TODAY: Russian reluctance on troops to Krygyzstan; UN urges a hold on violence; Medvedev launches submarine, plans major military spending; US says no clandestine deals over START.  Nemtsov report condemns Putin in scathing report; anti-draft rally; ruling cracks down on web sites; Amnesty France’s criticism of Russia; Greenpeace makes official complaints about Baikal; age limit of 60 for civil servants; drugs; security guards

The UN has urged Kyrgyzstan to take immediate action to put an end to the storm of violence that has raged across the south of the country.   Kyrgyz leader Roza Otunbayeva has told journalists that the Russia-led CSTO bloc does not plan to send any peacekeeping forces.  President Medvedev has ordered that humanitarian aid be delivered to the restive region.  If Russia claims to have a zone of privileged interest in the area, then it also has to accept a ‘zone of responsibility’ in its former Soviet states, argues Fyodor Lukyanov in the Moscow Times.  An analyst quoted by the New York Times agrees that Russia needs to step up its response to its neighbor’s pleas.  RFE/RL argues that the Kyrgyz conflict ‘appears to be demonstrating the limits of Moscow’s power’.  Another interesting article in the WSJ emphasizes the importance of the Manas air base as a bargaining chip.  According to Reuters, the outbreak of violence may be waning; meanwhile a report from Bloomberg suggests the contrary.  An article in the New York Times suggests that the crisis is an opportunity for the CSTO, NATO and OSCE to join forces for the benefit of the struggling state.