The behavior of the Russian authorities during election campaigns every time demonstrates that the authorities are seriously not paying to competitors or citizens. In fact, any election action - say, Putin’s program or his participation in the debate turns into an imitation of the campaign. This is our democracy. The special nature of Russian democracy (or “democracy”, if you like) every time clearly and even convexly manifests itself during federal election campaigns.

The number of victims of the explosion in the Italian restaurant in the south-west of Moscow increased to three people, the website of RIA Novosti reports. On January 12, a man died in hospital No. 36, who received almost 100 percent of the body burns. According to Interfax , we are talking about the 38-year-old cook of the restaurant. The explosion occurred in the Italian restaurant Il Pittore on the afternoon of January 9th.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who nominated his candidate for the president of Russia, published the election program. On January 12, a document called "Program 2012 - 2018" was published on the Putin 2012 website. This site was launched in noon on January 12, 2012.

Illustration: Sergey Elkin The behavior of the Russian authorities during election campaigns every time demonstrates that the authorities are seriously not paying to competitors or citizens. In fact, any election action - say, Putin’s program or his participation in the debate turns into an imitation of the campaign. This is our democracy. The special nature of Russian democracy (or “democracy”, if you like) every time clearly and even convexly manifests itself during federal election campaigns.

Entrepreneur Mikhail Prokhorov, who announced his intention to run for president of Russia, considers mass rallies against falsifications in the elections by a sign of the end of the “era of controlled democracy” in Russia. The businessman wrote about this in an article published on the website of the British newspaper Guardian .

The head of the Accounts Chamber (SP) Sergey Stepashin sent a report to the chairman of the State Duma Sergey Naryshkin about the work of his department for 2011, the Izvestia newspaper writes. It follows from the document that over the past year, illegal budget expenses in Russia reached 718.5 billion rubles ─ more than in the last decade. So, in 2008, the joint venture revealed violations by only 97 billion, in 2009 ─ already at 238, and in 2010 ─ 484 billion rubles.

The Vedomosti newspaper draws attention to the report of an expert close to the Kremlin, which states that Vladimir Putin should not respond to protests to win the elections, but work as ahead, consolidating his support groups.

Two first -graders who disappeared in Bryansk on January 11 were found alive, the RIA Novosti website reports. It was reported that they were in one of the apartments of the Bezhitsky district of the city. According to Interfax , the girls spent the night with a friend, as one of them lost a mobile phone and was afraid to return home. Pupils of the first grade of school No. 63 Nastya Boraborkina and Olya Markelova did not return home on Wednesday after classes at school, which ended at 13.00.

In Dagestan, the militants tried to blow up a whole column of military armored vehicles, mining with bombs, the total capacity of which was equivalent to 400 kg of TNT, a section of the Caucasus federal highway, the Kommersant newspaper writes. One of the devices of explosives was destroyed, undermining it using the overhead charge. The second was partially destroyed by the overhead charge.

The Roscosmos once again clarified the time and place of a possible fall in the fragments of the Russian Interplanetary Station Fobos Grunt, the website of Roscosmos reports. The possible place for the fall of the unsuccessful parts of the apparatus is located in the Indian Ocean between the east coast of Africa and the island of Madagascar with approximate coordinates of 47 degrees of eastern longitude and 7 degrees of southern latitude.

Yesterday, Putin distributed duties between his deputies, and the press service of the White House published a new distribution. The redistribution of authority is analyzed in detail today in the newspaper Kommersant .

The Constitutional Court of Moldova recognized the elections of the President of Moldova, which took place on December 16 in the parliament of the republic, invalid, Interfax reports. The Constitutional Court made such a decision on Thursday at the request of one of the Moldovan deputies.

A lawyer who previously worked in the case of an accident on Leninsky Prospekt with the participation of the Vice President of Lukoil, is suspected of a bribe for a successful resolution of a criminal case in another accident, RIA Novosti website reports. According to police, a bribe of 100 thousand rubles was given to the police officer for solving the problem with an accident on Lobachevsky Street, in which the man died.

The State Duma Council decided to invite on January 27 to a meeting of the Chamber of the Chairman of the CEC Vladimir Churov, Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika, the heads of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Rashid Nurgaliev and the Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin. According to Interfax , the invited will answer questions from deputies relating to the State Duma elections in December.

The US Air Force has concluded a contract with the American company United Launch Services for the withdrawal of new satellites to orbit, Defense News reports. The amount of the contract amounted to 1.5 billion dollars. According to the terms of the agreement, the company will have to bring to orbit two military meteorological satellites of the DMSP-19 and DMSP-20, MUOS-3 communications satellite, as well as three intelligence apparatus.