Nemtsov Welcomes Moscow Mayor's Lawsuit
During an interview with Radio Svoboda, opposition politician and former deputy prime minister Boris Nemtsov welcomed a lawsuit filed by Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov against him and the "Kommersant" publishing house, demanding 5 million rubles from each for "moral damages." Luzhkov claims that his reputation was besmirched by seven phrases Nemtsov used in an article entitled "Luzhkov--Results," which discusses alleged corruption in the Moscow government and the country's leadership. [read in Russian]
Medvedev Orders Thorough Investigation Of Magnitsky's Death
President Dmitri Medvedev has reportedly ordered the General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) and the Minister of Justice to "get to the bottom" of the death of Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer for the investment fund Hermitage Capital, who died last week in custody and under medical duress. Sergei Gurniev, Rector of the Russian School of Economics, talks with RFE about the circumstances behind Magnitsky's death and the consequences of the case on investor confidence in Russia. [read in Russian]
Confusion Reigns In Education Reform
In his annual address to the Federal Assembly, President Dmitri Medvedev called for a national reform of secondary education by 2010. In an interview with RFE, Yevgeny Baranovsky, the editor of zavuch.info - a site for secondary education teachers, says that teachers don't "understand what we're pursuing [through the reforms]... It's necessary to define what kind of [high-school] graduates we want to see in 2020, and where our reform is leading." [read in Russian]