Yesterday marked the first anniversary of the anti-Putin Bolotnaya Square protests, which have led to numerous arrests and indictments of Russian opposition figure. The theme of this year’s demonstration was solidarity with these political prisoners. Below is a speech delivered by the Russian novelist Boris Akunin. –Ed. Greetings. If the court trials that have […]
Articles
From Bolotnaya to Lubyanka, from Lubyanka to Kuschevka
What we are witnessing is the date of “May 6” making history. The trial of the “May 6 prisoners”, and the “Navalny Case” mark another historical turn of events. To understand the meaning of this, let’s try to look ahead from the past. I remember all too well how the “sources in the presidential administration” […]
Opposition Rally on Bolotnaya Square
A protest rally took place in Moscow on Bolotnaya Square with permission from authorities, timed to the anniversary of the “March of Millions” last year where clashes with police occurred. The action began with a minute of silence for a worker who died Monday as he was erecting the stage for the demonstration. According to […]
Alexey Navalny’s Speech at Bolotnaya Square
People usually expect me to say something new or I will to shout a new slogan. I haven’t thought up a new slogan, but on the other hand, I’ve come on stage with my wife, Julia. And maybe that is the new slogan — protest with your wife or together with your husband, as it […]
When the Time Expires
In my early youth, a friend of the family who had consecutively passed through the hell of German and Stalin’s concentration camps gave me A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich [by Alexander Solzhenitsyn] to read. Ever since, for many years, I have hungrily read everything I could about Stalin, about the hard years […]
Yes, This is Political Activity
“Motherland, You’ve Gone Nuts,” writes Maya Sonina, director of the Oxygen charitable fund in her blog And what else can you write? The Motherland really has gone nuts — or well, alright, if not the Motherland itself, at least its Istra City Prosecutor’s Office, which has issued the organization Help for Cystic Fibrosis Patients a […]
Ilya Ponomarev: “The Truth is On My Side, and Vekselberg Knows That”
Viktor Vekselberg, head of the Skolkovo Fund, announced that he has filed charges against Ilya Ponomarev in court. The Investigative Committee suspects Ponomarev of unlawful receipt of money from the Fund. The deputy himself learned of the lawsuit from journalists. “Truth his absolutely on my side. Skolkovo knows this full well. And Vekselberg knows this full well. […]
Sergei Ignatiev Submits His Last Report as Central Bank Chairman
Today the personnel of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), Federal Security Service (FSB), Federal Protective Service (FSO), and the Central Bank submitted their income statements. None of the officials declared any property registered abroad, and in terms of income the leader is the CB Chairman Sergei Ignatiev, who is stepping down this June. The SVR […]
Kings of the Olympic Contracts
An astronomical 1.136 trillion rubles ($36.4 billion) has already been spent on the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. In the 305 days remaining until the opening of the Games, another plus or minus 390 billion rubles will be spent. Mainly companies close to Vladimir Putin are appropriating these billions, claims Boris Nemtsov, one of the opposition […]
Moscow Mayor is Poorer Than His Deputies
Many deputies of the mayor surpassed him on that indicator. The total sum of the income declared by Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin for 2012 was 5. 3205 million rubles, according to information on his income, property and liabilities published on the official city government site. The mayor’s income for 2011 was 5.718 million. In 2012, […]