Author Archive
Posted on January 11, 2012 - by Venik
Russia’s era of managed democracy is over, claims presidential candidate
Billionaire tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov who is running in 4 March election says it is time for evolution not revolution A billionaire metals tycoon running for president in Russia’s forthcoming election has claimed the era of “managed democracy” embodied by Vladimir Putin is dead. Writing in the Guardian, Mikhail Prokhorov, 46, said Russia was “undergoing a [...]
Posted on January 11, 2012 - by Venik
Russia needs to change – but by evolution not revolution | Mikhail Prokhorov
I hope Russia can avoid a bumpy – and perhaps bloody – phase as it moves to become a full partner of Europe’s democracies I’m not a man given to emotional outbursts. In fact, in my many years as a businessman, I’ve always tried to remain a little detached and not let my feelings get [...]
Posted on January 11, 2012 - by Venik
Cyprus stops Syria-bound Russian ammunition ship
Vessel carrying several tonnes of ‘dangerous cargo’ for Damascus leaves Limassol port after changing destination Russia’s apparent military support for the Syrian regime emerged on Wednesday when a Russian ship carrying 60 tonnes of arms for Damascus was stopped in Cyprus. The MV Chariot, which set off from St Petersburg in early December, was forced [...]
Posted on January 11, 2012 - by Venik
UK ‘should tell Vladimir Putin he is not welcome at Olympics’
MPs call for Russian prime minister to be told he is not wanted at London Games unless Russia improves human rights record Britain should tell Vladimir Putin that he is not welcome at the London Olympics unless Russia makes meaningful efforts to improve its human rights record, MPs will say. In a move likely to [...]
Posted on January 10, 2012 - by Venik
Kremlin ally accused of falsifying election registration documents
Activists have filmed scores of people allegedly compiling false lists of citizens endorsing ‘back-up’ candidate A Kremlin ally set to run in Russia’s forthcoming presidential election has been forced to deny underhand tactics after democracy activists filmed a group of people allegedly falsifying his registration documents. Dmitry Mezentsev, 52, the governor of Irkutsk region, is [...]
Posted on January 9, 2012 - by Venik
Russian protest leader Alexei Navalny is target of fake photo smear
Navalny says a photo of him meeting Kremlin arch-villain Boris Berezovsky originally showed another oligarch In Russia’s voluminous bag of tactics for smearing political enemies, photomontage is an old trick, but it has made a comeback with the publication of a doctored image of Alexei Navalny, the 35-year-old blogger and lawyer who is the figurehead [...]
Posted on January 9, 2012 - by Venik
Photomontage of blogger Aleksei Navalny
Fake photo smear aimed at Putin rival Aleksei Navalny backfires Original article Share on bebo Blog this! Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook Share on Linkedin Share via MySpace share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post
Posted on January 9, 2012 - by Venik
Russian toddler dies in sewer after pavement collapses
Boy fell through hole after burst water pipe caused pavement to give way in city of Bryansk A toddler died after falling into a sewer when a pavement gave way in the western Russian city of Bryansk on Sunday. Local police and emergency services said a burst water pipe had caused the pavement to collapse [...]
Posted on January 9, 2012 - by Venik
Another Russian revolution? Not so fast | Natalia Antonova
Ordinary people in Russia haven’t been this politically active since 1991 but they’re hoping for evolution rather than revolution Although the winter holidays traditionally serve as a distraction from politics – what with the caviar sandwiches and the off-key singing at the dinner table – it is undeniable that Russian society made a tremendous shift [...]
Posted on January 9, 2012 - by Venik
The designer skin he lives in: is it time to bury Lenin’s stage-managed show?
Young Russians no longer pay homage to him, but the Bolshevik leader ‘lives on’ in a carefully choreographed show of solemnity inside a Moscow mausoleum. But for how long? In Moscow at this time every year the debate resumes about what to do with Lenin’s body, which, contrary to the Bolshevik’s wishes to be buried [...]
Posted on January 4, 2012 - by Venik
Berezovsky v Terluk: all the hallmarks of a cold war thriller | Claire Gill and Lucy Middleton
Court of Appeal judgment brings fascinating libel case to an end A Court of Appeal decision last month ([2011] EWCA Civ 1534) brought to an end one of the most fascinating libel cases in recent years. The case, concerning a Russian state television broadcast on the RTR satellite channel about the murder in November 2006 [...]
Posted on January 3, 2012 - by Venik
Bradford rockers Smokie play Kremlin gig
Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev invites veteran rock band to perform at special new year shindig Led Zeppelin riffs set his heart racing and the booming chords of Deep Purple are said to shake the walls of his chintzy living room. Now Russia’s president, Dmitry Medvedev, has revealed a new passion for British rock after inviting [...]
Posted on January 3, 2012 - by Venik
Moldova’s stuck in search for unity
Activist credited with the 2009 Twitter revolution among the critics as ex-Soviet state struggles to find a new identity On TV, Natalia Morari wears severe spectacles and her hair pulled back into a bun, as though she were trying to look older. Every weekday, this 27 year-old journalist hosts a 90-minute debate on Publika, the [...]
Posted on January 2, 2012 - by Venik
Leopards from British zoos could boost wild population
Fewer than 40 Amur leopards remain in the wild, but plan to use animals bred from captive big cats may provide a lifeline Endangered Amur leopards from UK zoos could soon be heading to Russia as part of a captive breeding and release programme to save the big cat. There are estimated to be just [...]
