22 Dec 11 | Russia
A leading online tabloid has published opposition leader Boris Nemtsov’s private phone conversations, during which he denigrated other Russian opposition activists. Nemtsov claims his phone was illegally bugged and that the Kremlin is behind the leak.
Nemtsov is one of the leaders of the unregistered opposition group the People’s Freedom Party. He took an active part in organising a rally against unfair parliamentary elections on 24 December. He has called the publication of the phone conversations “a provocation” and an attempt by prime-minister Vladimir Putin and Kremlin chief of staff Vladislav Surkov to “wreck the rally on 24 December and sow discord into opposition involved in organising the rally”.
The allegation has been bolstered by the fact that the tabloid LifeNews is a part of the National Media Group controlled by tycoon Jury Kovalchuk, known as a Putin supporter. The Russian Investigative Committee announced they would begin “procedural checking” into the publication of Nemtsov’s phone conversations. But despite the fact that the calls were illegally recorded, LifeNews is unlikely to face the same sanctions as the British tabloid The News of the World: those loyal to Putin don’t usually lose in Russian courts.
LifeNews didn’t specify how it had obtained the recordings of the phone calls, but such publication violates articles 137 and 138 of the Russian Criminal Code (invasion of personal privacy and violation of personal correspondence, telephone conversations, postal, telegraphic and other messages). Together with human rights activist Lev Ponomaryov, with whom his conversation LifeNews published, Nemtsov said he would file a suit against the tabloid.
Life News editor-in-chief Ashot Gabrelyanov defended the publication on business grounds: audience and advertising increase. “News about Nemtsov is in great demand” Gabrelyanov told Lenta.ru news agency.
Most of the conversations published by LifeNews relate to preparations for post-Soviet Russia’s biggest anti-Putin rally on 10 December and an even bigger rally, expected on 24 December. Nemtsov vilified other activists including environmental campaigner Yevgeniya Chirikova; Left Front activist, A Just Russia deputy Ilya Ponomarev and popular blogger and minority shareholders’ rights advocate Alexei Navalny. Nemtsov published an apology on his blog soon after the publications, saying that “he did wrong” and that “one should control his emotions even when talking to friends on the phone”.
His addressees accepted apologies stressing that the Kremlin would have done anything to split popularity, and affirming that the attempt had definitely failed. Alexey Navalny, who was released on 21 December after 15 days of administrative arrest for having participated in a protest rally, said “nobody was likely to have illusions of how they comment on each other off the record”.
In public, Russian opposition is still united to achieve one common aim: fair elections.
19 Dec 11 | Russia
The first meeting of Russia’s newly elected State Duma will be held on 21 December. Tens of thousands of Russians protested the parliamentary elections, based on claims that they were unfair. This week protesters will take to the streets again with a rally against election fraud on 24 December.
The European Parliament echoed the protesters’ concerns, and passed a resolution calling for new parliamentary elections in Russia, as well as a thorough investigation into all reports of alleged fraud on elections held on 4 December. The Russian authorities rejected the EU parliament’s intervention.
Prime-minister Vladimir Putin said the protesters had been paid to attend the 10 December rally, which was the biggest in post-Soviet Russia. Putin added that opposition leaders had referred to them as “sheep” from the stage. Both allegations are untrue. President Dmitry Medvedev said that the EU parliament resolution supporting protestants’ demands “meant nothing”, and former deputy head of State Duma international committee Leonid Slutsky told ITAR-TASS news agency that the resolution was “gross interference in the affairs of a sovereign state”.
The controversial resolution mostly covered the context of the recent elections, but it also highlighted “concerns, regarding the human rights situation in Russia, the rule of law, independence of the judiciary and the repressive measures taken against journalists and the opposition”.
The resolution merely captured the bitter truth of the situation, as proved by events last week. In the Republic of Dagestan — a federal subject of Russia — journalist Khadzhimurad Kamalov, founder of Chernovik, an opposition newspaper, was shot outside his office on 15 December. Kamalov was remembered as a brave man, respected for the risks he took by investing in the independent media. He inspired people to write about corruption and human rights abuse in North Caucasus. His colleagues along with Memorial, an international human rights society said his murder was “political” and motivated by his work. His articles and investigations he made public in Chernovik were widely quoted in Dagestan. Makhachkala city administration filed an open letter to Kamalov in September, accusing him of “libel, deception and mutual distrust fomentation”, which Chernovik journalists regarded as an attempt to silence them.
