Recommended Reading
Time Served
One finds all sorts of things on the internet these days. This creative effort deserves translation for a wider audience. When Mikhail Khodorkovsky was sentenced, in May 2005, Garry Kasparov opined that the “man whose crime was defying Putin” would be in prison not for his eight-year sentence but “until Putin is out of power.” […]
Oct 26, 2007 | Continued
Kagarlitsky: No Need to Falsify Elections
Boris Kagarlitsky, a prominent left-wing activist, and director of the Institute of Globalization Studies, published a fascinating article in the October 25th edition of the Moscow Times. He writes that the Kremlin and United Russia no longer have a need to falsify elections, as the current electoral laws all but guarantee an overwhelming victory for […]
Oct 25, 2007 | Continued
Young Russians “Vote With Their Rifles”
In Vladivostok, the “young guard” has executed Kasparov in a mock firing squad On October 8th, the “young guard” of the United Russia party held a sports-political paintball competition entitled “If You Want to Vote, Learn to Shoot!” and “Vote With Your Rifle!” according to the October 24th edition of Nezavisimaya Gazeta. 100 delegates from […]
Oct 24, 2007 | Continued
Beaten Journalist Fears For Her Family
In Kazan, a journalist’s children are threatened with violence. Kazan journalist Natalya Petrova, a former colleague of Anna Politkovskaya who covered the first Chechen war, fears for the lives of her children. In an interview on the 24th, she told that ever since she was brutally attacked by local militsiya officers, she has been receiving […]
Oct 24, 2007 | Continued
United Russia Continues To Bribe Voters
Vedomosti: United Russia is buying votes Representatives of the United Russia political party continue to regularly give out gifts to voters across Russia, which is illegal according to the electoral code. Vedomosti reported on October 23rd on just a handful of instances: On October 5th, in the town of Baksan (in the Kabardino-Balkar Republic), party […]
Oct 23, 2007 | Continued
Electoral Monitoring Group Dissolved
The upcoming Russian Parliamentary elections are shaping up to be the least transparent in recent memory. As we recently reported, official monitors from Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have yet to be invited into the country. Now, it appears that domestic watchdog groups are also abandoning their posts, with unclear reasons. On […]
Oct 23, 2007 | Continued
A Drunk Electorate
Ads for “Putinka” vodka summons readers to vote for United Russia. Advertisements for a the “Putinka” brand of vodka, which practically urge a vote for the party in power, technically do not brake electoral law. At least that’s what representatives of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) told a Sobkor®ru correspondent. An electoral expert has noted […]
Oct 22, 2007 | Continued
Victim’s Attorneys Lambaste Government Report on Dubrovka Theater Massacre
The response of the Russian government to questions from the European Court of Human Rights, relating to the seizure of hostages in the Dubrovka Theatee in 2002, is rife with inaccuracies and misleading information. Attorneys for victims of the attack–a terrorist hostage situation turned tragedy, where more than a hundred perished–announced their outrage at an […]
Oct 22, 2007 | Continued
Zubkov Bars Press From Cabinet Meetings
Nezavisimaya Gazeta has reported that starting on October 18th, journalists will be forbidden from attending sessions of the Russian Cabinet. Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov has decided to institute this policy because the press apparently “prevents the businesslike conduct of the sessions.” On the face, it appears that Zubkov is merely pushing through measures that were […]
Oct 20, 2007 | Continued
Corruption on the Rise for Business
According to a recent survey of businesses operating in Russia, corruption and economic crime have increased dramatically in the past two years. Reuters reported the results of the survey, which was commissioned by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), and published in the company’s global biennial report. PWC is the world’s largest accountancy group, with over 146,000 employees, and […]
Oct 20, 2007 | Continued