Watchdog Won't Monitor Russia Election

Former Soviet states should unite, he suggests

(NEWSER) - Europe has squandered two decades of potential cooperation since the Berlin Wall fell, Mikhail Gorbachev says. At a Moscow event sponsored by his foundation, the former Soviet leader criticized Western leaders who viewed the 1989 event as their victory over Eastern Europe, rather than an opportunity for common good, Reuters reports. More»

Showdown looms with US & EU in bid to keep observers at a distance

(NEWSER) - Russia may be headed for another showdown with the US and the European Union over its proposals to severely limit the authority of international election monitors. The Kremlin wants to cut the number of observers and ban their reports from publication until after elections. The move comes just months before the country’s parliamentary and presidential contests, the New York Times reports. More»

Secretary talks tough, warning Moscow about using energy supplies for political leverage

(NEWSER) - Condoleezza Rice said today Russia shouldn’t use its oil and gas reserves as a “political weapon,” and that the country should move away from authoritarianism and toward democracy. The secretary of state confirmed a “certain distance” between Russia and the US, Reuters reports, but the Soviet scholar said she isn’t concerned about a return of Cold War tensions. More»

Participants brave sub-zero temps

(NEWSER) - It looks as if 2011 will be the year of the protester until its very last moment: Tens of thousands of people poured into central Moscow today, weathering sub-zero temps to gather in a show of anger against what they say were rigged elections and clamor for a new vote. The AP reports that it's the largest protest in the Russian capital to date, with rally participants packing Sakharov Avenue about a mile and a half from the Kremlin, many shouting "Russia without Putin!" The Russian interior ministry reported 28,000 people in attendance; protest organizers claim the true figure is closer to 120,000. More»

Also says McCain 'nuts', protesters wearing condoms

(NEWSER) - Protesters be damned, Vladimir Putin outright rejected calls for new elections today in a marathon appearance on a call-in show. Instead, notes the AP , he continued to place the blame for the widespread protests on the West's "well-organized pattern of destabilizing society," adding that they "still fear our nuclear potential," and that Russia's "independent foreign policy" is "an impediment for some." Putin's characteristically bellicose appearance carried a number of gems, and could spark some backlash:

• On John McCain's tweet that 'the Arab Spring is coming to a neighborhood near you': "He has the blood of peaceful civilians on his hands, and he can't live without the kind of disgusting, repulsive scenes like the killing of Gadhafi. Mr. McCain was captured and they kept him not just in prison, but in a pit for several years. Anyone (in his place) would go nuts."