Russia grabs Belarus gas system

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

http://news.yahoo.com/russia-wins-control-belarus-gas-network-2-5bn-143615945.html

By Dmitry Zaks | AFP – 8 hrs ago

Russia on Friday took control of the Belarus gas pipeline network in an economic rescue deal that will help Minsk survive isolation by the West and increase the Kremlin's influence over its neighbour.

Russian gas giant Gazprom said it would pay $2.5 billion to take the 50 percent stake it does not own in Beltransgaz in a deal easing pressure on the depleted treasury of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko.

The agreement will see Russia establish a dominant presence in its neighbour's economy at a time when Lukashenko is being shunned by the West over the country's dismal rights record.

Moscow's injection of cash to a regime that was once labeled the last dictatorship of Europe by Washington came a day after Belarus jailed the respected rights campaigner Ales Beliatsky for 4.5 years.

"Perhaps last year, some people thought thought that our ties had gone bad and developed serious problems," Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said upon receiving Lukashenko at his suburban Moscow residence.

"Well, this year, they became more dynamic and substantial. And I will tell you honestly -- the Russian Federation is glad," Medvedev said.

Belarus imports almost all of its natural gas from Russia -- a dependence that could bring the economy in the nation of 10 million people to its knees should Moscow suddenly decide to hike up the price.

That possibility haunted Lukashenko last year when he resisted Russia's efforts to win tighter control of its smaller neighbour's industries.

But the tailspin the Belarus economy underwent this year and the lack of Western assistance helped bring forward a deal that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said will see Minsk start paying Moscow domestic prices for gas in 2014.

The drop from from the $244 per thousand cubic metres Belarus pays this year to $164 at the start of 2012 "is a substantial rebate. It will help to keep at least $2 billion in Belarus," Putin said in televised remarks.

"At the same time, we agree that the Russian company Gazprom is acquiring the entire 100 percent stake in Beltransgaz -- the gas transport system of Belarus."

Putin initially said Ukraine before quickly correcting himself. The slip ironically came as Moscow also presses ahead with efforts to win control of Ukrainian gas pipelines in exchange for cheaper shipment costs.

Russia in addition offered Belarus a $10 billion loan over 15 years for the construction of the country's first nuclear power plant since the 1986 Chernobyl accident in ex-Soviet Ukraine.

Moscow initially agreed to finance the project in June 2009.

The signature of the deals comes as Belarus struggles with a massive current account deficit that has forced it to devalue its currency by some 65 percent and sell stakes in its prized economic assets to Russia and other states.

The economic turmoil stoked protests against Lukashenko's 17-year old regime that led to the arrests of hundreds of demonstrators and convictions of top opposition leaders.

Russia has offered only mild criticism of Lukashenko's crackdown and is now securing economic deals that analysts say should afford Minsk at least another year to deal with the economic crisis.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

And the Kremlin's tentacles grow. Belarus and Ukraine... the Kremlin loves to support it's neighboring dictatorships. No free Europe for the RUB countries. It's dictatorships for them as the USSR / Russian empire come alive once again.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

And in other related news....

http://news.yahoo.com/putin-warns-west-launches-presidential-bid-155259585.html

Tsar Putin warns West as he launches presidential bid

By LYNN BERRY | AP – 4 hrs ago

MOSCOW (AP) — Prime Minister Vladimir Putin sternly warned the West not to interfere in Russia's elections, as he launched his campaign to reclaim the presidency in a speech Sunday before thousands of flag-waving supporters.

Putin stepped down in 2008 after two presidential terms, but kept his hold on power. He announced in September that he intended to return to the top job next year and was formally nominated Sunday by his United Russia party.

"All our foreign partners need to understand this: Russia is a democratic country, it's a reliable and predictable partner with which they can and must reach agreement, but on which they cannot impose anything from the outside," Putin told his audience.

The party congress, which was televised live, was aimed at boosting support for Putin and his party before parliamentary elections one week away.

Increasingly seen as representing the interests of a corrupt bureaucracy, United Russia has watched its public approval ratings plummet in recent months. The party is still certain to win the Dec. 4 election, but is expected to lose the current two-thirds majority that has allowed it to change the constitution at will.

