The State of Affairs in Russia

[Syt]

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/risque-miss-russia-photo-shoot-prompts-prosecutorial-probe/522398.html

Risque Miss Russia Photo Shoot Prompts Prosecutorial Probe



Prosecutors in the Sverdlovsk region have launched an investigation after the recently crowned Miss Russia was pictured draped in material resembling the Russian flag on the cover of a glossy magazine.

The cover of the print issue featured Sofia Nikitchuk — this year's Miss Russia — draped in silky material in the colors of the Russian flag under the headline "The Taste of Victory." The magazine issue was devoted to the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies in World War II.

Stolnik's editor-in-chief Anna Reshyotkina confirmed to The Moscow Times on Tuesday that prosecutors had taken an interest in the cover.

"I was called to the Prosecutor's Office for a half-hour conversation after which I had to write a statement saying who was responsible for the decision to use that cover. I took full responsibility for the decision," she said in a phone interview.

Prosecutors have not contacted Reshyotkina since the meeting, which took place last Wednesday, she said.

A source in the Prosecutor's Office told local news website Znak.com that the probe was prompted by a request from an unknown individual who was apparently offended by the May cover of Stolnik, a local lifestyle magazine.

On Tuesday, Stolnik's website had a picture of a different cover for the same issue, this time showing Nikitchuk wearing a red dress against the background of a Russian flag.

The photo shoot took place at the end of April when Nikitchuk returned to her hometown of Yekaterinburg shortly after winning the Miss Russia beauty contest in Moscow.

Nikitchuk won the Miss Yekaterinburg pageant in 2014 before going on to win the national competition in April. She was awarded 3 million rubles ($60,000) and a car and will now represent Russia at international beauty contests.

The desecration of the Russian flag is a criminal offense that carries up to a year in prison under Russian law.

In 2013, three female dancers wrapped Russian flags around their bare breasts before tossing them to the floor during a strip show in the Urals city of Chelyabinsk. Representatives of the local Investigative Committee conducted a probe, but did not open a criminal case.

A month earlier, U.S. rock band Bloodhound Gang had to cancel their concert in Russia after one of its members crammed a Russian flag down his pants and rubbed his butt with it during a show in Ukraine, eliciting outrage in Russia.

[Valmy]

Eugene Delacroix would have been arrested for sure

[Admiral Yi]

We need to get to work on a weapon that kills men but doesn't hurt women.

[Razgovory]

A tiny guillotine?

[Barrister]

A month earlier, U.S. rock band Bloodhound Gang had to cancel their concert in Russia after one of its members crammed a Russian flag down his pants and rubbed his butt with it during a show in Ukraine, eliciting outrage in Russia.

[/quote]

Wait - Bloodhound Gang is still doing shows?  Wasn't their 15 minutes of fame up about 20 years ago?

[grumbler]

We need to get to work on a weapon that kills men but doesn't hurt women.

What is: syphilis?

[Admiral Yi]

That nose is perfect.  She should copyright that nose for use on sexbots.

[Syt]

Your daily "Russia is wacky" story:

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/chelyabinsk-prosecutors-determine-test-to-diagnose-extremism-is-extremist/522581.html

Chelyabinsk Prosecutors Determine Test to Diagnose Extremism Is Extremist

Prosecutors in the Chelyabinsk region have found traces of extremism in a test designed to detect extremist and aggressive proclivities in teenagers, the regional Prosecutor's Office said in a statement Thursday.

During a large-scale inspection of schools' compliance with federal education legislation, Chelyabinsk prosecutors encountered a test that was to be administered to 8th-graders in the city of Kopeysk to help teachers identify students prone to extremist or aggressive behavior.

Authorities claimed that the test, which had been devised by educational psychologists, could lead teenagers to engage in extremist activity.

"Testing to identify aggressive and violent teenagers could lead to the incitement of social, racial, national or religious hatred," the statement read, without elaborating on the contents or the examination, or explaining which elements led prosecutors to determine that it was extremist.

The head of Kopeysk's education department received a formal warning in response to prosecutors' finding, the statement said.

Russian law enforcement agencies have toiled to squash all things they have reckoned to be extremist. Earlier this week, a court in the far eastern Amur region found signs of "violence and intolerance" in the song lyrics by two prominent Russian metal bands. The court said it had filed a claim with the Justice Ministry to have the songs added on the country's list of extremist materials.

[KRonn]

Your daily "Russia is wacky" story:

It's more like Russia is acting like its Soviet predecessor. The more things change in Russia, the more they remain the same,  it seems.

[DGuller]

Another Putin opponent about to bite the dust:

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/05/29/kremlin-opponent-near-death-family-suspects-poisoning/

Spending time in Moscow after going after Kadyrov.  Yeah, that worked out so well for many other people.

[KRonn]

The more things change...   

