Details are beginning to emerge about the the two suspects held on suspicion of gunning down fearless human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov and Novaya Gazeta intern Anastasia Baburova on January 19th this year.  It appears that one of the pair, both of whom are suspected of being members of an untranationalist organization, has confessed to the crime.  Whilst we are often lamenting the lack of justice in relation to the astounding number of slayings of journalists and activists which remain unsolved (indeed in some cases, unremarked upon by the Kremlin), many rights advocates are wary of jumping to the conclusion that what we are seeing today represents a breakthrough in transparency and justice-seeking. ...

The following is a translation of an article about the second trial of Mikhail Khodorkovsky published in the French weekly magazine, Le Nouvel Observateur.

The Convict who Frightens the Kremlin From our special correspondent in Moscow

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, former head of oil company Yukos, is serving eight years in prison in Siberia. He is again judged in a trial in which the arbitrary rivals absurdity. The Russian power in the hands of Putin, does not want to see out of prison the person who was formerly the richest man in the country...

It is in this tiny and outdated courtroom No. 7 on the second floor of the Khamovnitchesky District Court of

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TODAY: Did Clinton get what she wanted?; media reports possible silence for sanctions deal; START treaty progress.  Georgia accused of abetting al-Qaida; Putin 'satisfied' with job.  German official castigates Medvedev for investigation into Stalin-researching historian; the man of steel's grandson loses battle with newspaper; psychological perils of police force and military; mafia boss funeral. According to the Moscow Times, Hillary Clinton received a 'cool welcome' from Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the crucial issue of sanctions on Iran, with Russia still resisting.  Clinton apparently 'brave-faced' it, saying, 'we did not ask for anything today. We reviewed the situation', and added 'Russia has been extremely co-operative in the work we have done together'.  Reports have circulated that the ...

TODAY: Third anniversary of the killing of Anna Politkovskaya; Kadyrov wins his lawsuit against Memorial, launches another.  Gay marriage bid rejected; critical posters displayed around Moscow.  Medvedev gets his new speech writer; no independence recognition trade-off with Turkey; Russia denies its scientists are helping Iran with bomb.Three years on from the slaying of Anna Politkovskaya, Novaya Gazeta editor Sergei Sokolov says that new suspects have emerged in the murder case.  Russia has denied visas to two members of Reporters without Borders, who planned a trip to Russia for the anniversary of the journalist's death.  The move has been criticized by her son Ilya Politkovskaya.  K. Anthony Appiah in the Washington Post laments the fact that in Russia ...

OpenDemocracy.net has published translations of correspondence between Mikhail Khdoorkovsky and the famous novelist Lyudmila Ulitskaya, which was originally featured in Novaya Gazeta.  The conversation is suprisingly frank and full of personal insights.Khodorkovsky: "The experience of prison is not that unusual for a member of the intelligentsia in Russia. This is unfortunate, because it is not a great experience. I feel closer to Shalamov than Solzhenitsyn here. I think the difference between them goes back to the fact that Solzhenitsyn believed in authoritarian rule, and that included prison. But as a "humanist" he thought that he had to experience it for himself. I respect this viewpoint, but I don't agree with it.Prison is a place of anti-culture and anti-civilization. Good is evil, and lies are the truth. Here the dregs educate the dregs, and decent people feel deeply unhappy, as they can do nothing inside this revolting ...

TODAY: Putin promises to fortify Abkhazia with new base; Ukraine still smarting from Medvedev blow.  EU urges Russian leadership to work on safety of human rights advocates.  Lawyers in Russia beware - it is not just their clients who face prison terms.On a one-day visit to Abkhazia, Vladimir Putin assured the breakaway state that Russia would provide, 'systemic economic, political and, if needed, military support', worth between $350 million and $500 million (reports vary on the exact sum) over the next two years.  A significant amount will be allotted to 'the development of our military base and strengthening of Abkhazia's state border next year', the Prime Minister told reporters.  A new naval base which will ...

Vladimir Putin marked his ascendancy by talking about the dictatorship of law through his vertical of power.  Dmitry Medvedev was defaulted into office on anti-corruption pledges and a mission to rid Russia of its legal nihilism.  Yet on trials which matter the most, such as the hunt for the killers of journalist Anna Politkovskaya, the system is most definitely not moving forward, but distinctly and rapidly backward - in other words, a complete joke, a mockery of promises, a performance of cruel ineptitude.Russia's leadership is fond of saying that the nation's strength as a great power is being restored.  It's about time they proved it by example, by pushing through against whatever resistance is preventing them from delivering justice to Politkovskaya's family and dozens of other terribly botched trials.  A truly strong Russia should also have nothing to fear from ...

David Remnick, editor of the New Yorker and a frequent journalist and author on Russia, has published a new piece about the murder of journalist Natalia Estemirova.  At the end of the article, Remnick posted an audio recording of his on-stage interview with her at the Politkovskaya memorial service held by PEN.

A couple of years ago, at a memorial service for the great Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya put together by PEN, I had the honor of interviewing onstage one of Politkovskaya's friends, the human-rights activist Natalia Estemirova. Politkovskaya, who was murdered at her home in Moscow in 2006 (as Michael Specter and Keith Gessen have written in The New Yorker), did her best and bravest work in Chechnya for the newspaper Novaya Gazeta, one of the few remaining outlets with the audacity to continue publishing the truth about

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In light of Barack Obama's visit to Russia, Forbes is publishing a number of new articles as part of a special report to remind everybody that the murder of their former employee, Paul Klebnikov, remains unsolved and politically stalled.  Here is just one from Nina Khrushcheva:

It is generally accepted that, in civilized countries, when a reporter loses his or her life it is while covering war or other armed conflicts. And when a businessman is jailed it is typically for proven acts of fraud. Not so in Russia, the country where Vladimir Putin once declared a "dictatorship of law," and where the current president, Dmitry Medvedev, reassuringly pledged a fight against "legal nihilism" not long after assuming office.

Out of the 250 journalists who have died in Russia since the end of communism, 150 were murdered covering normal, peacetime stories. Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a businessman who

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Arriving in Moscow today, President Barack Obama commented to Novaya Gazeta on the Mikhail Khodorkovsky show trial, adding his view that it is "improper for outsiders to interfere in the legal processes of Russia."  I see nothing wrong with that statement, only a problem in assuming that there is anything legal about the process against Khodorkovsky.From the New York Times:

Mr. Obama raised concerns about the treatment of the businessman, Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky, who along with his partner has been put back on trial six years after they were first arrested. Critics say the new trial seems aimed at keeping Mr. Khodorkovsky, an opponent to the government who was once Russia's richest man, in prison.

"Without knowing the details,

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