Putin's decision to swap jobs with President Dmitry Medvedev after the presidential vote in March, presented as a done deal at the party congress in September, also has soured the public mood. Many Russians are wary of Putin's authoritarian tendencies and fear he will remain in power for 12 more years to become the longest-serving leader since Communist times.

Sunday's congress began with a steel worker, a businessman, a farmer, a decorated special services officer and a noted film director standing up one after another to praise Putin as the only man capable of leading the country. The 11,000 delegates filling the Moscow sports arena chanted "Putin, Putin" and "The people trust Putin!"

Putin promised Russians stability, a word he repeated often throughout his speech. In countering criticism that he has tightened his control at the expense of democracy, Putin insisted that Russia needs a "stable political system" to guarantee "stable development" for decades to come.

"This is an extremely important task for Russia with its history of upheavals and revolutions," he said.

He used the occasion to lash out at opposition leaders, saying they had brought the country to ruin when they served in the government in the 1990s.

"They killed industry, agriculture and the social sphere," Putin said. "They stabbed the knife of civil war in the very heart of Russia by allowing bloodshed in the North Caucasus. In fact, they led the country to the brink of catastrophe, the edge of a precipice."

He said Russia wants to develop cooperation with the West, but strongly warned the U.S. and Europe against paying too much attention to the Kremlin's critics and providing them with financial support.

"We know that ... representatives of some countries meet with those whom they pay money, the so-called grant recipients, give them instructions and guidance for what 'work' they need to do to influence the election campaign in our country," Putin said.

"That's a wasted effort, like throwing money to the winds," he said.

Putin said those who provide grants to Russian non-governmental organizations "would do better using this money to pay back their domestic debt and stop conducting such a costly and inefficient foreign policy."

Putin promised his countrymen that by maintaining a steady course they would build "a strong, rich and prosperous Russia." Offering something for everyone, he pledged to make it easier to do business, to improve the educational system and health care, to raise taxes on the rich and to bolster the military.

"In the next five to 10 years we must take our armed forces to a qualitatively new level. Of course, this will require big spending .... but we must do this if we want to defend the dignity of our country," he said.

Putin also said he would pursue his project of forming a Eurasian Union to boost integration between Russia and its neighbors, restoring some of the links that were destroyed when the Soviet Union collapsed 20 years ago.

He offered little new to address the calls from businessmen, economists and political liberals for reforms seen as necessary for Russia to modernize its economy and further its development.

"The signals so far have certainly been: no change, more of the same, muddling along, stability even if it comes at a high cost," said Masha Lipman, a scholar at the Carnegie Moscow Center.

She said any reforms that would increase public participation and encourage initiative are rightly seen as a serious risk for the political monopoly that Putin has established.

"Power is concentrated at the top, there is ultimately one arbiter," Lipman said. "I see no reason why this will change."

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

http://news.yahoo.com/report-claims-cover-russian-lawyers-death-152633065.html

Report claims cover up in Russian lawyer's death

By SOFIA JAVED | AP – 14 mins ago

MOSCOW (AP) — A private investigation into the death of a Russian lawyer who had reported official corruption in his country concluded Monday that he was severely beaten and denied medical treatment in prison, and accused the government of failing to prosecute those responsible.

The lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, was arrested after accusing Interior Ministry officials of corruption. He died in custody in November 2009 and while also suffering from untreated pancreatitis, government officials have said. Two prison doctors have been charged with negligence.

Magnitsky, 37, had accused the Interior Ministry officials of using false tax documents to steal $230 million from the state, and it was those same officials who had the lawyer arrested.

"The Russian government knows exactly who tortured and killed Sergei Magnitsky, as well as who stole $230 million, but has refused to investigate and prosecute them," the report concluded.

It was compiled by William Browder, a U.S.-born investor who owned and ran Hermitage Capital Management, the investment fund Magnitsky had worked for before his arrest.

The report chronicled the developments in Magnitsky's case, starting from the alleged tax fraud he had exposed to his prison torment and death following a brutal beating by prison guards.

It also contains evidence of what it describes as an official cover up of Magnitsky's death, complete with pictures of dozens of Russian officials it claims were responsible. The report shows photos of luxury houses, expensive cars and other assets allegedly obtained by officials Magnitsky had accused of wrongdoing.

