TODAY: Zhukovsky elections complaints; Russia urges responsible actions regarding North Korea; no support for lost Cyprus funds; Putin allocates funds to NGOs, slams U.S. interference; Strategy 31 detainees released; Putin praises Soviet education system; Perepilichnyy may have been poisoned; shale oil boom? Gazprom accuses Ukraine of fraud.

Mayoral elections in Zhukovsky were marred by reports of vote-buying and falsifications in favour of the govnerment-sponsored candidate, Andrei Voityuk.  Russia is urging North Korea and the U.S. to show ‘maximum responsibility and restraint’ after Pyongyang said it was entering a ‘state of war’ with South Korea. This piece suggests that this new development could force Russia and China to work together more closely on their own security concerns.  First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov has announced that the government has no plans to support Russian citizens who lose funds deposited in Cyprus’ crisis-stricken banks.  President Vladimir Putin has ordered that $75 million be allocated to socially oriented NGOs working in Russia this year, after Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Lukashevich accused the U.S. of ‘undisguised interference in internal affairs’ for providing funding to Russian NGOs.  Putin’s advisors are apparently considering reintroducing the post of vice president, possibly with the aim of ‘ensuring a smooth succession of power’ when Putin’s presidential term expires in 2018.