Hundreds of people have gathered in Moscow’s Lubyanka Square for an anti-government rally, and at least one prominent Russian opposition figure has been arrested. Leftist leader Sergei Udaltsov was detained Saturday as protesters marked one year since a series of demonstrations against the government of President Vladimir Putin began. The city of Moscow had denied […]
Opposition Leader Arrested at Anti-Putin Rally
Posted December 15th, 2012 at 8:05 am (UTC-5)
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Eleven-year Sentence Doled Out in Politkovskaya Killing
Posted December 14th, 2012 at 10:25 am (UTC-5)
A Russian court has sentenced a former police officer to 11 years in prison and fined him some $100,000 for his role in the 2006 murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya. The sentencing of Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov came Friday after a speedy trial in which the defendant struck a plea bargain that qualified him for a […]
Russia Investigates Opposition Leader
Posted December 14th, 2012 at 3:40 am (UTC-5)
Russian authorities have launched a criminal investigation against prominent opposition activist Alexei Navalny over suspected fraud and money laundering. Officials say Navalny is being investigated over the alleged theft of $1.8 million from one of his companies. Russian authorities already have another financial case open against Navalny. Investigators said earlier this year they suspect Navalny […]
Former Russian Policeman Goes On Trial In Journalist’s Murder
Posted December 12th, 2012 at 7:10 pm (UTC-5)
A former Russian police officer went on trial Wednesday on charges of involvement in the 2006 murder of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, who was critical of the government. Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov has been charged with being a part of the criminal group that gunned down Politkovskaya in her apartment building. Prosecutors demanded a 12-year prison sentence […]
Russia Extends Prison For Dissident Accused of Plotting Riots
Posted December 12th, 2012 at 6:15 pm (UTC-5)
A court in Russia has extended the detention of a Russian opposition activist who claims he was kidnapped and tortured in jail. Moscow’s Basmanny District Court ruled Wednesday that Leonid Razvozzhayev should remain in jail until April for investigation on charges of plotting mass riots. Prosecutors have charged Razvozzhayev and two other dissidents ((Sergey Udaltsov […]
Russian Soprano Galina Vishnevskaya Diest At 86
Posted December 11th, 2012 at 10:50 pm (UTC-5)
Russian opera singer Galina Vishnevskaya, the widow of legendary cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, died Tuesday aged 86. State media report that she has suffered from heart trouble in recent years. The famed soprano was celebrated for her dramatic interpretations of classic and modern works and sang in most major opera houses across the world. For many […]
Russia Raids Homes of 3 Opposition Activists
Posted December 11th, 2012 at 2:30 pm (UTC-5)
Russian federal investigators have raided the homes of several opposition activists Moscow accuses of attending seminars in Lithuania on organizing protests aimed at toppling President Vladimir Putin. Russian Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said investigators raided the homes of Taisia Alexandrova, Anna Kornilova and Yuri Nabutovsky on Tuesday morning, seizing computer files and other documents. […]
Russia Stops Leasing Azerbaijan Radar Station
Posted December 10th, 2012 at 4:40 pm (UTC-5)
Russia has stopped using a sophisticated radar system in Azerbaijan after the two countries failed to reach an agreement to renew the lease. The previous agreement on using the Gabala radar station expired on Sunday (December 9). It was the last Russian base in the former Soviet republic, with an estimated 1,000 Russian and 500 […]
Putin Rejects Accusations of Trying to Resurrect USSR
Posted December 10th, 2012 at 3:00 pm (UTC-5)
Russian President Vladimir Putin is rejecting accusations that he is trying to reinvent the Soviet Union, calling those claims by “colleagues from abroad” as “nonsense.” U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week called Mr. Putin’s initiative to unite former Soviet republics through economic alliances as “a move to re-Sovietize the region.” On Monday, President […]
Russia Promises Retaliation After US Human Rights Bill
Posted December 10th, 2012 at 10:35 am (UTC-5)
Russian lawmakers have vowed to respond in kind after the U.S. Congress approved a bill imposing sanctions on Russian officials suspected of human rights violations. Officials said Monday that Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, will consider imposing some sort of penalty against U.S. citizens that Moscow suspects of human rights violations. The […]
