My profile:
A senior Interior Ministry official said four suspects had been detained in connection with a horrific video showing the execution of two men that was circulated on the Internet last year.
But Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin dismissed the statement as "incorrect."
The video, which appeared on ultranationalist web sites under the title "The Execution of a Tajik and a Dagestani," showed two dark-skinned men kneeling, bound and gagged in front of a Nazi flag. The two men say, "Russian national-socialists have arrested us," before masked men cut one man's head off and shoot the other at point-blank range.
Boris Miroshnikov, head of the Interior Ministry's hi-tech crimes department, told Rossiiskaya Gazeta in an interview published Wednesday that four suspects had been detained. He did not elaborate.
Attempts to clarify Miroshnikov's comments were unsuccessful Wednesday. Irina Zubareva, a spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry's hi-tech crimes department, referred all inquiries to the ministry's anti-organized crime and counterterrorism department. A spokesman there declined to comment.
Markin said no one had been detained or charged in the case. "The preliminary investigation has been extended until Dec. 6, 2008," he said in a statement. "Steps are being taken to identify the individuals who committed this crime."
In November, a student in the southern republic of Adygeya was convicted and sentenced to one year in prison for inciting ethnic hatred and posting the three-minute video on his LiveJournal blog.
The student, Viktor Milkov, admitted to posting the video but maintained that he received it as an e-mail attachment from a stranger, authorities said
In June, a Dagestani family identified the man beheaded with a large knife in the video as their relative, Shamil Udamanov, who they said arrived in Moscow last summer to look for a job.
Most Read
1.
Pair of 12-Year-Olds Dead In 16-Floor Suicide Plunge
A pair of 12-year-old girls jumped to their deaths Tuesday in the Moscow region town of Lobnya, prompting a children's rights ombudsman to call for a federal program to address the problem of youth suicide.
2.
Nation Ticked Off After a Winter of Summer Time
The famous proverb, "Early to bed, and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise," was penned by American founding father Benjamin Franklin. He was also the first to suggest implementing daylight-saving time.
3.
Russia Pressing for Talks to End Syria Bloodshed
The European Union will impose harsher sanctions on Syria, a senior EU official said Wednesday, as Russia tries to broker talks between the vice president and the opposition to calm violence.
4.
McFaul Epitomizes Embrace of Social Media
U.S. Ambassador Michael McFaul took to Twitter and Facebook on Wednesday in an attempt to refute charges that he's promoting regime change in Russia.
5.
Report: Pro-Putin Crowd Got Stiffed
Participants in the Feb. 4 Anti-Orange rally at Poklonnaya Gora have claimed that they did not receive payment as they were promised in exchange for attending.
6.
Alcohol Delivered After Hours
According to the law, it's not possible to buy alcoholic beverages at night, but there are ways around that. For example, alcohol can be received as a present, rented, or accepted as collateral.
7.
Putin Calls For More Religion on TV
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with religious leaders Wednesday that the "voice of the church" should have a greater presence on state-run television channels and that more TV programming should be devoted to religious topics.
8.
Sheremetyevo Soaring After Revamp
Sheremetyevo management hailed a 150 percent profit jump as proof the airport's extensive regeneration is paying off.
9.
Uproar Widespread Over Chechnya Trip
Hübner and his colleague Johann Gudenus, leader of the Free Democrats' faction in Vienna's City Council, held talks with Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov in Grozny last week.
10.
St. Petersburg Anti-Gay Law Advances
St. Petersburg lawmakers on Wednesday approved at the crucial second reading a bill introducing fines for advocating gay and lesbian relationships in front of children and promoting pedophilia.
1.
Malev Goes Bankrupt Owing $130M to VEB
Hungary's state airline Malev stopped flying after 66 years on Friday, citing bankruptcy, amid debts to creditors that include 100 million euros ($130 million) owed to VEB.
2.
McCain Taunts Putin Over Protests
U.S. Senator John McCain has again angered supporters of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin by describing Russia's nascent protest movement as an extension of the Arab Spring uprisings that have shaken and toppled governments across the Middle East.
