TODAY: Prokhorov and Yavlinsky reach signature quota; Yabloko officials detained; opposition leaders shun Putin meeting; Rogozin links Iran and Russia; the rise of Alexei Navalny; Phobos-Grunt debris lands in the Pacific; Foreign Ministry antagonises Obama administration.

Mikhail Prokhorov says that he has collected the two million signatures needed in order to secure a place on the presidential ballot in March, has apparently amassed a campaign fund four times the size of Vladimir Putin’s, and is accusing opposition leaders of colluding with the Kremlin.  Liberal leader Grigory Yavlinsky has also collected his signature quota.  Reasons were not provided for the dismissal of Arkhangelsk Governor Ilya Mikhalchuk – could it be connected to United Russia’s poor results in the region at the last elections?  Two Yabloko officials, including deputy chairman Sergei Mitrokhin, have been detained following a rally against election fraud. Opposition leaders, including poet Dmitry Bykov, journalist Sergei Parkhomenko and author Boris Akunin, have rejected invitations to attend a ceremony with Vladimir Putin, with some expressing suspicion about the Prime Minister’s motives.  A website designed to promote Putin’s presidential campaign has mysteriously removed its own function for ‘liking’ certain comments, after posts urging him to step down received an overwhelmingly positive response.  Putin has promised to eradicate the problem of poverty by 2020, reiterated his vision of himself as Russia’s saviour, and broadly criticised the opposition for a lack of ideas.  Dmitry Rogozin, Russia’s NATO ambassador, says that any military intervention linked to Iran’s nuclear program would be viewed as a direct threat to Russian security.