I’m absolutely baffled by the story coming out of this week of a 20 million rouble ($660,000) lawsuit involving Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian church, and Yury Shevchenko, a former Russian health...
Category - Blog
Andy10,000 protest in Moscow against Putin
Around 10,000 people attended a rally on Moscow’s Novy Arbat Street on March 10, demonstrating their opposition to Vladimir Putin, Russia’s President-elect. 9,100 attended, according to RIA Novosti’s...
Thoughts on Putin’s Win
After all the fuss, Putin actually won the Russian Presidential Election pretty comfortably. As I write this, 99.3% of the votes have been counted, and Putin got 63.75% of them and his nearest challenger (Gennady...
Medvedev submits draft electoral law amid growing opposition
Dmitry Medvedev has submitted a draft law proposing the formation of new electoral districts to the Russian State Duma. However, his initiative comes amid signs that his ambitious proposals for electoral reform may be...
Moscow gearing up for more rallies
Moscow is gearing itself up for more protests and rallies on 23 February. Approval has already been given for two large rallies – one pro-Putin and one pro-Communist – and decisions are due shortly on a...
Turkmenistan President re-elected with 97% of vote
If you’ve been grumbling about Russia’s elections, spare a thought for those poor unfortunate souls in the democractic wasteland that is Turkmenistan. For they have apparently re-elected Gurbanguly...
This week in Russia blogs #4
After an overlong hiatus, it's time to get back to publishing my weekly roundup of the best posts of the week from around the Russia blogs. No need for long introductions - click through to discover the best of the past...
South Ossetia’s Dzhioyeva hospitalised in mysterious circumstances
Alla Dzhioyeva, who claimed victory in the disputed South Ossetian Presidential elections, has been hospitalised after suffering a small stroke. The circumstances surrounding her hospitalization are confused and, many...
Russians drill into Antarctic Lake Vostok
After 20 years of hard work, Russian scientists this week announced that they had drilled through 2.2 miles of Antarctic ice and finally reached the subglacial Lake Vostok. A breathlessly excited Alexander Yelagin, head...
Duelling Rallies in Moscow
Saturday saw Muscovites take to the streets in a duelling pair of rallies expressing both support and opposition for Vladimir Putin and his campaign to return to the Russian Presidency. The rallies attracted between...