TODAY: Students arrested for protesting university collusion with United Russia as Kremlin ties to clergy boost the party’s popularity; Putin’s electioneering takes an unfortunate turn at martial arts fight; actor rejects state awards; more Tajik sanctions threatened; U.S.-Russia visas stalled again.

A reported 70 Moscow State University students gathered to protest university involvement in United Russia campaigns and and student union membership of the All-Russia People’s Front yesterday, leading to 15 arrests.  The Moscow Reviews the options for addressing the ‘tricky task’ of expressing discontent at upcoming polls that promise victory for United Russia, who have, according to a former Kremlin adviser, been trying to persuade the clergy to start mentioning the party from the pulpit.  Russians have been lining up around a church on the Moscow River in their ‘tens of thousands’ to kiss a relic brought from Greece and ‘greeted on arrival by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’.  Putin’s electioneering repertoire include playing ice hockey to mark the news that he has lined up Rosneft to take over the CSKA club.  Early polls in Novgorod indicate that United Russia will not have enough support at the elections for a parliamentary majority: ‘They might not have a magic wand, but they do know the magic words “administrative resources.”’  The PM was booed and catcalled as he took the stage at a martial arts fight in Moscow last night.  His appearance at the fight was widely reported, but not all noted the frosty reception.