"All government bodies systematically denied Sergei Magnitsky any form of medical attention," the investigation says.

Browder, who has been barred from Russia by the government as a security risk, released his report on a website and by e-mailing it to journalists.

His report follows an investigation by members of the human rights council under Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. It concluded in July that Magnitsky's arrest and detention were unlawful, that his beating in custody was a direct cause of his death and that his prosecution by officials he had accused of wrongdoing violated Russian law.

But Russia's Interior Ministry later denied any official wrongdoing, and the official probe into Magnitsky's death only led to the negligence charges against the two doctors.

At a news conference on Monday, prominent rights activist Valery Borshchev praised Browder's report and said he believes the beating of the inmate, not the untreated pancreatitis, led to his death.

Borshchev said a video recorded a few hours before Magnitsky died suggests that he wasn't then on the verge of death.

"He was in pain, but nevertheless he was moving on his own and he was carrying two heavy bags," Borshchev said. "Why he was dead after two hours is very hard to explain."

He accused officials of failing to fully investigate what happened.

"For two years, this has been kept silent," Broshchev he said.

The U.S. State Department reacted by deciding in July to ban entry to some 60 Russian officials, reportedly including senior figures in the Russian Interior Ministry, as well as judges, prosecutors and prison officials whom Magnitsky's colleagues had held responsible for his death.

Angered by the U.S. move, Russia last month banned entry to unidentified U.S. officials it claimed had been involved in killings and abductions.

On Monday, Russia's top investigative agency, the Investigative Committee, refused to comment on Browder's report.

The Prosecutor General's office, which in August reopened a criminal investigation against Magnitsky 20 months after his death, also denied comment.

[Brusik 11]

LOL if only his days were numbered...............

Politics Saakashvili: Jeers for Putin Mean 'Beginning of End for Authoritarian Rule in Russia' 'I am sure their days are numbered'; Russia 'wants Georgia to be its slave'; 'Some Georgian politicians miss licking Russian soldiers' dirty underwear'; 'Russian Church declared a crusade for restoration of Soviet Union'; The boos and whistles that greeted Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, when he stepped into the ring at Olympiysky Stadium in Moscow after a martial arts fight on Sunday, signaled "the beginning of the end for the authoritarian rule in Russia," President Saakashvili said. "You've seen how Putin was whistled. This is the beginning of the end for the authoritarian rule in Russia. I am sure that their days are numbered," Saakashvili said while speaking in a televised meeting with cabinet ministers in Kutaisi on November 22.

"For Georgia today it is very important to keep the pace of development, because in Russia there also are a lot of well-disposed people - not in the Kremlin or its satellite organizations - who are delighted with our reforms," he said.

Saakashvili said that top goal for the Russian leadership "is to topple the government" of Georgia. "Russia will even make a deal with devil - in or outside of Georgia - to achieve this," he said.

Saakashvili made the remarks while commenting on an announcement by rating agency Standard & Poor's, which has raised Georgia's sovereign-credit rating one notch to BB-, pointing to the country's strong growth prospects.

"Raising Georgia's credit rating in these conditions... means that Georgia has overcome what others would not have overcome; Georgia has accomplished actually something impossible," Saakashvili said.

He said that in four-five years the process of Georgia becoming "a new Hong Kong, a new economic tiger of the world and the economic, cultural, tourism and political center of this region" would become irreversible.

During the same televised cabinet sitting, Saakashvili also said that in the past Russian military barracks were located on the place where now new development projects were underway in Kutaisi, where Russian soldiers "were hanging their dirty underwear."

"Some Georgian politicians miss licking that underwear; but that's not what the Georgian people want. We want to go where our future will be protected," he said without naming any of the Georgian politician.

"You know that the Russian [Orthodox] Church has declared a crusade for restoration of the Soviet Union, that means, for putting an end to Georgia's independence," he said, apparently referring to remarks by head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Kirill, who said last week that the collapse of the Soviet Union was negative.

