InfoAnda - Putin uses tough tactics against protest challenge |

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

China's last eunuch spills sex secrets | International | | 15 March 2009
WHO stops giving global swine flu tally | 18 July 2009
Oscar king Colin Firth says time to turn to comedy | 28 February 2011

Toyota announces mass hybrid vehicle recall | 10 February 2010

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Putin uses tough tactics against protest challenge |

Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Home Business Business Home Economy Technology Media Small Business Legal Deals Earnings Social Pulse Business Video The Freeland File Markets Markets Home U.S. Markets European Markets Asian Markets Global Market Data Indices M&A Stocks Bonds Currencies Commodities Futures Funds peHUB World World Home U.S. Brazil China Euro Zone Japan Mexico Russia India Insight World Video Reuters Investigates Decoder Politics Politics Home Election 2012 Tales from the Trail Political Punchlines Supreme Court Politics Video Tech Technology Home MediaFile Science Tech Video Tech Tonic Social Pulse Opinion Opinion Home Chrystia Freeland John Lloyd Felix Salmon Jack Shafer David Rohde Bernd Debusmann Nader Mousavizadeh Lucy P. Marcus David Cay Johnston Bethany McLean Edward Hadas Hugo Dixon Ian Bremmer Lawrence Summers Susan Glasser The Great Debate Steven Brill Jack & Suzy Welch Frederick Kempe Christopher Papagianis Breakingviews Equities Credit Private Equity M&A Macro & Markets Politics Breakingviews Video Money Money Home Tax Break Lipper Awards 2012 Global Investing MuniLand Unstructured Finance Linda Stern Mark Miller John Wasik James Saft Analyst Research Alerts Watchlist Portfolio Stock Screener Fund Screener Personal Finance Video Money Clip Investing 201 Life Health Sports Arts Faithworld Business Traveler Entertainment Oddly Enough Lifestyle Video Pictures Pictures Home Reuters Photographers Full Focus Video Reuters TV Reuters News Article Comments (0) Slideshow Full Focus Editor's choice Our best photos from the last 24 hours. See more Images of May Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Jurors in Sandusky case hear graphic abuse allegations 3:37pm EDT Analysis: Investors plot hedges for healthcare law ruling 12:26pm EDT Dimon says losses indefensible, still reform skeptic | 4:12pm EDT China ready to impound EU planes in CO2 dispute 12 Jun 2012 CNN axes John King show, shifts focus to election 2:00pm EDT Discussed 109 Obama: U.S. economy ”not doing fine”, action needed 81 China could impound European planes in carbon row 63 Special Report: The lavish and leveraged life of Aubrey McClendon Watched JPMorgan boss Jamie Dimon testimony: “What I’ve learned” 12:09pm EDT Jolie releases video for U.N. World Refugee Day Tue, Jun 12 2012 Face-chew victim 'progressing' 5:12am EDT Pictures Reuters Photojournalism Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography. See more Escape from Alcatraz This week marks the fiftieth anniversary of the daring three man escape from the island prison. Slideshow Colorado wildfire The High Park Fire has scorched an estimated 43,000 acres. Slideshow Putin uses tough tactics against protest challenge Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Russia opposition blames Kremlin for scare tactic 9:53am EDT Russians protest against Putin despite pressure Tue, Jun 12 2012 Russian rally tests opposition power, Putin tactics Mon, Jun 11 2012 Russian police search Putin foes' homes before rally Mon, Jun 11 2012 Annan frustrated over Syria, Russia gives no ground Fri, Jun 1 2012 Analysis & Opinion In Allergan opinion, Delaware judge blasts first-to-file firms Will Syria’s Assad get away with murder Related Topics World » 1 of 2. Russian opposition leader Sergei Udaltsov arrives for questioning at the Federal Investigation Commission building in Moscow June 13, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Sergei Karpukhin By Steve Gutterman and Alissa de Carbonnel MOSCOW | Wed Jun 13, 2012 4:38pm EDT MOSCOW (Reuters) - Police showed up on Ksenia Sobchak's doorstep at 8 a.m. in the middle of a sleepy long weekend and started a search. They spent hours in her apartment on Monday, going through the belongings of the 30-year-old TV personality, socialite and restaurateur before she had a chance to get properly dressed, Sobchak recounted to a Moscow radio station on Wednesday. Before they left, they served a summons for Sobchak to report to investigators the next day for questioning over violence at an opposition rally on the eve of President Vladimir Putin's May 7 inauguration - a protest she did not attend. The search was part of an arsenal of tactics that have drawn chilling comparisons with Soviet-era treatment of dissenters considered "enemies of the state", and have Russians wondering how far the former KGB officer will go to quash threats to his authority in a six-year term he has hinted may not be his last. "Putin has not invented anything new - a great deal of what he is doing comes from the Soviet era," said Lyudmila Alexeyeva, a rights defender who began her career monitoring show trials at the start of the Soviet dissident movement in the 1960s. "He would probably like to use exclusively Soviet methods, but that's impossible in the 21st century," said Alexeyeva, 84. Putin's critics say he is doing his best to follow tradition. "I never thought we would return to such repression in this country," Sobchak, whose late father, a mayor of St. Petersburg, gave Putin a start in politics two decades ago and was one of the liberal politicians credited with advancing democracy in Russia after the 1991 Soviet collapse. She said investigators forced her to read intimate letters out loud and "didn't even let me get dressed for some time" after she was roused from sleep and answered the door. "They would not let me go to the bathroom alone," Sobchak said on Ekho Moskvy radio. "There was not even a woman there, I had to do this in front of man in a mask with machinegun." Police and investigators also searched the homes of opposition leaders Alexei Navalny, Sergei Udaltsov and Ilya Yashin on Monday, rifling through refrigerators and children's rooms and leaving with boxes of belongings from family photographs to computer drives. The searches were followed by hours of questioning on Tuesday that kept some of the best-known opposition leaders away from the biggest protest since Putin's inauguration for his third term in office. Tens of thousands marched through Moscow chanting "Russia without Putin", defying