TODAY: Guriev discusses political pressure, says he will not return; fears of liberal brain drain; academics fear ‘foreign agent’ label will damage economic research; Levada Center refusing foreign grants; Belousov chosen as new Putin adviser; Lavrov slams Syrian rebels, confusion over reports of Russia sending missile defence to Assad government; FSB makes migrant allegations; hackers in electronic Soviet Union.

The news that liberal economist Sergei Guriev left Russia after being questioned over the Mikhail Khodorkovsky case has sparked speculation that a new case could be opened against the jailed former Yukos head.  The head of the Presidential Human Rights Council says that Guriev did not do anything illegal with respect to his research into the Khodorkovsky case, and that he had been working towards conducting ‘a public and scientific examination’.  Nonetheless, Guriev says he will not return to Russia in the ‘forseeable future’, citing pressure from investigators and a demand that he submit five years’ worth of personal documents and private emails. ‘I have not done anything wrong and do not want to live in fear.’  Guriev’s fleeing  to France has sparked fears of a brain drain: ‘It’s an increasingly popular topic of conversation among the relatively well-off, whether to emigrate or simply make sure the children get an education abroad.’  Anders Aslund says that the political pressure on Guriev, ‘an eminent representative of the liberal wing of the establishment’ who is not politically active, indicates that no one is safe.  A group of acacemic economists have written a public letter saying that the new law that could force their research centers to register as ‘foreign agents’ is likely to damage the economy.  The Levada Center says it will not accept any more foreign grants until its status has been secured, as ‘foreign agent’ status would almost certainly force it to close, says its head Lev Gudkov.  The Washington Post recalls the fate of formerly independent pollster VTsIOM.  President Vladimir Putin has chosen Economy Minister Andrei Belousov as his chief economic adviser.