLOG: Putin’s Decay

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Sitting at Desk

[Putin’s Decay – Gordon Hahn – Moscow Times – July 12, 2013 – http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/putins-decay/483044.html – Gordon Hahn, senior associate of the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, is author of “Russia’s Revolution From Above” and “Russia’s Islamic Threat] In his Moscow Times Op-Ed, “Putin’s Decay,” Gordon Hahn of CSIS raises concern over what […]

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Matviyenko: Navalny to add spice to Moscow mayoral election

Valentina Matviyenko file photo

(Interfax – MOSCOW, July 11, 2013) Opposition candidate Alexei Navalny will add spice to the Moscow mayoral election and draw Muscovites to polling stations, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko told Interfax. “The participation of Navalny in this campaign will make it heated and draw attention to the mayoral election and this interesting candidate. It will capture the attention of Muscovites, […]

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Defending the Indefensible

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(opendemocracy.net – Grigory Tumanov – July 11, 2013) Grigory Tumanov is a Moscow based journalist and blogger. He is a staff correspondent for Kommersant daily, one of Russia’s most respected publications. Favourite lawyer of the Russian far right, Dmitry Bakharyev is developing a network of ‘sports’ clubs for like-minded nationalists ­ teaching knife, rather than ball, skills. He hopes the […]

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NGO led by Kudrin willing to arrange independent election monitoring

Alexei Kudrin file photo

(Interfax – MOSCOW. July 11, 2013) The Committee of Civil Initiatives is willing to engage in long-term independent monitoring of election campaigns in Russia, says the committee’s head, former Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin. “Unfortunately, the activities of the almost only independent organization specializing in long-term monitoring (of elections) have been curtailed. We say responsibly today that […]

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Russian Experts See Billionaire Prokhorov Losing Interest In Politics

Mikhail Prokohrov file photo

(RIA Novosti – July 11, 2013) The Civil Platform party has a good potential in the struggle for power but its leader billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov is behaving inconsistently and losing interest in politics, Russian RIA Novosti news agency reported on 11 July, quoting political analysts. Prokhorov said earlier that the party would not nominate candidates for the Moscow mayoral and […]

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Russian President Decrees Changes To Gubernatorial Candidate Nomination Rules

Arm and Torso of Person in Brown Sweater Placing Paper Ballot into Ballot Box

(RIA Novosti – Moscow, July 11, 2013) Parties represented in the State Duma and (regional) legislative assemblies, rather than just the victorious party in regional elections, will have the right to nominate gubernatorial candidates to the president in the regions that have decided not to hold direct elections (for regional governors), says the president’s degree published on the official portal […]

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Mayoral Candidates Down to 6 After Deadline Elapses

Aerial View of Moscow From Beyond Stadium, file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – July 12, 2013) Only six candidates, including acting Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin and opposition activist Alexei Navalny, have managed to submit the necessary documentation for registration in the upcoming mayoral elections. The deadline for accepting candidates’ registration papers was 6:00 p.m. Thursday. While eight people submitted documentation to the Election Committee, only six managed to […]

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Russian senator blames underfunding for loss on influence in post-Soviet space

Map of European Portion of Former Soviet Union

(Interfax – St. Petersburg, July 10, 2013) The Federation Council is concerned that Russia is losing influence in the post-Soviet space because of the lack of funds to finance Russian NCOs (noncommercial organizations) which work there. Igor Morozov, a member of the Committee on International Affairs, told a Federation Council meeting on Wednesday (10 July) that the European Union and […]

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Rotenberg denies his friend Putin helps him run his business

File Photo of Cash, Coins, Line Graph

(Interfax – MOSCOW, July 10, 2013) Russian oligarch Arkady Rotenberg has denied that Russian President Vladimir Putin, who he has known for a long time, helps him solve his business problems. “Vladimir Vladimirovich and I started training in sambo wrestling when I was a little over 13 and he a little over 12. Our acquaintance goes back to that time, […]

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Russian Duma members take on nepotism in state institutions

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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Poll Shows Sobyanin With Huge Lead in Mayoral Race

Sergei Sobyanin file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Natalya Krainova – July 11, 2013) Less than two months before the Moscow mayoral election, an independent public opinion poll shows acting Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin with a double-digit lead over the other 39 potential candidates, none of whom received even 10 percent of respondents’ support. The poll published Wednesday by the Levada Center named […]

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Half of Russians Support Tough NGO Sanctions

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – July 11, 2013) Over half of Russians support tough measures implemented against NGOs, while nearly a third don’t know what activities these organizations are actually engaged in, a Levada Center poll suggests. A controversial law was passed in November requiring all groups that receive foreign funding and engage in “political activity” to register as “foreign […]

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Putin Preferred in Moscow With Protests Seen Shifting to Regions

