RA’s Daily Russia News Blast – Oct 27, 2011
TODAY: Spotlight on pre-trial detention deaths, interview with Kudoyarov’s colleagues; Navalny’s private emails leaked; Luzhkov to sue over corruption allegations; U.S. has nuclear advantage; activists call for end of whitewashed Stalin; apathy a boon for Putin; Lavrov vs. Pozner; Formula 1 track to cost $200 million.
RFE/RL looks at the problem of pre-trial detention (SIZO) deaths and illnesses, reporting that 50-60 prisoners die in such centers every year. The Washington Post looks at the case of one such victim, Andrei Kudoyarov, imprisoned over bribe allegations that many of his colleagues suspect were politically motivated. Following reports that United Russia was planning a smear campaign against Alexei Navalny, the anti-corruption blogger and whistleblower has had his private emails leaked – although as yet they appear not to reveal anything scandalous. The Kremlin is publicly defending its ouster of Yury Luzhkov last year, claiming that the former Moscow Mayor ‘allowed […] exorbitant corruption’. In response, Luzhkov says he will sue the official in question for defamation over the claims. Brian Whitmore reports on the latest tensions among the siloviki. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says that Russia is worried by U.S. violations of international law. New figures show that the U.S. has a ‘major advantage over Russia’ where nuclear weapons are concerned; NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen praises Russia’s ‘absolute creativity in search of a compromise’ regarding missile defense.