Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

RFE/RL Russia Report 6/7/2011 8:58:57 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 .

 

Countdown To Karabakh Conflict Talks In Kazan During the G-8 summit in Deauville in late May, the presidents of France, Russia, and the U.S., the three countries that jointly co-chair the OSCE Minsk Group, issued a statement calling on the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan to "finalize" at their planned meeting in Kazan on June 25 the so-called "Basic Principles" for resolving the Karabakh conflict. More   Russian Court Makes Record Award An appeals court in central Russia has ordered a company to pay 1.3 million rubles ($46,600) to the widow of a worker killed in a plant accident last year. More   Prominent Activist Beaten In Moscow Bakhrom Hamroev, who works for the Moscow-based human rights organization Memorial, was hospitalized after the June 6 attack and Moscow police have launched an investigation into the incident. Hamroev told RFE/RL by phone that the attack appears to have been planned. More   A New Russian Women’s Movement -- Or A Cynical Political Ploy? A new movement founded by a lawmaker from United Russia says it will campaign for more women in Russia’s top political jobs. But analysts say the movement is just one of hundreds of groups just seeking a place in the All-Russia People's Front in a short-lived play to ensure political gain. More   Mass Evacuation After Russian Depot Blast A fire at a military base in the Russian republic of Udmurtia is causing a series of strong explosions, forcing authorities to evacuate thousands of people. More   Podcast: Kids With Bombs; A Balalaika Virtuoso; Balkans Redux; Cold War Tales From RFE/RL In this week's show, kids with bombs, a balalaika virtuoso, Balkans redux, and Cold War tales from RFE/RL. More   'The Nation’s' Dissident Problem The Polish anticommunist hero and Solidarity co-founder Lech Walesa declined a meeting last week with Barack Obama on the Polish leg of the president's European trip. "It's difficult to tell journalists what you'd like to say to the president of a superpower," Walesa told Polish broadcaster TVN24. "This time I won't tell him, I won't meet him, it doesn't suit me." More   Shoppers Unfazed As Russia Bans EU Vegetables Russia has banned the import of fresh vegetables from all European Union countries because of a deadly E. coli bacterial outbreak centered in Germany. Russia's public health chief said the ban would remain in place until EU researchers were able to identify the cause of the outbreak, which has already killed at least 17 people. More   Blasts Stop At Russian Military Deport Explosions caused by a fire at a military ammunition depot in the Russian republic of Bashkortostan nearly a week ago have finally ceased. More   The Return Of The (Housebroken) Oligarchs More   Russian Rock Critic Targeted In Slander Suits Prominent Russian rock critic Artemy Troitsky has landed himself in hot water for calling Vadim Samoylov, the black-clad, mop-haired former front man of the disbanded gothic rock band “Agata Kristi,” a "trained poodle" for Deputy Kremlin Chief of Staff Vladislav Surkov. More   Tatarstan Hosts Turkic Nations' Theater Festival A theater festival featuring performances by actors from various Turkic-speaking countries has opened in Kazan. More   European Court: Khodorkovsky's Rights Violated The European Court of Human Rights today found Russia guilty of violations in the arrest and first trial of former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky. The ruling follows a request for parole by Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev. More   Kyrgyz Man Stabbed To Death In Moscow A Kyrgyz citizen has been stabbed to death in Moscow. Almaz Abdisyaev, a lawyer at the Kyrgyz Embassy in the Russian capital said that three workers at the Moscow Trade Center near Tikhoretsky Park got into a fight on May 29 and one of them, a Kyrgyz man, was stabbed and died before medical workers arrived. More   Calls For Mikhalkov To Face Driving Rap Russian activists are demanding that prominent film director Nikita Mikhalkov be punished for "dangerous driving" in Moscow. More   U.S. Designates North Caucasus Insurgency As Terrorist Organization The U.S. State Department's designation of the Caucasus Emirate proclaimed by Doku Umarov in late 2007 as a terrorist organization was unexpected. Whether Moscow's offer to mediate with embattled Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi to persuade him to step down was the quid pro quo is not clear at this juncture. More   Russia Clears Official In Magnitsky Case Russian prosecutors today cleared a chief investigator whom rights groups believe was responsible for the death of a lawyer for what was the country's largest Western investment fund. More   Mr. McFaul Goes To Moscow U.S. President Barack Obama