RA’s Daily Russian News Blast – April 28, 2011
TODAY: Corruption report draws lawsuit threat; entrepreneurs fight corruption; traffic group pressure succeeds; Chernobyl archives reveal Kremlin tactics; Markelov/Baburova murder verdict expected; gay rights march permission revoked? Pro-Medvedev think-tank cut from the Kremlin; Putin puts watchdogs under deputy control; Chaika denies smear campaign; police officials to report on performance; figure skating; fairy tale wars with Ukraine.
A corruption report (available in Russian here) authored by activist Marina Litvinovich, which addresses the business relationships of Kremlin members and their relatives and alleges a direct flow of money from the state to private accounts, could spark a lawsuit from the Audit Chamber. The Telegraph interviews Yana Yakovleva, an activist whose ‘Business Solidarity‘ organization supports entrepreneurs in fighting corruption. Pressure from Moscow’s Federation of Car Owners has prompted the traffic police to propose changing regulations at 30 ‘trap‘ locations where police extort bribes from drivers. Alla Yaroshinskaya says that her archive contains information revealing that the Kremlin ‘was willing to do anything to conceal the extent of the radiation exposure‘ in the fallout from Chernobyl. Speaking in Sweden, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has expressed concern about the presence of NATO troops near Russian borders. The trial against the couple accused of the murders of lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalist Anastasia Baburova will continue, despite suicide attempts by both suspects, with a verdict expected later today. Despite news to the contrary, Moscow authorities say they never granted permission for a gay rights march, with one source saying that the organizers ‘are not likely to get it‘. Another said that the goverment was ‘studying the proposals and will reply in due time‘.