Today's headlines speak of the bleak but sadly not unfamiliar news of another human rights activist being murdered in the North Caucasus.  On Sunday, businessman and rights defender Maksharip Aushev was killed when 60 rounds of bullets were sprayed into his car along a highway in the province of Kabardino-Balkaria.  Aushev is the third human rights activist to be murdered in the trouble spot in a little over three months, following the murder of Memorial's stalwart Natalya Estemirova in July and childrens' charity officer Zarema Sadulayeva and her husband in August. The Guardian adumbrates Aushev's trajectory into the sphere of human rights advocacy, prompted by the experience of his own son and nephew being kidnapped, followed by ...

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 ...

TODAY: Medvedev denounces corruption as main problem in Russia, argues business mentality needs transformation, does not rule out standing at 2012 elections and hints at a possible U-turn on Iran.  NATO chief calls for closer cooperation with Russia; Medvedev suggests US was prime obstacle to WTO bid.  Military deal with Abkhazia and South Ossetia.  CPJ report highlights neglect regarding unsolved journalist murders.'We are not used to saying 'we have a dream' in my country ... but this is my political vision':  Medvedev has promised to 'squeeze' corruption out of Russia with a reform program laid out at a Valdai debate club meeting.  The President also told the audience that the ...

TODAY:  Drug use nightmare for Russia; Medvedev calls for US support.  START talks to restart; tanks for Chavez.  Possible loan to Ukraine whilst relations remain chilly.  Black September anniversary; Scott Anderson interview.  Russia denies arms in Arctic Sea; infrastructure shortcomings scrutinized.  Russia is the world's biggest consumer of Afghan heroin, says President Medvedev, which 'is a threat to the country's national security' and 'a serious challenge to the health of the nation', which is already fighting demographic decline.  The President is calling on US troops to help curb the wave of drugs leaving the war-torn country.  Sergei Lavrov has said that isolating North Korea must be avoided and resumption of six party talks prioritized.  Lavrov has also objected to claims ...

So why don't I have more interest in digging around the ghost ship story?  It has all the hallmarks of the kinds of stories we like to cover around here - with siloviki, arms, corruption, and cover-ups - but untangling all the conflicting versions just doesn't seem too rewarding.  It's a strong reminder that nobody can produce so many stories of diametrically contradicting headlines as Russia.  Today for example, Russian officials have gone to the press to angrily deny that there were ever any arms on The Arctic Sea ship:Speaking to reporters, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed the reports: "This is absolutely not true." (...)"All will become transparent, and I hope that everyone will be convinced ...

The Indian President Pratibha Patil has arrived in Moscow to discuss nuclear energy among other issues.  In August, Russia increased oil production by 1.3% in comparison with 2008, as Lukoil and Rosneft both increased production in new fields and exports rose by 5.9%.  According to Reuters, this is a record monthly high, and has seen Russia grab a large market share from a frustrated OPEC.  Gazprom has grand plans for the LNG market, according to Bloomberg.  BP estimates that the Arctic may hold around 200 billion barrels of oil equivalent resources. Denmark's military intelligence agency has warned that Russia's interests in the Arctic could become a concern for other northern nations.  BP has apparently made a 'giant' oil find in the Gulf of Mexico, which could contain more than 1 billion barrels of recoverable reserves.  ...

This story of the disappearing "lumber" freighter just keeps getting stranger and stranger, as this excerpt from the Moscow Times shows.  At least we know that it wasn't a completely inside job - even though Russian officials are still acting awful cagey, NATO did assist them in tracking the ship down?  So one would assume that if the government were playing a role in a supposed arms trafficking transaction, which seems like the most plausible explanation, they probably wouldn't have to ask for help.

Yet the official version of what transpired is fraught with inconsistencies, prompting observers to suggest that Russian authorities are trying to cover up a smuggling or trafficking operation.

When Swedish police first said the ship had been hijacked near the island of Gotland on July 24, they cited the crew as saying masked men had bound and beat them before fleeing in

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IKEA may resume expansion in Russia after the Economic Development Ministry pledged to help resolve several important issues, including the completion of its Mega complex in the Samara region.  Getting a pen thrown at him and public castigation aside, Yulia Latynina suggests that the contract Oleg Deripaska signed in Pikalyovo 'ended up being heavily in his favor', as VTB were the ones financing the reopening of the oligarch's troubled factories.  Profits at Russian banks could suffer in 2009 if bad loans rise to 10% of credit portfolios.  Sberbank has suggested that a July 15 deadline to seal a deal for Opel is not firm.  The OECD has said that the stability of the Russian banking system is of 'prime importance'.  The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said its board approved a $500 million,10-year loan ...

TODAY: Obama says trade comes with rule of law; criticizes Russia's idea of being neighborly; Russians indifferent to the visit?; 'less than what we wanted' say opposition leaders; Klebnikov case to be reinvestigatedIn Obama's speech to students at the New Economic School, he referred to his 'excellent discussions' with Russia's leaders, but also told Russia, 'the days when empires could treat sovereign states as pieces on a chessboard are over' and that 'state sovereignty must be a cornerstone of international order'.  A move unlikely to prove popular with the Kremlin, as the Guardian suggests: 'Russians bristle at Obama's suggestion that the idea of "spheres of influence" is a 19th-century oddity'.  Why was Georgia not a ...