TODAY: Nationalism is a growing threat; election campaign ad forgets the rules; election violations already being registered; Maksim Dudarev denied parole; activists arrested ‘for no reason’; Luzhkov returns to Moscow for fraud questioning; Russia slams UN report on Iranian nuclear programme, defends Italy’s economic program, anticipates WTO accession; Mars probe failure; Medvedev online.

Russia’s nationalist contingency may be a bigger threat to Vladimir Putin’s government than its direct opponents, says the Guardian, reporting on the rampant rise of the far right.  United Russia’s election tactics are being criticised after their most recent advertisement in which a couple emerge ‘dishevelled’ from a voting booth: ‘United Russia has forgotten that voting in Russia is meant to be secret’ (RFE/RL has the video, along with a list of Russia’s most unpopular regional leaders).  Golos, a Moscow-based NGO, has already registered over 1,000 violations of election laws, and there is still a month remaining before the December 4 vote.  Former United Russia member Maksim Dudarev, imprisoned for fraud after making allegations about the fraudulent sale of Yukos, has had his parole request denied.  The Other Russia reports that activists arrested at Moscow events yesterday were not given any reasons for their detention.