... week's Supreme Court ruling as restoring the right of opposition parties, such as the Republican Party, Parnas and other parties on the right and left of the political spectrum, to register and participate in elections. But this is not the case. The Justice Ministry, which brought the original case to the Supreme Court in 2007 to liquidate the Republican Party, remains the largest obstacle to registering opposition parties. The current justice minister, Alexander Konovalov, has repeatedly stated...

... the left or the right — Russia could find itself without a legitimate state at a very vulnerable point — right in the middle of a global economic crisis. Taking the cue from Novodvorskaya, I would love to ask those zealous advocates of justice: "Have you all gone crazy?" Liberal Democratic Party leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky gave a direct answer to that rhetorical question in a televised debate with Just Russia leader Sergei Mironov on Rossia-1. Zhirinovsky explained that when...

... enough space to take in liquids, but not enough to eat food. Some prisoners used strands of coarse fiber or pieces of wire. A 22-year-old, who gave his name only as Yevgeny, said awkwardly through his constricted lips that he was “suffering for justice.” But the facility’s director, Mars Zhusupbekov, countered that the protest was a reaction to his own attempts to bring justice. Zhusupbekov said he was appointed head of the facility in Bishkek last month and soon learned that a group...

... Dutch police at the request of U.S. authorities investigating file-sharing website Megaupload, investigators said. Prosecutors' spokeswoman Marieke van der Molen declined Wednesday to release the man's name in line with Dutch privacy rules, but a U.S. Justice Department official identified him as software programmer Andrus Nomm, 32, a citizen of Estonia and a resident of both Turkey and Estonia. Van der Molen says the suspect was arrested last Friday and appeared before a judge Monday. New Zealand...

... tried and convicted. Speculation has persisted, however, that the ship was actually carrying S-300 surface-to-air missiles for Iran or Syria. Kross told Estonian newspaper Postimees that the charges against him are “absurd,” and Estonian Justice Minister Kristen Michal told Itar-Tass that Kross won’t be extradited. Kross ran for parliament in 2011 in hope of becoming interior minister, but his party lost, Interfax said.     (AP, MT) 179744

... article by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on the question of nationalism and ethnic issues appeared in the Nezavisimaya Gazeta daily. The article cited the events on Manezh Square and other conflicts as an "aggravated reaction to the absence of justice." 179742

... for six to eight weeks. "I have never in my 30 years of practice found an adversary's position to be so unprincipled and unprofessional," Birenboim, a partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, wrote to New York State Supreme Court Justice Melvin L. Schweitzer. Blavatnik, 54, sued in 2009, claiming that New York-based JPMorgan, the biggest U.S. bank by assets, put twice as much money into risky mortgages as his investment guidelines allowed. Blavatnik says the bank lost $98 million...

... across-the-board political appeal, equally natural with yuppies and blue-collar workers. His political instincts are in the right place. He has the correct message that will unite pro-business liberals, social democrats and hard-core leftists: equal justice under the law and a sweeping overhaul of the judiciary and law enforcement systems. The liberals' criticism of Navalny's nationalist views is misplaced. His definition of the state is civic, not biological — a nation for those who observe...

... spokesman Volodymyr Polishchyuk told reporters. The Ex.ua case followed a crackdown by the United States on a similar but much larger website, Megaupload, earlier this month, which also triggered attacks on official websites such as that of the U.S. Justice Department. 179738

... RIA-Novosti. Among other proposals, Medvedev sought to bring back the direct election of governors and facilitate the official registration of parties. Both bills are pending in the State Duma. In 2005, party registration was legally restricted, allowing the Justice Ministry to repeatedly reject registrations for some 15 parties. Medvedev's bid to reform the legislation is seen as a concession amid growing public discontent that has drawn tens of thousands of people to the streets recently. But citing a...

