Archive for April, 2010

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Scientist Critical of Olympic Construction Flees Russia

A top geologist working as a consultant for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi has fled to Ukraine, fearing that he may be arrested on trumped-up charges motivated by his warnings about construction for the games.

Apr 19, 2010 | Continued
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Journalism Watchdogs Decry Attempted Seizures at the New Times

Reporters Without Borders and the Russian Union of Journalists are criticizing a Moscow court for allowing police to seize documents in connection with a libel case against the New Times magazine.

Apr 17, 2010 | Continued
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The Moscow Times on Nashi’s Fifth Anniversary

The radical pro-Kremlin youth group Nashi held its fifth anniversary celebration yesterday, with government leaders present to urge them to “remain in the fight.”

Apr 16, 2010 | Continued
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Russian Cop Charged After Killing and Burying Jaywalker

A police officer in the Urals region of Chelyabinsk has been charged with accidentally hitting and killing a pedestrian, whose body he buried in a roadside ditch in an attempt to cover up the crime.

Apr 15, 2010 | Continued
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Slain Moscow Judge is a Lesson for Russian Gov’t

The editorial team at Gazeta.ru explains why the Russian government needs to pay special attention to the shooting this week of Judge Eduard Chuvashov, known for prosecuting violent ultranationalists.

Apr 14, 2010 | Continued
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Nearly 3/4 of Russians Prefer Order to Democracy

Two new polls out this week show that fewer Russians (but still most of them) value order more than democracy and that few think their president is really in charge of their country.

Apr 13, 2010 | Continued
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‘YouTube Cop’ Gives Medvedev a Deadline and a Warning

Whistleblower cop Aleksei Dymovsky has issued a final video address to the Russian president, giving him a deadline of November 12, 2010, to address police corruption or step down from his post.

Apr 12, 2010 | Continued
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Traffic Cops Awarded for ‘Resisting Temptation’

As President Medvedev vows to fight corruption, authorities in the Siberian Republic of Khakassia have taken to financially awarding traffic cops for turning down bribes.

Apr 9, 2010 | Continued
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In the War on Terrorism, Medvedev Follows in Putin’s Tracks

Yezhednevny Zhurnal columnists Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan discuss why President Medvedev’s policy response to last week’s Moscow metro bombings will do nothing to prevent future terrorist attacks.

Apr 8, 2010 | Continued
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Moscow Mayor Hypocritially Discusses Freedom of Assembly

Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov says that Triumfalnaya Square is too small to hold thousands of opposition protesters, despite allowing thousands of pro-Kremlin protesters to use the same space last week.

Apr 7, 2010 | Continued