MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Dmitry Medvedev said Monday a crushing win by Russia's ruling party in local elections proved its moral and legal right to run the regions, but the opposition and independent observers said the voting was rigged.
Medvedev backed the outcome of Sunday's polls even though two months ago he had said "new democratic times are beginning" and promised to break the party's near-monopoly on power.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's United Russia was confirmed as the strongest party in just about every poll, retaining power in key locations, including elections for Moscow city, the most populous and affluent region.
Putin nominally leads the party which is backed by Medvedev.
Russia has been badly hit by the economic crisis, with GDP set to contract by more than 8.5 percent this year and the number of unemployed nearly 50 percent higher than a ...
Journalist’s conviction viewed as a warning to critics ahead of presidential elections.
By Anaid Gogoryan in Sukhum (CRS No. 512, 25-Sep-09)
The conviction of a journalist for libelling Abkhazia’s president, Sergei Bagapsh, has raised concerns for the future of media freedom in the republic.
Abkhazia, recognised as independent by Russia, Nicaragua and Venezuela but otherwise considered part of Georgia, holds presidential elections in December. Observers fear the prosecution may be intended as a warning to potentially critical correspondents ahead of the polls.
On September 21, the Sukhum city court gave Anton Krivenyuk a three-year suspended sentence - the maximum possible term - for an article criticising the president’s decision to hand over the railway network to Russian control. Originally published on a Russian internet site on June 8, it was widely reprinted in Abkhazian papers.
It was the first criminal case brought against a journalist in Abkhazia’s post-Soviet history, ... >>full
Acknowledgement: All available information and documents in "Justice For North Caucasus Group" is provided for the "fair use". There should be no intention for ill-usage of any sort of any published item for commercial purposes and in any way or form. JFNC is a nonprofit group and has no intentions for the distribution of information for commercial or advantageous gain. At the same time consideration is ascertained that all different visions, beliefs, presentations and opinions will be presented to visitors and readers of all message boards of this site. Providing, furnishing, posting and publishing the information of all sources is considered a right to freedom of opinion, speech, expression, and information while at the same time does not necessarily reflect, represent, constitute, or comprise the stand or the opinion of this group. If you have any concerns contact us directly at:
eagle@JusticeForNorthCaucasus.com