He said that Russia "wants Georgia to be its slave." "So if someone wants to follow this path, let them take a one-way ticket for Kutaisi-Moscow flight," Saakashvili said. "We will have such flights from Kutaisi - we will send there forever those politicians who want to be with them [Russia] and we will receive from there Russian tourists, who will gradually replace Russian tanks and Russian soldiers here

Edited November 29, 2011 by Brusik

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

LOL if only his days were numbered...............

"You know that the Russian [Orthodox] Church has declared a crusade for restoration of the Soviet Union, that means, for putting an end to Georgia's independence," he said, apparently referring to remarks by head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Kirill, who said last week that the collapse of the Soviet Union was negative.

He said that Russia "wants Georgia to be its slave." "So if someone wants to follow this path, let them take a one-way ticket for Kutaisi-Moscow flight," Saakashvili said. "We will have such flights from Kutaisi - we will send there forever those politicians who want to be with them [Russia] and we will receive from there Russian tourists, who will gradually replace Russian tanks and Russian soldiers here

The ROC is bad news. Every ROC Patriarch since Stalin's time has been a GRU/NKVD/KGB/FSB agent including Kiril and his predecessor. It's nothing more than a political tool for the Kremlin dictatorship hence the reason Ukraine wants it's own Patriarch so bad. Kiril should be renamed "Tsar Putin's mouth piece". There is no shame to the ROC's game. None whatsoever. If you ever have the time, do some reading up on the ROC and it's past Patriarchs in regards to it's political agenda. It even makes some past Commie leaders look like angels compared to what it's accomplished. It's funny how the Bolsheviks made a habit of killing priest and demolishing churches in the beginning when it suited them, but when they saw how the ROC could be used as a weapon against Belarus, Ukraine, etc... the commies took to giving the ROC the go ahead in those countries to help Russify every thing and every one possible.

Derzhava <---- It dates back to Vladimir's time and it's what the ROC is all about. It's the greatest brainwashing job done on Russians yet...greater than Communism. It's the root of all Russian nationalism and it starts with the ROC and it's twisted agenda for all descendants of the Kyiv Rus.

Edited November 29, 2011 by Why_Me

[Brusik 11]

You would have to wonder how useful??? was this trip.....

Georgian Church Leader Says His Moscow Visit was 'Useful' Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Ilia II, said that his week-long visit to Moscow was "very important and useful for our country, our church." He was in Moscow from November 18 to November 24 to participate in celebration of Russian Orthodox Church leader Kirill's 65th birthday. He held talks with the Russian Patriarch and also met with Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, together with other heads of delegations of the Orthodox Churches from several other countries, who were visiting Moscow for the Russian Patriarch's 65th birthday celebration.

"We focused on the fate of refugees and talked about the issue of refugees; there is a hope that they will be able to return back to their homes," Ilia II said after arrival from Moscow.

While the Georgian Patriarch was visiting Moscow, President Saakashvili has twice slammed the Russian Orthodox Church on two separate occasions, calling it "the Kremlin's branch", which had "declared a crusade for restoration of the Soviet Union."

"You know that the Russian [Orthodox] Church has declared a crusade for restoration of the Soviet Union, that means, for putting an end to Georgia's independence," Saakashvili said on November 22, referring to remarks by head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Kirill, who said last week that the collapse of the Soviet Union was negative event.

Next day, on November 23, while unveiling a statue to former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, Saakashvili said: ""Russian Orthodox Church, which is directly the Kremlin's branch, declared a crusade for restoration of the Soviet Union and called the former Soviet Union territory, including Georgia, 'historic parts of Russia' which should be returned back to Russia."

"No matter how many crusades they will declare for restoration of the Soviet Union and no matter how many prayers or curses KGB-uniform elements in the north from us will say, freedom will definitely prevail and any attempt of restoration of the Soviet Union will lead to further destabilization of Russia and will lead this state - which deserves much better fate - to the verge of collapse," he added.

Edited November 29, 2011 by Brusik

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

You would have to wonder how useful??? was this trip.....

Georgian Church Leader Says His Moscow Visit was 'Useful' Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Ilia II, said that his week-long visit to Moscow was "very important and useful for our country, our church." He was in Moscow from November 18 to November 24 to participate in celebration of Russian Orthodox Church leader Kirill's 65th birthday. He held talks with the Russian Patriarch and also met with Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, together with other heads of delegations of the Orthodox Churches from several other countries, who were visiting Moscow for the Russian Patriarch's 65th birthday celebration.

