TODAY: Mikhail Khodorkovsky talks democracy in St Petersburg; opposition rally in Moscow; French President makes impromptu visit to Putin; Russian aircraft impounded in Nigeria.  Default on the horizon? Social unrest may result from recession, warn analysts; Moscow mulls South Stream alternative options.

Despite a slew of attempts by the authorities to thwart him, Yukos founder and Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky managed to give a speech to a crowd in a St Petersburg hotel in which he stated, ‘our goal is to demonstrate that there is an alternative to the current regime.’  The weekend also saw members of the Solidarity democratic opposition movement assemble in Moscow to criticise the verdicts on the Bolotnaya Square participants and President Putin’s policies in Ukraine.  French President Francois Hollande held an unexpected meeting with the Russian President in Moscow, the first visit by a head of state from a major Western power to Russia since March, described as ‘a rare display of goodwill‘.  Subsequent to the meeting Putin said he hoped a new agreement on implementing a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine would be reached soon.  A Russian aircraft controversially seized by Nigerian authorities this weekend contains military cargo belonging to a French peacekeeping mission, the Russian Embassy in Nigeria has claimed.  Angela Merkel has accused Russia of punishing Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine for seeking closer ties with Europe.  She did add however that ‘there is no reason to talk about a war in the Baltics’.  The EU is concerned about Russia’s overtures towards the Western Balkans.