 RFE/RL Russia Report 4/6/2010 6:29:47 PM A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about domestic and foreign-policy developments in Russia. For more stories on Russia, please visit and bookmark our Russia page . |
| Russian Mayor Resigns Amid Scandal The mayor of the eastern Russian city of Novokuznetsk resigned today as an investigation into his son's alleged financial transgressions continues, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  Russian And Polish Leaders To Mark Katyn Anniversary On April 7, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk will mark the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre, during which thousands of Polish military officers were massacred on Stalin's orders. It is the first time that Russian and Polish leaders will mark the event together. More  Second Subway Bomber Identified Russian investigators say the second of two female suicide bombers responsible for the deadly Moscow subway bombings has been identified as a 28-year-old teacher from the North Caucasus. More  U.S. To Unveil New Nuclear Strategy U.S. President Barack Obama's administration is due to release its Nuclear Posture Review today -- a document outlining Washington's policy and strategy on when the United States would use nuclear weapons. More  Putin Sees Huge Arms Sales To Venezuela Russian news agencies report that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the country's arms sales to Venezuela "could exceed $5 billion." More  Suicide Bomber Kills Two In Ingushetia A suicide bomber killed at least two policemen in Russia's Ingushetia region today, the latest in a spate of attacks that underscore the threat from an Islamist insurgency on Russia's southern flank. More  Christians Worldwide Celebrate Easter Millions of Christians worldwide are celebrating Easter, one of the most important holidays on the Christian calendar. More  Arrest Warrants Issued For Ingush Activist's Brothers Federal arrest warrants have been issued for three brothers of Ingush opposition activist Magomed Khazbiyev. More  Soyuz Docks At Space Station A Russian space official says a Soyuz craft carrying a female American astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts has docked successfully at the International Space Station. More  Blast Derails Freight Train In Daghestan An explosive device placed on a railway line derailed a freight train early today in Russia's troubled North Caucasus republic of Daghestan. More  Canadian Mining Company Faces Troubles In Mongolia Mongolia's Dornod uranium mine is an attractive venture for many foreign investors. Recently, however, it has become the focus of a controversy involving several countries. More  Putin Bolsters Ties With Venezuela Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has made a brief visit to Venezuela to discuss oil, defense and nuclear energy cooperation. More  Russian Factory Closed After Lead-Poisoning Cases A court in the central Russian republic of Khakassia has ordered the suspension of operations at a local plant where 10 workers were hospitalized with lead poisoning in mid-March. More Two high-ranking police officers in the Russian far eastern city of Vladivostok have been jailed for accepting bribes. More  Moscow Mourners Tell Tales Of Lives Lost On March 29, as many as 40 lives were abruptly ended when two suicide bombers detonated bombs in the Moscow subway. The victims included office workers, students, and migrant workers, all brought together on the doomed trains by coincidence and bad luck. More Orthodox Christians Rejoice, While Catholics Moan In Venezuela Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will lay the cornerstone of a new Russian Orthodox cathedral to be constructed in Venezuela, according to Russia's RIA Novosti news agency. More  Chechen Legislators Target Federal Envoy The Chechen parliament has adopted a statement openly criticizing Aleksandr Khloponin, whom Russian President Dmitry Medvedev named two months ago to head the newly created North Caucasus Federal District. More  Moscow Death Toll Rises To 40 Russian media reports say the death toll from the twin suicide bombings in the Moscow subway rose to 40 today after a 51-year-old man died in hospital. More  New Documents Emerge In Raoul Wallenberg Case New documents have emerged that shed light on the circumstances surrounding the death of Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat who worked in Hungary during World War II and saved tens of thousands of Jews from the Holocaust. More  Putin Meets Venezuelan, Bolivian Leaders Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will hold talks with the presidents of Venezuela and Bolivia in Caracas as he makes his first-ever official visit to Venezuela, further deepening ties with South America's leading leftist regime. More  Moscow Bomber Teenage 'Black Widow' Russian media reports say investigators have identified one of the female suicide bombers who carried out the Moscow attacks on March 29 as the teenage widow of a Caucasus militant. More  Russian-U.S. Crew Blasts Off For ISS Two Russian cosmonauts and a female American astronaut have blasted off from Kazakhstan for a long-term mission on the International Space Station. More  Another Musician Takes On The Kremlin The popular rapper Dino MC 47 has just recorded a song, "March 29," that skewers the Kremlin elite and the security services, in the wake of this week's twin bombings on the Moscow metro. More  Moscow Police Search Construction Company's Offices The offices of one of Moscow's largest construction and investment companies have been searched by police. More  For Moscow's Ethnic Minorities, A Fresh Sense Of Fear Being an ethnic minority in the Russian capital can be a stressful experience even in ordinary times. But after Monday's double attack in the Moscow metro, Moscow residents from the Caucasus and Central Asia are especially on edge. More Russian