TODAY: The New York Times reveals disquieting details from official investigation into Magnitsky death;   Moscow police chief blames outsiders for racial tensions; Strategy 31 displeased with rally sanctions; Novaya Gazeta and Wikileaks partnership.  START passes; Belarus concerns; Britain-Russia diplomatic spat rumbles on; innovative anti-alcohol campaign; Putin shows off

The New York Times examines official documents from the Magnitsky case, which uncover details of the deplorable circumstances of the lawyer’s death.  A second article deals with the subsequent investigation, in which prison officials reportedly appeared ‘frightened’ and the doctor who examined Magnitsky ‘distraught’ when questioned.  Moscow police chief Vladimir Kolokoltsev has suggested that opposition protesters and non-Muscovites are largely responsible for the wave of ethnic violence that has racked the city of late.  Moscow law enforcement is apparently considering the establishment of a special department to deal with ethnic criminal groups.  In a blow to those militating against police violence, five Siberian policemen who were convicted of torturing suspects have reportedly received suspended sentences.  Khimki Forest Defenders movement leader Yevgenia Chirikova has been detained at a protest.  Apparently both opposition rallies planned for December 31st have been sanctioned, subject to conditions so restrictive that both groups will reject the offer.  According to RFE/RL, Russian weekly Novaya Gazeta, owned by Aleksander Lebedev, plans to collaborate with whistle-blower site WikiLeaks to unmask corruption in Russia.  Medvedev is unfussed: the President apparently told reporters that he ‘doesn’t give a damn’ about the assessments of the country’s domestic affairs expressed in Wikileaks’s revelations.