 RFE/RL Russia Report 9/21/2010 7:49:56 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 . |
 Activists Protest Building Near Kremlin Activists in Moscow are demonstrating against the construction of a building near the Kremlin that they say was not properly approved and would ruin the panorama of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. More  Accused Russian Policeman Attacked A policeman in St. Petersburg allegedly involved in beating and insulting demonstrators has reportedly been assaulted himself. More The workers at a ball-bearing factory in Tomsk say they have not been paid for over 18 months despite a promise by the owner to pay all overdue wages. More Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has sacked a general who was working for the Interior Ministry after he reportedly pulled out a gun and shot it outside a Moscow store while drunk. More  Mothers Protest Russian Conscripts' Deployment To Daghestan The NGO Soldiers' Mothers of St. Petersburg picketed the Interior Ministry Troops Staff headquarters in the city today to protest the mass deployment of conscripts to Daghestan. More  Russian Provincial Governor Sues Journalist For Libel The governor of the Altai Republic in western Siberia has filed a libel lawsuit against a local journalist. More  Russia’s Second Life Democracy At a “modernization forum” in Yaroslavl on September 10, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev once again linked the role technology could play in the development of Russian democracy. More  The Iron Ceiling: Sexism Still Strong In Russia Lifestyles in Russia may have undergone a seismic shift since its people threw off communism two decades ago, but some things have been very slow to change. Although women are more emancipated than ever in Russian history, general attitudes toward the role they play in society remain positively medieval. More  Tatar Strongman's Departure Boosts Chechen Ambitions To Become Top Muslim Region Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov has been actively promoting his republic as Russia's new Muslim hub. The recent departure of Tatarstan's strongman leader has fired up his ambitions, but Tatars are not impressed. More  In Eurasia, Millions Worry About Beloved Buckwheat Devastating fires and droughts are not the only consequences of the heat wave that hit much of the former Soviet Union this summer. Millions of people across the region are now hit by another misfortune: buckwheat shortages. More  Russian Gay-Rights Activist Released A Russian gay-rights activist who disappeared after being detained at a Moscow airport on September 15 has reappeared after what he says was two days in police detention. More  Taking A Stand On September 16, the leading members of Russia's much-persecuted and defamed liberal political wing agreed to form a coalition for the purpose of contesting the 2011 Duma elections and the 2012 presidential election. It is a quixotic quest, indeed, and the four signatories to the agreement can now expect the full brunt of the Kremlin's anti-democratic machine. More  Poland Frees Chechen Exile Zakayev A police spokesman said Zakayev was detained on the street and taken under police escort to the prosecutors' office. More  Kremlin Wants Him Out, But Moscow's Mayor Isn't Going Without A Fight It’s Russia’s first real political drama in years. The Kremlin wants to replace Moscow’s powerful Mayor Yury Luzhkov, but he’s not going without a fight. Years of antagonisms have exploded in a bitter media battle that’s providing a rare show of defiance to Russia’s normally all-powerful authoritarian regime. More But he catches himself! More Not content with setting up its own national search engine, or launching its own Siliconski Valley, Russia is supposedly going to launch a new smart phone next year. More  The Kremlin Performs A Luzhkovectomy The scandal around Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov promises to be the hit spectacle of the new season of Russian political theater. Of course, the drama (replete with plenty of comic relief and, so far, missing only some tawdry sex) is still playing out. But we’ve already seen enough to make a few observations. More  TV Documentary Targets Moscow Mayor A state-controlled TV channel's broadcast of a program accusing Moscow's powerful mayor, Yury Luzhkov, of corruption fuels speculation of an ouster. More  Move And Strategies: Chess Becomes Political In the international world of chess, it's difficult to tell who is the pawn of whom. More  Hagiography, Bomb-Making, And A Dejeuner Sur L'Herbe Over the past five years, the North Caucasus insurgency has become adept at using the Internet as a powerful publicity tool to showcase successful attacks on Russian and pro-Russian military and security personnel, to promulgate its message of jihad, and to recruit new fighters to its ranks. More  Umarov Explains His Seeming Inconsistency North Caucasus insurgency leader Doku Umarov has released a video statement, posted on the insurgency websites kavkazcenter.com and islamdin.com, explaining the circumstances in which he offered earlier this summer to step down from that post, and why he subsequently retracted that decision. More |