a law Putin signed on Friday establishing fines, in some cases thousands of dollars, for participants in demonstrations at which order is violated. Access to websites of at least three media outlets that are platforms for criticism of Putin, including one that was broadcasting the protest live, was blocked or disrupted on Tuesday by hacker attacks. The Ekho Moskvy site was inaccessible during the interview with Sobchak, in which she said she had refused to answer all 56 questions posed by investigators a 5-1/2-hour session. "We will see how far this absurdity is carried," said Sobchak. She has been summoned for more questioning on Friday, signaling no let-up in pressure that has clearly left her shaken. "I am a fighter, but suddenly I sat down and my hands were shaking yesterday because there is a feeling of helplessness," she said of the search. "These people are walking around your apartment, doing as they like." Navalny's office was searched after he was questioned on Tuesday and he was questioned again on Wednesday, as was Udaltsov, who had ignored the initial summons and attended the rally on Tuesday. "RULE FOR LIFE" The apartment of Boris Nemtsov, a former deputy premier who called at the protest for peaceful efforts to "rid the country of this usurper who wants to rob us and rule for life", was searched later the same day. Putin, 59, remains popular among millions of Russians who credit him with establishing stability and improving living standards during an oil boom that coincided with his initial two-term presidency in 2000-2008. He won a March election easily but returned to the presidency with his authority dented by big protests reflecting anger over evidence of fraud in a December parliamentary vote and dismay among Russians tired of his rule. Police largely left those protests alone but began to crack down after Putin's election, beating protesters at the rally on May 6 - in clashes police and protesters blame on one another - and briefly detaining hundreds in subsequent weeks. Sobchak and the others are being treated as witnesses in the investigation into the violence at that rally, but the pressure carries an implicit threat they could face charges punishable by prison terms, like 12 detainees in the case. For many Russians, the searches and questioning of political foes, real or perceived, carries echoes of the era of Soviet police tactics that often targeted prominent people but cast a pall of fear over the whole country. A Twitter hashtag that translates as #hello1937 - a reference to one of the deadliest years of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin's purges and repression - was used frequently on Monday as Russians learned of the apartment searches. PUTIN'S "MISTAKE" Mikhail Gorbachev, whose liberalization policies as the last Soviet president in the 1980s ended in the collapse of communism, said increasing fines for protest violations was "a mistake" by Putin, whom he had urged not to seek re-election. "It needs to be corrected as soon as possible. It would be best if the president himself does this," Gorbachev, 81, told Reuters. Putin's tough tactics will also add tension to ties with the United States and the European Union, already strained by deep differences over the conflict in Syria, Putin's anti-Western campaign rhetoric and other issues. The U.S. State Department said on Monday it was "deeply concerned about the apparent harassment of Russian political opposition figures" and said the searches, summonses and law increasing fines "raise serious questions about the arbitrary use of law enforcement to stifle free speech and free assembly". Putin is unlikely to make changes in the law, but he showed flexibility in his approach to protests on Tuesday. Police mounted a light presence at the march and rally, which was held with permission from the authorities. No one was detained. But critics say the law is just one method used to keep people off the streets. A 22-year-old student at the rally, who gave her name only as Darya, said most of the people she knew who went to the first big opposition protest in December stayed home on Tuesday because they had seen others lose jobs or face problems at university. "I think these searches are an attempt to fabricate criminal cases against leaders of street demonstrations, because it is clear that street protests alarm the Kremlin very much," said veteran dissident Alexeyeva. Gennady Gudkov, an opposition lawmaker, said the pressure tactics and the protest law, which Putin signed despite warnings it was unconstitutional, indicate influential hawks have gained the upper hand in an internal struggle over Putin's policies. "It shows that the Kremlin hardliners who say we will not negotiate with protesters or hold dialogue with society have won out," said Gudkov, a KGB veteran who is among leaders of the protest movement. Like many opponents of Putin, Gudkov said the tough tactics were bound to backfire, radicalizing people and bringing more out into the streets: "In the absence of real dialogue between the authorities and their opponents," he said, "The situation is moving toward civil war." Alexeyeva said such a violent outcome is far off because most Russians, steeped in memories of the bloody upheavals that wracked their country repeatedly in the 20th century, share Putin's fear of revolution: "No one wants blood," she said. But protests could turn violent "if the authorities use forceful methods too actively", she said, and warned that the only way Putin could head off the challenge to his authority was through compromise. "I'm not a fortune-teller and I can't predict how it will all play out," she said. "But I do know that society has awoken and there is no way to stop it except by giving the people the changes they are demanding." (Additional reporting by Denis Dyomkin; Writing by Steve Gutterman; Editing by Alastair Macdonald) World Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Back to top Reuters.com Business Markets World Politics Technology Opinion Money Pictures Videos Site Index Legal Bankruptcy Law California Legal New York Legal Securities Law Support & Contact Support Corrections Connect with Reuters Twitter Facebook LinkedIn RSS Podcast Newsletters Mobile About Privacy Policy Terms of Use AdChoices Copyright Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance Our next generation legal research platform Our global tax workstation Thomsonreuters.com About Thomson Reuters Investor Relations Careers Contact Us Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