The detention of one of Russia’s opposition leaders, Sergey Udaltsov further confirms the statements of the EU parliament resolution. Udaltsov was arrested on 4 December while attempting to protest in the rally against violations of election laws, and sentenced to administrative arrest until 25 December. Since his arrest, Udaltsov has been on a dry hunger strike, and his health is under serious threat according to his wife and attorney. He is now in the resuscitation department of one of Moscow’s hospitals. Human rights activists and opposition leaders have expressed concern for his life.
Musician Vassily Shumov, also famous for having held a concert to support music critic Art Troitsky, planned to hold a concert in support of Sergey Udaltsov and other prisoners rights activists considered to be “political”, but was suddenly rejected by the club which had previously agreed to carry it out. Shumov suggested that the club might have declined to participate based on pressure from the authorities.
Opposition leaders, rights activists and public figures are now preparing for the rally on 24 December. It is meant to be the public’s response to authorities, who have ignored their demands to set political prisoners free, hold new and fair parliamentary elections, and to protect freedom of expression. Their primary objective is to encourage citizens to overcome fears of repression for expressing their views, and to build confidence in their ability to influence Russian government policy through publicly expressing their discontent. Christmas Eve will determine whether or not they succeed.
10 Dec 11 | Europe and Central Asia, News and features
Tens of thousands of people participated in opposition rallies against alleged unfair parliamentary elections in Russia. The biggest was in Moscow: up to 120 thousand people demanded Russia’s prime-minister Vladimir Putin resignation.
“Putin Thief”, “We need fair elections”, “Register opposition parties” — these were slogans of Russia’s biggest protest rally since the day of parliamentary elections and since the beginning of post-Soviet Russia.
Famous Russian writer Boris Akunin, known for his public support to former oligarch and Putin’s opponent Mikhail Khodorkovsky, said he “hasn’t seen such Moscow for the last 20 years”. Opposition leaders, rights activists, well-known journalists and public figures appealed to the people to take further action to control authorities and use democratic tools to change government policy. The rally’s resolution included five points:
– Political prisoners to be released immediately;
– Elections results to be cancelled;
– The head of the Central Election Commission Vladimir Churov to resign,and his activities and election fraud to be investigated;
– Opposition parties to be registered, democratic election law to be passed;
– New fair elections to be held.
Rally participants agreed the authorities now have two weeks to react and fulfil their requirements. If not, a new rally, a bigger one, will be held on 24 December in Moscow and other cities. Opposition parties Yabloko and Communist Party, who took part in protest on 10 December, also resolved to remind the authorities about people’s demands on two rallies of their own — on 17 and 18 December respectively.
This day is not just remarkable because Moscow hasn’t faceda rally like this in 20 years, but also because other cities protested. Similar rallies were held in Saint Petersburg, Khabarovsk, Perm, Ekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Samara amd other cities. Protests of solidarity were held outside Russia, too, in London, New-York, Oslo, Helsinki, Lisbon, Barcelona, Paris, Jerusalem, Tokio, Dublin, Berlin, Prague, Rome.
In most Russian cities policemen arrested tens of acivists, but in Moscow they earned applause from the rally participants for their unexpected accommodation. Previous Moscow protests against elections results have been marked with hundreds of detentions and cruel police actions.
Russian TV, just like the Moscow police, surprised people by broadcasting news about the rally. Previous protests were not covered. The current rally waseven covered live, although neither Putin nor Medvedev were criticised on air and the rally’s topic — mass election fraud — was not explained or discussed during the broadcasts. Most items looked like reports on how well the police performed and how bad the traffic jams were because of the rally.
Inspite of rights activists’ words about “civil society rebirth” and “dramatic changes in Russia”, the Central Election Commission deputy Stanislav Vavilov said the Commission will not review election results. Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalist the government “has not yet formed an opinion on the rally”.
But post-Soviet Russia has changed already: Never before has it faced tens of thousands of people chanting that they, not Putin and his “United Russia”, are the real power.
07 Dec 11 | News and features
Activists and opposition politicians arrested as Russians speak out against the prime minister’s party. Elena Vlasenko reports
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