"We focused on the fate of refugees and talked about the issue of refugees; there is a hope that they will be able to return back to their homes," Ilia II said after arrival from Moscow.

While the Georgian Patriarch was visiting Moscow, President Saakashvili has twice slammed the Russian Orthodox Church on two separate occasions, calling it "the Kremlin's branch", which had "declared a crusade for restoration of the Soviet Union."

"You know that the Russian [Orthodox] Church has declared a crusade for restoration of the Soviet Union, that means, for putting an end to Georgia's independence," Saakashvili said on November 22, referring to remarks by head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Kirill, who said last week that the collapse of the Soviet Union was negative event.

Next day, on November 23, while unveiling a statue to former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, Saakashvili said: ""Russian Orthodox Church, which is directly the Kremlin's branch, declared a crusade for restoration of the Soviet Union and called the former Soviet Union territory, including Georgia, 'historic parts of Russia' which should be returned back to Russia."

"No matter how many crusades they will declare for restoration of the Soviet Union and no matter how many prayers or curses KGB-uniform elements in the north from us will say, freedom will definitely prevail and any attempt of restoration of the Soviet Union will lead to further destabilization of Russia and will lead this state - which deserves much better fate - to the verge of collapse," he added.

Kiril and his KGB predecessor Alexy II used to rat on fellow ROC members/clergy to the KGB. Kiril even gave Castro a church medal when he visited Cuba. He's a rat pos through and through. There was also a piece done on him in regards to him making a killing in the tabaco trade before he got appointed Patriarch. Seriously if he could get down on his knees and service Tsar Putin I'm sure he would if he hasn't already done it by now.

Western Ukrainians know what that fck is all about and they gave him a reception he will never forget when the Kremlin tool decided to make an appearance in Lvov. The people there rioted and threw rocks at the Church where he was speaking. You gotta hand it to Western Ukrainians...they never forget when someone fks them over.

Edited November 29, 2011 by Why_Me

[Brusik 11]

The Kremlin is so well-loved :dance:

Conflicts Tbilisi Says S.Ossetia Polls 'Kremlin-Planned Event' Sunday's presidential runoff in breakaway South Ossetia is not an election, but "an event planned by the Kremlin," Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister, Nino Kalandadze, said on November 28. "What is happening there is not considered as elections; that's an event, which is planned by the Kremlin and which is led by the official Moscow and Moscow is responsible for its results," she said.

"Events not agreed with Tbilisi are taking place in Georgia's occupied territories. Unfortunately, human rights violations are also taking place and [Moscow], which is in charge of situation there, is responsible for that. We hope that the international community will react adequately. There was a very prompt and adequate reaction from the international community when the so called first round of [election on November 13] was condemned by the U.S., the European Union," she added.

Edited November 29, 2011 by Brusik

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

http://news.yahoo.com/tv-censorship-crosses-time-zones-putins-russia-120740515.html

TV censorship crosses time zones in Putin's Russia

By SOFIA JAVED | AP – 10 hrs ago

MOSCOW (AP) — On a recent Sunday evening, television viewers in Russia's eastern regions watched as a young Chechen man with a bandaged bloody nose described the details of his torture by Chechen special police.

But viewers in Russia's west never got to hear his story. By the time they tuned in to the news program some seven or eight hours later, the report had been replaced with 10 minutes of ads.

Censorship across time zones has become an established practice on national television networks, which under Russian leader Vladimir Putin were all brought under Kremlin control. Controversial or sensitive programs are shown in full to audiences in the Far East, Siberia and the Urals, but are often edited before they reach viewers in Russia's western regions, where 70 percent of the population lives.

Sometimes, the programs are canceled altogether.

Increasingly, however, the uncut programs are quickly posted on the Internet, where they are discussed and spread through Russia's thriving blogosphere by a growing number of Russians unhappy with Putin's rule.

As many as 80 percent of Russians still rely on television as their main news source, which explains the Kremlin's reluctance to ease its hold. But Internet use is growing dramatically and the free exchange of critical information is beginning to chip away at the Kremlin's ability to influence public opinion.

