Against the backdrop of the odious trial of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, few people noticed such an event as the acquittal of the Old Believer Bishop Apollinaris in one of the district courts of Bryansk. And this case, by the way, is no less remarkable from the point of view of the characteristics of the Russian judicial system.

If the rumors are confirmed - and everyone on the island of Santorini is already talking about this, including the local mayor - the wedding will take place in the near future. Who the happy groom is remains a mystery for now. It is also unknown whether the bride's parents will be present at the wedding.

If supporters of the theory of American origins of “color revolutions” are right, then the Russian authorities have nothing to fear. As Vedomosti writes, this year the United States has reduced the budget for supporting democratic institutions in Russia. It will amount to approximately 30 cents for every Russian soul. While in Ukraine it is almost twice as much. Procter&Gamble also spends twice as much money on promoting its products in Russia. Do you still not have democracy?

Indeed, recently Boris Efimovich, who received a high post in Ukraine at the beginning of the year, has been constantly harshly criticizing the economic policy of Yulia Tymoshenko’s cabinet. Especially in terms of reviewing the results of privatization and regulation of the oil sector. However, Ukrainian deputies need to follow the example of their Russian colleagues.

A friend called - an old university professor, a long-time and loyal reader of the Izvestia newspaper. She heard on the Echo of Moscow news that the state monopoly Gazprom was buying the newspaper from its former owner, the Prof-Media publishing house (that is, nickel oligarch Vladimir Potanin). She said: she was going to pay for a subscription to the post office for the second half of the year and now she’s thinking – is it worth it? Good question.

With a Lubyanka grinding sound, an iron ring closed around Izvestia, dear to my heart. As soon as they got out of servitude, they immediately ended up in a fortress. In August 1991, we fought our way out from under the state boot. We were possessed by thoughts of freedom, not yet touched by the rust of money. We lived by honest politics, knowing no antidotes to politicking. We were bursting with the conviction that there was no money that could withstand glasnost. These are fools.

The effectiveness of various CIS structures is rightly questioned. At numerous summits and meetings within the Commonwealth, a lot of different decisions are made, which are almost never put into practice. True, the meeting in Tbilisi may be an exception. According to some reports, it was decided to relocate Russian troops, which are to be withdrawn from Georgia in the near future, to Armenia. The leadership of Azerbaijan intends to raise the issue of this at the summit in Tbilisi.

It is difficult to say how the court of a distant French city became convinced that the cells in the Novorossiysk pre-trial detention center are overcrowded, there is nothing to breathe, and they are not allowed out for exercise regularly. You and I know, even without any trial, that this is the case, and not only in Novorossiysk. Nevertheless, the tenacity of Andrei Novoselov, who won the trial, is undoubtedly worthy of respect.

A real symbol of this process is a column of construction vehicles and mechanisms standing at the Meshchansky Court. Not in the sense that they are big, heavy and scary and represent a police state that has mercilessly crushed an innocent person. No, that's not the point. And the fact is that it’s a linden tree! The equipment is real, repairable - but there is no repair! Just as the technology itself has been missing since Tuesday evening.

The topic was discussed at a closed meeting of the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for interaction with religious associations. According to the 1997 law, any association can invite foreign missionaries to Russia. Now they want to give this right only to “centralized” organizations. For example, the Moscow Patriarchate will be able to invite preachers from the Orthodox Church in America, but the parish will not. Most religious leaders don't mind.

“Unfortunately, we are now on the edge of an abyss and have even raised our foot above this abyss.” According to Mr. Illarionov, all the blame for such a deplorable state of the Russian economy, affected not only by the “Dutch” but also by the “Venezuelan” diseases (this is when the oil industry is nationalized), lies entirely with the Russian government. At the same time, the role of Mr. Illarionov himself as an adviser to the president in shaping economic policy remains unclear.