Igor Trunov, the lawyer of Alexei Frenkel, accused of organizing the murder of the first deputy chairman of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation Andrei Kozlov, believes that Liana Askerova abandoned her initial testimony, writes Nezavisimaya Gazeta. “This is my opinion based on observations of how the investigation behaves,” he said.

In the Kremlin Political February 8, 2007 Alexander Ryklin The Moscow Helsinsky group, led by Lyudmila Alekseeva, recognized Mikhail Khodorkovsky by a political prisoner . She admitted without waiting for a new conviction. The gesture is rather demonstrative than practical - it is clear that it does not provide for any legal consequences. And there will not be a big impression on the persecutors of the disgraced magnate. What do they care about human rights activists?

In the Kremlin Why the State Duma is not a parliament February 8, 2007 Alexander Golts It is not for me that real life sometimes gets shorter than any action -packed novel. The day before yesterday at Echo of Moscow, together with the famous military expert, General Eduard Vorobyov and State Duma deputy Gennady Gudkov, I discussed the problems of grandfature in the Russian army.

In Chechnya, the resignation of President Alkhanov has long been expected. Today, a series of dismissals has begun, and “at their own” request: several people from the entourage of Chechen President Alu Alkhanov resigned. In particular, the Secretary of the Security Council, two presidential advisers, and the deputy head of the department of external relations. Previously, the president's press secretary, Isaraev, was fired at his own request.

On Thursday, the British Guardian newspaper reported that hotel owners in Kitzbühel in the Austrian Alps had secretly agreed to introduce a quota for Russian guests of 10% of the total number of guests. The tourism office of the Austrian Embassy in Moscow denied this information. “We are preparing an official refutation of what was said, that is, what appeared in the press. This is all untrue and fiction,” said Anna Sergeeva, an employee of the representative office.

Rumors that the German Embassy is massively canceling visas issued to Russians are not confirmed. The Russian Foreign Ministry states that there are only three known cases of cancellation of German visas issued to Russians recently. The day before, citing diplomatic sources, it was reported that the German Embassy had canceled several hundred visas previously issued to Russian citizens.

The Moscow Helsinki Group, headed by Lyudmila Alekseeva, recognized Mikhail Khodorkovsky political prisoners . She admitted without waiting for a new guilty verdict. The gesture is more demonstrative than practical - it is clear that it does not provide for any legal consequences. And it won’t make much of an impression on the persecutors of the disgraced tycoon. What do they care about human rights activists?

In society Ideological hydra of the XXI century February 8, 2007 Mikhail Sitnikov There are no term “Islamophobia” in academic dictionaries. But he is not there not because there is no phenomenon in reality, but because it is still quite difficult to give a definition. Being first used in 1997 in the report of the British Center of Runnymede Trust “Islamophobia - a challenge for everyone”, this word suddenly had to be in the court, repaid the new realities of “peace after September 11”.

Early this morning, the coffin with the body of Ilya Kormiltsev arrived from London to Moscow. The famous rock poet, translator and publisher died on February 4 in London. The funeral will take place tomorrow - Ilya Kormiltsev will be buried at the Troekurovsky cemetery. On the same day (February 9) a civil memorial service will be held at the Central House of Writers from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Moscow time.

The Chita mayor's office has banned a picket in support of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev, Gazeta.Ru reports. The ban was explained by the fact that the organizers violated the deadline for submitting a notification.

In the Kremlin "Russian project": nationalism against xenophobia February 8, 2007 Nikolai Svanidze The most fashionable theme of the week is the “Russian Party of the Party“ United Russia ”, which is destined to lead the leader of the“ Young Guard ” Ivan Demidov . I read the printout of Ivan Demidov’s interview “Echo of Moscow”. And honestly, I would have signed up under many of what was said by Demidov.

The State Duma will consider on Friday an agreement on the division of powers between the federal center and Tatarstan. The bill provides that the governments of Russia and Tatarstan enter into an agreement on joint resolution of issues; the authorities of the republic have the right to provide state support to compatriots and issue citizens passports with a Tatar insert.

The President of Belarus told Reuters that Minsk's Russia-oriented foreign policy was wrong. “I admit the mistake and shortcoming of our foreign policy, that it turned out to be one-vector, with a vector towards Russia. And we actually lost the West. We stood on one leg, but we should stand on two.” In addition, the President of Belarus promised to bill Moscow for the use of military facilities and transit to the Kaliningrad region. And he even named the amount – $5 billion.