Russia now has the highest number of Internet users among 18 countries in Europe, with market research company comScore Inc. recording 50.8 million unique visitors to the Internet in September. In the same month, Russia had the fifth most engaged social networking audience in the world, with the average user spending 9.7 hours a day on popular social networking sites.

The percentage of Russians using the Internet is still low by European standards but it has been growing steadily.

The journalists who produced the report on Chechnya knew what they were risking. They warned their sources even as they were filming that the story might show only in the east, if it made it to the airwaves at all. When the report was pulled, they immediately posted it on YouTube, and by the next day the video had been seen by more than 300,000 people across the country.

The report, belying the Kremlin's portrayal of growing stability in Chechnya, came at a sensitive time as Prime Minister Putin prepares to reclaim the presidency in March elections. A key test for Putin comes Sunday, when his party faces a national vote to keep its majority in parliament.

But such censorship attempts may be backfiring.

"I presume, in the end, more people actually watched it than would have had it run properly," said Tatyana Lokshina, a researcher for Human Rights Watch who has worked extensively in Russia's restive North Caucasus region, which includes Chechnya.

Lokshina said the wide audience the report attracted on the Internet was unlikely to have gone unnoticed by the Kremlin.

"The Kremlin censors are becoming more and more aware of the scandal potential of online media and social networks and blogs, and how if they make a rash decision to kill a certain sensitive story, there will be consequences," she said.

The censoring of the Chechnya report caused a minor scandal and was covered by Russian newspapers and some international media organizations.

The Kremlin has tolerated the criticism proliferating on the Internet and also in Russia's non-governmental media. Some of the most biting attacks have come from a burst of creative political satire that followed Putin's announcement in September that he and President Dmitry Medvedev planned to switch jobs next year.

So far, however, the political cartoons, lively debates and critical reports posted online have largely served to let off steam among what is a growing but still relatively small portion of the population.

The Internet "may be a vehicle of critical opinion, critical analysis, of even exposure of wrongdoing and abuse of authority, but it is not a vehicle of political mobilization or political organization," said Masha Lipman, a scholar at the Carnegie Moscow Center.

Russians do not want a revolution like those that brought down regimes in the Middle East and North Africa, and they have little appetite for political activism, she said.

Most Russians still prefer the political stability that Putin promises and they still get their news from television.

"The people who pull reports off the air, they don't care about the Internet," said journalist Andrei Loshak. "They understand that there is an audience for the Internet, and there is an audience for television that is much more important. And with them it's a separate conversation."

Loshak had a 25-minute documentary film pulled off the air in 2008 after it had been shown in the Far East. The film touched on a sensitive issue under Moscow's mayor at the time, although it never mentioned him by name. Loshak posted the video online but otherwise decided not to raise a fuss for fear of losing his job.

In the same way, the report on abuses in Chechnya was apparently considered to reflect too negatively on the Kremlin. Putin has backed Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, whose brutal rule has brought a semblance of calm after years of war, but rights activists claim that his forces are responsible for disappearances, torture and extrajudicial killings.

"You just can't touch such issues right now, especially during elections," veteran television executive Anatoly Lysenko said in an interview published in the newspaper Kommersant. "There are things we simply cannot show."

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

http://news.yahoo.com/medvedev-hails-equal-competition-ahead-vote-063422601.html

Medvedev hails "equal competition" ahead of vote

AP – 4 hrs ago

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says the nation's political parties enjoyed "free and equal competition" ahead of Sunday's parliamentary election, while voters complain of record violations of election law by the main pro-Kremlin party.

Medvedev on Friday hailed the upcoming election as "a high point of democracy."

Golos, a respected independent watchdog, has documented more than 4,500 election law violations mostly related to the dominant United Russia party.

Only Kremlin-approved parties are allowed to field candidates, and past elections have drawn strong accusations of vote rigging.

Independent pollster Levada Center said last week that United Russia will receive 53 per cent of the vote, down from 64 per cent in 2007.

