TODAY: Surkov removed from post; Putin dismisses calls for election re-run, slams opposition; fraud suspect Natalya Gulevich released; Udaltsov hearing postponed; spotlight on Alexei Navalny; homophobia, extremist texts, Nagorno-Karabakh, Prokhorov would quit partying.

Vladislav Surkov, the man behind the notion of ‘sovereign democracy’ and one of what Alexei Kudrin called ‘the designers of the system’, has been removed from his post, producing mixed responses.  Some say that the move is part of Putin’s plan to strengthen his position in the Kremlin – Surkov’s replacement, Vyacheslav Volodin, was the mastermind behind the All Russia People’s Front.  Others suggest that he is capitulating to protesters, although elsewhere, the Prime Minister has dismissed calls for a review of the recent election results, slammed the uncoordinated efforts of his opponents, and has expressed confidence that he can win the presidential election without need of manipulation.  Surkov will take up a new position as deputy prime minister in charge of a modernisation drive.  Yulia Latynina sees Russia as a kleptocracy and that, as such, ‘it’s not the protesters who take signals from the U.S. State Department. It’s the Kremlin.’  A Wall Street Journal analysis says that the most recent election results ‘are studded with red flags that suggest broad electoral fraud’.