Russia and Abkhazia have signed an agreement to establish a Russian military base for at least 3,000 land troops in the latter’s territory.  Dmitry Medvedev hailed the event as a ‘milestone‘, and said he hoped that it would herald the strengthening of economic relations, although insisted that Abkhazia would have ‘economic independence‘.  Following news earlier this week that authorities had confiscated the children of a poor family, RIA Novosti is reporting that the family of a political activist has also been targeted, ‘after the father, Sergei Pchelintsyev, railed against unemployment, poverty, pension reform and the “illegal dismissal” of GAZ automobile factory workers during a protest rally in Nizhny Novgorod‘.  Moscow is planning to set up street-based ‘information stands telling of Stalin’s role‘, says this report, whilst The Other Russia says that plans to display posters in the city ‘glorifying Stalin’s role in winning World War II‘ are receiving complaints from human rights activists.