Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

RFE/RL Russia Report 3/1/2011 10:23:13 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 Renegades Make Out Like Bandits -- With Cops Members of renegade Russian art group "Voina" have decided to shower the police with affection, literally. More   Whose Man Is New Karachayevo-Cherkessia Leader? While the new head of the Karachayevo-Cherkessia Republic, Rashid Temrezov, reportedly enjoys "very good relations" with Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, he also has ties to former republic leader, Mustafa Batdyev, who first promoted Temrezov to a senior post. More   Khimki Activists Complain Of Harassment Activists who have waged a high-profile campaign to prevent the destruction of the Khimki forest outside Moscow say the Russian authorities are waging a coordinated campaign of intimidation against them. In the latest tactic, the authorities are targeting their children. More   Witness IDs Markelov Murder Suspect A witness has testified in a high-profile murder trial in Moscow that she saw one of the defendants at the site of the double killing. More   Belarusian Moscow Protester Charged The Moscow City Court has upheld the arrest of a Belarusian citizen charged with attacking a policeman during a rally in December. More   Official: Tatarstan Could Lose $200 Million In Libya The Tatar parliament speaker says the unrest in Libya may cost Tatarstan some $200 million in lost business and other costs. More   Russian Police Force To Change Its Name, But Not Its Ways Russia is about to launch a reform that the authorities claim will clean up the country's ill-famed police. The Russian public is skeptical. More   Karachayevo-Cherkessia President Steps Down Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has accepted the resignation of Karachayevo-Cherkessia Republic (KChR) President Boris Ebzeyev and named Rashid Temrezov, 34, head of the office in charge of Karachayevo-Cherkessia's highways, as acting KChR president. More   Bashkir President Sends Mixed Signals Over Native Language Employees of Bashkortostan's TV and Radio (BST) have appealed to republican President Rustem Khamitov to stop the layoff of journalists writing in Bashkir and the reduction of broadcasts in that language. More   Russian Police Abuse Trial Delayed A St. Petersburg court has postponed hearings in the case of alleged police abuse by the so-called "Pearl Ensign." More   Russian, Armenian Presidents Meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sarkisian met in St. Petersburg on February 26 for talks that included the dispute over the breakaway Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh. More   Yabloko Official On Extortion Charges The leader of the Russian opposition Yabloko party's branch in the central Sverdlov Oblast has been charged with extortion. More   Who Are Kabardino-Balkaria's 'Black Hawks'? The Kabardino-Balkaria-Karchai jamaat headed by Asker Jappuyev will have to contend with a second adversary in the shape of the "Black Hawks," a band of armed, masked, black-clad men who have vowed to kill him and others for having "brought shame upon their race" by killing innocent civilians and by aligning themselves with Chechen insurgent commander Doku Umarov. More   Russia, EU Spar Over Energy Policy Russia and the European Union argued about energy policy and discussed issues ranging from visa-free travel to human rights to Russia's bid to the World Trade Organization at a meeting in Brussels. More   Russian Activists Post Pics Of 'Patriarch's Dacha' Environmental activists in Russia post photographs of a Black Sea mansion they say is being built on protected land for the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. More   A Look Inside Kadyrov's Villa Thanks to the Internet, we now have photos of Ramzan Kadyrov's mansion in Tsentoroi. The photos don't tell us much about the man aside from a penchant for expensive, if tasteless, furnishings. More   Ex-Moscow Mayor, Wife Under Pressure From Russian Investigators After longtime Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov was forced from office last year, Russian law enforcement has been working overtime looking into municipal affairs on his watch and into the business affairs of his wife, billionaire Yelena Baturina. More   Murder Pair Make Frame Claim A defendant charged in the 2009 murders of journalist Anastasia Baburova and lawyer Stanislav Markelov says her husband has been framed as the main suspect in the case. More   Bribe-Case Mayor To Stay In Jail A court in eastern Russia has ruled that a former mayor charged with extortion will remain in jail despite demonstrations calling for his release. More