3.
14 Million New Migrants Flocked to Russia in 2011
Almost 14 million foreigners and stateless people legally arrived in Russia last year.
4.
Putin Stand-In Faces Zhirinovsky Fire
In Tuesday's second presidential debate of the campaign season, firebrand Vladimir Zhirinovsky harangued Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's levelheaded proxy over her patron's refusal to debate and alleged desire to rule for life.
5.
Russia to Buy Icelandic Underwater Drones
The Defense Ministry plans to spend 729 million rubles ($24.5 million) on eight underwater drones made by Icelandic firm Teledyne Gavia.
6.
Lavrov in Syria to Strongly Back Assad
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus on Tuesday, sending a clear message that Russia intends to stand by its strongest ally in the Middle East amid an international outcry over the country's response to a civil revolt.
7.
Campaign Begins With Testy Debate
Communist Gennady Zyuganov and businessman Mikhail Prokhorov kicked off the presidential campaign season on Monday with a testy TV debate that centered on Zyuganov's political accomplishments and Prokhorov's connection to the chaotic 1990s.
8.
Pro-Putin Song Is Web Hit
A schmaltzy music video hailing Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as Russia's savior became a hit on the Russian Internet on Tuesday, with many bloggers and YouTube users poking fun at the song's hyperbolic lyrics.
9.
A More Realistic Vision of Russia's Greatness
Perhaps the central message of the collapse of Soviet communism can be summed up as follows: If it is to survive and flourish on the world stage, Russia needs to develop a different kind of realpolitik.
10.
Putin Article Advocates 'True Democracy'
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin published the fourth in a series of newspaper articles Monday, and in it, the odds-on favorite to win the presidency addresses the middle class and calls for "true democracy."
1.
Election Webcam Installation Begins
In a city that was once the cradle of Russian democracy, an unprecedented new campaign kicked off over the weekend to install web cameras in every polling station around the country in an effort to prevent voting fraud.
2.
Feminist Punk Band Become Unlikely Putin Foil
Pussy Riot, a feminist punk collective from Moscow, creates protest through its dissident songs and unsanctioned performances, including a brief unauthorized concert in late January on Red Square.
3.
Why Putin Will Never, Ever Give Up Power
If Putin gave up power at any age, he and dozens of his friends and colleagues who have become millionaires and billionaires over the past 10 years through their Kremlin-connected businesses could face serious corruption charges. This is why the best, and perhaps only, way for Putin to preserve immunity is to stay in power until death.
4.
Why Putin Is Mad at Me
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin got very angry last Wednesday when he met with the editors-in-chief of Russia's top media outlets.
5.
Russia Seeks Proof U.S. Zapped Failed Probe
A Russian state commission investigating the crash of the Fobos-Grunt Mars probe will conduct tests to see whether U.S. radar played a role in the spacecraft's failure.
6.
Putin Pledges to Fight Own Legacy
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin proposed a radical rollback of his own social and fiscal policies in a draft of his presidential program, which touts economic modernization and strengthening rule of law.
7.
A U.S. Defense Strategy for Russia to Emulate
U.S. President Barack Obama caused considerable damage to the Kremlin during a visit to the Pentagon last week when he announced a decisive reduction in the military ambitions of the United States. This was a serious blow to Russia's propagandistic stereotype that Washington is still determined to dominate the world, with Russia being at the top of the U.S. list of targets.
8.
Recruiters Say Mother Russia Seeking Talent
Demographics make it a candidate’s market, but foreigners have to offer something unique to find their place.
9.
From Protest to Nausea
The history of successive authoritarian regimes in Russia reveals a recurring pattern: They do not die from external blows or domestic insurgencies.
10.
Soviet Spy Who Saved Stalin, Roosevelt Dead
Gevork Vartanyan, the legendary Soviet spy who foiled Nazi Germany's assassination attempt on the leaders of the Allied powers in Tehran in 1943, died in a Moscow hospital Tuesday. He was 88.
