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Putin Pumps Iron, Internet Delivers Punchlines (Cartoon from RFE/RL Russian Service)

VIDEO REPORTS

Beslan: How Tragedy Unfolded At School No. 1

A timeline, individual stories, and photo gallery mark the 11th anniversary of the September 1, 2004 terrorist attack in the North Ossetian town of Beslan that killed hundreds of children on the first day of school.

The Daily Vertical: Televisions Vs. Refrigerators

The state of affairs in Russia can be reduced to a battle between two household appliances: the television and the refrigerator. Everyday the television tells Russians they are rising up from their knees, defying the Ukrainian junta and the decadent West, and taking their rightful place as a great world power. And everyday the refrigerator tells them they are in the midst of an economic crisis in which living standards are plummeting.

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

New Ukrainian Military Doctrine Portrays Russia As Enemy

The document assesses the likelihood of large-scale military engagement against Ukraine as “high,” orders the re-deployment of military units and the creation of military infrastructure in the east and south of Ukraine on the border with Russia, rejects a policy of non-alignment, and affirms a strategic course toward Euro-Atlantic integration. (Current Time TV)

Accused Kyiv Grenade Thrower Described As 'Brave' Soldier

In a reflection of the divisiveness that threatens the country’s politics, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has vilified Ihor Humenyk as “a stab in the back” after the 26-year old threw a grenade outside the country's parliament on August 31, killing three national guardsmen and wounding dozens more. Humenyk had been described during the heady days of the Euromaidan as a “brave” soldier.

New Russian Internet Data Law Raises Questions About Privacy And Compliance

A new Russian law on the retention of personal computer data has gone into force, raising questions about its impact on the world's largest Internet companies and the privacy of the customers they serve, and whether the law can be effectively enforced.

Activist Accused Of Separatism Is On Trial In Russia

The trial of Darya Polyudovoa, an activist who asked “why Russians cannot topple Putin’s regime,” has started in Krasnodar. She is charged with inciting extremism and separatism in the first case to be tried under a May, 2014 law that grants Russian courts broad authority to criminally prosecute dissent. (In Russian)

Putin Statements Belie China Problem

To paint a rosy picture of Moscow's trade relations with Beijing, as an antidote to Western sanctions, President Vladimir Putin must make selective use of statistics. Exclusive interview and infographic.

Uzbekistan Announced Mobilization To Harvest Cotton ….

Uzbekistan issued its annual call to state employees and unemployed workers to harvest the fall cotton crop, threatening a penalty of 309USD per person - far beyond what an average citizen can afford - for failure to comply. (In Russian)

… and Disses Political Science

Political science is dead in Uzbekistan. The Uzbek Education Ministry issued an order in August branding the social science discipline as an irrelevant, Western import.

About Svoboda Today

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