Andrew Meier has penned an epic, wide ranging profile of the second trial of Mikhail Khodorkovsky in The New York Times Magazine, which captures a sense of the courtroom, the personalities, and the historical context of the affair.  For readers of this blog it is unlikely to have new information, but it represents an important item of reference for those who want to learn about the case. Moscow would soon grow famous for operatic oligarchs and Byzantine intrigues, but Khodorkovsky never got caught in a compromising position -- never snared at an Alpine resort, a Moscow casino or on a Riviera yacht. Girls, power, even the money, seemed to hold no magic. Where others basked in pomp, he was shy and painfully soft-spoken; ...

Amsterdam and Peroff have a new white paper discussing the case of opposition leader Dr. Chee Soon Juan in Singapore. The introduction of the executive summary of the report is below, followed by a link for downloading the full paper.

Introduction

This White Paper documents the repression of political freedoms in Singapore. It reviews how the Government of Singapore, under the leadership of the People's Action Party (PAP), has monopolized the state's apparatus to its own benefit. The result has been the denial of democratic rights and freedoms and the muzzling of domestic and international media.

The case of Dr Chee Soon Juan is examined in detail. Being the leader of one of Singapore's most important opposition parties - the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP)

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The race for Ukraine's Presidency is hotting up.  With the incumbent serial Kremlin-offender Viktor Yushchenko flagging with ratings of just 3%, it seems that battle has truly commenced between Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych.  Russia-Ukraine relations have considerably suffered under Yushchenko's leadership -  will Tymoshenko, the other, (lest it be forgot) architect of the Orange Revolution, be West or East-leaning?  RFE/RL quotes her as suggesting that whilst involvement with Europe will be prioritized, warmer Russia relations may be on the cards:I'm sure that our relations with the Russian Federation can be equal and respectable, open and honest, without ambiguities.Or is she planning an altogether different kind of homage to Russia?  Yevgeny ...

TODAY: 70th anniversary of the outbreak of World War Two - officials meet in Gdansk for carve up of history; Putin acknowledges 'immoral' treaty and Katyn suffering; NATO receptive to plans for Russian defense; Stalin's grandson sues for libel; Other Russia leader detained; Arctic Sea carrying weapons?; five-year anniversary of Beslan. 'We meet here to remember who started the war, who the culprit was, who the executioner in the war was, and who was the victim of this aggression', says Polish premier Donald Tusk in Gdansk.  Reuters has a preview on the anniversary service - quoting a poll from Rzeczpospolita newspaper which says that most Poles believe that Russia carries equal responsibility for the outbreak of the ...

TODAY: Human rights activist and husband murdered; Medvedev has idea for military abroad; Georgia suggests the Kremlin seeking justification for incursion.  Ukraine-Russia ties on the rocks; reports to be submitted about bribery.    President Medvedev has submitted a bill to the State Duma that would allow for the deployment of Russian troops almost anywhere overseas.  A Georgian Foreign Ministry spokesman has said that the new law is an attempt 'to place the aggression perpetrated against Georgia last year within a legal framework'.  The Ministry also says that Russia has not honored the terms of the cease-fire agreement and called Medvedev's thanking of Sarkozy, who helped to broker the peace deal, 'a cynical move'.  The Washington Post reports ...

TODAY: EU to extend Georgia monitoring mission; Kyrgyz opposition turns to Moscow.  China-Russia relations strain over river proposal.  Activist shot in face following threats.  Moscow Patriarch Kirill appeals for unity in Ukraine.  Putin song.White House spokesman Robert Gibbs has apparently played down the suggestion that US Vice President Joe Biden made a U-turn on the reset.  Reuters analyzes the change in posture of an arguably more modest Mikheil Saakashvili?  South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity has argued that the US, Ukraine and Israel bare grave responsibility for rearming Georgia 'to the teeth'.   The EU has extended a cease fire monitoring mission in Georgia for one more year, but the idea of other countries joining ...

This week Vice President Joseph Biden is visiting Georgia, and in honor of being graced with his first high ranking visitor in quite a long time, President Mikheil Saakashvili has released an early copy of his speech to the Wall Street Journal, in which he intends to a new power-sharing agreement and an offer to make elections "more democratic."  Things in Georgia have been drifting in the wrong direction for quite a long time now since the ravages of the Russian invasion, with the Saakashvili administration firing some of the best and brightest individuals in the government, and grinding down the stable of advisers and ministers to only the most incompetant and blindly loyal.  The opposition, which is split between ...

TODAY: Obamarama begins with touchdown in Moscow today; the US President grants interview to opposition paper; Putin rebuffs suggestion he favors old ways; Obama trying divide and conquer on Medvedev and Putin?; missile defense may be a dealbreaker; Stalinism and Nazism comparedPutin has responded to Obama's suggestion he has 'one foot in the past', by saying, 'we stand firmly on our feet and always look into the future' and has reasserted that the US President's visit is awaited 'with very warm feelings'.  The Times suggests that Obama has made a 'mistake' in pitching Putin and Medvedev against each another, when the Prime Minister is really at the helm of the tandemocracy.  A commentator in the Moscow Times ...