Yevkurov’s Call to Rebels

Ingush President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, seriously wounded in a June suicide bombing, told rebels Monday to lay down their weapons or be destroyed.

“I urge our young people, all those who chose the path of violence, to return to peaceful life. … Stop, it is not too late!” the 45-year-old ex-paratrooper said in a written address to Ingushetia’s residents — his first published words since the suicide attack.

“I promised not to punish those who voluntarily return to peaceful life … But those not listening to reason, who continue their criminal ways, will face inevitable punishment. … They will be destroyed.” (Reuters)

Maz Sentence Upheld

The Moscow City Court upheld on Monday a lower court’s decision to give a two-year suspended sentence to an investigator with the Moscow region branch of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Maz, who killed a woman in a drunk driving incident in January.

Moscow’s Nikulinsky District Court sentenced Maz on June 11. The light sentence stirred complaints in the media and blogosphere.

The General Prosecutor’s Office appealed the sentence  to the Moscow City Court on June 19. (MT)

Football Team Bailed Out

Premier League side Tom Tomsk, which owes almost 200 million rubles ($6.4 million) in back pay, will not be forced be forced into bankruptcy, Sports, Tourism and Youth Politics Minister Vitaly Mutko said Monday.

Seven of Russia’s largest oil and energy companies will provide 300 million rubles, after a meeting with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, said Mutko, also head of the Russian Football Union.

“It was a one-off deal and it should not be viewed as a precedent,” he said.

Tom said they needed around 400 million rubles to keep afloat. Mutko said the remainder would come from smaller regional businesses. (Reuters)