... campaign season on Monday with a testy TV debate that centered on Zyuganov's political accomplishments and Prokhorov's connection to the chaotic 1990s. The candidates repeated familiar promises and accusations, with Zyuganov pledging to bring "justice and socialism" and warning that a vote for his billionaire opponent was a vote for plutocracy. Prokhorov boasted about his business record and said Zyuganov had little to show for his almost 20 years in the State Duma. The debate was tense...

... released late Tuesday, Borodin said the Investigation Committee “continues to demonstrate an ignorance of legal norms” and was being employed for political purposes. “Such tactics are not new and have been used in many cases when criminal justice becomes an instrument for the theft and redivision of property.” Borodin has always stressed that the criminal charges against him are politically motivated. In a November interview with Vedomosti in London he said President Dmitry Medvedev...

... simultaneous suicide bombings of the U.S. and Israeli embassies and a prosecutor’s office in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Muhtorov was arrested without incident before he could board a flight to Istanbul, Turkey, said Dean Boyd, a spokesman for the U.S. Justice Department in Washington. Muhtorov made a brief court appearance Monday in Chicago and waived his rights to further hearings. Judge Morton Denlow then ordered Muhtorov to be transferred to Denver, but it wasn’t immediately clear how soon...

... first round of voting. As a preventative measure, the Kremlin decided to renew their persecution of the most active nongovernmental organizations. Golos, the independent elections watchdog, found itself evicted from its offices overnight. Moreover, the Justice Ministry is planning to conduct new reviews of the "illegal activities" of other NGOs. The authorities are justifying their witch-hunt on the patently false charge that the West is bankrolling the protesters to foment a Color Revolution...

... might imagine a real Russian gulag to be like — freezing, very small and with only a few ice bars providing a glimpse of Siberia's most common attribute, snow. Had Moroz City existed during the height of the gulag's popularity within the Russian justice system, perhaps the government would have even drawn a lesson from the jail and changed their choice of building material to permanently frozen ice. Moroz City really comes into its own after sunset. The unique skills of the architects and designers...

... It is aimed at the thousands of individuals across the country who have been accused on solid grounds of committing electoral fraud — local election commission members, government officials and managers at state organizations. Bringing them to justice will establish the principle that ordinary citizens and officials are accountable before the law and must answer for their crimes. It will also help institute much-needed reforms to improve the transparency and accountability of elections. The...

... beating of Kommersant journalist Oleg Kashin in November 2010. Medvedev said he didn't know exactly where Kashin's case stood, but he said he had been presented with a list of suspects and reiterated an earlier promise to bring those responsible to justice. Unlike most students, who were selected by their peers to attend the event, Kichanova received a personal invitation. She said Medvedev seemed sincere and speculated that he had little to lose, given that he is not participating in the March...

... when the West actively supported Boris Yeltsin against another corrupt and authoritarian regime after hundreds of thousands of his supporters held street protests in August 1991. In a worst-case scenario, Putin and his inner circle could try to escape justice by fleeing to a friendly country, such as Belarus — not the best place to spend the rest of their lives, but it sure beats a prison cell in Krasnokamensk or even The Hague. If they take enough money with them, they could set up a luxurious...

... teachers and doctors. Putin also vowed not to raise the eligibility age for pensions. The social policy platform represents the fifth article Putin has written in recent weeks in the run-up to the March 4 presidential election. Titled "Building Justice. Russia's Social Policy," the article says that if the demographic decline is not turned around, Russia's population will shrink to 107 million by 2050, down from 143 million today. But with his new "complex strategy" in place,...

... in Yulia Menshova’s stage adaptation of Albert Gurney’s epistolary drama about an old love affair. Pushkin Theater. 7 p.m. Measure for Measure (Mera za Meru): Yury Butusov stages Shakespeare’s play that deals with issues of mercy, justice, and truth. Vakhtangov Theater. 7 p.m. New Medea: Mikhail Tsitrinyak’s staging of Jean Anouilh’s play with Yulia Rutberg in the lead. Vakhtangov Theater small stage. 7:30 p.m. MT Pick The Seagull (Chaika): Yury Butusov stages a comedy...