Russia 100419 Basic Political Developments

RIA: Remembrance train to visit WWII battlefields ahead of Victory Day

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100419/158644215.html
03:5319/04/2010

A remembrance train carrying World War II veterans and young people will depart on Monday from Russia's Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad and head to Russia's Smolensk and Belarus's Brest as part of WWII commemorations, the Kaliningrad region's government spokesman has said.

"More than 400 people, both young people and veterans, will take part in this patriotic event, dedicated to the 65th anniversary of victory [in WWII]," the spokesman said.

He said the Kaliningrad residents travelling on the remembrance train would visit a range of places in and near Smolensk, related to the history of WWII, including the Katyn forest, where more than 20,000 Polish POWs were massacred by Soviet secret police during the war.

The spokesman said the participants would also visit Brest Fortress in the Belarusian city of Brest, which was a scene of bloody battles between Nazi and Soviet troops during WWII.

Both Smolensk and Brest were declared Hero Cities for outstanding heroism during the Great Patriotic War.

The remembrance train wil return to Kaliningrad on April 24.

During the memorial tour, the participants are expected to issue "battle leaflets", similar to those which soldiers read for news during, and a newspaper focusing on the participants' impressions from the trip, the spokesman said.

Events like this are common in Russia. In previous years, the remembrance train travelled from Kaliningrad to Moscow, St. Petersburg and Volgograd ahead of Victory Day.

KALININGRAD, April 19 (RIA Novosti)

Newsru.com: Sakhalin mayor arrested for beating an old woman, who too slowly opened the door for him

http://www.newsru.com/russia/19apr2010/mer.html

GOOGLE TRANSLATION
post time: 09:22
Last update: 09:22
Mayor Miner Uglegorsk District of the Sakhalin Region Vladimir Hapalov, beaten up old lady, a watchman of the city administration, court custody. Currently, he is accused in a criminal case brought by item "and" Part 3 of Art. 286 of the Criminal Code (abuse of authority with violence), "Interfax" referring to the press service of the Investigative Department (SD) UPC RF Sakhalin region.
During the investigation official, who continued to serve as mayor, put psychological pressure on the victim, and therefore the court decided on remand.
The incident occurred on Nov. 9, 2009. Around 00:30 local time Hapalov came to the building of city administration and wanted to come inside. But on duty that day, 69-year-old resident of Miner opened the doors at once, that angered senior official.
When the door finally opened, Hapalov pushed a woman with such force that she fell and hit her head against the wall. The mayor accused the concierge that she sleeps in the workplace, and demanded that she wrote a letter of resignation. This Hapalov again pushed her and the woman a second time fell and hit her head.
An attempt to contradict the mayor concierge to anything good has not led, but only further angered an already irritated official. He pushed an elderly woman in the shoulder, and when she fell for a third time, hit her foot on the thigh.
As a result, an elderly woman with bruises, abrasions and concussion of the brain was in the hospital, where she lay for more than 20 days. After this incident was a criminal case, which dealt with the police. Later it was transferred to Uglegorsky investigation department SU UPC RF.

RBC: No special Internet law for Russia http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20100419105234.shtml

      RBC, 19.04.2010, Moscow 10:52:34.The Internet law that was expected to impose stricter censorship on the Russian-language Internet will not be drafted, the RBC Daily newspaper reported today. Instead, this sector will be regulated by existing legislation, and both the Russian parliament and the Communications and Mass Media Ministry are currently working on amendments to the federal law on information. Market participants who were wary of the possibility of a new law on the Internet are satisfied with this decision, noting that it is not common practice for the Internet to be controlled in civilized countries.

      All changes to existing laws are to be introduced by October 2010. "There are 1,700 mentions of the word "Internet" in laws and legal acts, and all of them must be carefully studied and any discrepancies eliminated," managing director of the Regional Public Center of Internet Technologies Sergei Plugotarenko said about the ministry's amendments.

      One of the drafters of the existing law on the media, Mikhail Fedotov, informed the publications that the idea was "to develop laws, which have been used offline up until now, that are applicable to the Internet."

Moscow Times: Protesters Face Tougher Law

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/protesters-face-tougher-law/404180.html
19 April 2010

State Duma deputies have given a preliminary approval to a bill that toughens punishment for protesters blocking highways and railroads.

Kremlin critics say the bill is aimed at punishing organizers of anti-government rallies and comes after several mass protests that were triggered by the global economic downturn.

The State Duma on Friday unanimously approved the measure in the first of three required readings.

The law raises maximum prison sentences for blocking traffic from 15 days to two years and raises fines to $3,300. Until now, blocking traffic was rarely has been prosecuted.

(AP)

Moscow Times: Corrupt Police Officers Face Tougher Penalties

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/corrupt-police-officers-face-tougher-penalties/404142.html
19 April 2010

By Natalya Krainova

The State Duma approved in a first reading Friday a presidential bill that would toughen punishment for crimes committed by police officers, even as President Dmitry Medvedev asked deputies to expand the legislation to include all law enforcement officials.

A Constitutional Court expert said earlier in the week that the bill discriminated against the police by singling them out.

There is "a point in boosting responsibility not only for police but for all other people whose duty is to protect law," Medvedev told reporters Friday, according to a transcript on the Kremlin's web site.

The bill, which is posted on the Duma's web site, increases the maximum prison terms for various crimes committed by police officers and introduces a prison term of up to six months for police officers who fail to fulfill orders from superiors.

A senior Duma deputy said the bill would be expanded to include tough penalties for all law enforcement officials. It will also add “a very detailed elaboration” on which violated police orders could result in prison terms to prevent superiors from abusing their subordinates, Mikhail Grishankov, the first deputy chairman of the Duma’s Security Committee and a member of United Russia, told The Moscow Times.

Deputies from United Russia and the Liberal Democratic Party backed the bill Friday, while those from the Communist Party and A Just Russia voted against it, the Duma's web site said.

The 450-seat Duma is dominated by the pro-Kremlin United Russia party.

A date for the second reading has not been set.

A Constitutional Court expert earlier criticized the bill of discriminating against police, breaking the Constitution's "principle of equality and justice," Vedomosti reported.

The court expert was stating his personal opinion and it therefore was not binding, court spokeswoman Yulia Andreyeva said by telephone.

Andreyeva identified the expert as Oleg Vagin and said he did not wish to speak to the media.

Under the law, the Constitutional Court has no right to edit bills.

Interior Ministry spokesman Oleg Yelnikov refused to comment on the bill.

The police force faces a Medvedev-ordered reform after a series of scandals involving corruption and violence. Medvedev ordered Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev to submit proposals to the Kremlin by the end of March on how to reform the police force. It remains unclear whether Nurgaliyev has complied with Medvedev's order.

Newsru.com: The State Duma has ordered a new web site for 6.9 million RUR