Kavkaz

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Students in Siberia, doctors on the Volga river, and office workers in Moscow say they are being threatened with disciplinary action if they do not vote in Sunday’s parliamentary election.

According to source from Chechnya with the reference to the commander of Urus-Martan sector of Armed Forces of the Caucasus Emirate Amir Abdul-Malik, a fierce firefight took place between Chechen Mujahideen and Russian kafirs (infidels) and Chechen murtads (apostates) on November 26 in the district of the village of Horsenoi.

The European Court of Human Rights on Thursday found Russia responsible for the death of three Chechens during an armed raid in the restive province’s capital, and ordered Moscow to pay their relative €60,000 (US,428) in damages.

Amnesty International said on Wednesday Russian authorities were arresting and harassing critics such as opposition leader Garry Kasparov to silence them in the run-up to the December 2 parliamentary elections.

A former Russian security service officer who said the Kremlin was behind the murder of fellow ex-KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko was released from a prison in the Urals on Friday.

President Vladimir Putin signed a law on Friday suspending Russia’s participation in a key post-Cold War arms treaty, a move which could allow it to deploy more forces close to western Europe.

Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are set on Thursday to finish sealing uranium fuel that Russia intends to send to Iran’s first atomic power station, a Russian nuclear official said.

Former world chess champion Anatoly Karpov was turned away when he tried to visit and offer moral support to his old rival, Garry Kasparov, currently in detention for his role in an anti-Kremlin protest Saturday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has told foreign diplomats that his country is on a clear democratic path with human rights and freedom as priorities. Putin addressed about 200 ambassadors in the first such meeting of his presidency.

Anyone listening to Russian President Vladimir Putin beseeching people to vote for his United Russia party might think Sunday’s parliamentary election would be a tight race.