Kommersant learned that the magazine has virtually disappeared from newsstands only after receiving reports from its readers. Representatives of the publication then went around to several dozen retailers and were consistently told that copies of Vlast had either been sold or were returned to distributors as unsold, despite the fact that a new copy of the magazine is not due to come out for another several days.

The issue in question, dated July 4, is largely dedicated to the upcoming resignation of largely unpopular St. Petersburg Mayor and United Russia member Valentina Matvienko, who was controversially chosen by President Dmitri Medvedev last month to become Speaker of the Federation Council. The soon-to-be-former mayor is pictured on the cover blowing a small horn with a quote that plays on the Soviet-era award “For Service to the Fatherland” – only here the word “service” is replaced by a term made up by city authorities for the gargantuan icicles that killed a record number of residents this past winter. Matvienko was widely criticized for failing to keep streets clear of snow and ensure that icicles be removed from buildings before they could harm pedestrians. The article itself discusses her successes and failures in office, her strained relationship with the president, and the possibility that her new position may simply be an honorable discharge from Russian politics.

According to Ekho Moskvy, the newspaper is not ruling out the possibility that the issue angered the city administration. On condition of anonymity, a representative of one of two companies that distribute 90 percent of all the copies of Vlast throughout St. Petersburg told Kommersant that the order to cut off distribution came directly from the St. Petersburg City Printing Committee; the company made no official statement. A representative of the second company did make an official statement that no copies had been confiscated from retail outlets.

Printing Committee head Aleksandr Korennikov told Kommersant that he was unaware of any confiscations.

“The calendar is made up of 11 male students and Elmo – the famous puppet from the children’s program Sesame Street – photographed to represent the student who came up with this idea,” said Kommersant reporter Konstantin Andrianov. “In the captions, the creative students played with problematic topics in the city or tried to make fun of the governor.”

“You have a good roof, but ours leaks,” says first year journalism student Gosha on the page for February. “I can give you my laser for the battle against icicles,” says another, referring to the plight of falling icicles that kill multiple pedestrians every winter.

As “Elmo” told Kommersant, the students originally wanted to print hard copies of the calendar and deliver them to Smolny – St. Petersburg’s city hall – but “not a single print shop wanted to do this.” Instead, they posted it on LiveJournal.

SPbGU Journalism Department Dean Anatoly Puyu confirmed that the students in the calendar are indeed from the department. So far no reaction has been heard from either Smolny or Matviyenko herself, he said.

The Petersburg students follow in the footsteps of Moscow State University journalism students who caused a ruckus last November after shooting a provocative calendar for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s birthday. The next day, different students from the same department came out with an alternative calendar. As opposed to the original, these girls were fully clothed and posed questions such as “who killed Anna Politkovskaya?” and “how does inflation affect bribes?”

The newest calendar was timed to come out on April 1st, and while clearly driven by humor, the captions touch on seriously questionable actions by the governor. One page, which asks “can I play on the Aurora, too?” refers to a recent scandal in which the governor was caught partying aboard a decommissioned naval cruiser that had been turned into a museum. The museum director says he has no idea who sanctioned the event and state prosecutors are investigating the incident. Another that says “I, a homeless student, am prepared to shovel snow” refers to controversial statements by the governor this past winter that students and homeless people should be recruited to make up for the lack of municipal workers to clear the city’s sidewalks.

January. "Valentina Ivanovna, you're the governor with a capital G." Kolya, SPbGU Journalism Dept., 4th year

February. "Valentina Ivanovna, you have a good roof, but ours leaks." Gosha, SPbGU Journalism Dept., 1st year

March. "Valentina Ivanovna, I can give you my laser for the battle against icicles." Roma, SPbGU Journalism Dept., 3rd year

April. "Valentina Ivanovna, the second term is a lesson for us." Elmo, idea author

May. "Valentina Ivanovna, can I play on the Aurora, too?" Gosha, SPbGU Journalism Dept., 3rd year

June. "Valentina Ivanovna, I, a homeless student, am prepared to shovel snow." Yevgeny, SPbGU Journalism Dept., 3rd year

July. "Valentina Ivanovna, I want a dialogue with the city!" Yura, SPbGU Journalism Dept., 3rd year

August. "Valentina Ivanovna, Gazprom's dreams come true, but what about me?" Nikita, SPbGU Journalism Dept., 1st year

September. "Valentina Ivanovna, I put a grade on your Petersburg report card." Tima, SPbGU Journalism Dept., 4th year