Court Jails Caucasians For Interethnic Violence The Supreme Court in Russia's northwestern republic of Karelia today jailed five men from the North Caucasus for starting a fight that was blamed for deadly ethnic violence. More  Russian Officer Sentenced For Bullying In Novosibirsk The Novosibirsk garrison court in western Siberia today sentenced an officer to four and 1/2 years in jail for bullying that led to a soldier's suicide. More Russian Teens Get Suspended Sentences For Hate Crimes Three teenagers in the southwestern Russian city of Voronezh received suspended sentences today after being found guilty of committing hate crimes. More  Russian Police Break Up 'Article 31' Protests Eduard Limonov, a leader of the Other Russia opposition coalition, was among demonstrators detained by police during an unsanctioned demonstration on Moscow's Triumfalnaya (Triumph) Square on March 31. More  Tatar Cleric: Religious Divisions Could Trigger 'Civil War' A senior Muslim cleric has warned against the spread of Wahhabism in the Russian republic of Tatarstan. More A regional court in Russia's Far East has upheld a court decision obliging the Finance Ministry to pay compensation to farmers who lost their land as a result of the Russo-Chinese border demarcation. More  Medvedev Vows 'Severe' Antiterror Moves Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, on a surprise visit to Daghestan, has said Russia must destroy those behind a series of deadly bombings. More  News Profile: Who Is Doku Umarov? Since the start of the first post-Soviet Chechen war in the fall of 1994, rebel leader Doku Umarov has risen from a rank-and-file fighter to command a network of insurgent groups across the North Caucasus. More  Eldery Russian Rights Activist Assaulted Veteran Russian rights activist Lyudmila Alekseyeva says she probably was the target of a pre-planned attack at a memorial to commemorate victims of the Moscow bombings that killed 39 people. More  Venezuela, Russia In Crude-Oil Venture Venezuela and Russia have announced a joint venture to drill for heavy crude oil in Venezuela's Orinoco River basin. More  Car Blast Kills Two In Daghestan Two people were reported killed overnight in Russia's volatile North Caucasus republic of Daghestan when their car believed packed with explosives blew up. The incident follows a spate of deadly attacks. More  Iran Nuclear Negotiator In China Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Said Jalili, is visiting Beijing for talks with Chinese officials about the Iranian nuclear issue. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said the six world powers leading efforts to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions are "unified" toward talks on a possible new round of sanctions. More  Georgia Offers Help In Moscow Probe Georgian Reintegration Minister Temur Iakobashvili said today Tbilisi is ready to cooperate with Russia to identify terrorists in connection with the Moscow subway bombings. More  Russian, Turkmen Officials Allegedly Pampered By Daimler The German automaker Daimler AG has agreed to pay a $185 million fine to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over allegations that bribes were paid to secure business in a number of countries, including Russia, Turkmenistan, Romania, Bulgaria, and Latvia. More  Umarov Claims He Ordered Moscow Blasts In a new video, Chechen rebel leader Doku Umarov claims responsibility for two suicide bombings on the Moscow metro that killed at least 39 people and wounded scores more. More  Vladivostok Police Detain Demonstrators Police in Russia's far eastern city of Vladivostok have detained at least 20 protesters who were demonstrating for their constitutional rights. More  Falsely Accused Chechen Paid A Moscow City Court ruled today that the Finance Ministry must pay the equivalent of $4,700 to a man falsely accused of attempting to assassinate Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov. More  Bashkir Extremist Suspect Detained Another suspected member of an extremist group was detained in Bashkortostan today, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More Russian police dispersed anti-Kremlin protests in Moscow and St. Petersburg today, detaining around 30 demonstrators. More Daghestan's Laks Plan Protest Meeting Representatives of Daghestan's Lak population have formally requested permission from the Makhachkala municipal authorities to stage a meeting in the city on April 3 to protest the dismissal of their co-ethnic, Amuchi Amutinov, who heads the Daghestan branch of the federal Pension Fund. More  Russian Authorities Warn of Possible New Attacks Authorities in Russia have vowed to track down the organizers of the deadly March 29 metro blasts, saying they have video footage of the alleged bombers and are on the trail of their accomplices. But critics blame the security services for failing to prevent the bombings and say they're skeptical law enforcers can prevent future terrorism, amid warnings of possible new attacks. More  Twin Bombings Kill 12 In Daghestan At least 12 people have been killed by twin bombs in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Daghestan, including a top police official. More  Ukraine Bans Some Russian Pork Imports Ukrainian authorities have banned the import of pork from Russia's Southern, Central, and Volga federal districts. More  Kyiv To Install Cameras On Metro Trains Kyiv officials say they are planning to install video cameras inside the city’s subway cars. More  In Wake Of Metro Bombings, Putin's War On Terror Is Under Fire In the aftermath of the March 29 metro bombings in Moscow, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is talking tough, vowing to drag terrorists "from the depths of the sewer." But a growing chorus of voices is saying that Putin's antiterrorist policies are a failure. Citizens have sacrificed their political rights and civil liberties, but are still not safe. More |
