TODAY: Medvedev makes his first major campaign address, targeting corruption and pledging peaceful development. Kasyanov criminal probe continues with accusations on both sides. Putin’s naval task force exercise “farcical”. Russia’s Prosecutor-General’s Office has launched a criminal probe against former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov. His campaign managers have issued a statement saying that those who had signed Kasyanov’s campaign documents were being threatened with home searches, arrests and dismissal from their jobs. His spokeswoman said that the investigation was “a political decision that is made by one person. Everybody knows who that person is.” Meanwhile, Democratic Party leader Andrei Bogdanov could be registered as a presidential candidate despite the elections commission claiming that 3% of his signatures were invalid. Dmitry Medvedev has made his first major campaign address, stating his main goal as being the continuation of peaceful and stable development in Russia. Medvedev said that Russia was in the grip of “legal nihilism”, that the fight against corruption should become a national program, and that Russia will not sever relations with “problem states” – presumably such as Iran and North Korea – despite international pressure to do so.