TODAY: Orthodox Church endorses Medvedev; contract killings on the rise; BBC G7 poll on Putin; racially-motivated violence on the rise; increased media attention for Putin and Medvedev in run-up to elections. Alexei II, patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, has endorsed deputy prime minister Dmitry Medvedev ahead of next week’s presidential election, illustrating, according to one UK newspaper, “the unholy alliance the Church has forged with the Kremlin”. Mafia-linked assassinations are on the rise, according to Russia’s prosecutor general, who says “a wave of contract killings has hit the country.” A New York Times piece on Putin’s “iron grip”, published this weekend, has already received an overwhelmingly “sharp” response from Russian readers. The story, alleging that voters were forced into supporting Putin in the last elections, is similar to this piece on Medvedev.