TODAY: Sporadic protests ongoing in Moscow; 30 more arrested; US and Human Rights Watch express concerns.  Medvedev approved as Prime Minister; Putin scorns parliamentary opposition; plays hockey; UK rights report finds violations; Victory Day celebrated in Moscow

Moscow police have detained about thirty participants of an unsanctioned peaceful protest against Putin’s return to the presidency in downtown Moscow, bringing the total number of people arrested since May 6, to around 750 people.  Anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny was released today and then promptly re-arrested.   Whilst protestors continue to roam the capital’s streets, ‘Putin and his people showed little inclination to engage them with anything but contempt’, says the Washington Post.  ‘The Kremlin’s senseless crackdown is the opposition’s best recruiting tool‘: Garry Kasparov gives his views in the Other Russia.   The US State Department has issued a statement saying Washington is ‘troubled’ by reports of the turbulence in Moscow.  Human Rights Watch has also urged the Russian authorities to ‘promptly and effectively investigate reports of excessive use of force against protesters and arbitrary detentions’ over the past three days.  The Telegraph wonders whether the crackdown will spell the end of Putinism.