Three suspects retracted their testimony, according to which they wanted to “blow up non-Russians out of a feeling of hatred towards them.” Now they say they decided to detonate a bomb in the market to rob the traders. Apparently, the reason for the sharp change was the precedents of sentencing for crimes on ethnic grounds. Thus, Alexander Koptsev, who carried out a massacre in a synagogue, was recently sentenced to 16 years.

Captain Eduard Ulman and former Colonel Yuri Budanov may be covered by the amnesty for participants in hostilities in the North Caucasus, which the State Duma adopted on Friday. This opinion was expressed by the Chairman of the Security Committee of the Lower House of Parliament, Vladimir Vasiliev, commenting on the approved document. True, the amnesty does not apply to those who have committed serious crimes.

Spending by Russian businessmen on charity increased from $1 million in 1992 to $1.5 billion in 2006. According to the Washington Post, the most popular areas of investment are the development of educational and cultural programs, scientific projects, and maintaining the healthcare system. The trend in recent years has been donations to the Russian Orthodox Church. At the same time, donations to public and human rights organizations are rare and insignificant.

The intensification of negotiations on the creation of the Union State of Russia and Belarus provoked an unexpected reaction from Transnistria. The president of the unrecognized republic, Igor Smirnov, said that the PMR would like to join the Union. The main problem with this desire is not the consent of Belarus and the Russian Federation. Unrecognized states are barred from entering such unions.

Currently, the Civil Code allows civil servants to give official gifts worth up to 500 rubles. Moreover, Russian civil servants have the right to receive them only at official events, and municipal employees are generally deprived of the right to official gifts. The SAC bill proposes making the rules uniform for everyone. Gifts conditional on the official's official position can be received in an amount of up to 4 thousand rubles, but only at official events.

Dear Anatoly Borisovich! I am proud to know you, and I am flattered that during your Deputy Prime Minister I had the opportunity to help you lay the foundations of a market economy. Not being an expert in the electric power industry, I am sure that the reforms that are being carried out in this area under your leadership are vitally necessary for the country.

A year after the verdict against Mikhail Khodorkovsky was confirmed, the Moscow branch of the United Civil Front decided to mark this sad date. On Friday evening, a picket dedicated to her will be held in Novopushkinsky Park. Activists of the organization hope to once again draw public attention to the unfair verdict. Meanwhile, Khodorkovsky's lawyers still hope to appeal the verdict. Now the supervisory appeal of the defenders is in the Supreme Court.

"What is this white substance? visible in chicken shit? "That's chicken shit too." Kurt Vonnegut. "Timequake" So, no matter what happens, no matter how the authorities prove their mediocrity and inconsistency, there will always be people (sometimes the majority of them) who strive to attribute all sorts of positive properties to its representatives and discern complex plans behind the actions of the authorities. Of course, you will tell me about charisma. Right.

Today, September 22, the State Duma will have to consider in three readings the bill on amnesty for participants in the armed conflict in the North Caucasus, introduced on September 18 by Vladimir Putin. There is no doubt about the voting results. Moreover, after the death of the leader of the all-Caucasian underground, Shamil Basayev, the leaders in both Moscow and Grozny spoke about the need for such an amnesty.

The story of the Transnistrian referendum on the annexation of this enclave of Moldova to Russia, for which no less than 97% of the territory’s residents voted, lasted in the official media for exactly one day.