Aerial View of Moscow From Beyond Stadium, file photo

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Ilya Arkhipov – July 11, 2013) The mood for protest has shifted from Moscow to the regions as Russia’s economy slows, according to the Center for Strategic Studies in Moscow. Approval ratings for President Vladimir Putin, 60, have stabilized, and he’s now more popular in the capital than in the rest of Russia, according to the […]

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Memorial refuses to be recognized as foreign agent

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Interfax – MOSCOW. July 10, 2013) The Russian human rights and educational society Memorial has dismissed Prosecutor General Yury Chaika’s statement that Memorial has set up a ramified structure in order to evade registration as a foreign agent. “Memorial (branches) emerged in many cities and consolidated into one organization on its own, and it had nothing to do with those […]

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The Moscow Front

Aerial View of Moscow From Beyond Stadium, file photo

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Brian Whitmore – July 9, 2013) With Moscow’s election months away and the result likely predetermined, the next big showdown in the Russian capital should come as early as next week. In the last couple days, more than 6,000 people have already joined a special Facebook page calling on Russians to gather on Moscow’s Manezh Square […]

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Inter-Ethnic Conflicts in Russia Reflect the Erosion of State Power, ‘Vedomosti’ Says

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, July 10, 2013) Russian officials have long sought to dismiss ethnic conflicts as being product of the everyday disputes people have rather than clashes between two nationalities, but today the editors of “Vedomosti” offer another and more disturbing diagnosis by suggesting that such conflicts “above all” are a reflection of “the continuing […]

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Putin Officials, Judges Seen Topping Russia Corruption in Survey

Hands Opening Envelope Containing Cash

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Anton Doroshev & Ilya Arkhipov – June 9, 2013) Police, judges and lawmakers, as well as bureaucrats, are seen in Russia as the most corrupt groups, fueling popular discontent with the government, according to a global survey by Transparency International. Five percent of Russian respondents rated President Vladimir Putin’s anti-corruption campaign as effective, a sharp drop […]

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For $50 Million You Too Can Enter Putin Moscow Playhouse

Vladimir Putin file photo

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Stepan Kravchenko, Evgenia Pismennaya & Irina Reznik – July 10, 2013) Josef Stalin built a massive luxury apartment compound across the river from the Kremlin to both reward and spy on his closest comrades. The one Vladimir Putin built for his clique is smaller and harder to find. Tucked among a warren of Soviet-era structures about […]

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Russians Prefer Patriotic Leaders, Not Liberals or Conservatives

Map of Russia

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, July 10, 2013) ­ Many more Russians approve of politicians labeled as “patriots” than they do “liberals,” “conservatives” or even “nationalists,” according to a state survey published Wednesday. Eighty-five percent of respondents expressed a positive sentiment toward “patriot” politicians, while only 6 percent viewed them negatively, Russia’s VTsIOM pollster reported. Some 59 percent said they approve […]

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Russian rights ombudsman sets hopes on changes to controversial NGO law

Vladimir Lukin file photo

(Interfax – July 9, 2013) Russia’s human rights ombudsman, Vladimir Lukin, has said he hopes the controversy over Russia’s “foreign agent” NGO law will subside if the legislation is amended to clearly distinguish between organizations engaged in political activity and those working on social issues, Russian privately-owned Interfax news agency reported on 9 July.(1) “Everything depends on which amendments are […]

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

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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Architectural Preservation’s Politics

Aerial View of Moscow From Beyond Stadium, file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Delphine d’Amora – July 9, 2013) The battle over the preservation of Moscow’s architectural heritage has become visibly political in recent weeks, as prominent opposition parties criticized acting mayor Sergei Sobyanin’s policies. Several candidates have promised to address the issue in the run-up to this September’s mayoral race. The primary catalyst in the debate has […]

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Collateral Damage from Three New Russian Laws

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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Navalny’s day in court: politics and protection

File Photo of Alexei Navalny Being Grabbed by Police at Protest

(Moscow News – Anna Arutunyan, Editor & Correspondent at themoscownews.com – July 8, 2013) With the verdict in opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s trial scheduled for July 18, the bets are on: will he get six years in jail like the prosecutors asked? Or a suspended sentence? What’s interesting about this question is that the answer has very little to do […]

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Russia Beyond the Headlines: Moscow mayoral election to decide opposition’s fate

Aerial View of Moscow From Beyond Stadium, file photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Dmitry Kan, special to RBTH – July 8, 2013) Depending on Sept. 8 election results, the opposition in Russia could effectively be shut down. Early elections for mayor of Russia’s capital will be held on Sept. 8. This will be the opposition’s zero-hour: The key electorate for opponents of the regime is represented […]

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Gordeyeva and Russian emigrants: Brave Sir Robins?

