From time to time, La Russophobe forwards us links to what they are publishing.  This posting on subnational authoritarianism in particular is quite interesting.  Writing in the Russian Analytical Digest, Vladimir Gelman argues that the processes of political recentralization of the regions initiated in the Putin era has a certain character which is more similar to that of Southern Italy  (1950s to 1980s) and PRI-era Mexico (an argument we have heard before) than it is to the authoritarian bureaucracies of Central Asia.  In this bargaining system of loyalty rewarded by non-intervention (which goes miles in explaining how the Kremlin can't seem to stop murders in Chechnya), Gelman argues that we aren't likely to see any pluralistic opening up of these structures locally without the total collapse of the national party structure.  Bummer.  As it has been pointed ...

TODAY: Markelov murder suspect reportedly confesses; vengeance a possible motive?  Activist abducted in Moscow.  Spy chief issues warning on Georgia; Lavrov surprised at Poland soliciting US help.  Medvedev reserves army use for emergencies. Luzhkov lays into Abramovich; new vodka pricing; toy story. The Moscow Times reports that revenge may be the motive behind the shooting of human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov.  Apparently the alleged gunman Nikita Tikhonov may have been a suspect in the stabbing of anti-fascist activist Alexander Ryukhin in 2006, whose mother Markelov was a lawyer for.  The other suspect, Eugenia Khasis, 24, appears to have no prior convictions.  Apparently the killer has confessed - the Other Russia reporting it to be ...

It's been less than a week since valiant Russian human rights groups Memorial won Europe's llustrious human rights award, the Sakharov Prize, but it seems that Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov is determined to pull the plug on any celebrations. Kadyrov won a civil libel suit against the organization's Chairman Oleg Orlov earlier this month, regarding the activist's public affirmation that the Chechen leader was responsible for the murder of fellow Memorial representative Natalya Estemirova in July.  Kadyrov has now opened a criminal libel suit against Orlov, which carries a prison sentence of up to three or four years. This from the AP: The case stems from Orlov's statement in July that Chechen President ...

Out of the many, many interesting quotes we got from Vice President Joe Biden during his famously candid Wall Street Journal interview (which sounded like it was done in a cocktail lounge), was the following appraisal of the United States believes that Russia must feel about the possibility of Iran becoming armed with nuclear weapons:  "I can see Putin sitting in Moscow saying, 'Jesus Christ, Iran gets the nuclear weapon, who goes first?' Moscow, not Washington." Logically and rationally, of course Biden is correct here.  Russia and Iran may be enjoying a brief honeymoon in their relations, but over history there are still some serious unresolved conflicts, involving everything from regional political disputes, pan-Islamic anger over Chechnya ...

K. Anthony Appiah of Princeton University and PEN American has an op/ed on the Politkovskaya anniversary published in the Washington Post today:

Russia no longer needs gulags to silence the opposition. The punishment for drawing attention to the sins of the mighty used to be a show trial and exile, possibly to a labor camp. Now journalists receive an anonymous but credible threat of violence to themselves or their families, a beating on their doorstep or, in some cases, execution in broad daylight.

Journalists are not the only victims of this policy of terror. Russia claims to be a member of the global community of democratic nations. But democracy is not functioning when citizens are denied basic information with which to judge the actions of their leaders. We are often told, for example, that the Russian government's policies in Chechnya are "popular" at

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Memorial, fresh on the heels of an insulting lawsuit from Chechen leader Ramzan Kadryrov, holds a rally to commemorate slain journalist Anna Politkovskaya today:Hundreds of people are rallying in Moscow on the third anniversary of the killing of journalist Anna Politkovskaya.They are calling for authorities to find and punish the killers of journalists and human rights activists in Russia.Politkovskaya was a harsh critic of the Kremlin and exposed widespread human-rights abuses and corruption in Chechnya. The person who ordered her contract-style killing has not been found.Her editor Dmitry Muratov told the crowd that "there is a political will in not solving the murders" of Politkovskaya and others.UPDATE:  If you Twitter, you may want to consider putting ...

Right when Dmitry Medvedev probably feels like he is riding high, earning the first major concession from the United States toward Russia in more than a decade with the withdrawal of the missile plan, acting the role of a democrat president at the UN and G20, and riding an equities boom, there just had to be something to come along and undermine.  That something is named Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen leader most recently seen in the news following the long series of unsolved human rights murders.Chechnya and the North Caucasus in general has been falling apart at a rapid rate over the past number of months, so one could understand that Kadyrov may be looking for a useful distraction or excuse for an expansion of state repression.  Why not default to the time honored tradition?"We're ...

Over on trueslant.com, Joshua Kucera has an interesting travelogue-type report about a visit to Ulan-Ude in Buryatia, Russia, where he finds racial tolerance much greater than expected, but some strange social trends.  He also finds one of Russia's biggest Lenin heads. But that contrasts with the other big impression I've had so far, that there is a sort of amoral, post-apocalyptic vibe to the place. There are tons of mulleted, black-clad boys and men walking the streets, drinking beer at all hours and smoking constantly. The most obvious new buildings are cheaply built shopping centers with electronic signs. And every restaurant and cafe has Russian music videos playing, 80 percent of which prominently feature women in lingerie. (And I'm ...

[Again, my apologies for the late posting of this news blast, as I'm covering all the bases on my own today... - Best, James]TODAY:  The United States sells even more arms during a recession, Gorbachev's towering ego, more gas spats between the Kremlin and Kiev, Khodorkovsky talks about jail for life, the Pikalyovo virus spreads, Deripaska doesn't want Opel, and a EU human rights commissioner gets the state-approved tour of Chechnya.Russia and Ukraine are at each other's throats again over natural gas, with the Kremlin accusing Kiev of attempting to alter the contracts.  In a televised meeting with Gazprom's Alexei Millar, President Dmitry Medvedev said "As far as an idea of an advance payment for tariffs, then ...

TODAY: NATO head upbeat on relations with Russia; Medvedev looks to imams for help with Caucasus Islamic insurgents; suggests a TV channel.  Russia on the defensive regarding WW2; 70th anniversary of its start to prove a diplomatic minefield?  St Petersburg heritage status in jeopardy with Gazprom tower looming.The New York Times reports on how the period of relative tranquility in Chechnya, Ingushetia and Dagestan has ended with a surge in violence.  Reuters relays Russian claims that an al-Qaeda agent has been killed in Dagestan.  The republic's recovering President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov has warned Medvedev that Islamic insurgency has 'permeated all facets of life in society'.   The Russian president has urged Muslim clerics to help ...