TODAY: Carry-on liquids banned from flights across the country; actor slurs gay community again; Patriarch Kirill cheers inmates, Church attacked over Stalin calendar; officials accused of poaching; Russia blocks U.N.’s Syria statement; Vanity Fair talks to Masha Gessen; Regina Derieva obituary.

As part of heightened security measures implemented in Sochi in the run-up to the Olympics, the aviation watchdog has banned carry-on liquids on flights at all of Russia’s airports due to ongoing threats of terrorist attacks;  the Sheremetyevo and Vnukovo international airports have already implemented the ban.  The ruble is strengthening in the run-up to the Games.  Popular actor Ivan Okhlobystin, who has already gained infamy for his suggestion that all gay people be burned in ovens, has written an open letter to President Vladimir Putin asking him to make homosexuality illegal.  Orthodox Church head Patriarch Kirill attempted to ‘cheer up’ inmates in pretrial detention with stories about the life of Nelson Mandela.  Russia’s online community is outraged by the Church’s newly-released, adulatory Stalin calendar.  Four environmental officials stand accused of poaching in Siberia.  Why did news sources airbrush out the sight of Kremlin official Nikolai Fedotov’s jet in recent photos?