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Natalia Antonova, Acting Editor-in-Chief – July 8, 2013) Journalist Katerina Gordeyeva’s recent Colta.ru essay, “The impossibility of an island,” has caused quite a stir among Russian intellectuals. In the essay, Gordeyeva spoke about letting go of the illusion that Russia’s progressive middle class can live on its own special island, separate from reality. She urged […]

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Navalny Defiant in Closing Remarks

Alexei Navalny file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Natalya Krainova – July 8, 2013) Prosecutors on Friday asked a Kirov court to sentence political opposition leader Alexei Navalny to six years in prison and a $30,000 fine on charges of stealing timber from a state-owned company in 2009, but even in the face of such charges Navalny was defiant in closing arguments. Many […]

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

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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Ethnic Identity No Longer Primary One for Russians, Tishkov Says

Map of Russia

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, July 4, 2013) Russians increasingly identify themselves not in ethnic terms but in others, a development that the director of the Moscow Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology says should not lead anyone to conclude in “alarmist” terms that ethnic Russians are “losing their self-identification.” Instead, Valery Tishkov told a Moscow roundtable yesterday, […]

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Mikhail Kasyanov: “Tightening of the screws increases our chances”

Mikhail Kasyanov File Photo

(Institute of Modern Russia – imrussia.org – July 2, 2013) In June, former Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, co-leader of the Republican Party of Russia­People’s Freedom Party (RPR­PARNAS), visited the United States. In an interview with IMR Advisor Olga Khvostunova, Kasyanov discussed the opposition’s plans for the new political season and shared his views on the situation in Russia. Recent […]

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Russia: Detained Opposition Mayor Pleads Innocence

Yevgeny Urlashov file photo

(RIA Novosti – July 4, 2013) Yaroslavl mayor Yevgeniy Urlashov has pleaded not guilty to charges of extorting a bribe, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported on 4 July. He made the statement at a court session that had been convened to decide whether to keep him in custody. Urlashov, who belongs to Mikhail Prokhorov’s Civil Platform opposition party, […]

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Russian Opposition Mayor Arrested in Corruption Case

Yevgeny Urlashov file photo

(RIA Novosti – July 5, 2013) A court in Yaroslavl ruled early on Friday to arrest an opposition politician who won a rare landslide victory against the ruling United Russia party in a mayoral election last year. Yaroslavl Mayor Yevgeny Urlashov was charged along with four of his colleagues on Thursday with extorting a 14 million ruble ($420,000) bribe, investigators […]

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Case Against Yaroslavl Mayor Looks Legitimate, Rights Activists Say

Yevgeny Urlashov file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Natalya Krainova – July 5, 2013) Investigators officially charged Yaroslavl Mayor Yevgeny Urlashov and a group of his subordinates with attempted bribery Thursday as members of the Kremlin human rights council met to discuss the case, which Urlashov’s supporters say they suspect has been fabricated by his political enemies. But members of the council, generally […]

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Poll shows Russians support bans on ‘gay propaganda’, hurting religious feelings

File Photo of Russian Orthodox Cathedral with Man in Religious Garb in Foreground

(Interfax – July 3, 2013) The recent laws criminalizing “propaganda” of homosexuality and actions aimed at hurting believers’ feelings have the support of the majority of Russians, privately-owned Russian news agency Interfax reported on 3 July, quoting figures from the latest opinion poll carried out by Levada Centre. Figures on the center’s own website (http://www.levada.ru/) show that 16 per cent […]

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Scientists Slam Academy Reform

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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Putin: academic institute directors should not be appointed by bureaucrats

Artist's Conception of Nanotechnology Components

(Interfax – MOSCOW, July 3, 2013) Bureaucrats should not have the right to appoint directors of academic institutes, President Vladimir Putin said. “I would like to call your attention to a key provision of this draft law [reforming the Academy], i.e. the establishment of an agency managing Academy assets and essentially performing one of its main functions – the appointment […]

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Russian Duma Gives Green Light to Science Academy Reform

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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Russian Mayor Allied With Prokhorov Is Held on Suspected Bribery

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Jake Rudnitsky – July 3, 2013) A Russian mayor who won a landslide victory against a candidate backed by President Vladimir Putin’s ruling party last year was detained by police on suspicion of demanding a 14 million-ruble ($421,000) kickback. Yaroslavl Mayor Yevgeny Urlashov and two deputies threatened to stop payments to a local businessman for a […]

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Russian rights body urges Putin to improve authorities’ relations with NGOs

Vladimir Putin file photo

(Interfax – Moscow, July 1, 2013) The presidential council for human rights (CHR), having examined the situation with the eviction of members of the movement For Human Rights from their office, has urged the head of state to take measures to protect non-commercial organizations (NGOs) in cases of this kind. “Considering this conflict in the general context of current tasks […]

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Banning insults to religion in Russia: cui bono?

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

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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