Putin denies affair with Olympic gymnast

(Media Credit/Sport Express Daily)
In more light-hearted news, allegations arose recently - and were quickly batted down – of Russian President Vladimir Putin enjoying an affair with Olympic gymnast-turned-Kremlin newbie Alina Kabaeva, The Times (UK) reports today. Putin, who instantly dismissed the allegations brought up by a Russian journalist during his visit with Italian Prime Minister Silvio [...]

Posted at 6:19 pm on April 19, 2008 | 1 comment | Filed Under: Uncategorized | read on

Russia moves to annex Abkhazia and South Ossetia

South Ossetian separatists riding into the village of Prisi. (Media Credit/Reuters)
By way of a presidential decree, Russia moved on Wednesday to begin the process of annexation of the de-facto independent republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the Eurasia Daily Monitor reported on Friday. For one, I guess this legitimizes the Moscow-backed “ethnic cleaning of Georgians” – both [...]

Posted at 5:03 pm on April 19, 2008 | leave a comment | Filed Under: The Caucasus | read on