plans to nominate his chief Russia adviser, Michael McFaul, as his ambassador to Moscow, according to U.S. media reports citing unidentified administration officials. More   Officials In Russia's Tatarstan Face Moment Of Truth For years, Russians have debated the use of lie-detector tests of public officials as a way of combating rampant corruption. Over the past year, the city administration of Kazan has been administering supposedly voluntary tests to officials and firing some for failing. More   Abkhaz Leader Sergei Bagapsh Dies Sergei Bagapsh, de facto president of the unrecognized Republic of Abkhazia, died in Moscow early on May 29, one week after undergoing lung surgery. He was 62, and had headed the republic since early 2005. More   American Gay-Rights Activist Arrested In Moscow Daniel Choi, a U.S. Iraq war veteran and gay-rights campaigner, was among the 34 people arrested in Moscow on May 28 as activists attempted to march in a rally banned by the city government. More   Fears Mount That Russia Could Face Another Summer Of Deadly Forest Fires Peat bogs and forests have burst into flames earlier than usual this year, sparking fears of more deadly blazes this summer in Russia. Moreover, volunteer firefighters, who last year battled the fires in an impressive show of solidarity, say a new law greatly hinders them and leaves thousands of isolated villages in harm's way. More   Clashes At Banned Moscow Gay Rally Russian gay-rights activists vowed after receiving the authorities' rejection letter on May 17 that they would proceed with the gay-pride event in the capital. More   Former Russian Prison Guards Jailed For Prisoners' Deaths Eight former Russian prison guards have been jailed for up to 10 years after being found guilty of beating four prisoners to death. More   Head Of (The Deep) State There has been a lot of ink spilled lately about what Vladimir Putin's decision to form the All-Russian People's Front means for the country's political future. Here's my take. More   Party Leader Detained At Moscow Protest Moscow police have detained opposition Yabloko party leader Sergei Mitrokhin during a protest by vendors. More   Fire At Russia Base Displaces Thousands Thousands of local residents have been evacuated after a fire at an ammunition depot in Russia's Republic of Bashkortostan caused a series of explosions. More   Global Index Charts Year Of Continued Setbacks To World Peace The world became slightly less peaceful in the past year, punctuated by violent uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East, but also marked by successes in countries like Slovenia and Georgia. More   Russian Mayor Charged With Abuse Of Office Police and Federal Security Service (FSB) personnel searched the offices of Abakan Mayor Nikolai Bulakin on May 25 after he was officially charged with abuse of office. More   Russian Human Rights Activist Held A veteran Russian human rights activist has been sentenced to 48 hours' detention in the western Siberian city of Novosibirsk after he failed to show up at a police station where he had been summoned for questioning. More   Comic Strip Casts Putin, Medvedev As Superheroes A new comic strip casting Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev as superheroes has taken the Internet by storm. But some viewers suspect the work was commissioned by the Kremlin. More   Russian Police Abuse Trial Continues The trial of a former Russian policeman accused of beating demonstrators has continued with the court hearing from five witnesses who testified against the defendant. More   Summer In Paris, Or Jail In Tbilisi? Hmm… What little suspense there might have been surrounding the current antigovernment protests in Tbilisi revolved around two grandiose ultimatums. More   Court Hears Khodorkovsky Appeal A Moscow Court has upheld the fraud conviction of jailed oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his former business partner Platon Lebedev, but cut their jail sentence by a year. More   Russia's Top Internet Company, Yandex, Makes U.S. Debut With IPO Yandex is going public. The popular Russian search engine will hold a highly anticipated initial public offering in New York this week and will list on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. More   Russia's Public Chamber Calls For Banning 'Protocols Of Elders Of Zion' Pressure in Russia is mounting to get "The Protocols Of The Elders Of Zion" declared “extremist," which would lead to the 20th-century propaganda pamphlet being banned. But some rights activists question the wisdom of such a move. More   A Street Poet At A Court Poets' Feast: Remembering Bob Dylan's Visit To Soviet Georgia As Bob Dylan turns 70 on May 24, his fans in Georgia are remembering a few strange days in July 1985 -- days which their idol spent in Tbilisi, the capital of what was then the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic. More