Largest protest since collapse of Soviet Union rocks Russia - Europe - World. The rally on Moscow's Sakharov Avenue on Saturday was the fourth and by far the biggest of the mass demonstrations provoked by the parliamentary vote held on 4 December. The ruling United Russia party, led by the Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, held on to a slim majority in parliament in those elections, but the results have been tainted by claims of wholesale fraud. The demonstrators stood for hours in sub-zero weather on Saturday listening to a line-up of speakers as diverse as the crowd itself, including TV celebrities, writers, musicians, politicians, scientists and a jailed dissident whose video message was broadcast on a giant screen beside the stage.
"The people are waking up," said Sergei Udaltsov, the leader of the Left Front opposition group who was arrested on the day of the elections as he heading to a rally. "The people have stopped putting up with this humiliating regime. " "We have to take drastic action," he said. Mikhail Gorbachev calls for Putin to resign. Mr Gorbachev, 80, has been virulently critical of the elections that took place on December 4. Soon after the poll he said that the results of the poll should be annulled and new elections held due to "numerous falsifications and rigging. " "The results do not reflect the will of the people," Mr Gorbachev said at the time. "Therefore I think they [Russia's leaders] can only take one decision – annul the results of the election and hold new ones. " The former president was considering attending the march in central Moscow today, to which thousands ventured.
He was, however, unable to appear but passed his greetings to the protestors. President Dmitry Medvedev this week announced reforms to appease the protestors – including resuming elections for regional governors – but the changes fell far short of demands for a re-run of the legislative polls. Vladimir Putin's world is falling apart | Masha Gessen. Watching an authoritarian regime disintegrate is like watching an episode of the American television series House, MD. Someone who was enjoying an active lifestyle at the beginning of the series is experiencing multiple organ failure 15 minutes later, with the doctors frantically trying to figure out why, and which vital organ is going to go next.
A friend sent me a link to a programme broadcast on Russian national television recently (the link was to a YouTube clip, since most people I know do not have actual working television sets – the habit of watching TV has quietly died among the educated class here over the last 10 years). For over 10 minutes it made fun, crudely and openly, of Vladimir Putin's annual televised Q&A session. "What do you make of this? " my friend wrote. "Is this fake? " It was not fake. NTV, the channel on which the show was broadcast, is owned by the state gas monopoly, Gazprom, which has a large press holding. But Putin's own media is already failing him. Putin ejects Kremlin puppet master after protests.
All-girl Russian punk band rages against Putin. Tens of thousands of protesters pressure Putin. Russia's 'love affair' with Putin ending: analysts. Russia foils 'Chechen plot' to assassinate Vladimir Putin. Moscow motorists stage rolling demonstration against Putin. REPORTING FROM MOSCOW -- Moscow’s Garden Ring street, a 10-mile circle around large portions of the city’s historic center, including the Kremlin, turned white on a frosty Sunday afternoon -- not with snow but with white ribbons, stickers, balloons, posters and inscriptions on thousands of cars participating in the latest large protest against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Organizers said at least 5,000 cars participated in the novel demonstration on wheels, billed as a dress rehearsal for a massive anti-Putin march slated for next weekend. Moscow police estimated that 300 vehicles took part. In some areas, at least three lanes of one of the widest thoroughfares in the city were clogged with protest-mobiles.
One car was exquisitely trimmed with articles of women’s white underwear. A large black utility vehicle had inscribed in large white letters on its side: “It is not black, it is … white.” Many people standing on the sidewalks Sunday stopped and waved at the protesters driving past. Russians stage rival protests over Putin. Thousands back Putin in 'Russian workers' protest. The sense of an ending - Stephen Holmes, Ivan Krastev Putin and the decline of "no-choice" politics. Blatantly rigged elections are the easiest way for the Putin regime to mimic the authoritarian power it does not possess. December's protests destroyed Putin's reputation of being in control; even genuinely competitive elections would be unable to restore his legitimacy.
