June 7:
Russian President Vladimir Putin has reiterated his support for a "peaceful" Iranian nuclear program. The announcement was made ahead of new diplomatic talks regarding Iran's nuclear interests slated for Moscow, reports the Agence France-Presse. “We have always supported the right of the Iranian people to modern technologies, including the peaceful use of atomic energy,” Putin told his Iranian counterpart, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, during a joint meeting in Beijing on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit there. Ahmadinejad responded with a call for increased cooperation between Iran and Russia, adding that the two countries “are now on the same side of the barricades...There are people who stand against the progress and development of both Russia and Iran. Especially considering that now, NATO has set its sights on the east.”
June 8:
Despite objections from Congress, the United States could soon procure ammo from Russian state-owned weapons producer Rosoboronexport. Transactions with the company were banned from 2006 to 2010,Bloomberg reports, as a result of Rosoboronexport’s arms sales to Iran and Syria. The sanctions were lifted with the Kremlin’s support for a UN resolution “expressing concern” over Iran’s nuclear ambitions, which led to the U.S. Army signing a $375 million contract for 21 Russian-made MI-17 helicopters for the Afghan air force. Five suppliers competing for the U.S. ammunitions contract in question reportedly have invited Rosoboronexport to become a sub-contractor. The ammunition would be used in international coalition operations.
June 10:
The Kremlin has made plans to mobilize 70,000 police officers and over 9,000 soldiers ahead of scheduled opposition rallies around the country. June 12th marks the Russia Day holiday, Bloomberg reports, at which 1.35 million people are expected to attend 1,550 “political, cultural and other mass” events. The new law regarding fines for unsanctioned protestors will mean that “participants in masks... will be immediately detained by the police,” while “Organizers will be held liable for violations involving harm to civilians, illegally blocking traffic, damaging roads and property.” The holiday celebrates Russian sovereignty from the Soviet Union, which was declared June 12, 1990.
June 11:
In anticipation of upcoming protests, police have conducted searches of the homes of a number of high-profile opposition leaders. The activists Alexei Navalny, Sergei Udaltsov and Ilya Yashin were all targeted in the searches, which included seven other homes, according to the BBC. Alexei Navalny blogged that police removed “computer disks containing photos of his children, along with items of clothing, including a sweatshirt with an opposition slogan,” and added on Twitter that “they almost carved up the door (this is actually true).” Navalny, Udaltsov, and Yashin were ordered by police to appear for questioning. Opposition activists have decried the police intervention as a crude move orchestrated by Putin to “behead the protest demonstrations.” “Judging by the reaction in the media,” said one activist, “the result is the opposite – tomorrow there will be more people than expected.”
An editorial in the Russian Journal has warned citizens against relying on their silence to keep themselves and their loved ones safe from “the party of the investigative committee.” Alexander Morozov, political blogger and editor of the Russian Journal, argues in the piece that Russia’s current political unrest stems from an “unconstitutional ‘private transaction’” of the Kremlin’s power from Medvedev to Putin. Russia's elites have made it clear they believe they can “do what they want,” Morozov said, "and no one in Moscow is speaking up – not Moscow’s mayor, not Medvedev, and not Congress." He argued that the police searches and orders to report for questioning on the eve of the most recent opposition rally are a clear sign that the regime has separated itself from the “logic of democratic representation, division of power, and civil procedure.” “Poor will be those who remain on the sidelines,” he concluded. “All suffer. Including the silent, loyal ‘majority.’”
June 12:
Despite the Kremlin’s attempts to discourage them, tens of thousands of people have rallied in Moscow to demand new elections and the resignation of Vladimir Putin from the presidency. “It’s obvious they are as frightened of us at they are of fire,” said opposition leader Boris Nemtsov in comments carried by the BBC. "They are scared of the people's protest." Several independent media websites went down minutes before the rally began, while the editor-in-chief of Dozhd TV channel claimed that his station's website was hacked. Opposition leader Sergei Udaltsov defied police orders to report for questioning, saying, "The investigators will wait, I've made my choice." President Putin has countered that he will not let Russia be weakened by "social shocks."
"We cannot accept anything that weakens our country or divides society," he said in an interview broadcast on state television. The protest was the largest since Putin's inauguration in early May, and activists appeared undeterred by the recent hike in fines for unsanctioned protests.