[Syt]

Also, corruption in Russia? Another Western plot!

http://rt.com/politics/262773-russia-corruption-west-provoke/

Law enforcer accuses foreign offshore havens of encouraging Russian corruption

The official spokesman of Russia's Investigative Committee has blamed foreign governments for deliberately provoking corruption in Russia, to attract more criminal capital into offshores registered in their countries.

In a recent interview with the Argumenty Nedeli newspaper, Vladimir Markin said Western nations often refused Russia's extradition requests in major corruption cases. He gave several examples, such as the former finance minister of the Moscow Region, Aleksey Kuznetsov, former director of the state owned shipping company Sovkomflot, Dmitriy Skarga, and late oligarch Boris Berezovskiy. "These are purely corruption cases, there is no politics in them," Markin said.

"Our main problem is that our Western partners would lose if we have more order in our country. The money flowing into offshores gives them tremendous support. This is the reason there is no extradition from London for corrupt officials and crooks."

Aleksey Kuznetsov is wanted in Russia on charges of embezzlement of state funds and money laundering. He currently lives in the USA. Dmitry Skarga resides in the UK after his former employer Sovkomflot accused him of graft and bribery. Boris Berezovskiy was charged with embezzlement in Russia, received political asylum in UK and committed suicide in his London home after losing a major business lawsuit.

The Investigative Committee is a separate federal law enforcement agency set up in 2011 in order to deal with especially important criminal cases, in particular with large scale corruption scandals. It was the Investigative Committee that worked on the so called Oboronservis case – a probe into graft in the property department of the Russian Defense Ministry. The case led to the sacking of Defense Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov and a five-year prison sentence for his top aide Yevgeniya Vasiliyeva.

[KRonn]

Also, corruption in Russia? Another Western plot!

Now that's a way of putting a shine on that tired old sneaker.   

[jimmy olsen]

Way to make friends and influence people!

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32949236

European Union anger at Russian travel blacklist


    31 May 2015
    From the section Europe

Former British deputy prime minister Nick Clegg is reportedly among those banned
Ukraine crisis

The European Union has responded angrily to Russia's entry ban against 89 European politicians, officials and military leaders.

Those banned are believed to include general secretary of the EU council Uwe Corsepius, and former British deputy prime minister Nick Clegg.

Russia shared the list after several requests by diplomats, the EU said.

The EU called the ban "totally arbitrary and unjustified" and said no explanation had been provided.

Many of those on the list are outspoken critics of the Kremlin, and some have been turned away from Russia in recent months.
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The EU said that it had asked repeatedly for the list of those banned, but nothing had been provided until now.

"The list with 89 names has now been shared by the Russian authorities. We don't have any other information on legal basis, criteria and process of this decision," an EU spokesman said on Saturday.

"We consider this measure as totally arbitrary and unjustified, especially in the absence of any further clarification and transparency," he added.

The list of those barred from Russia has not been officially released, although what appears to be a leaked version (in German) is online.

A Russian foreign ministry official would not confirm the names of those barred, but said that the ban was a result of EU sanctions against Russia.

"Why it was precisely these people who entered into the list... is simple - it was done in answer to the sanctions campaign which has been waged in relation to Russia by several states of the European Union," the official, who was not named, told Russian news agency Tass.

The official said Moscow had previously recommended that all diplomats from countries that imposed sanctions on Russia should check with Russian consular offices before travelling to see if they were banned.

"Just one thing remains unclear: did our European co-workers want these lists to minimise inconveniences for potential 'denied persons' or to stage another political show?" he said.

EU sanctions were imposed after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea region in March 2014, and they have been extended amid ongoing fighting between government troops and pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine.


Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told journalists on Friday that the list had been shared with EU diplomats and that three Dutch politicians were on it. He said the ban was "not based on international law".

British intelligence and military chiefs, including MI5 director general Andrew Parker, former MI6 chief Sir John Sawers and chief of the defence staff General Sir Nicholas Houghton are reportedly on the list.

Former British foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind told the AFP news agency that he had "read the reports in the media [of his ban] but not a word from the Russians".

Britain's foreign office said: "The Russian authorities have not provided any legal basis for the list or for the names on it.

"If Russia thinks this action will cause the EU to change its position on sanctions, it is wrong."

Also said to be on the list are French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy, former Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt and the EU's former enlargement chief Stefan Fule.

'A decent club'

Sweden's foreign minister, Margot Wallstrom, said that her country has asked for an explanation from Russia.

Eight Swedes are on the list, including Swedish MEP Anna Maria Corazza Bildt.

"I'm more proud than scared and this gives me more determination to continue... If the Kremlin takes me and my colleagues seriously it means we're doing a good job," Ms Bildt told AFP.

The former Czech foreign minister, Karel Schwarzenberg, also said he was pleased to have made the list.

"When I saw the other names (on the list), I found out I was in a very decent club. I consider this a reward," he was quoted as saying by the CTK news agency.

Other countries with names on the list reportedly include Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Denmark, Finland, Romania, Bulgaria and Spain.

[Duque de Bragança]

List is tainted by having BHL in it.