July 19:
Top Islamic officials in Tatarstan, Russia’s predominantly Muslim republic, suffered a deadly attack. Mufti Ildis Faizov was hospitalized after three explosions targeted his car, while his deputy mufti, Valiulla Yakupov, was shot dead outside his home. President Putin called for unity and condemned the act, which Russia’s Investigative Committee labeled a “terrorist act.” Reuters reports that no group has been blamed or taken credit for the act, but the National Anti-Terrorism Committee suspects that the attacks were related to the mufti’s work “countering the spread of religious radicalism” in the traditionally peaceful region.
Rais Suleymanov, of the Volga Center of Ethno-Religious Studies argues that the attacks on Tatartsan’s Islamic officials are part of a script often seen in the Northern Caucasus. He claimed that the people targeted as well as the timing of the attacks were chosen carefully. Tatarstan’s mufti and deputy mufti were well known opponents of radical Islam, Suleimanov noted, and added that timing the attack directly ahead of the start of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan is a message that the attackers “are a force to be reckoned with, and concessions must be made.” Similar attacks occur frequently in Dagestan, where Wahhabi imams killed traditionalists because they opposed the “pure Islam” sought by fundamentalists.
For the third time, Russia and China joined to veto UN attempts to levy sanctions on the Assad regime. The Globe and Mail suggested that the continuing stalemate in the UN may mean the end of the UN observer force of 300 unarmed officers in Syria when its mandate expires on the 20th. “Two permanent members of the council are prepared to defend Assad to the bitter end,” said Susan Rice, the U.S. Ambassador to the UN. Russia’s UN Ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, retaliated with an accusation that Britain, France, and the United States attempted to “fan the flames of confrontation.”
July 21:
Human Rights activists blamed the Kremlin for the decision to keep three members of a female punk group called Pussy Riot in jail for another six months before their trial. The band members were arrested in February after they stormed Moscow’s main cathedral to sing a “punk prayer” to the Virgin Mary to “Throw Putin Out!” The women’s defense lawyer argued that the decision to hold the women until January 13 was a sign that “Russian leaders had given orders for their conviction.” “Today’s decision only proves again that our role as defendants here is a pure formality,” he said. The three women face up to seven years in prison on charges of hooliganism, according to Reuters, although rights activists have charged that the sentence was disproportionate to their crime, since the protest “lasted only a few minutes, the activists left the cathedral when requested to do so and it caused no damage.”
J uly 23:
Wired Magazine reveals that Eugene Kaspersky—CEO of the antivirus company responsible for uncovering the US-Israeli Stuxnet cyberwarfare program—is also responsible for the security of the PCs, tablets, and smartphones owned by millions of Americans. Yet he has a close relationship with Vladimir Putin and the FSB, and is a proponent of strict internet controls. He maintains that social network sites like Facebook and Russia’s equivalent, Vkontakte, are tools that can be used to “manipulate the public,” as he argued was the case throughout the recent street protests against Putin. Analysts question whether Kaspersky’s ties to the Kremlin are strategic, rather than ideological. Because the FSB is in control of Russia’s information security, it can interfere in any telecommunications company, and even has the power to insert its own agents into an organization, although Kaspersky insists this has never happened at his lab.
July 24:
Lawyers for jailed former oil tycoon Mihail Khodorkovsky are cautiously optimistic after a judge ordered a court to review his appeal. Reuters reports that the decision could be based on a simple technicality or represent a real advance in Khodorkovsky’s pursuit of a reversal of his conviction. “Up until now all courts and judges in this case have issued only shameful and illegal decisions made by others,” his legal team said. “We have no illusions. We will see what comes.” Most analysts doubt Khodorkovsky will be released before his 13-year sentence ends in 2016. His arrest and subsequent trial in 2003 were largely considered a Kremlin warning against the interference of tycoons in politics.
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