The BBC Is ‘At It’ Again! Tell the People - Why Don’t You? - that the Elections Have Been Rigged!
BBC: Millions of Russians have voted in general elections expected to confirm President Vladimir Putin's popularity, but blighted by claims of fraud.

Polls have now closed across Russian region's spanning 11 time zones. Turnout is said to have been high.

Eleven parties are competing for places in the lower house, the Duma - though it is not clear how many will secure the 7% needed to qualify for seats.

Opposition parties have accused the government of stifling their campaigns.

President Vladimir Putin's party is predicted to win a landslide victory, boosting his bid to retain power after leaving the Kremlin next year. Russians vote in general election>Russians vote in general election >>>

Mark Alexander

The Dark Side of Vlad
Photo of Vladimir Putin courtesy of The Times
THE SUNDAY TIMES: WHEN Anya Kaluyeva, a Russian primary school teacher, was summoned to her boss’s office last week, she expected to discuss a new set of textbooks. The conversation quickly took a more sinister turn.

The head teacher asked the 48-year-old whom she intended to vote for in today’s parliamentary elections. When she hesitated, he ordered her to support United Russia, the party backed by President Vladimir Putin. He then issued a warning.

“He made it clear that if I didn’t vote for United Russia I’d lose my job,” said Kaluyeva, a mother of two who lives in a small town south of Moscow.

“I was so shocked I was left speechless. He put me under pressure and hinted that he had ways of checking who I’d voted for. I felt I was back in the Soviet Union.”

As millions of Russians go to the polls to vote for a new Duma, the 450-seat lower house of parliament, the result is a foregone conclusion. United Russia will win by a landslide. The vote, however, is much more than an ordinary parliamentary election.

Putin, who is due to step down in the spring when his second and final term permitted by the constitution ends, has turned the poll into an unofficial referendum on his eight years in power.

The Kremlin and the Russian president are thought to believe that anything less than 65% in favour of United Russia would be regarded as a failure.

There has been mounting evidence that voters have come under intense pressure to vote for United Russia. State employees ranging from teachers to doctors and factory workers have been ordered to cast their ballot for Putin and United Russia or face reprisals, including dismissal or demotion. Russians told: vote for Putin’s party ... or else >>> By Mark Franchetti

Mark Alexander

Stay at Home and Have Sex!
BBC: The governor of Ulyanovsk region in Russia is offering prizes to couples who have babies in exactly nine months - on Russia's national day on 12 June.

Sergei Morozov wants couples to take the day off work to have sex. If a baby is born on national day, they will receive cars, TVs or other prizes.

Mr Morozov has declared Wednesday "family contact day" as part of efforts to fight Russia's demographic crisis.

The population has sharply declined since the Soviet Union collapsed. Russian 'sex day' to boost births (more)

Mark Alexander

Putin’s Games – Russia's Military Get Down to Some of Good, Old-Fashioned Sabre-Rattling: RAF Fighter Jets Yesterday Intercept Two Russian Strategic Bombers Heading for British Airspace
TIMESONLINE: RAF fighter jets were scrambled to intercept two Russian strategic bombers heading for British airspace yesterday, as the spirit of the Cold War returned to the North Atlantic once again.

The incident, described as rare by the RAF, served as a telling metaphor for the stand-off between London and Moscow over the murder of Alexander Litvinenko.

While the Kremlin hesitated before responding to Britain’s expulsion of four diplomats, the Russian military engaged in some old-fashioned sabre-rattling.

Two Tu95 “Bear” bombers were dispatched from their base on the Kola Peninsula in the Arctic Circle and headed towards British airspace. RAF scrambles to intercept Russian bombers (more) By Richard Beeston

Mark Alexander

A Good Tough Stance Taken on Russia and Its Antics by Gordon Brown and His Government. Now a Similar Tough Stance Needs to Be Taken on the Antics of the Muslim World
THE GUARDIAN: Moscow vows retaliation after four agents thrown out over Litvinenko case

The British government was last night bracing itself for an inevitable diplomatic backlash after expelling four Russian intelligence officers in protest at the Kremlin's refusal to hand over the prime suspect in the polonium-210 poisoning affair.

In an attempt to underline the government's anger and alarm over the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, the Foreign Office announced it was ceasing cooperation with Moscow on a range of issues, starting with the imposition of restrictions on visas issued to Russian officials seeking to visit the UK.

All four individuals being expelled are officers with one of the successor organisations to the KGB, a clear signal that British authorities strongly suspect that Russian intelligence agencies had a hand in the murder. David Miliband, the foreign secretary, told the Commons yesterday: "This response is proportional and it is clear at whom it is aimed."

Last night Gordon Brown, arriving for talks in Germany, said Britain wanted a constructive relationship with Russia, but added: "When a murder is committed on British soil, action has to be taken." Cold war diplomacy is back as UK expels spies (more) By Luke Harding in Moscow, Ian Cobain and Julian Borger

WATCH BBC VIDEO:
UK warned over expulsions

SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL:
German Economy Attracts Moscow Money By Anselm Waldermann

Mark Alexander

Business Leaders Criticise Blair for Voicing Concerns Over Putin’s Russia
FINANCIAL TIMES: British business leaders have criticised the UK prime minister for expressing concerns over the investment climate in Russia even as Moscow steps up moves to take control of energy assets belonging to foreign companies.

At an investment forum in St Petersburg over the weekend, where dozens of global chief executives paid homage to Russia’s growing economic might, Hans Jörg Rudloff, the chairman of Barclays Capital, said the British government was mistaken when it expressed public concern last week over the growing risks of investing in Russia.

“Their approach looks unbalanced,” Mr Rudloff said. “Russia’s transition to a market economy has been successful and cannot be undone.” Blair criticised for voicing Russia fears (more) By Catherine Belton and Neil Buckley

Mark Alexander