TODAY: Authorities sweep in on Troitsky concert venue; Orlov refuses to resile from Kadyrov comments; elderly residents decry care home abuse; anti-abortion tactics borrowed from US; Izvestia make-over.  Russia opposes UN action on Syria; missile shield disagreement is a stutter for START; EU-Russia relations under spotlight as summit begins; tensions with Georgia increase.  Fears of wildfires spread; leather jacket tender causes blogosphere upset

In a sign of increasing pressure on the supporters of embattled music critic Artemy Troitsky,  Russian officials have unexpectedly inspected a Moscow rock club that has agreed to host a tribute concert for the journalist who is facing up to two years in jail for affront charges.  Memorial head Oleg Orlov has stood by comments against Ramzan Kadyrov, in which he held the Chechen president responsible for the murder of fellow activist Natalya Estemirova.  Five residents of a Vladivostok home for the elderly have made a YouTube appeal in which they expose systematic abuses.  Russia’s religious right is, the New York Times reports, drawing inspiration from the campaign tactics of US pro-life activists.  From broadsheet to tabloid: the transformation, or as some would have it, degradation of historic newspaper Izvestia.