TODAY: Grounds for NGO inspection expanded; Bolotnaya Square protesters sentenced, hundreds detained for protesting; Kremlin slams U.S. and I.M.F.; Medvedev questions legitimacy of Kiev’s interim government; Transneft settles Azerbaijan transit row.

President Vladimir Putin said the Sochi Olympics succeeded in their goal of presenting a new image of Russia to the world, and then proceeded to sign a new law that will expand current grounds for surprise inspections of NGOs.  Around 100 (some sources say 200 and more) people were detained yesterday for taking part in unauthorised protests outside the court in Moscow where seven of the eight remaining Bolotnaya Square protesters were sentenced to 2.5-4 years of jail time.  Demonstrators chanted ‘Maidan! Maidan!’, possibly as a warning to Vladimir Putin of potential consequences if the sentences are not mitigated.  RIA Novosti reports much higher numbers of protesters, and says that a total of 500 people were detained in Moscow and St. Petersburg combined.