Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

RFE/RL Russia Report 3/27/2012 5:00:22 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 .

 

Repeat Presidential Election In South Ossetia Inconclusive As anticipated, none of the four candidates in the March 25 repeat election for de facto president of Georgia's unrecognized region of South Ossetia polled the 50 percent plus one vote required for a clear first-round win. A runoff has accordingly been scheduled for April 8 between opposition-backed candidate Leonid Tibilov, who polled 42.48 percent of the vote, and human rights ombudsman David Sanakoyev, who finished second with 24.58 percent. More   In Live-Mic Moment, Obama Pledges 'Flexibility' On Missile Defense Private remarks between U.S. President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, that were broadcast near the end of a meeting in Seoul have set off a media firestorm. In the video that has emerged, Obama suggests that he'll bring more "flexibility" to the table once he and Russian President-elect Vladimir Putin sit down to discuss U.S. missile defense, which is fiercely opposed by Moscow. More   The Big Chill: Is Russia's Mini-Thaw Over? Andrei Kolomoisky faces five years in prison over a video parody of Vladimir Putin. Is his case a harbinger of a crackdown? More   Russian President Names Special Abkhazia, South Ossetia Envoys Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has appointed special representatives for Georgia’s breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. More   Does This Language Make Me Look Fat? A new study by a Yale University economist suggests that the language you speak can have an impact on your long-term well-being by affecting how you think about saving money, smoking, exercise, and even obesity. More   Outcry After Russian Police Chief Makes Case For Torture In Memoirs The top law-enforcement official in the Russian republic of Tatarstan is facing a fresh wave of public anger after published memoirs came to light in which he denounces the abolition of the death penalty and appears to make a case for the use of torture. More   Podcast: Russian Artists Fight The Power From feminist punk rockers Pussy Riot to the anarchist art collective Voina, Russia's avant-garde community has become increasingly bold in challenging the authorities in a variety of creative ways. More   All Power To The Soviets! A Little Revolution Stirs In Moscow Councils Fresh rumblings of dissent are erupting in the power vertical's increasingly soft underbelly as the opposition flexes its muscles in Moscow's district councils. More   Prominent Putin Critic Dies At 77 Marina Salye, one of the most prominent critics of Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, has died of a heart attack in St. Petersburg. More   In Syria, Russia Seeks To Preserve Middle East Foothold Moscow's reluctance to back outside efforts in Syria reflects a deep-seated fear of relinquishing Soviet-era groundwork on an emerging regional landscape. More   Neighboring Countries Scramble To Be NATO's Exit Route From Afghanistan Russia, Central Asia, and the Caucasus could reap a bonanza in transit fees as NATO brings home materiel from Afghanistan. More   Confusion Surrounds Reported Troop Deployment To Daghestan Reports of the deployment to Daghestan of some 20,000 Russian troops from the Russian military base at Khankala on the outskirts of Grozny have elicited contradictory comments from senior regional officials. The purpose of the deployment remains unclear. More   TV Station, Procter & Gamble Draw Russian Protesters' Ire As Putin critics prepare lawsuits against NTV after the Kremlin-friendly television station aired a documentary smearing protesters, there are also calls to boycott consumer giant Procter & Gamble, one of NTV's official sponsors. More   Fighting City Hall The cities of Tolyatti and Yaroslavl present two contrasting models of how Russia's opposition might fare in local elections, which promise to be a key battleground in the coming year. More   A Comeback For The Gray Cardinal? Since falling out with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin last year and getting pushed out of his job as deputy Kremlin chief of staff in December, Vladislav Surkov has been languishing in political purgatory. Is he on his way back? More   Man's Death In Police Custody Leads To More Revelations Of Abuse In Russia Albert Zagitov was selling fruit at a Kazan market when police detained him, threatened him with rape, and beat him until he agreed to pay a small fine. More   Jailed For Not Paying A Fine, Ponzi Scheme Founder Plots 'Financial Apocalypse' Sergei Mavrodi, the mastermind behind the MMM pyramid scheme that cheated millions of Russians out of their savings in the 1990s, has been jailed for nonpayment of a $33 fine. Mavrodi, who has already spent 4 1/2 years in prison for fraud, last year launched a new pyramid that he hopes to export to the West. His goal, he told RFE/RL hours before his arrest, is to bring down the global financial system. More   Sleeping Tiger, Hidden Agenda? Russian Prime Minister and President-elect Vladimir Putin has built a reputation as a rugged, assertive man of the earth, in part by participating in a series of encounters involving large wild animals. But animal experts are now suggesting that one wild tiger who Putin famously subdued with a tranquilizer gun was, in fact, a zoo animal who later died from oversedation. More   The Return Of The Clans Russia's feuding Kremlin clans faded into the background over the past few months. Now, they're back in the spotlight. More   All Politics Is Local The opposition has failed to change the top of the power vertical. The next battleground, it appears, will be the vertical's soft local underbelly. More   Russia Death-In-Custody Case Brings Unusually Prompt Police Reaction Sergei Nazarov was taken from a Kazan jail to a hospital, where he died the next day -- but not before telling doctors he had been tortured by police. All too often, such cases get covered up or ignored in Russia, but this one seems to be different. More   U.S. Envoy Cites 'Real Politics In Russia' Michael McFaul, the U.S. ambassador to Moscow, says there is "real politics in Russia again." More