TODAY: US-passed START to reach Duma today? Czech Republic espionage concerns; wife of Belarusian presidential candidate expresses concern over husband’s injuries. Opposition politicians pledge to unmask Putin; ‘managed nationialism’; Young Guard accused of stirring racial tensions; Moscow mayor pledges to improve public transport; Putin’s popularity

Apparently Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev congratulated one another by phone over the ratification of the START treaty: the New York Times offers an analysis of the agreement’s dilatory passage.  The BBC has a video report here.  Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov told reporters yesterday that ‘if the conditions stated in the resolution do not touch the core text of the treaty, then we can ratify it tomorrow‘  (ie, the last session before the end of the year).  The Moscow Times explains why this could be over-optimistic.  The Federation Council will reportedly ratify it immediately after the State Duma, according to ITAR-TASS.  The New York Times reports on how the Rakhardzho affair, a recent spy scandal in the Czech Republic, has resurrected latent fears about ongoing Russian espionage in the ex-Soviet state.  The wife of arrested Belarusian presidential candidate Vladimir Neklyayev has told the media that she believes the authorities are blocking her prison visits to prevent her seeing how badly he has been beaten as repressive measures rain down on opposition politicians.