TODAY: How the Kremlin employs cyber control; Nashi involved in protest thwarting; further detentions of protesters in Moscow; Belarus releases some detainees; US and Russia enjoy anti-hijacking exercise; Shmatko recommends forest-razing to deal with blackouts; Arnie and Dima; Mount Putin

The New York Times has an interesting report on how the Kremlin and ‘[a]rmies of pro-government netizens‘ employ the Internet to promote government friendly ideology, through social control as opposed to formal censorship.  The Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin examines the reset with Russia in terms of US acceptance of the Kremlin’s stance on human rights, quoting one analyst who says, ‘that not unlike Soviet times, the greater the internal oppression, the more “detrimental repercussions” there will be for Russian-U.S. relations‘.  Moscow law enforcement officers have detained seven people in Staraya Square who were attempting to hold a rally in protest at the jailing of Boris Nemtsov.  At least 20 supporters of a group of jailed opposition leaders have been arrested over the past two days: the Other Russia says Nashi has been heavily involved in criminalizing legal pickets by intervening and upping the numbers.  A deputy head of the Russian lower house’s international committee has suggested that the US respect Russia’s court rulings, in response to the State department’s criticisms of the December 31 crackdown.