RFE/RL RUSSIA REPORT
12/13/2011 6:14:44 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 . |
 4-Year Sentence Sought For 'Pearl Ensign' The prosecutor in the trial of a Russian policeman accused of verbally and physically abusing demonstrators asked the court today to sentence him to four years in jail. More  Prokhorov's Bid For Russian Presidency -- Kremlin Ruse Or Real News? Billionaire mogul Mikhail Prokhorov's announcement that he will seek the presidency next year has Russia's political world buzzing. But given his long-standing Kremlin ties, many are wondering whether his bid is a real challenge to Putin or if he is playing the role of the spoiler. More  How Many Demonstrated For The Kremlin? And How Willing Were They? Russian officials claimed as many as 25,000 people turned out to back the ruling party and its leader Vladimir Putin during the December 12 protests on Moscow's Manezhnaya Square. Photographs and eyewitness accounts, however, tell a different story. More  Vote Coverage Sparks 'Kommersant' Firings Kremlin-friendly oligarch Alisher Usmanov has fired two senior managers of the respected Kommersant publishing group over one of its publications' coverage of alleged violations during the recent Duma elections. More  Lugar: Arab Spring Fueled Russia Demos The top Republican lawmaker on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee says the protests taking place in Russia against the ruling power in the Kremlin have been influenced by the Arab Spring and online social-media networks. More  South Ossetian Compromise Agreement Could Unravel If an agreement intended to end the two-week standoff between the outgoing de facto president and the opposition in Georgia's breakaway republic of South Ossetia falls apart, Eduard Kokoity might still succeed in neutralizing the opposition and outmaneuvering Moscow to secure either his return to power or the election of his hand-picked successor. More  Embattled Kremlin Makes Concessions Russian authorities have made gestures since street protests began over elections but haven't budged on key opposition demands. Meanwhile, the EU hints it will raise the issue with President Dmitry Medvedev. More  Prokhorov Launches Kremlin Bid One of Russia's richest men and the architect of an abortive bid this year to launch a center-right political party, billionaire playboy Mikhail Prokhorov now says he will challenge Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in next year's presidential election. More  After Mass Protests In Russia, Is The Kremlin Using Facebook To Ease The Pressure? After posting a message on Facebook ordering officials to look into reports of possible violations at polling stations during the December 4 vote, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev page has been overwhelmed by negative comments. More  Russia Sees Biggest Protests In Years The Russian opposition has called on the authorities to annul election results marred by alleged violations and threatened more anti-Kremlin rallies as tens of thousands demonstrated across the country. More  Armenian Deputy Slams Russian Elections An Armenian opposition deputy has called Russia's controversial parliamentary elections "undemocratic" and criticized Armenia's government for welcoming the results. More  Top Russian Health Inspector: Demonstrators Will Catch The Flu The Kremlin spin machine was firing on all cylinders on December 9 as top state doctor Gennady Onishchenko warned that protesters set to rally across dozens of Russian towns on December 10 should stay at home – or else risk catching the flu. More  Nationalists Vs. Liberals: Old Schism Could Fracture Opposition Protest Movement As Russia gears up for mass nationwide demonstrations on December 10, the presence of nationalist voices is unsettling some of Russia's ethnic minorities who are otherwise sympathetic to the movement's goals. It's a potential division that unnerves liberals and that the Kremlin is more than eager to exploit. More  South Ossetian Opposition Leader Offers Compromise Solution To Standoff With support for outgoing de facto South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity crumbling, Alla Dzhioyeva, the apparent winner of the election to choose his successor, has proposed a solution to the deadlock precipitated by the Supreme Court's annulment of the results of the November 27 runoff ballot. More  Adygeya Republic Head Nominated For Second Term The Kremlin has nominated Aslan Tkhakushinov to serve a second term as Republic of Adygeya head, ignoring requests by several prominent opposition figures to replace him. More  Podcast: Eyewitnesses Recall U.S.S.R.'s Dying Days, Plus St. Petersburg Surf Rock Eyewitness histories as we mark the 20th anniversary of the end of the Soviet Union; plus surf rock from St. Petersburg and "Sesame Street" makes its debut in Afghanistan. More  Russian Case Against Researcher Of Soviet Germans Closed A Russian court has closed the case against a historian accused of illegally revealing personal data about ethnic Germans in the Soviet Union. More  The Decembrist Uprising Throughout his first stint in the Kremlin Vladimir Putin was able to count on the rock-solid support of Russia's emerging new middle class. No more. More  Mayors Go After Poor United Russia Poll The mayors of two Russian cities where the number of votes for the ruling United Russia party in parliamentary elections on December 4 was relatively low have tendered their resignations. More  The Consequences Of Hiding From History Twenty years ago today, the dissolution of the Soviet Union was declared. In a new book, journalist David Satter argues that the continuing failure to understand the roots of communism’s human tragedy reinforces the authoritarianism of Russia’s government today. More  Russian Journalist Calls Out Colleagues A prominent Russian journalist has called on journalists working for the state-run media to be "professionals" after they failed to cover recent demonstrations against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. More  Will U.S. Move On Global Gay Rights Hurt, Or Help? Gay-rights activists have welcomed a U.S. move to call on government agencies to lead the fight to combat antigay discrimination abroad. But others have warned it may make the struggle for gay rights even harder in parts of the world where anti-American sentiment is rising. More  Criminal Case Brought Against New Kabardino-Balkaria Insurgency Leaders The Kabardino-Balkaria directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Prosecutor-General's Office has opened a criminal case against the commander of the Kabardino-Balkaria-Karachai wing of the North Caucasus insurgency, and the five men he identified as heads of the various insurgency sectors. More  Tajikistan Monitoring Murder Probe Tajikistan has sent a senior parliament deputy to Russia to monitor the investigation into the killing of a Tajik citizen in St. Petersburg. More  Russia Protests Go From Web To Streets Russians have organized a string of fresh protests on the Internet and promise to bring more than 14,000 onto the streets nationwide, as public discontent over allegedly fraudulent elections shows no sign of abating. More  Hundreds More Russia Arrests A heavy police presence didn't deter thousands of opposition supporters angered by weekend elections from once again turning out in Moscow, where they faced competing pro-government rallies. More  Podcast: Russia's New Politics Sunday's elections in Russia appear to have crystallized mounting discontent with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's rule. In the latest edition of The Power Vertical podcast, I speak with Kirill Kobrin, managing editor of RFE/RL's Russian Service, about the emerging political reality. More South Ossetia Heads Into Uncharted Constitutional Waters The Supreme Court of Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia has upheld its annulment of the outcome of the presidential runoff in which opposition candidate Alla Dzhioyeva defeated the Kremlin's preferred candidate, Anatoly Bibilov. More  First Person: Life In Russia As A Non-Russian Child Aida Kasymalieva reports from Moscow for RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service. This summer, she brought her 5-year-old daughter, Bermet, to Moscow from the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, where she had been living with her grandparents. This is Kasymalieva's account of her daughter's experience of life in Russia. More |
