Russia 100304 Basic Political Developments

Russia Today: Will Russia disarm private security gunslingers?

http://rt.com/Top_News/2010-03-04/guns-disarm-private-security.html/print

04 March, 2010, 06:49

Under a new Russian law, all security firms will have to give up the firearms they have been using over the years and no one can tell for sure if they will get them back after the announced inventory check.

The reason is simple: with about 750,000 employees, security firms in Russia have become a powerful army which, authorities say, often gets out of control.

Sometimes the guns assigned to these firms end up on the black market.

There are also numerous reports of hired guns being involved in corporate raids against business rivals, racketeering and other serious crimes.

Russian Interior Ministry Spokesman Leonid Vedenov noted that “kidnapping, murders – these crimes have been committed by security guards. Some even tried to set up eavesdropping on high-ranking government officials, ministers for example.”

Now, all guns owned by security firms will have to be handed over to local police. They will be checked and documented. Only then can they be reissued to security guards and private detectives, under stricter control by law enforcement agencies.

The measure has not been met with enthusiasm. Security firms say there’s still no firm details on the disarmament. And some see the new law as yet another bureaucratic headache.

“To get employed by a security firm, you have to have a license, but you can only get a license if you are already employed by such a company – we get absurd instructions like this all the time,” complained Vladimir Ignatov from Neva security company.

This private security firm in Southern Russia has launched a TV campaign to attract new customers. Just like the police, the "knights in shining armor" say their duty is to protect and serve – except they are up for hire.

In its TV commercial, security guards from Neva appear dressed as knights, SWAT officers and in their own company uniform.

The company has various teams of professionals, so each group has various assignments. Some serve as bodyguards, while others check perimeters and protect private property. Having a vast fleet of patrol cars, the company promises that no matter what, the rapid response team will arrive at the scene of a crime within five minutes of the alarm being raised.

Aleksandr Mazur has been working as a security guard for over a year. He says most of the time he gets call-outs from local discos, restaurants and cafeterias.

“If it is a cafe, we mostly deal with fights and unpaid bills,” said Aleksandr Mazur. “We get a call from dispatch, and we investigate the case.”

But no matter how tough things may get, Aleksandr and his brothers-in-arms could soon be confronting criminals armed with nothing but nightsticks.

With a deadline set for the end of this year, the authorities hope the reform will be efficient, making it harder for criminals to infiltrate security firms and sell their guns to crooks.

But no one knows if the legislation will be powerful enough to put an end to the dark side of the security business.

RFE/RL: Thousands Of Russians Seek Asylum In EU, Ukraine

http://www.rferl.org/content/Thousands_Of_Russians_Seek_Asylum_In_EU_Ukraine/1973571.html
March 03, 2010

MOSCOW -- More than 5,000 Russian citizens sought political asylum in the European Union in the third quarter of 2009, more than from any other country, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports.

According to European Statistics Agency data, the largest single category of asylum-seekers are Chechens and residents of other North Caucasus republics.

But political and human rights activists and journalists are also seeking asylum in Europe.

While several high-profile Russian businessmen and politicians have been granted asylum in the EU -- most notably in the United Kingdom -- an increasing number of Russians are seeking asylum in Ukraine.

Olga Kudrina, who heads the Union of Political Emigrants, told RFE/RL that she joined the Russian National Bolshevik Party in 2003 and was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison for hanging a banner from a hotel near Red Square in 2005 calling for then-President Vladimir Putin to resign.

She fled Russia in 2006 and was granted refugee status in Ukraine two years later.

Kudrina says it's hard to predict whether Viktor Yanukovych's election as president of Ukraine will lead to a change in the country's immigration policies, possibly making it harder for Russians to receive asylum.

RFE/RL: Russia's Yabloko Party Stages 'Beard' Protest

http://www.rferl.org/content/Russias_Yabloko_Party_Stages_Beard_Protest_/1973687.html
March 03, 2010

MOSCOW -- Russia's opposition Yabloko party has staged a protest in front of the Central Election Commission building in Moscow -- challenging its chairman to shave off his beard, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports.

The demonstrators explained that Commission Chairman Vladimir Churov publicly promised to shave off his beard if the local elections scheduled for March 14 prove to be unfair.

But Yabloko's candidates have been banned from participating in those elections in Kaluga and Sverdlovsk Oblasts. Local election officials said too many signatures gathered in support of Yabloko's applications were deemed inauthentic or invalid.

Yabloko leader Sergei Mitrokhin was among the some 20 activists staging today's protest.

"He promised to shave off his beard, swearing that the elections would be fair. But in two regions [our party's candidates] were not allowed to participate

because of some problems with the signatures, but the signatures were fine," Mitrokhin said.

Police detained several of the protesters. 

RFE/RL: Rally In Siberian City Protests Unpaid Wages, Corruption

http://www.rferl.org/content/Rally_In_Siberian_City_Protests_Unpaid_Wages_Corruption/1973836.html
March 03, 2010

BIISK, Russia -- Some 100 people staged a protest today in the southern Siberian city of Biisk to air various grievances including unpaid wages, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports.

The rally was organized by the Veterans of the Military Industrial Complex of Biisk. The demonstrators called on the regional leadership and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to raise salaries and pensions, pay off wage arrears, and cut housing utilities fees.

The protesters also urged the country's leaders to resurrect the concept of "glasnost," or openness, launched by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev; to facilitate unimpeded communication between ordinary citizens and local councils; and to investigate fully all reported cases of corruption among local officials.

They demanded the removal of dozens of tons of toxic waste and explosives that have accumulated over decades in the city's plants and factories.

The chairman of the Veterans movement, Nikolai Znagovan, says local police warned him in advance that he would be held responsible for any extremist or other illegal acts resulting from the protest action.