TODAY: HRW slams Russia for worst human rights year since Soviet times; Russia welcomes new U.S. Secretary of State; Pussy Riot member sent to hospital; central bank rejects Putin’s calls to ease monetary policy; Ukraine says it will settle with Gazprom according to the terms of its contract; temporary return of ‘Stalingrad’ draws criticism.

The Foreign Ministry has dismissed complaints by Human Rights Watch that Russia has completed its ‘worst year for human rights in recent memory,’ after the Kremlin unleashed what the organisation is calling its harshest political crackdown since Soviet times.  ‘Since Putin’s return […] not only has the tentative shift towards liberalization of the Medvedev era been totally reversed, but also authoritarianism in Russia has reached a level unknown in recent history.’  New tensions with the U.S. are a byproduct of Russia’s ‘campaign to dig up and cast out what it sees as the many traces of foreign involvement or meddling in Russian life,’ says The Economist.  U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is urging Russia and Iran to rethink their support for Syria, and accused Russia of continuing to deliver financial aid to the Syrian government. Clinton’s imminent replacement by John Kerry has been welcomed by Russia, which says it is ‘convinced that (his appointment) will provide good support for the development of interaction between our countries’. Jailed Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova has been sent to hospital for a medical examination at the request of her and her lawyers, after complaining of headaches and fatigue.