TODAY: Terrorists hit Caucasus ski resort; three tourists killed; bombs defused; security concerns over Sochi Olympics. Opposition leaders refute President’s reforming attempts; is Khordokovksy whistleblower a concern for Putin?  Extreme nationalism scrutinized in Markelov Baburova murder trial; Chapman in the Kurils; Russia says no to US bases in Afghanistan; alcohol; culture; cosmonauts

A wave of violence hit the popular ski resorts of the North Caucasus over the weekend: on Friday, a group of camouflage-wearing assailants, claiming to be security forces, shot five vacationers from the Moscow area, killing three and wounding two.  A cableway on Mount Elbrus in the republic of Kabardino-Balkaria was hit by an explosion, but no one was injured.  The New York Times reports that a total of three car bombs were defused near a hotel in a village in the region of Kabardino-Balkaria, with a combined strength of 70 kg of TNT.  Unknown killers shot dead local official Ramzan Friev in the city of Nalchik on Saturday, Ria-Novosti reports.  In response to the troubles, the Kremlin has established a counter-terrorism regime in two areas of Kabardino-Balkaria.  President Medvedev has pointed at another source of security threats to the Sochi Olympics, warning his Security Council that ‘there are also certain problems connected to our neighbor, Georgia’.  Medvedev’s representative to the North Caucasus, Alexander Khloponin, has told Rossiya 24 that young people from the restive region should be able to enjoy freedom of movement across all of Russia.