Employees of "Memorial" about the murders of Zarema Sadulayeva, Natalya Estemirova and other abductees in Chechnya. Photographed by Dmitry Borko.

Chairman of the Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin said that witnesses are afraid to testify in the case of the murder of human rights activists in Chechnya, RIA Novosti reports. "Investigations into the cases of the murder of Chechen human rights activists in July and August are going very hard. A huge residential area where hundreds of people live, and today we found only two women who testify about the description of possible criminals," Bastrykin said.

Tatyana Alexandrova, head of the Petersburg Hour program aired on Channel Five, is leaving her post and moving to the position of adviser to the channel's director general, RIA Novosti reports, citing the journalist herself. Alexandrova was in the center of media attention in the spring of this year after a scandalous incident involving the head of the city committee for economic development, industry and trade, Sergei Bodrunov.

Russian biathletes Yekaterina Yuryeva and Albina Akhatova have filed an appeal against the decision of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) Anti-Doping Commission, which disqualified them for two years. Another disqualified Russian biathlete, Dmitry Yaroshenko, has not yet decided whether he will appeal, Interfax reports , citing the athletes' lawyer Tagir Samakaev.

Deputy prefect of the Northwestern Administrative District Alexander Moklakov was dismissed. This was reported to RIA Novosti by a source in the Moscow administration. Okrug prefect Viktor Kozlov resigned in early August, immediately after being at the center of a scandal involving the leasing of land in the Skhodni River Valley in Kurkino nature protection zone. On August 5, the court, on the suit of the prosecutor's office, declared Viktor Kozlov's order to lease this land to be illegal.

The Meshchanskoye police department conducts an audit on the death of the head of the public fund "Creation" Lyudmila Melikova on August 5, Echo of Moscow reports. Last week, Melikova took part in the protest against point buildings on Rozhdestvenka Street. Participants in the action tried to block the vehicles with the entrance to the construction site, lining up in a chain. One car did not stop and hit Melikov. She fell. The victim had first aid at the victim’s hospital and released home.

Employees of the Economic Security Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs conducted searches at the premises of Insurance Company Zolotoy Garant LLC and Commercial Bank Metropol LLC. As stated on the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the searches were carried out as part of an investigation into the activities of a criminal group that provided fictitious insurance services and withdrew funds abroad.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Photo from Newsru.com On Monday, Russian Newsweek magazine will be published testimony of the ex-head of Yukos Mikhail Khodorkovsky at four points of prosecution, which was brought to him in the framework of the second criminal case, Vespers Moscow reported. According to the publication, Khodorkovsky wanted to make these testimonies in court, but did not receive the appropriate permission, so he decided to publish them in a reduced form.

Ukraine will not allow anyone to interfere in its internal affairs and will build its own policy and future, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said. She said that she considers any pause in the development of cooperation between Ukraine and Russia unacceptable, UNIAN reports. Tymoshenko stressed that she was making this statement after Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko responded to a message from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

Among the garbage that was brought to a waste processing plant in the south of Moscow, they found a radioactive object. According to Life.ru , the level of radiation emitted by them is 20 times higher than the maximum allowable standards. Dangerous objects were identified when the garbage truck in which they were entered the territory of the plant on Podolsky Kursantov Street at 11.30 am on Thursday. When the car passed through the checkpoint, the radiation sensors alarm went off.

Customs officers again began to detain imported mobile phones. According to Vedomosti, now FCS employees are checking whether importers are transporting several devices in one package. At the end of June of this year, huge consignments of cellular handsets accumulated at customs posts due to the tightening of customs clearance rules. Then it was ordered to check one hundred percent of imported goods, while earlier checks were carried out selectively. Soon this innovation was canceled.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev instructed all power structures, as well as the President of Chechnya to take all the necessary measures to search for human rights activists, Vesti reports. “I gave all the necessary instructions.

The United States will resume training of the Georgian military so that they can take part in operations against the Taliban in Afghanistan, Pentagon spokesman Jeff Morrell said. "Georgia wants to become part of the international forces in Afghanistan. And we want to help them in this," Morell said in The New York Times. Morrell said the US administration consulted with Russia on the training program to avoid any misunderstandings.

Priest Yakov Krotov. Frame "Grani-TV" Moscow Pentecostalists spent the other day a picket near the gay club "Babylon" demanding that the closure of it. At the same time, the Yabloko party held a picket with a demand not to approve the new master plan of Moscow.

The Khamovnican Court of Moscow extended until November 17 the arrest of the ex-head of the Yukos Mikhail Khodorkovsky and the former head of the MELIATEP MFI Platon Lebedev, RIA Novosti reports. Thus, the court granted the prosecutor’s request to extend the deadline for detention for another three months. "The court believes that the petition of the state prosecution is justified and is subject to satisfaction," said the chairman of the court Viktor Danilkin.