[1HappyGuy 45]

I was watching BBC World last night and at the bottom of the screen they flashed that Belarus has outlawed "breathing" as a sign of protest. I guess that's one way to eliminate the opposition. You can't breathe so you must die. :rofl:

I figure that Ukraine's Yanukovych is taking notes.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

I was watching BBC World last night and at the bottom of the screen they flashed that Belarus has outlawed "breathing" as a sign of protest. I guess that's one way to eliminate the opposition. You can't breathe so you must die. :rofl:

I figure that Ukraine's Yanukovych is taking notes.

Up until a few years ago, all of Lukashenko's KGB henchmen were trained in Russia.

http://news.yahoo.com/russian-independent-election-watchdog-found-guilty-150607501.html

Russian independent election watchdog found guilty

By NATALIYA VASILYEVA | AP – 2 hrs 51 mins ago

MOSCOW (AP) — A court on Friday found Russia's only independent election watchdog guilty of violations, casting doubt on its ability to monitor Sunday's parliamentary election as voters complain of record violations by the Kremlin party.

The Kremlin is determined to see the dominant United Russia maintain its majority in parliament. President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin both made final appeals for the party on Friday, warning that a parliament made up of diverse political camps would be incapable of making decisions.

The respected independent watchdog Golos, which compiles complaints of election law violations across the country and posts them on online, has recorded more than 4,700 complaints, most involving United Russia.

The court agreed with prosecutors that the Golos website violates a law forbidding the publication of public opinion research within five days of an election. Golos was fined 30,000 rubles (just under $1,000).

"They are afraid that Golos will tell the truth. They are concerned that they cannot control us," Golos deputy director Grigory Melkonyants said. "They might silence Golos, but they will not silence those people who witness these violations every day."

He insisted that the group would be able to continue its operations, saying that Russians have a constitutional right to report violations. Golos said it plans to send out 3,000 activists to observe Sunday's election.

Golos' lawyer Ramil Akhmetgaliev was less optimistic. "There could be a case to close down the organization," he said. "It depends on how they want to use the law."

The group has come under growing pressure since Sunday, when Putin accused Western governments of trying to influence the election through their funding of unnamed Russian non-governmental organizations. Golos, whose name means "vote," is supported by grants from the United States and Europe.

Kremlin-controlled NTV television showed a half-hour program on Friday evening that attacked Golos directly. The program included shots of suitcases full of U.S. dollars and claimed that Golos was openly supporting opposition parties and trying to discredit the elections.

United Russia dominates Russia's political life and has received overwhelmingly favorable coverage during the campaign, mostly from Kremlin-controlled national television. But the party is increasingly disliked, seen as representing a corrupt bureaucracy and often called "the party of crooks and thieves."

Putin leads the party and he needs it to do well in the parliamentary election to pave the way for his return to the presidency in a vote now three months away.

On Friday, the final day of campaigning, Putin warned that parliament would be unable to work effectively if members "are punching one another, fighting, pulling one another's hair, as occurs in certain neighboring countries," a clear reference to Ukraine's fractious politics.

"If someone wants to see a show, then they should go to the circus, the cinema or the theater," Putin said during a televised visit to a shipbuilding plant.

Medvedev, in a formal televised address, also warned about the dangers of a parliament "torn by irreconcilable conflicts, incapable of making a decision."

The independent Levada Center released a poll last week that predicted United Russia would receive 53 percent of the vote. While still a majority, this would deprive the party of the two-thirds majority that has allowed it to amend the constitution.

Golos said this week that about a third of the complaints it has received come from voters who say they are being pressured to vote for United Russia, mostly by their bosses at work or their professors at universities. Fears that the vote count will be rigged also were running high.

Lilia Shevtsova, a political scientist at the Carnegie Moscow Center, said most Russians are under no illusions that the election will be fair.

"Everybody understands in Russia that this election is without any kind of choice," she said. "More than 55 percent of Russians consider that the forthcoming elections will be fraudulent and will be manipulated."

Six other Kremlin-approved parties have been allowed to field candidates, while the most vocal opposition groups have been barred.

The Levada poll indicates that the Communist Party may benefit from the protest vote, with its share of the vote predicted to rise to 20 percent from less than 12 percent in 2007. The poll also shows an uptick for the two other parties in parliament: the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party and Just Russia, a party established with Kremlin support to lure votes from the Communists.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

http://news.yahoo.com/united-russia-battles-comparisons-soviet-rulers-152810417.html

United Russia battles comparisons with Soviet rulers

By Timothy Heritage | Reuters – 5 hrs ago

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A packed Moscow stadium echoed to chants of Vladimir Putin's name when Russia's ruling party triumphantly confirmed him as its next presidential candidate.

