January 21, 2011 By Citizen M

RA’s Daily Russian News Blast – Jan 21, 2011

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TODAY: Russia denies that UN Human Rights Council will probe Magnitsky investigation; RuLeaks posts pictures of ‘Putin mansion’; Bout’s Kremlin ties; Nemtsov supporters detained; footage of Markelov march; Poland will take Smolensk grievances to EU; police reforms bill ‘crippled’ by cuts; mammoth tusks seized; time to bury Lenin?
Human rights experts appointed by the UN have announced plans to explore the ‘dire conditions‘ and ‘general failures apparent in the Russian legal system‘ exposed by the death of Sergei Magnitsky; but the Foreign Ministry says that a UN investigation would be impossible under Russian law, and denies that members of the Human Rights Council have launched a probe. The Telegraph has a timeline of the Magnitsky investigation.  RuLeaks, which presents itself as Russia’s answer to WikiLeaks and said to consist of members of the anti-copywrite Pirate Party, is causing a stir with photographs of a $1 billion Black Sea mansion that, it says, belongs to Vladimir Putin.  The Moscow Times looks at the safety of leaking information on the internet.  Viktor Bout had ‘close relations‘ with Kremlin officials dating back through Putin and Yeltsin’s rules, reports the BBC.  RFE/RL has footage from marches and memorials held this week to mark the deaths of Stanislav Markelov and Anastasya Baburova.  Two supporters of Boris Nemtsov have been detained in Moscow for a courtside protest.
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