TODAY: Alexander Lebedev exercises his muscles on television debate with fellow tycoons; Boris Berezovsky accused of Politkovskaya murder; Khodorkovsky foresees intellectual exodus if Putin remains; Prokhorov mutes Kremlin criticism. Latvia’s pro-Russia party in surprise win; Moscow mosque demolished; migrants to capital face tide of prejudice; US couple found guilty of abusing adopted Russian son

Newspaper owner Alexander Lebedev showed a glimpse of his former occupation as a KGB spy this weekend when he struck fellow tycoon Sergei Polonsky during a pre-recorded television debate.  ‘I’m not a fan of such behaviour, but sometimes if you are threatened verbally and physically you have to neutralise the threat‘ was the oligarch’s reasoning.  See the video, which has become a viral hit, here.  Exiled billionaire Boris Berezovsky apparently faces accusations of ordering the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya, in what the tycoon’s lawyer views as another attempt to force his extradition from the UK.  If Putin were to stay in power, ‘[t]he hopes for internal reform of the current system of power would disappear‘, and the brain drain would accelerate, says imprisoned ex-oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky.  As comparisons emerge between the Yukos founder and Kremlin-irking billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov,  this op-ed point outs that the latter fell from grace when he ‘forgot that the chairman of Russia Inc. is Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his trusted CEO is Vladislav Surkov’.  Following his departure from the Right Cause party, the owner of the New Jersey Nets has been seen to soften his stance on the Kremlin, stating, ‘there was no personal conflict with anyone. […]  In the end it was a conflict of ideologies’.  He apparently harbours no fears of suffering the same fate as Khodorkovsky.  Ex-Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov has offered scathing criticism of Russia’s political parties in the Moscow Times, with the exception of Yabloko.  The Washington Post examines opposition opinion on Medvedev.  ‘[A] tiny bird with beautiful wings who buzzes loudly, is extraordinarily greedy, and most importantly, is capable of flying backwards’, is Garry Kasparov’s verdict on the President.