RA’s Daily Russia News Blast – May 5, 2008
TODAY: Medvedev to take power this week; visa restrictions to be simplified for UK football fans; harsh words traded over latest from Abkhazia; Russia’s super-rich teenagers. Dmitry Medvedev will arrive at the Kremlin on Wednesday for “the final act in Russia’s highly choreographed transition of power.” How will power be distributed between the offices of President and Prime Minister, and how long will it be before Vladimir Putin regains the presidential role? More on the anti-inflation May Day protests. Lake Baikal is in danger, as it is warming faster than the atmosphere. The Sunday Times this weekend ran a large feature on the excesses of “the offspring of Russia’s super-rich”. Russian football team Zenit, funded by Gazprom, “symbolizes Russia’s transformation from communist backwater to capitalist head-hunter”. Authorities will take “unprecedented measures” to simplify visa procedures for English fans attending the Champions League football final in Moscow, which is reportedly bracing itself for violent outbursts following the match.