Monday, February 13, 2012

Russia

Russian Court Brands Opposition Group Extremist

National Bolshevik Party activists marching in Moscow on April 8 (epa)

April 20, 2007 -- The Moscow City Court has declared the opposition National Bolshevik Party to be an extremist organization.

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April 20, 2007

The ruling late on April 19 allows the authorities to make it illegal to publicly support the party.

A lawyer representing the party, Sergei Belyak, said the National Bolsheviks will appeal the ruling.

Russian authorities had already banned the group. The move follows a recent police crackdown on antigovernment protests in Moscow and St. Petersburg, which the National Bolshevik Party, as well as members of the Other Russia coalition, had played a role in organizing.

On April 19, the pro-Kremlin youth movement Nashi said it will campaign to have the opposition group Other Russia labelled as "extremist."

(AP, Reuters)

Russia's NGO Law

Russian environmental activists demonstrate in February 2006 against a proposed oil pipeline that they believe would have harmed Lake Baikal (TASS)

CLAMPING DOWN ON ACTIVISM. The authors of a report on Russia's controversial law on nongovernmental organizations issued by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom told an RFE/RL briefing in Washington that the law places "disturbing" restrictions on NGOs.

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Syrians in the northwestern town of Kfar Nubul pose with a cartoon depicting Russia

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South Ossetian Opposition Leader Hospitalized After Raid

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Protesters gather behind a banner reading "Honest Elections" during a demonstration in Moscow on February 4.

How To Rig An Election

A whistle-blower in Samara explains how the authorities fixed the Duma elections in December -- and plan to do the same in the presidential vote in March. More