Political quarantine

Yesterday, the Supreme Court of Bashkortostan ruled to release Viktor Shmakov, editor of the opposition newspaper Provincial News, from custody. But the investigation continues - Shmakov is accused of “public calls for extremism”; the journalist faces up to 10 years in prison. Apparently, the whole point is that recently the Provincial News newspaper has been supporting Mikhail Kasyanov, the leader of the VAT, and his visit to Bashkiria is planned for May. So the Bashkir authorities took on the poor journalist so that he would not spread the anti-Putin infection in the republic.