Evidence has emerged over the last two weeks of a coordinated, Soviet style campaign against Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. Charges of extremism have been filed against two congregations, FSB and other officials have interfered with over 30 Jehovah's Witnesses congresses this summer, and a series of articles demonizing Jehovah's Witnesses have appeared in provinical newspapers throughout the country, in some cases on the same day. Many of these articles focus on an alleged kidnapping by Jehovah's Witnesses of a young man supposedly seeking sanctuary inside a Russian Orthodox church in Elista.

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It's a sign of the times that the Kremlin first appointed Rogozin (former head of the far-right Rodina party) its NATO ambassador, and now has one of his allies at a de facto public diplomacy post in Paris. I wonder if the "British friend" that former Duma deputy Narochnitskaya mentioned is from the British Helsinki Group--an org that has no relation to the Helsinki Federation and has attracted controversy for its support of some post-Soviet and African dictators.

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Instead of properly investigating neo-Nazi attacks on anti-fascists, some Russian law enforcement agencies prefer to target anti-fascist activists. Perhaps it's because anti-fascists tend to have little respect for the political establishment and generally espouse left-wing ideas. In addition, at least some within the Kremlin apparently lean towards pseudo-fascist ideology, according to a recent article on one of the Kremlin's chief ideologues.

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Two stories from this week illustrate problems that Jewish students face in Russia. One the one hand, central and locals authorities are increasingly pushing Russian Orthodox theology in the public schools, though, as usual in Russia, the extent to which this is happening varies from region to region. In addition, a study published last week argued that many Russian textbooks are antisemitic, ignoring or minimizing the history of the Holocaust, during which millions of Soviet Jews died.

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Even the Russian government admits that the situation is worse than ever.

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С 12 по 15 декабря 2008 г. Федеральная миграционная служба (ФМС) проводила операцию "Нелегальный мигрант". За эти дни в Москве сотрудниками ФМС были задержаны 2,5 тыс. иностранных граждан (http://www/etnosfera/ru/ogl.php).

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Michigan State University Professor Vladimir Shlapentokh recently posted this essay on Johnson's Russia List and gave UCSJ permission to post it here.

The money quotes:

1. "Political life in Russia revolves around two issues: corruption and xenophobia."

2. "[T]he role of xenophobia in Russia will increase in the next years. With the elites' growing self-confidence, which is based on the country's massive revenues from oil and gas, and with the high level of social polarization, xenophobia in its various forms (anti-Americanism, hostility toward the former Soviet republics and various ethnic minorities) will be the single most effective ideological tool for the elites."

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Click Here for Story.

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Some Russian judges just don't seem to get it, handing down ridiculous slaps on the wrist for murders, hate crimes, and assaults.

You can find the article here.

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In a call-in tv show on Wednesday, October 25, Russian president Vladimir Putin confirmed he would honor the Constitution and not seek re-election, according to the Moscow Times. Saying he would nonetheless "retain influence," he highlighted corruption as Russia's chief domestic problem, and agreed that improving the justice system was required to properly address mounting hate crimes.

Here are some reasons why we think there must be radical reform, reasons we will not miss Putin:

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