TODAY: Journalists face the cost of free speech; Medvedev ousts governors; Stalin’s grandson lawsuit denied; Kremlin angered by Strasbourg ruling; black actor dies after attack.  Medvedev honors famine victims as ties with Ukraine improve; new NATO mission statement highlights Russia; Khodorkovsky hunger strike

The New York Times has a feature report on the fate of journalist Mikhail Beketo, and the punishment he endured for refusing to be silenced.  The newspaper also looks at the story of journalist Pyotr Lipatov, who was reportedly beaten and then interrogated: local police authorities vocally deny the accusations.  ‘We have a joke in Russia … there are two political parties, the problem is Medvedev doesn’t know which party he belongs to’: Garry Kasparov tells the Washington Post about his vision of Russia.  The President has decided to replace the governors of Rostov and Orenburg with unexpected candidates, in a move to apparently consolidate his authority in the regions.  Moscow City’s Presnya district court has denied a lawsuit by Joseph Stalin’s grandson against the pro-liberal Echo of Moscow radio.  The European Court of Human Rights has upheld the ruling of ‘guilty’ against a Latvian man who ordered the killing of nine civilians when fighting for the Red Army.  Whilst Latvia has applauded the move, Moscow has called it a ‘dangerous precedent’.  A dark-skinned Brazilian actor has been beaten to death in St Petersburg: authorities have not classed the attack a hate crime.