TODAY: Ultra-nationalist rally averted in Moscow; Nemtsov to appeal against arrest in EU Court of Human Rights; Gryzlov cautions against talks of Khodorkovsky-prompted sanctions; 2011 to be year of ecological activism? Kasparov offers bleak vision of future; Communists take issue with START; Polish plane crash report dispatched; St Petersburg conservationists attempt to save building; children’s show accused of political satire

Yesterday Moscow police arrested around 50 people belonging to the nascent ‘December 11 Movement’, who were suspected of planning a repeat of last month’s racist rally near the Kremlin walls.  RFE/RL reports that Solidarity co-chairman leader Boris Nemtsov has appealed his New Year’s Eve arrest in Moscow with the European Court of Human Rights.  The Court has apparently agreed to prioritize his case.  Eduard Limonov has also appealed his 15-day jail term domestically.  State Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov has advised European lawmakers against speaking out ‘prematurely’, after reports circulated of EU sanctions against those linked to the Khodorkovsky case.  Activists in the city of Shakhty have launched a protest campaign against Mayor Sergei Ponomarenko, who they believe is responsible for the city’s soaring crime rate and social unrest.  The Moscow Times foresees a year of increased environmental activism, prompted by the recent climatic vicissitudes.