Reporter's Notebook: Covering Kazakhstan's Presidential Vote From Behind Bars
VISUAL REPORTS
Moscow Protest Planned As Support For Golunov Grows
Lawyers for Ivan Golunov have appealed against his pretrial house arrest, as journalists, activists, celebrities, and other supporters of the Russian investigative reporter plan to march in Moscow on June 12 to demand his release on a narcotics charge that he denies. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the march, which would coincide with Russia’s National Day, could create “an obstacle to a festive atmosphere.”
Were Kazakh Students Forced To Attend A Ruling Party Forum?
Some students say that university officials “forced” them to participate in a ruling party forum ahead of last Sunday’s presidential election in Kazakhstan. University and party officials rejected such statements.
Turbocharged Tractors Plow Through A Russian Race Track
Russia's first official tractor race, "The Bizon Tractor Race", in the city of Rostov, north of Moscow, features souped-up vehicles, many of which were working the fields just days beforehand. The tractors race tyre-to-tyre through mud, over springboard jumps, and around sharp corners.
OTHER NEWS
Rival Moldovan Governments Meet Separately As Russia Chooses Sides
Two rival governments, each declaring itself legitimate, have held separate meetings in Moldova, as Russia threw its support behind a new ruling coalition between the Moscow-friendly Socialist Party and a pro-European Union bloc.
Chechen Rights Defender Titiyev Granted Early Release On Parole
The Shali district court in Russia's Chechnya region says it has granted an early release from prison to human rights activist Oyub Titiyev. The 61-year-old head of the Chechnya office of the human rights group Memorial was arrested in January 2018 by police who claimed they found marijuana in his car, a charge he has consistently denied.
Navalny Aide Volkov Completes Sentence And Is Sentenced Again
A court in Moscow has sentenced Leonid Volkov to 15 days in jail for organizing a public demonstration in St. Petersburg in September, just hours after he completed a 20-day sentence for live streaming an unsanctioned rally in Moscow.
Russian Online Journal Snob's Offices Ransacked
The offices of Snob, a Moscow-based online news magazine, were ransacked on June 9 and its equipment destroyed. The outlet’s chief editor said the unidentified attacker, whose motives remain unknown, had also ransacked another company's office in the same building.
New Decree Keeps Sanctions-Related Corporate Information Under Wraps
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has signed a decree allowing for the classification of information about Russian companies that are subject to foreign sanctions, and banks authorized to support state defense orders. The decree also covers companies that operate in annexed Crimea, or their proxies that are registered in other regions that are not subject to sanctions. (in Russian, Current Time TV)
High-Profile Bribery Convictions Mount In Moscow
A Moscow court has sentenced Dmitry Zakharchenko, a police officer, to 13 years in prison on bribery charges after the authorities found he had kept the equivalent of $120 million in cash at his home. In an unrelated case, Vyacheslav Gaizer, a former governor of the Siberian Komi Republic, was found guilty of bribe-taking, fraud and money-laundering, and sentenced to 11 years behind bars.
Ukraine Slams Russia’s ‘Complete Disrespect’ For International Maritime Law
Kyiv has urged an international arbitration panel in the Netherlands to hear its case about alleged Russian breaches of a United Nations maritime convention, accusing Moscow of "wholesale violations" of its rights in waters around Ukraine's Crimea region.
Zelenskiy Party Announces ‘Post Primaries’ To Vet ‘Unworthy’ Candidates
Ahead of Ukraine’s parliamentary elections on July 21, the political party of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has promised “transparency” and announced “post primaries,” according to which it has published its list of 100 candidates for public review and comment. (Ukrainian service)
Pompeo, Bakhtadze Meet To Discuss U.S.- Georgia Ties
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is set to meet with Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze in Washington on June 11. Ahead of the meeting State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said the United States "does not recognize" the legitimacy or outcomes of recent legislative elections in the breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia.
U.S. Urges Kosovo To Lift Tariffs On Serbia
U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Palmer has said during a visit to Belgrade that Kosovo's tariffs on imports from Serbia are "an obstacle" to full normalization of relations and “a European path” for both nations.
Azerbaijani Journalist Faces Libel Suit After Reporting On Alleged Election Fraud
A court in Baku has begun hearings into a libel lawsuit filed against Sevinc Vaqifqizi, a reporter working for online media outlets Meydan TV and Azadliq.info. The complaint was filed by a deputy principal at a secondary school who claims the journalist damaged her reputation during coverage of Azerbaijan’s snap presidential election in April 2018.
Kazakh Election Commission Confirms Toqaev Landslide Win
Kazakhstan's Central Election Commission has announced official results of the June 9 snap presidential election, confirming that interim President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev, former President Nursultan Nazarbaev’s chosen successor, won 70.96 percent of the vote.
Escape From Turkmenistan: The Country’s ‘Acute’ Population Decline
According to classified information gathered by Turkmenistan’s state statistics committee, 1,879,413 people left the country between 2008 and 2018, either for permanent residency abroad or for permanent work outside the country,
COMMENTARY: The Biggest Loser In The Kazakh Presidential Election Could Be The Government's Reputation
INFOGRAPHIC: Two Decades Of Imprisoned Journalists In Russia