The protests in Moscow and other cities following the parliamentary elections in December 2011 did not hail the beginning of a Russian version of the Arab spring. Nor did they represent the belated arrival of a Ukrainian-style coloured revolution. Russia is not Egypt, for one thing. Putin is much younger than Mubarak – he has been in power for eleven years compared to Mubarak's thirty – and the Russian population is much older than the Egyptian one and less charmed by the promise of democracy. The chances that the Russian army will side with the people are slight to non-existent and the Russian opposition lacks the organizational strength of the Islamists.
Nor does Russia in 2012 resemble Ukraine in 2003. Tearful Putin claims victory in Russian election. Russia election: Twitter flooded with Vladimir Putin fraud claims. Police Detain Two More Pussy Riot Activists. Moscow police have detained two more members of the feminist punk band Pussy Riot as part of a criminal probe launched after the group stormed the altar of Moscow’s largest cathedral and performed a protest song, a police spokesperson said on Sunday.
Last week, five women from the band, clad in bright balaclavas, performed an acapella version of what they said was a “punk prayer” entitled “Holy Sh*t.” The lyrics included lines such as “Holy Mother, Blessed Virgin, chase Putin out!” The punk protest at the Christ the Savior Cathedral came less than a week before Sunday's presidential elections, in which Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is seeking the Kremlin post for a third term. The activists escaped after the performance. However, police opened a criminal case against them, saying they had “shouted insults at believers and churchmen at the Christ the Savior Cathedral.” As part of the probe, three women and a man were detained on Saturday and another two women were detained on Sunday. Putin claims victory in Russia's presidential election, backed by exit polls, early vote count. 'Putin leave' banner put up opposite Kremlin. Obama to give US missile defense secrets to Russians.
By Matt Lacy – Coming on the heels of massive troop drawdowns and massive cuts to the U.S. military, the Obama administration is planning on sharing U.S. missile secrets with the Russians. The military could face cuts of close to $1 trillion in cuts over the next 10 years. Currently the Pentagon is expected to cut $490 billion over the next 10 years, however another $500 billion in cuts could come because of the congressional deal reached last year during the debt ceiling debate. As part of the cuts, for the first time since World War II, the U.S. will not have the ability to fight on two fronts at the same time. Colorado Congressman Mike Coffman has said he wants the two war posture kept and believes it can be done even with the defense cuts.
Coffman is a Marine Corps combat veteran who served in Iraq. “I’m all for making cuts so long as they don’t compromise our national security. Reagan’s program was ridiculed in the press who called it Star Wars. Putin Ratchets Up Anti-U.S Rhetoric as Kremlin Race Grows. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is stepping up rhetoric against the U.S. as his campaign for the March 4 presidential election intensifies after the biggest protests against his rule.
The U.S. “wants to control everything” and takes decisions unilaterally on key questions, Putin said on a campaign stop yesterday in the Siberian city of Tomsk, 3,100 kilometers (1,900 miles) east of Moscow. “Sometimes I get the impression the U.S. doesn’t need allies, it needs vassals.” Putin, 59, is seeking a new term in the Kremlin amid the biggest challenge to his 12-year rule after fraud allegations at parliamentary polls sparked mass protests. The Russian leader, who has repeatedly accused the U.S. of interfering in other countries’ affairs, said last week that reports by a state-owned Moscow radio station supported American interests. ‘Reset’ in Relations U.S. Jackson-Vanik The Obama administration aims to repeal the legislation this spring, McFaul said on the radio station Ekho Moskvy yesterday. Putin seeks campaign momentum on bobsleigh run. Russia and the United States: Pushing Tensions to the Limit? In Russia, Putin allies sharpen anti-American attacks ahead of elections.
A main target of the attacks is Michael McFaul, the new ambassador, a longtime democracy advocate and Russia expert who as a top aide to Obama has been an architect of what the White House calls a “reset’’ with Moscow. The anti-American campaign bears trademark Soviet and KGB thinking, reflecting the mindset of many of the high-level officials appointed by Putin as well as their efforts to protect their power and privileges from the gathering opposition. U.S. officials say that they understand internal politics are behind the fusillade but that the effect remains worrying, raising concern about whether Russia recognizes the extent of the possible damage, simply doesn’t care or is foreshadowing a change in foreign policy. “It’s getting to the point where it’s going to be hard to undo,” said one administration official in Washington who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly. Then Putin accused U.S. Responding to attacks “That’s Mr.
