For the past few days thousands of people have gathered to demonstrate against the result of the Duma elections in Russia on December 4.  At least 15 000 people gathered in the city centre of Moscow on Monday, December 5; yesterday on Tuesday, December 6, thousands of people gathered not only in Moscow but also in St. Petersburg, as well as in some other large cities; all this makes it the first mass opposition protest in Russia since 1993.

Opposition supporters shouted “Putin is a crook and thief” referring both to the alleged election fraud and to widespread complaints that United Russia party is one of the major reasons for Russia’s widespread corruption. They also shouted “Russia without Putin” in a tense stand-off with hundreds of pro-Kremlin youth Nashi (Ours) and young men with emblems of United Russia’s youth wing (the Young Guards). More than 550 people were detained in the capital on Tuesday evening. About 250 people who tried to hold an unsanctioned rally were arrested in St. Petersburg. Another 25 protesters are said to have been detained at a similar protest in the city of Rostov-na-Donu. (more…)

On December 4 voting to elect the State Duma of the Russian Federation took place. Facing the collapse of public confidence and support, the ruling group was forced to organize the most dirty and fraudulent elections in the post-Soviet history. Campaign and the voting itself were accompanied by an unprecedented level of violations and abuses by the authorities. Manipulations of the public opinion, pressure on citizens, independent observers and members of election commissions, buying and rigging votes were undertaken at a scale unseen before.

There were no free access to these elections of the political forces. A number of them (including our Party) were on the non-constitutional grounds denied registration, and thus – the opportunity to take part in elections, to formulate its program of resolving the current political crisis and to uphold it before the citizens. (more…)

After a long rest, alternating between publicity stunts and foreign trips representing Gazprom, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has suddenly woken up with the announcement about his renewed presidential ambitions and several substantial policy statements.

Putin’s speech to the United Russia convention on Sept. 24 was downright populist. His discussion at a VTB Capital conference on Oct. 6 offered an uncommonly serious policy line. A Russian television interview on Oct. 17 rested somewhere in between. In discerning solid policy from propaganda, a rather clear policy emerges.

Putin has evolved the most on the World Trade Organization. He pursued Russia’s accession vigorously from 2000 to 2003, but during Dmitry Medvedev’s presidency he has impeded Russia’s entry. Now, he has sorted out this struggle with himself. He answers the question about whether WTO accession is good or bad for Russia. “I will say it’s 50-50, but overall there are probably more pluses than minuses for Russia,” he said at the VTB conference. “We are not abandoning this goal, and we are ready to join the WTO in full, but we will do so only if they don’t set unacceptable terms for Russia.”

Read the full article in Moscow Times

On June 23, 2011 Mikhail Kasyanov, Vladimir Milov, Boris Nemtsov and Vladimir Ryzhkov commented on the refusal of registration of the Russian political party PARNAS. The party will hold a conference on July 2, and discuss its political future. In addition they invited invite all Russians to take part in the rally “Against tyranny! Against corruption! For Free and Fair Elections!” to be held at 1pm on June 25, in Moscow at the Pushkinskaya Square.

STATEMENT

by the Co-Chairmen of the People’s Freedom Party

The refusal of state registration of the People’s Freedom Party is a logical extension of the desire of the ruling group to remain in power by any means. This decision is not a unique case of political oppression. The refusal to register opposition political parties contradicts the Russian Constitution and international commitments of our country, directly limits the active and passive suffrage of millions of Russian citizens who were deprived of the right to delegate their representatives to the government at both the federal and regional levels. (more…)

The Russian Ministry of Justice declined an application to register the People’s Freedom Party (PARNAS). The application was backed by four opposition politicians: Mikhail Kasyanov (Russian People’s Democratic Union), Boris Nemtsov (Solidarity), Vladimir Milov (Democratic Choice) and Vladimir Ryzjkov (Republican Party of Russia).

The original intention was to register the party and to run in the Duma election in November, 2011. The party would then have brought forward a joint candidate for Presidential election in the Spring of 2012.

The formal application was submitted a month ago. Mikhail Kasyanov says that he regrets “Putin has made the decision to block us from running in the election”. He is convinced that Putin fears PARNAS since it is a real threat to him and the power structure surrounding him. “The election will not be considered free as Russia continues to violate the constitution and its international commitment.”

The two Russian most popular sites such as LiveJournal and independent opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta’s webpage have been inaccessible for most of the past week, as hackers continue to attack their servers. LiveJournal.ru, Russia’s major online debate forum with about 4 million users, is frequently a venue for open and political discussions.

Many security experts have speculated that the initial target of the cyber attack on the LiveJournal was likely Alexei Navalny, who has a very popular anti-corruption blog on the LiveJournal-site. Alexei Navalny has come under recent increased international attention, as he was featured in the American newspapers New York Times, and New Yorker Magazine within the last several weeks. (more…)

Russia’s judiciary appears increasingly politicised and lacking in impartiality, says the European Parliament in a resolution passed on Thursday 17 February, citing the questionable verdict on the Khodorkovsky case and violations of human rights, including the right to peaceful assembly.

Read the declaration