Reuters: Putin ignores his critics 29 November
2min
Former Soviet Union president Mikhail Gorbachev says Kasparov's arrest and detention was an "excessive measure".
AFP: For Russian villages, elections a distant event 28 November
2min
At the last Russian election campaign, the inhabitants of Ivatino, a village 100 kilometres from Moscow, were promised a better life. Four years later, their streets are still unpaved and makeshift toilets installed in gardens and almost none of the houses have gas or running water. Politics, even Sunday's parliamentary elections, seem far away.
AFP: Russian media quiet before vote 27 February
2min
Russians go to the polls this Sunday to choose the successor to Vladimir Putin, but the election campaign has been rather discreet -- few meetings, few posters, and very little coverage of the race. In the press, censorship and self-censorship are common. Only a few independant media outlets dare to speak out.
AFP: Pakistanis dismayed by election delay 03 January
2min
Pakistan has postponed general elections until February 18 following the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, a move grudgingly accepted by the country's major parties. Among ordinary Pakistanis, the one-month dealy has reinforced a widespread public perception that the vote could end up a farce. An AFPTV report.
AFP: Kasparov leaves prison 29 November
1min
Former chess champion turned Kremlin critic Garry Kasparov was freed from jail on Thursday and warned that Russia was sliding toward dictatorship under President Vladimir Putin. Kasparov complained that he had been denied free access to a lawyer during the five days that he spent in a Moscow prison for taking part in an unauthorized rally at the weekend. Soundbites.
Reuters: Russians head to the polls 02 March
1min
The vote is widely expected to produce a landslide win for Dmitry Medvedev but it is also certain to further dent Moscow's already-tarnished democratic image.
AFP: Dozens arrested in Russian protest against vote 04 March
1min
Dozens of people have been arrested at an oppostion protest against the landslide presidential election victory of Dmitry Medvedev. More than 100 police, some in full riot gear, arrested dozens of protesters taking part in the unauthorised demonstration following Sunday's poll won by President Vladimir Putin's chosen successor.
Reuters: Kasparov detained during rally 24 November
1min
Thousands turned out for the rally in central Moscow organised by Kasparov's Other Russia umbrella group to protest against what they see as President Vladimir Putin's destruction of personal liberties and freedom of the press.
Reuters: Russia bans presidential hopeful 27 January
1min
The former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov will not be able to take part in Russia's March presidential elections after the Central Election Committee of the Russian Federation voted for him to be banned. He has called on his supporters to boycott the poll.
