TODAY: A year after Medvedev’s election, pundits are split over his status as a reformer; Putin says he wants Russia to conform to European human rights standards; a European court rules on a Russian judge’s unfair dismissal; the North Caucasus situation gets dicey; and as NATO’s 60th anniversary approaches, Russian diplomats push for a special session to normalize relations.

As Medvedev’s one-year presidential anniversary approaches, experts wonder, is he really a reformer? Meanwhile, Putin will celebrate his own anniversary, amid questions over whether his grip on power has been irreparably damaged by the financial crisis. In the wake of a U.S. report on human rights abuses in Russia dismissed by the Russian Foreign Minister, Putin says Russia will continue to invest in social policy projects, since “We share the same understanding of basic social rights [as Europe] … The same holds true for the sphere of human rights.” The European Court on Human Rights seems to disagree with this assessment: on Thursday, it ruled that a former Moscow judge was wrongly dismissed for complaining of pressure on the city’s judiciary and ordered the Russian government to pay her 10, 000 euros.