Darker People Beware

Six dark-skinned people have been stabbed to death in Moscow in less than a week. In each case, the victims were male and targeted by young people who did not rob them -- attacks that bear the hallmarks of skinhead violence.Yet to hear Moscow police chief Vladimir Pronin assess the situation, the killings are random acts of violence. "There is no organized skinhead movement," he said in an interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda published Monday. This is the official position of the police chief of an ethnically diverse city that has seen 16 racially motivated murders since Jan. 1 -- half of all racist killings nationwide.

Pronin's attitude is alarming. Some experts say the police are reluctant to charge suspects with racial hatred because it is more difficult to get a conviction for these cases than for other crimes. This is difficult to believe, however, since prosecutors, not police, have to prosecute in court, and more than 99 percent of trials result in convictions.

Other experts say some police officers are closet ultranationalists or so opposed to migrants that they hope the attacks will deter potential migrants and force those living here to leave. But many victims are natives of Russia's North Caucasus, and the authorities must be aware of the backlash that the attacks could cause in the turbulent region.

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The police are ignoring the murder of dark skinned people in Russia. The large number of deaths in the past few months may be a sign of a rise in the skinhead movement. This article show some of the racial injustices occurring in Russia. Could a new Hitler be appearing in Russia?

Moscow Is Europe's Hottest Property

It looks like good news if you have money to invest but bad news if you are looking for a place to rent.

If you want more bang for your buck then the Moscow real estate market is the place to be, according to a Europe-wide survey of market players released Tuesday that put the city on top of the table for investment prospects.

But in the rollercoaster world of Russia's property boom not everything looks so rosy, as those polled also ranked Moscow the riskiest city to do business in.

Moscow's meteoric rise, up from 18th last year, is due in large part to investors turning away from Europe's traditional markets to tap into new opportunities, the annual report from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Urban Land Institute said.

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This could help the economy of Russia by promoting tourism and the property market. The article says that it is risky to do business in Moscow, but if you are willing to take the risk, then there could be a big profit in store. Since the economy is one of the main issues that Medvedev wants and needs to focus on.

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Russia Makes A Billion

Russian news reports say Moscow has signed a $1 billion deal with India to upgrade more than 60 MIG-29 jet fighters it had previously sold to New Delhi.

The reports Tuesday quote sources in Russia's defense manufacturing sector as saying a five-year contract calls for Russia to install new radars, weapons control systems and improved engines.

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Russia will be upgrading fighter jets sold to India. The new deal will be worth a million dollars. This article shows one of the many way that Russia makes money. It also shows one of Russia's market ventures.

Russia Redefines Democracy

On the banks of the Moscow River, facing the Kremlin, there is a long squat grey-faced apartment block known as the House on the Embankment. It has a special place in Russia's history.

It was built by the early Bolsheviks when they moved the Russian capital back to Moscow from St Petersburg.

It housed the families - more than 500 of them - of high-ranking Kremlin officials. They were the bureaucratic elite of the world's first attempt at a socialist state. It was, in its day, the only house in all Russia to have hot running water.

A decade ago, when I lived here as the BBC's Moscow correspondent, I went to visit one of its residents. She'd lived there since 1931. More than anything she remembered the Red Terror of 1937.

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From This article we learn about some of the injustices of Russia's past. We also get an account of Stalin's secret police rampages. The House on the Embankment has played an important part in Russia's history and has witnessed alot.

Lenin's Moving Down Town

The body of Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the Great October Revolution, which has been resting in Kremlin’s Mausoleum for decades, will be committed to earth with all honours, the way a country’s leader should be interred.
Lenin’s body may finally be buried outside Moscow

The Federal Memorial Complex where greatest personas of Russian and Soviet history will be interred is expected to be unveiled in Moscow by 2010 to coincide with the 65th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War. The cemetery will have several alleys. The main alley will comprise only 30 tombs.

“There will be Lenin’s tomb on the cemetery as well,” said Russian painter and project leader Sergei Goriaev in an interview with Zhizn newspaper. “The problem escalated long ago. At the session of the organizing committee devoted to the building of the memorial complex they discussed the possibilities to rebury Lenin and other great people interred on the Red Square. However, there is no official decision yet."

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Russian officials are contemplating relocating the body of past leader Valdimir Lenin. They want to bury him in a Federal Memorial Complex which will contain the great people of Russia. This article shows us just one of the many interesting happenings of Russia. It will be intersting to see the layout of this new complex.

Organizers of Moscow Gay Pride Parade Claim 1 Million Euros for Their Sufferings

Peter Tatchell is a veteran gay rights activist who

was punched by a Russian Orthodox extremist in Moscow.

"Organizers of the Moscow gay pride parade sent their second complaint against Russia to the European Court of Human Rights last week, claiming the compensation of one million euros.

“I am absolutely certain of our final victory in Strasburg. The Russian authorities arbitrarily deprived us of the right guaranteed by both the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the European Convention (on Human Rights),” Nikolai Alexeyev, an organizer told Interfax.

On May 16, 2007 Moscow authorities banned to organize another gay parade in Russia’s capital. In the autumn of 2007, a regional court together with the Moscow State Court acknowledged this decision as legal, which made the organizers appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.

In May of 2007, the Moscow police arrested gay rights activists, when they tried to deliver a letter to Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov, in which they asked him to allow a gay pride parade. A German parliamentarian, Volker Beck, Marko Kapatto, an Italian from the European Parliament and British activist Peter Tatchell were a few of the detainees."

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There are two sides to this story. If one looks at the supporters of the parade, it is obvious that the government is discriminating and even abusing some of the people’s rights. However, if one looks at the Russian government’s stance, it is possible to say that they are operating in everyone’s best interests. By banning the parade in the capital city, an extremely large and bustling Moscow, they are protecting both the people in the parade and the common people of the city. This type of parade is extremely controversial and there are extremists on both side that could escalate the event into one of violence. By eliminating the parade they are eliminating the chance of violent encounters and, unfortunately, the right of some people to demonstrate.

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