TODAY: Soyuz spaceship finally blasts off; Chistiye Prudy camp still intact; eco camp in Tsagovsky forest cleared; Russian officials lash out at West on rights; A Just Russia expels pro-Medvedev members; Shuvalov seeking power in new cabinet; Obama and Putin deny snubbing each other; Yukos employee’s property released; preservationists victory in Moscow.

The Soyuz spaceship has blasted off for the International Space Station after a month of delays.  Officials continue to deny that they are planning to close the opposition protest camp on Chistiye Prudy, because it is ‘still technically a street festival’.  Protesters were asked to move off of the grass when police moved in yesterday, but no arrests were made.  The eco camp in Tsagovsky forest, at the edge of Zhukovsky, has been broken up by police and closed off.  Senior Russian officials have lashed out at Western critics, accusing them of failing to acknowledge their own rights violations before lambasting Russia’s poor record.  Rights activists are condemning the prosecution of blogger Maxim Efimov, who has been charged with hate speech for an article about the Orthodox Church.