Japan Scrambles Fighters to Meet Russian Bombers. Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force had to scramble fighter jets in response to flights by Russian military aircraft near Japanese airspace on Wednesday, Kyodo news agency said on Thursday citing the Defense Ministry. According to the ministry, a total of five Russian planes, including two Tu-95 Bear strategic bombers, two Su-24 Fencer reconnaissance planes and an A-50 Mainstay airborne early warning and control aircraft skirted Japanese territory on Wednesday.
“They flew over the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan off Hokkaido and the Tohoku region in northeastern Japan,” Japanese officials said, adding that it was the first time a Russian AWACS plane was spotted near Japan. Russia resumed strategic bomber patrol flights over the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic oceans in August 2007. Yesterday’s flights by Russian Air Force aircraft close to the coast of Japan were carried out strictly in accordance with international rules and took place over international waters, air force spokesman Col.
Japan Scrambles Fighters to Meet Russian Bombers. Explosion at Russian power station sparks conspiracy theories in Moscow. Explosion at power station near St Petersburg causes huge flashesMotorists see the light show while stuck in traffic By Will Stewart Updated: 12:54 GMT, 8 February 2012 The Russian web was ablaze with bizarre theories today at an extraordinary explosion seen by thousands of commuters in St Petersburg. It must have seemed like the end of the world was nigh when motorists driving along this busy motorway saw a huge flash light up the night sky on the horizon. So far, conspiracy theories of martians and bomb-testing have emerged to explain the astonishing sight. However, the reality was far less exciting. Scroll down for video The calm before the electric storm: Unsuspecting motorists were driving along this motorway when the huge flash appeared on the horizon in front of them Lit-up: This motorist's enjoyment of John Lennon came to an abrupt end when the huge flash appeared in front of them The amazing footage was recorded by one driver listening to John Lennon as he was stuck in a traffic jam.
Russia Would Use Nukes to Stave Off Threats - General Staff | Defense. Russia would use nuclear weapons in response to any imminent threat to its national security, Chief of the Russian General Staff Gen. Nikolai Makarov said on Wednesday. “We are certainly not planning to fight against the whole of NATO,” Makarov said in an interview with the Ekho Moskvy radio, “but if there is a threat to the integrity of the Russian Federation, we have the right to use nuclear weapons, and we will.”
The general said Russia’s nuclear deterrent is the cornerstone of strategic stability and serious efforts are being taken by the Russian government to modernize the country’s nuclear triad. The Russian Defense ministry is planning to acquire at least 10 Borey class strategic nuclear submarines, thoroughly modernize its fleet of Tu-160 Blackjack and Tu-95 Bear strategic bombers, and equip its Strategic Missile Forces with formidable Yars mobile ballistic missile systems.
Makarov also stressed the importance of maintaining highly-efficient, mobile conventional forces. Russia Set to Build World’s Most Powerful Laser Station. Russia is set to build the world’s most powerful dual-purpose laser station at the approximate cost of 45 billion rubles ($1.5 billion), a Russian nuclear official said on Thursday. The station might be built near the Sarov Federal Nuclear Center in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod region, said the head of the nuclear center, Ildar Ilkayev, but he did not specify when the construction would begin. “The Russian leadership made a decision to build the world’s largest laser station… The United States has already constructed a similar station and France is about to complete the construction of their own station. We [Russia] are behind them because it costs a lot, but it will be the best one in the world,” Ilkayev said. The mooted station, he said, will be both used for military and scientific purposes, particularly in the research of laser thermonuclear fusion, which scientists believe to be the backbone of the energy production in the future.
U.S. Strength Through Appeasement… Obama to Share US Missile Secrets With Russia.