Putin, Chechnya Silence Yet Another Voice

Obvious ballot-stuffing spotted in region

(NEWSER) - Vladimir Putin may have engaged in a brutal crackdown on Chechnya over the last, say, decade-plus, but it appears to have done wonders for his popularity, as evidenced by his extraordinary results there in Sunday's elections. A little too extraordinary, reports the New York Times: Putin garnered 1,482 votes to his opponent's single vote at one precinct. Problem? There are 1,389 voters registered in that district, pegging turnout at a rather unrealistic 107%. “Look, something is not adding up here,” says the head of the local electoral commission. More»

Suspicion of Anna Politkovskaya's killers leads to Chechnya

(NEWSER) - Russia's supreme court ordered a new investigation into the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, the crusading journalist whose killers have not yet been found, reports the Guardian. The move received a cautious welcome from Politkovskaya's lawyer, who welcomed a new manhunt but said, "Whether the general prosecutor will use this opportunity, we don't know." A shambolic trial of four people accused in her death earlier this year ended in acquittals. More»

(NEWSER) - A human rights activist whose probes into abuse by authorities were a constant irritation to authorities has been kidnapped and murdered in Chechnya, the Wall Street Journal reports. Natalya Estemirova was found shot dead along a roadside hours after witnesses saw her being bundled into a car. Chechnya's president, pro-Russia strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, promised an investigation, but many believe Kadyrov himself is behind the murder. More»

He opposed release of colonel who killed Chechen teen

(NEWSER) - A Russian lawyer fighting the early release of a colonel convicted of war crimes was shot dead yesterday in Moscow, Deutsche Welle reports. Stanislav Markelov, 34, was planning to challenge the parole of Yuri Budanov, who was freed last week after being imprisoned 6 years ago for murdering a Chechen girl. The assailant shot Markelov in the back of the head and fled. More»

US, Council of Europe condemn police violence and arrests of opposition leaders

(NEWSER) - Authorities detained Russian opposition leaders yesterday and broke up a St. Petersburg rally and march in the second day of aggressive crackdowns on dissent, the Washington Post reports. Several candidates in Sunday's parliamentary elections were among the 200 held. "They have forbidden us from discussing Putin," one candidate told demonstrators just before he was arrested. More»