The vote was unanimous. Perhaps that was just as well. Putin had, apparently jokingly, publicly chided the single party member who voted against the party list of candidates two months ago when it was drawn up for Sunday's parliamentary election.

The congress of United Russia drew comparisons with the stage-managed Communist Party meetings of the Soviet era, even if it was jazzed up for the modern era with some of the razzmatazz of a U.S.-style political convention.

United Russia dominates political life under Putin's chairmanship. Most of the government are members, and it achieved a Soviet-style result of 99 percent of votes in Chechnya in the 2007 parliamentary election.

Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev has compared it to the party he once led and Russian Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov describes it as a poor imitation of the all powerful Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Despite the many differences with the party whose policies included mass collectivization and the killing or jailing of millions of opponents, United Russia has been unable to avoid comparisons with the Soviet communists.

"There are certainly similarities with the Soviet Communist Party in the sense that it dominates the political space and some of the behavioral patterns are the same," said Boris Makarenko of the Centre for Political Technologies think tank.

"But the Soviet party was THE centre of power. United Russia is more a function of power."

MANY ROLES TO PLAY

United Russia was created in December 2001 from a merger of two political groups -- Unity and Otechestvo -- and has held sway in the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, since winning 223 of the 450 seats in an election two years later.

It also won the 2007 election, securing 315 seats, and opinions polls suggest it will win Sunday's election, although with a reduced majority.

Putin used the party -- which he dominates from the top -- to help bring stability to Russia after the chaos of the 1990s under President Boris Yeltsin, who faced a divided parliament in which the successor of the Soviet Communist Party was strong.

Yeltsin never succeeded in creating a party base to his power despite the appeals of allies to do so.

"Putin created a Soviet system of rule, a power vertical," said Dmitry Oreshkin, head of the Merkator think tank. "United Russia helps the bureaucracy keep power and defends certain economic and political interests. It helps preserve stability."

The party brings together national politicians, regional governors, private businessmen and heads of state companies, as well as people from other walks of life. It has a role outside the election cycle, helping citizens sort out local problems.

But many experts say United Russia is mainly an instrument for winning elections for Putin and carrying out his policies.

"It's an election tool, it's a tool in parliament and it's a tool for defending Putin's stance in the public sphere," Makarenko said. "It is not a classical party as we know it, but it does represent voters who like Putin and his policies."

United Russia is built more around admiration for Putin than any ideology, and members say it allows more room for internal policy debate than the communists did.

Membership of the Communist Party was all but essential to get on in life in Soviet times, whereas membership of United Russia is relatively small at just over 2 million.

"Unlike the Soviet party, it's not decisive for your career," said political analyst Gleb Pavlovsky. "It has a role to play in the regions, it's a regional bureaucracy working for the centre, but it's not very important in the capital as such."

SIGNS OF FATIGUE

Voters are already showing signs of fatigue with a party dominated by a leader whose popularity, while still high, has slipped since he announced plans to swap jobs with President Dmitry Medvedev after the presidential election next March.

Many Russians saw this as a backroom deal worked out without consultation and without any consideration of voters.

Russia's biggest independent pollster said last month United Russia would win 252-253 places in the Duma, considerably less than it won four years ago.

The party's election campaign, consisting mainly of Putin and Medvedev outlining their policies at long televised meetings with supporters, has widely been seen as uninspired.

Attempts to create a Popular Front, under which independent candidates could run on the United Russia ticket without joining the party, met with only limited success. The party took part in televised election debates but Putin refused to do so.

The authors of a new book on United Russia, journalists Ilya Zhegulyov and Lyudmila Romanova, say it has failed to emulate the Soviet Communist Party or transform itself into a modern political organization and its days could be numbered.

"The party is nearing its demise. This campaign showed that the United Russia brand is finished," Zhegulyov told Reuters.

Oreshkin said: "It is not a real political party. It will fall apart as soon as the system (Putin created) starts to weaken."