Balkan surprise. The leader of the Serbian Progressive Party (SPP), the former nationalist Tomislav Nikolich, who had unexpectedly won in Serbia, had already led the Serbian Policy in the new channel. Contrary to the pro -European rhetoric, for his first foreign visit, he chose not Brussels, but Moscow, the Congress of United Russia. Thus generating new issues - about the future of Serbia, Balkans and even all of Europe Belgrade. Evening May 20.

Retired judge Sergey Zlobin - The New Times "The Russian judge is the most dependent person in the world." Sergey Zlobin worked as deputy chairman of the Volgograd Regional Court for 15 years. The end of his career came when the judge tried to defend his independence - the resignation immediately followed. About the unwritten rules by which the judges live, about how the judicial system looks from the inside - the New Times asked How did you become a judge?

The prospects of Superjet collapsed "Aerocalin". An investigation of the causes of the disaster of the Russian aircraft Sukhoi Superjet 100 in Indonesia stalled: the speech recorder was found, and the one that recorded the flight parameters is not. The commission is already convinced that the reason is not in technical malfunctions. Most likely, 45 people in deaths, as usual, will be accused of pilots.

“How can we in the West help your fight for human rights in Russia?” asks me a nice woman in a strict black suit. Local human rights activists brought me to her office, in the department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of one of the European countries. They really want me to talk about what is happening in our country.

Exhibition in the Museum of Personal Collections Interesting art. The exhibition "Portraits of collectors" on Volkhonka is timed to the 100th anniversary of the Museum of Fine Arts named after Pushkin. The masterpieces of Western European and Russian painting presented in the exposition are usually not available to the ordinary viewer: they are all in the collections of the richest people in Russia.

Spain fights a crisis The shadow of default above the Sun. Spain is increasingly called "New Greece": the economic situation in the country every day is harder. The other day, the Moody's International Agency lowered the ratings of 16 Spanish banks, including the two largest - Santander and BBVA. The Government of Mariano Rajoya makes a good mine in a bad game, stubbornly abandoning international assistance.

Around enemies. "Have you driven a lot of Tajiks?" - Such a question was asked to each other Muscovites on May 9 after the Victory Parade. "Provocation!" - People showed mileage companies on May 6 during the Millions Mill. The actions of the authorities raised a wave of strange new xenophobia-with a political shade, since migrants have become a kind of penal battalion for pro-government shares.

Candidate for repatriates. In the fate of the Russian Viktor Buta, serving a 25-year term in the United States, a new turn has been outlined. US Minister Eric Holder hinted at the possibility of Bot's deportation to his homeland if there is a petition of the Russian authorities. On May 24, an evasive answer came from Moscow: the question can be resolved positively, but not soon. What is happening - the exchange of diplomatic courtesies or did real bargaining?

Spain, by European standards, does not have a very large, but rapidly growing public debt - in 2012 it will increase, according to IMF forecasts, from 68.5% to 80.9% of GDP. This is a consequence of a very large, second in Europe, current budget deficit (8.5% of GDP last year). The prospects for reducing it are very weak: this year the economy will shrink by at least 0.3%. Recently, the Spanish government announced its intention to revise the budget deficit upwards - from 8.5% to 8.9%.