October. "Valentina Ivanovna, they're reconstructing Aprashka. Will you answer for the bazaar?" Danil, SPbGU Journalism Dept., 4th year

November. "Valentina Ivanovna, you have UGG booties!" Anatol, SPbGU Journalism Dept., 4th year

December. "Valentina Ivanovna, an optimist thinks that the glass is half full; the pessimist - that it's half empty. I just like the glass." Vitalik, SPbGU Journalism Dept., 4th year

According to Ekho Moskvy radio, May Day events in Moscow that had been sanctioned by the city government included five demonstrations, three processions, and eleven rallies. One of the processions was organized by the opposition movement Solidarity, which counted members from a variety of other opposition groups and public organizations among its 500 participants. Prominent figures in the procession included United Civil front leader Garry Kasparov, former Deputy Prime Minister and Solidarity cofounder Boris Nemtsov, and former police Major Aleksei Dymovsky. Participants carried posters, political insignia, and a gigantic Russian flag spanning several meters in length while chanting “Russia without Putin,” “Moscow without Luzhkov,” “Putin is Brezhnev, Putin is Stalin,” “We need the Other Russia,” and “Putin must go,” among other slogans.

Although a smoke bomb was set off at one point during the procession, the police did not move to detain anyone. Protesters believe that a provocateur set off the bomb. Despite that, the procession successfully made its way to Moscow’s riverside Bolotnaya Square, where the event ended with a cultural festival. Police detained several people on the square without explanation, including Andrei Moiseyev, co-leader of Solidarity’s Moscow branch and one of the event’s organizers. Moiseyev was escorted away by police together with a reproduction of a painting by artist Dmitri Vrubel, entitled “The Kiss of Putin and Brezhnev” that he was holding. Also detained were artist activist Pyotr Verzilov, his wife, several musicians, and event co-organizer Sergei Davidis. Police gave no explanations for any of the detentions.

Elsewhere in Moscow, at least five thousand people turned out for a demonstration held by the Communist party. In addition to the Communists themselves, members of the Left Front, the National Bolsheviks, the anti-fascist group Antifa, and anarchist organizations also joined the protest.

The liberal opposition group Yabloko also held a demonstration in Moscow, with approximately 1200 participants. Chief among speakers at the event was Yabloko leader Sergei Mitrokhin, who warned against allowing Prime Minister Putin to return to the presidency in 2012. “We need a new president who won’t rob the people of their rights and freedoms – who will fight not against the opposition, but against corruption,” he said to the crowd.

Another protest dubbed the Day of Anger was held in Moscow by the opposition group Left Front. A wide variety of oppositions, human rights advocates, environmental activists and social justice advocates came together to express their collective grief with Moscow’s ruling elite – in particular, Mayor Yury Luzhkov and Governor Boris Gromov.

Controversy had surrounded plans for the Day of Anger all last week. Left Front leader and event organizer Sergei Udaltsov had said on Wednesday that the city had sanctioned the event, but the mayor’s office denied this the next day. It remained unclear up to the end whether the rally had really been officially sanctioned or not – a vital factor, since participating in an unsanctioned rally in Russia is punishable by law, and many unsanctioned rallies end with participants being beaten and/or arrested by the police. In any case, the rally went on, but Udaltsov was detained at the end. The official reason cited by police was that more people had taken part than Udaltsov had indicated on the application for sanction. According to Left Front press secretary Anastasia Udaltsova, the unofficial version for Udaltsov’s detention, as told by several police officers, was that “representatives of the Moscow government would like to have a chat with him.”

In the city of Kaliningrad, approximately three thousand demonstrators took part in a rally of various opposition groups. According to Kasparov.ru, what began as a traditional May Day demonstration evolved into an anti-government rally. Participants brought signs to the event reading “Peace, work, May – no work, no housing,” and held up tangerines, which have become a symbol of public protest in the city in recent months. Following that, however, protesters began chants demanding for the federal government to resign.

In St. Petersburg, a procession planned by democratic opposition groups was banned by city authorities. Olga Kurnosova, executive director of the pro-democracy group United Civil Front, said that the reason involved the slogan that the protesters had planning to use, which called for St. Petersburg Governor and Putin favorite Valentina Matviyenko to resign. Supposedly, the slogan did not correspond with the slogan written on the application to hold the rally that was filed with the city. Therefore, the procession was banned altogether. Despite that, about seven hundred oppositionists held a stationary demonstration where the procession was supposed to take off from.

A photo gallery of the various events in Moscow is available here at Grani.ru.