TODAY: Kremlin’s rights council defends Navalny; A Just Russia ejects the Gudkovs; Razvozzhayev ‘disappears’; Hague criticises Lavrov on handling of Magnitsky case, Russia warns U.K. against arming Syrian rebels; economists analyse Nabiullina nomination; energy projects pending with China and Japan; Putin proposes Soviet-style phys ed.

The Kremlin’s human rights council has defended Alexei Navalny, saying that the current fraud allegations against him are merely a bid to punish him for his political activity.  Opposition party A Just Russia has ejected Gennady Gudkov and his son Dmitry for refusing to give up their membership in the Opposition Coordination Council, and claimed that the pair’s dual memberships damaged the party’s political interests and image.  Opposition activist Leonid Razvozzhayev has been transferred to a location unknown to his lawyers or relatives, prompting his lawyer to say that he has ‘disappeared‘.  The U.K. Foreign Secretary discussed the trial of Sergei Magnitsky with his counterpart Sergei Lavrov in London yesterday, saying that it was ‘one of the highest profile examples of failings in Russia’s judicial and prison systems’ and criticised the lack of ‘meaningful progress towards establishing the circumstances surrounding [Magnitsky’s] death’.  Russia warned the U.K. that any effort to arm Syrian rebels would be a breach of international law.  The Liberal Democratic Party has promised to pursue A Just Russia Deputy Ilya Ponomaryov for accusing Vladimir Zhirinovsky of plagiarising his PhD dissertation.  Elections official Vladimir Churov says that anyone who doubts United Russia’s 2011 State Duma victory should seek psychiatric help.