TODAY: Syrian plan a victory for Russia, explicit calls for Assad to back down are removed, Lavrov is ‘delighted’; Syrian minister thanks Russia; United Russia bill on foreign-funded NGOs; Moscow’s land mass is doubled; Muscovites protest WTO accession; ombudsman decries illegal punk trio imprisonment; church slams abortion.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised Russia’s backing of the United Nations Syria plan as ‘a significant step forward’, although many are accusing Washington of a major concession that will keep Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in power.  Kofi Annan initially demanded that a transitional government should not include any figure that jeopardises stability. ‘Clearly Russia and China have a different view,’ said the British Foreign Secretary.  But despite agreeing to the plan, Sergei Lavrov said that the U.N.’s road map doesn’t imply the ouster of Assad.  Bloomberg says the U.N. plan is a victory for Russia because it lacks clear wording on Assad, and Lavrov’s cheerful conclusion, saying that he was ‘delighted’ at the outcome, strengthens this.  Russia sent a delegation to Syria over the weekend where the Deputy Foreign Minister thanked Russia for its support, accusing Western media of distorting the facts, as Reuters notes that over 10,000 people have been killed in Syria since the beginning of the uprising.  Russia’s defence of Syria is strategic, but ‘there is also a human factor’, says the New York Times, considering diasporas on both sides of the border.