Other News on Thursday, 14 June 2012
Putin uses tough tactics against protest challenge |
Mexico's Pena Nieto hounded online by youth groups |
South Sudan seeks arbitration over disputed borderlands |
Pakistan route cut-off costs U.S. $100 million a month |
ILO brings Myanmar out of cold ahead Suu Kyi visit |
News Corp's Murdoch backs Monti reforms in Italy |
Calm returns to Tunis after riots but fears remain |
NY police charge U.N. official with sexual abuse |
Apple fails to fend off mobile tracking lawsuit |
Intel CFO eyes more connected living rooms |
Dell to cut $2 billion costs, counts on acquisitions |
Harman sees partner in Apple, not rival: CEO |
Bristol Palin sued for defamation by bar heckler |
Adele album regains No. 1, holds off three debuts |
Thousands in need of food, shelter after Myanmar clashes |
Syrian army systematically killing civilians: Amnesty |
Moderate quake shakes southeast Turkey |
France wants U.N. to be able to enforce Annan plan |
Insight: Germany and Greece: a tale of estrangement |
German police raid homes of radical Salafists |
Suu Kyi kicks off Euro tour set to steal Myanmar spotlight |
Head in the sand, OPEC sees no oil shale threat |
NATO chief calls for Libya to release ICC detainees |
Bahrain court convicts 9 medics for role in uprising |
Nokia to cut 10,000 jobs after weak second quarter |
Accused British hacker charged in U.S. over LulzSec attacks |
Nokia Siemens aims for 35 percent of Brazil 4G network |
Taiwan's HTC boosts patent bank; not worried over disputes |
Taiwan's AU suspends operation at plant after quake |
Gaga sprays first perfume, but where's the blood? |
Judge to weigh CBS bid to block ABC reality show |
Music industry leader Frances Preston dies, age 83 |
Murdoch's UK chief told Cameron we're in this together |
Syrian town deserted, burnt after clashes |
Court lets Mubarak ex-PM stay in election race |
Iran seizes killers of nuclear scientists: report |
Kazakh MPs toughen penalties after spoof anthem shame |
Venezuela says building drones with Iran's help |
Greeks to decide euro membership in nail-biter vote |
Extradition edges closer for WikiLeaks' Assange |
Time Inc to sell magazine subscriptions on Apple Newsstand |
Venture firm Kleiner moves to dismiss discrimination suit |
Foxconn says plant worker jumps from apartment |
Mary J. Blige sings for Justice in Rock of Ages |
Spider-Man swings into Tokyo for Amazing premiere |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph		BlogMeter 1.01