TODAY: Domodedovo bombing suspects detained; Medvedev and Putin cavil over the case; rights groups fear the ascent of Orthodox Church; Khodorkovsky sentence to shrink by three months? Novaya Gazeta reporter wins case against Finance Ministry; ex-ballerina lambastes United Russia.  Lavrov sends out warning to Belarus; Defense Minster in Kurils; snail-paced approach to pollution

According to the New York Times, federal officials have stated that a number of people with information on the suicide bombing at Domodedovo airport have been detained, and purported that the bomber may under the influence of mind-altering drugs.  A difference of opinion has been noted between Putin and Medvedev on the investigation into the attack; the President denying the Prime Minister’s assertion that the case had been ‘solved’ in principal.  In an analysis written by democracy activist Garry Kasparov, Medvedev is firmly placed in the role of Putin’s legal adviser: ‘Any self-respecting mafia boss has his own consigliere to search out loopholes in the legal system, so as to justify their unlawful actions’.  The Russian Orthodox Church’s decision to allowed its clergy to enter politics in certain cases has human rights groups worried that the separation of the (highly influential) church and state is being undermined, says Reuters.  Pro-secularism group Zdravomysliye (Good Sense) has underlined the fact that Patriarch Kirill receives the privileges of a state official, once more signaling that the church enjoys unconstitutional rights.