TODAY: Kasparov says will not return to Russia; Bolotnaya Square protest; Sergei Guriev speaks about events leading to his emigration; activist fined for promoting HIV awareness; Udaltsov may run for Moscow Mayor, Sobyanin steps down; foreign assets law will not deter officials; pressure on Georgia over disputed territories; Rosneft and Gazprom granted Arctic Shelf rights; Pussy Riot, Litvinenko, Russia Today.

Former chess champion and political opposition figure Garry Kasparov spoke in Geneva about his exile yesterday, saying that he will not be returning to Russia due to concerns about political pressure connected to ongoing investigations into last year’s Bolotnaya Square protest. ‘Right now, I have serious doubts that I would be able to travel out again if I returned to Moscow.’  Kremlin opponents say that the trial of the twelve Bolotnaya protesters is a ‘Stalin-style trial’.  Liberal economist Sergei Guriev says he will not consider returning to Russia unless justice prevails. ‘Maybe Aleksei Navalny will be cleared and Khodorkovsky will be freed. Then I will think about what to do.’  Guriev writes in the New York Times today about the events that led up to his fleeing to France.  Bloomberg writes on liberal emigration, noting the further exile cases of journalists Masha Gessen and Oleg Kashin.  An HIV activist who handed out condoms near a World War II monument to promote awareness has been fined $300 for ‘violating procedure’ for public protest.  Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has handed in his resignation, in a bid to force an early election and get an advantage over his rivals, prompting Left Front leader Sergei Udaltsov, who is currently under house arrest, to announce his intention to run.