Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

RFE/RL Russia Report 8/30/2011 11:01:09 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 .

 

Indigenous Siberian People Protest Russian Rocket Crashes An indigenous people in Siberia is demanding compensation for damage to their health they say was caused by a series of crashes of Russian spacecraft. More   Official Account Of Brawl In Russia's Far East Disputed Supporters of migrant workers involved in a recent brawl with security forces in Russia's Far East have disputed an official account that blamed the fracas on alcohol. More   British MP Wants Magnitsky Sanctions British Member of Parliament (MP) Denis MacShane has called on the British government to place visa restrictions on Russian officials accused of involvement in the death of Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer who died in prison in 2009. More   Video: On His Hog, Putin Returns To The PR Trough In Russia's latest episode of "Quien es mas macho?" we find Russian Two-Terminator Vladimir Putin hopping on a Hog to lead the field at a bikers' festival in the port city of Novorossiysk, where he later addressed the crowd from in front of a Black Sea Fleet battleship. More   Soviet-Era Marijuana Still In Demand Shared between Southern Kazakhstan and Northern Kyrgyzstan, Chu Valley has been one of the most infamous sources of marijuana in the former Soviet Union for as long as anyone can remember. More   United Russia 'Primaries' Seen As A Political Show The public part of the ruling United Russia party's selection of candidates for December's parliamentary elections appeared little different from a similar process four years ago. More   Slow Death In Kazakhstan's Land Of Nuclear Tests Twenty years ago, Kazakhstan closed a dark chapter in its nuclear history by officially shutting down the infamous Semipalatinsk nuclear test site in the northeast Kazakh steppe. Over a 40-year period, the Soviet Union conducted more than one-quarter of the world's nuclear tests at the site. Today, locals live with the lasting legacy of the horrendous tests -- birth defects, cancer, and deeply irradiated soil and water. More   Russia's August Lull Ends; A Hot Autumn Looms Five things about Russia that I wish I blogged this week. More   Russia Frees Alleged Army Deserter A Russian soldier who claims he spent more than a decade in forced labor has been released from detention after authorities accused him of desertion. More   Russian Boat Tragedy Witness Buried The funeral has been held for a witness in the investigation of last month's Volga riverboat tragedy who was found dead of an apparent suicide. More   Kyrgyz Crime Figure Held In Russia A suspected member of a Kyrgyz criminal group has been apprehended near Moscow. Kyrgyz Interior Ministry spokesman Adyl Omorov told RFE/RL on August 24 that Kazbek Bilalov, 34, was arrested in the town of Zelenograd this week. More

RFE/RL Headlines 8/30/2011 11:03:05 PM A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty RFE/RL is looking for guest bloggers, preferably writing from and about our broadcast region. If you're interested, drop us a line at webteam@rferl.org.

 

Features In Tripoli, Qaddafi Is Yesterday's Man Where is Muammar Qaddafi? His second wife and two sons have surfaced in neighboring Algeria. But people in Libya's capital say their leader of 42 years is yesterday's man. More   Author Talks About Kazakhstan's Clan Politics With the birth of the Kazakh people came strong familial ties that helped forge the nation's politics. This is still the case today, with three clan divisions -- The Great Horde (Uly Zhuz), Middle Horde (Orta Zhuz), and Small Horde (Kishi Zhuz) -- jockeying for influence. RFE/RL Edward Schatz, associate professor with the University of Toronto's Department of Political Science and author of "Modern Clan Politics: The Power of 'Blood' in Kazakhstan and Beyond" talks to RFE/RL Kazakh Service correspondent Galym Bokash about why clan politics matter in modern Kazakhstan. More   Afghan Aid Worker Not Blind To Taliban Threats Afghan civilians associated with Western-funded aid projects are under increasing threat from Taliban insurgents as Western forces transfer security responsibilities to Afghans. The life of one blind aid worker in eastern Afghanistan has been disrupted by a letter threatening death "anytime, any place." More   News UN Warns Of Escalating Kosovo Tensions A senior UN official has warned in a report that tensions in Kosovo may escalate. More   EU Cool On Lukashenka 'Roundtable' The European Union has reacted coolly to a proposal by Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka for roundtable talks between the government and the opposition. More   Tymoshenko Case Files Said Missing Lawyers for former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko say hundreds of pages are missing from the case files of her trial on charges of abuse of office. She was arrested earlier this month in connection to the trial. More   Libyan Rebels Issue Ultimatum To Qaddafi Forces The leader of Libya’s rebel National Transitional Council says forces remaining loyal to embattled leader Muammar Qaddafi have a handful of days to surrender, or face military action. The rebels also demanded that Algeria extradite Qaddafi’s relatives, while the UN has begun considering the post-Qaddafi era. More   From Our Bureaus Indigenous Siberian People Protest Russian Rocket Crashes An indigenous people in Siberia is demanding compensation for damage to their health they say was caused by a series of crashes of Russian spacecraft. More   Alleged Extremist Shot Dead In West Kazakhstan Authorities in western Kazakhstan say they have shot dead a suspected religious extremist who was plotting acts of terrorism. More   Official Account Of Brawl In Russia's Far East Disputed Supporters of migrant workers involved in a recent brawl with security forces in Russia's Far East have disputed an official account that blamed the fracas on alcohol. More   Elderly Iranian Party Member Arrested Reza Kermani's wife, Mehri Olyaee, told RFE/RL that four members of the security forces and police arrested him at his home in the city of Karaj, west of Tehran, on August 27. More   British MP Wants Magnitsky Sanctions British Member of Parliament (MP) Denis MacShane has called on the British government to place visa restrictions on Russian officials accused of involvement in the death of Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer who died in prison in 2009. More   Advisory Body Wants To Name Turkmen President 'Protector' Turkmenistan's Council of Elders plans to bestow on President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov the formal title "Arkadag," meaning "protector." More   Transmission Finding 'Solidarity Esplanade' In Brussels There is not much to celebrate in the European Union in dire economic times like these, but today the European Parliament rolled out the red carpet and let a string orchestra play "Ode to Joy." More   Video: On His Hog, Putin Returns To The PR Trough In Russia's latest episode of "Quien es mas macho?" we find Russian Two-Terminator Vladimir Putin hopping on a Hog to lead the field at a bikers' festival in the port city of Novorossiysk, where he later addressed the crowd from in front of a Black Sea Fleet battleship. More   At Large The Free Shores of Tripoli Adham had never picked up a gun before, never mind fired one. But all that changed on August 20, when the tall, lanky, 26-year-old Tripoli resident was handed a weapon and a grenade to fight against the 42-year regime of Muammar Qaddafi. "It was the first time for everyone," he tells me. More   Free Libya Raises Its Head Six months after protests erupted in the eastern city of Benghazi, rebel forces fighting under the auspices of the internationally recognized National Transitional Council (NTC) finally appear to have achieved their goal of toppling the Qaddafi regime. More