TODAY: International condemnation of Khodorkovsky verdict; Oleg Orlov vs Ramzan Kadyrov; Putin recommends restricting trial by jury; Medvedev and PM’s difference of opinion over ethnic integration model; Russian dissidents living in Germany poisoned? Tit-for-tat expulsions with Spain; lawsuit dropped against Khimiki forest defenders; rioting at the airport

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been one of the first international politicians to voice her dismay at the guilty verdict handed down to Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev, saying it has ‘a negative impact on Russia’s reputation for fulfilling its international human rights obligations and improving its investment climate’ and the verdict ‘raises serious questions about selective prosecution and about the rule of law being overshadowed by political considerations’.  Germany has followed suit, suggesting that it marks a ‘step backward’ on Russia’s path to modernization.  An unsanctioned protest outside the courtroom ended with the police dragging Khodorkovsky supporters into police vans.  The Independent reports that Khodorkovsky’s lawyer, Vadim Klyuvgant, said that the judge’s verdict appeared simply to be ‘paraphrasing, and at times quoting the claims of the prosecution’.  An appeal is planned.  Regarding the motives behind the case, the Telegraph sees the trial as integral to the cultivation of Putin’s hard-man image.  Vladimir Milov, ex-energy minister and opposition agitator concurs that ‘Putin fears him: this is clear from how aggressively he talks about the process’.  An analysis in the FT also suggests the case against the Yukos founder shows that ‘the current leadership feels strangely nervous about its grip on power’.