February 22, 2010 By Citizen M

RA’s Daily Russian News Blast – Feb 22, 2010

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TODAY: Putin calls for evolution, not revolution; 4,000 protesters gather in Arkhangelsk; activist jailed for supporting YouTube policeman; Lavrov wants to revive the OSCE; Russia against Iran sanctions; illegal gambling and corruption; shooting rampage officer jailed for life; Tymoshenko drops election result challenge; Moscow snowed under.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said in his Saturday speech that Russian society should develop in an ‘evolutionary, rather than a revolutionary manner‘, calling for ‘stable‘ developments and urging protesters not to ‘shake up society‘.  The following day, RIA Novosti reports, 4,000 opposition supporters marched in the northern Russian city of Arkhangelsk to protest rising energy and communal services prices.  Police reports estimate the numbers as ten times less.  An activist has been jailed for seven days after authorities said he took part in illegal rallies in support of Alexei Dymovsky, the police officer who made a YouTube appeal for a probe into force corruption.  Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with his Kazakh counterpart over the weekend to discuss measures for ‘how to turn the OSCE into an effective international organization‘, with a summit planned for later this year – it’s been more than ten years since its last one, and eight since its most recent declaration.  The Foreign Ministry says it is against imposing ‘crippling sanctions‘ on Iran, and that it will go ahead with its deal to supply the country with anti-aircraft systems.
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