June 22, 2011 By Citizen M

RA’s Daily Russian News Blast – June 22, 2011

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TODAY: Kashin cleared of defamation charges; Russia blames pilot of Karelia crash, sources imply Tupolev fleet is to blame; 4-day Khimki occupation; 2,000-strong Rubtsovsk utilities protest; Putin reiterates joint project with Medvedev; Russia outraged over U.S. exercise with Georgia; Khodorkovsky appeal judges justify themselves; Tajik children may be banned from worship.
Kommersant reporter Oleg Kashin has been cleared by a Moscow court in connection with the defamation lawsuit brought against him by Kremlin youth policy chief Vasily Yakemenko.  Kashin’s speculation regarding Yakemenko’s involvement in his March attack was an opinion, not a factual statement, the court ruled.  The plane that crashed in Karelia yesterday was provided by a U.S.-affiliated charter airline, to replace a smaller jet that was overbooked; the pilot apparently ignored instructions to abort the landing.  Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov says that pilot error was the most likely cause of the crash.  This Reuters factbox notes that both the Karelia plane and the plane that killed Polish President Lech Kaczynski were Soviet-era Tupolev models.  The New York Times says that, had the planes not been banned in Europe for being noisy, ‘they would almost certainly be banned for their safety record,‘ offering a catalogue of Tupolev errors.  Police apparently used ‘jammers‘ to block mobile phone reception at a four-day Khimki Forest opposition protest.  The Washington Post likened the gathering to a Russian Woodstock.