A new suspect has been detained in the criminal case concerning the embezzlement of several billion rubles from the Ministry of Defense through Oboronservis, a holding company. The Russian Interior Ministry reported the detention on its web site on 20 June. The name of the suspect was not given; however, it was reported that in […]
[This article examines the amendments proposed by Russia’s Ministry of Justice which would expand the state’s ability to inspect and interfere in the activities of NGOs, regardless of their funding sources. These measures would extend the law passed in 2012 requiring NGOs receiving foreign funding to register as “foreign agents.”—Ed.] Many hoped that Russian authorities […]
[Gazeta.ru examines the motivations behind the firing of prominent museum director Marat Gelman from the PERMM Museum of Modern Art, pointing to controversial exhibitions as the impetus behind his dismissal—Ed.] The Perm authorities announced the dismissal of Marat Gelman from the post of director of the PERMM Museum of Modern Art. Experts say this will result […]
On June 17, the G8 Summit was held in Lough Erne, Northern Ireland, but President Putin held a series of bilateral meetings in advance, including his first meeting since June 2012 with US President Barack Obama. A month before, the presidents had exchanged messages; diplomats of both countries had said that at this meeting the […]
[Lenta has posted this update on Alexey Navalny’s trial for embezzlement, noting that the oppositional leader has been denied the right to call witnesses in his defense. — Ed.] Judge Sergei Blinov refused to summon any of the witnesses, declared by the defense under the “Kirovles” Case. He ruled that in the motion to summon […]
[This article discusses the strategy behind the founding of the United Popular Front, a pro-Kremlin populist political movement headed by Vladimir Putin, and widely believed to have been established to distance Putin from the unpopular United Russia party—Ed.] The United Popular Front, a.k.a. the “United Front for Russia” (well, not for the USA, of course), […]
Because he was unable to rid himself of his foreign assets in time, Mikhail Prokhorov, leader of the Civic Platform party has declined to take part in the mayoral elections in Moscow this year. As a result, the main candidate from the opposition is now Sergei Mitrokhin, chairman of the Yabloko party, who told Izvestia […]
[The following article describes measures taken by US legislators and adoptive parents to protest against the Dima Yakolev Law, which bans US citizens from adopting Russian children. The concerned parties have asked President Obama to raise the issue when he meets with Vladimir Putin at the G8 summit this week.—Ed.] Lifting the ban on […]
The Kremlin is planning to set up its own publishing company with a conservative-leaning news angle, Kommersant has reported, citing Dmitry Badovsky, Director of the Institute of Socio-Economic and Political Studies Foundation (ISEPI), and formerly Deputy Chief of the Internal Policy Department in the President’s Administration. The founder of the new entity will be ISEPI. […]
In the run-up to the G8 Summit in Northern Ireland (17-18 June) and the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (20-22 June), Vladimir Putin gave a long and rather dull interview to RIA Novosti on Russia’s priorities in foreign economic policy. Slon.ru has selected the most significant themes: What can be expected from these G8 and […]
