October 11:
According to an internet survey conducted by the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, 41 percent of respondents to an online survey view Russians who convert to the Muslim faith as "traitors of the Russian people.” Another 32 percent of the total five thousand people viewed them negatively, but accepted that it's a personal matter, Interfax reports, while 14 percent are neutral, and only 1.8 percent “welcome” the choice. Surprisingly, Tatars were among those polled who responded negatively, despite being predominantly Muslim. Researchers at the center suggested that there are a number of factors that likely contribute to this attitude, including the recent trend of Orthodox priests who convert to Islam solely for career reasons. They warned, however, that such a negative attitude ostracizes converted Muslims, which can become a "direct path to radicalization."
October 12:
Russian officials maintain that the plane re-routed to Turkey while en route to Syria last week was not carrying weaponry. The only cargo it carried, they claimed, were electronic components for a radar station, equipment which is allowed under the bounds of current international agreements. “We have no secrets,” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in a televised speech. “We have studied the situation: there were no weapons on this airplane, of course, and there could not be. On the airplane there was cargo, which a legal Russian shipper sent via legal means to a legal customer.” Tensions between the two countries remain high following the incident, the New York Times reports, as Russian officials' demands for further explanations were met with claims that the Turkish investigation is still on-going.
October 13:
Rights groups in one of Russia's southern regions have accused the country's main domestic security agency of using scare tactics to threaten nongovernmental organizations. According to the New York Times, the Federal Security Service released a statement announcing the closing of 20 nongovernmental organizations in Ingushetia “after discovering links to foreign spy agencies,” sending the region's aid groups into a panic. Such a move would be typical of the Kremlin’s recent campaign against organizations that receive foreign aid. Once the leaders of the area's aid groups called one another to determine which had been forced out, however, they discovered that not one group had been closed. A researcher with Human Rights Watch suggested the announcement was a tactic designed to put the region’s aid groups on notice. The move created “a climate of suspicion and a spy mania in the region,” she said, that “could foreshadow real action against those working or traveling there.”
October 14:
If the Kremlin’s adversaries are to be believed, the uproar following last year’s parliamentary and presidential elections did nothing to make the United Russia party change its electoral tactics. As Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev claimed a sweeping victory for the United Russia party in the country’s gubernatorial elections, opposition activists once more pointed to numerous voting violation complaints and strong-arm efforts to remove competitors from the race. “It’s sad that the situation hasn’t changed,” said the deputy director of the Western-funded vote monitoring group Golos, a perennial thorn in the Kremlin’s side. “In competitive races violations are conducted without batting an eye.” The chief of the Central Election Commission dismissed the comments, and insisted that the accusations had “nothing to do with reality. We are gathering all the material to further investigate where such a stream of lies is coming from.” Reuters reports that results from all five provincial regions showed United Russia had won or was on track for a victory, as did results in several races for provincial and city legislatures.
October 16:
The Russian parliament is moving forward on proposals to ban tobacco advertisements and raise taxes on cigarette sales, with the ultimate goal of bans on smoking in public places. A bill addressing both issues is expected to be introduced to the Duma in a matter of days, despite sharp protests from foreign tobacco firms, which are cumulatively responsible for over 90 percent of Russia’s tobacco market. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev released a video blog in support of the bill, noting that one in three people in Russia are hooked on smoking, while 400,000 deaths annually are attributed to smoking-related causes. The government likely hopes the ban will improve Russia’s life expectancy, which, at 62 for men and 74 for women, falls far behind most other developed nations. Reuters, however, reports that many Russians remain skeptical of the bill’s potential. “It’s Russia,” said one man. “People will smoke no matter what.”
October 17:
Opposition leaders crossed political lines to rally around Sergei Udaltsov after Kremlin officials arrested the communist opposition leader and launched a criminal investigation following accusations of plotting mass riots. The arrest might effectively unite what was a splintering opposition movement, reports the Washington Post. Following the broadcast of a poorly shot video on a pro-Kremlin television station that purportedly depicts Udaltsov taking orders from a Georgian agent to set off riots in Russia, Prominent activist Boris Nemtsov quickly took to his blog after the arrest to insist that while “Udaltsov and I are completely different... right now this makes no difference. Regardless of our views, we must all stand up for Sergei.” Opposition leaders insisted Udaltsov’s arrest was a sign that Vladimir Putin “intends to intensify efforts to suppress all dissident voices.” Ridicule over the arrest poured onto social networking sites, where one person suggested that next, “someone will be prosecuted because of evidence from a cartoon or comic book.”