According to Bloomberg, it appears the Kremlin was at least interested in the possibility.
“It’s undoubtedly a very interesting offer, but we need to know what he means, what’s he’s proposing,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters at the time, adding, “we’ll check it out first and then we’ll respond.”
It appears that Elon Musk never responded to the Kremlin’s follow-up attempts, ensuring a Clubhouse sit down never happened.
“Apparently there was some kind of misunderstanding,” said Peskov. “Most likely, this matter is exhausted.”
Musk has been known for some brash actions in the past, but standing up Vladimir Putin certainly ranks up there. Hopefully, the slight won’t impact Tesla’s business in Russia.
Anna Duritskaya, in a situation that sounds like a really familiar spy movie, is now in hiding after being on “virtual house arrest”.
Anna Duritskaya was detained for three days of interrogation after her boyfriend, Russian opposition leader Boris Y. Nemtsov, was gunned down.
As soon as she was free to go, Anna Duritskaya fled to her mother’s home in Ukraine.
The two of them slipped away under a mass media gathering that began after the shooting on Friday.
Anna Duritskaya, a 23-year-old model and actress, is fearful for her life. She has erased all of her social media profiles and will not answer her cell phone.
In numerous reports by state-run media, they attempt to pin Nemtsov’s murder on anyone but the Kremlin. Investigators claim they are looking onto everything from foreign intrigue aimed at destabilizing Russia, to an act of Islamic fundamentalist terrorism on behalf of Russia’s Chechens and other Caucasus Muslims, and even an act of passionate rage from a romantic rival of Anna Duritskaya’s.
They have also insinuated that Anna Duritskaya could have had something to do with it.
However, many citizens and many around the world can’t help but wonder if Vladimir Putin or his associates were involved.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq7119OprIU
There are many suspicious situations surrounding the night Nemtsov was gunned down while walking home from dinner over a bridge above the Moscow River with Anna Duritskaya.
For example, the area, which is steps from the Kremlin, is usually heavily monitored by cameras, but many cameras at the scene had been taken out of service for maintenance Friday.
Also, some footage that was recovered shows a snowplow going slowly along the bridge sidewalk that appeared to provide cover for the gunman.
There was no snow.
Anna Duritskaya did a Skype interview with independent news outlet Dozhd in order to avoid official censorship.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZO7THq2H8M
She said, “I do not know who did it. I do not want to answer any more questions about what happened on the bridge. I do not want to talk about it.”
What do you think about this political drama? Do you think Anna Duritskaya is safe?
While Pussy Riot members Maria Alekhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova were attending the Women In The World Summit at the Lincoln Center in New York Friday, a Moscow court cleared the two of their inciting religious hatred charges stemming from one of their live rock shows.
Alekhina and Tolokonnikova were found guilty of hooliganism with religious undertones of hatred after a live set at Moscow’s main cathedral in March, 2012, and were sentenced to two years in prison. A third member, Yekaterina Samutsevich, was released on a suspended sentence just months after the hooliganism conviction.
Here’s a clip of the antics that garnered Pussy Riot their charges of hooliganism, after engaging in their “punk prayer”:
Tolokonnikova and Alekhina were freed from prison due to an amnesty legislation which some watchdog groups viewed as a Kremlin public relations stunt in time for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. Russian lawmakers had said that the new bill, which the State Duma voted 446-0 in favor of, would likely free roughly 2,000 prisoners. The new laws applied to those who were non-violent offenders, and were catered mostly toward first-time offenders, minors and women with small children. Both Tolokonnikova and Alekhina have young kids, and were both set free in December of last year. Though, the hooliganism charges still stand, which carry a sentence of up to seven years.
The Russian courts then symbolically knocked off one month of each of Tolokonnikova and Alekhina’s sentences, as they are both technically free women. During an appearance on NBC’s Today Show Friday morning, Matt Lauer asked the activists if they thought the newly single Vladimir Putin had ordered their release to display his “softer side” to the world in time for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.
Tolokonnikova replied, “When we got released, we didn’t have any illusions at all that Putin’s regime became more liberal.”
Pussy Riot ran into former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the Lincoln Center, and the probable 2016 Democratic Presidential candidate described the duo as being “strong and brave young women, who refused to let their voices be silenced.”
The Kremlin has reported that the divorce between Russian president Vladimir Putin and wife Lyudmila Putina has been finalized. The couple had announced in June that they planned to end their 30-year marriage. Putin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov commented to a Russian news agency that the divorce had been “completed.”
Putina née Shkrebneva met Vladimir Putin in Leningrad, Soviet Union when she was an undergraduate student of the Spanish branch of the philology department of the Leningrad State University. Putina was also an Aeroflot stewardess at the time. On July 28, 1983 Putin married Kaliningrad-born Lyudmila.
Putina kept a low profile on the Russian political stage, generally avoiding the public eye except for when compelled to by protocol, and limited her public role to encouraging statements about her husband. While married to Putin, Putina taught German at the Department of Philology of Leningrad State University, and served as the Moscow representative of the JSC Telecominvest.
Putin and Putina on their wedding day:
Putin and Putina initially lived in Germany from 1985 to 1990. During this time, a German spy allegedly befriended Putina, who said that Putin was physically abusive and had love affairs. As the couple left Germany in 1990, it was rumored that Putin left behind an illegitimate child.
The couple has two daughters, Putina (born in 1985 in Leningrad) and Yekaterina Putina (born in 1986 in Dresden, East Germany). Both attended the German School in Moscow called Deutsche Schule Moskau, until Putin’s appointment as Prime Minister in 1999. Photographs of Mariya and Yekaterina have never been published by the Russian media, and no family portrait has ever been issued to the press.
Tabloids had in the past linked Putin romantically to gymnast Alina Kabayeva and ex-spy Anna Chapman. The Kremlin denied the accusations.
In a televised statement last year, Putin commented that the split was a “joint decision” adding that the two “practically never saw each other.” Lyudmila added, “We will eternally be very close people.”
Two incarcerated members of the Russian protest-punk band ‘Pussy Riot’ were released from a Russian prison Monday, due to a new amnesty legislation which some watchdog groups view as a Kremlin public relations stunt in time for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
Pussy Riot members Maria Alekhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova were found guilty of hooliganism with religious undertones of hatred after a live set at Moscow’s main cathedral in March 2012, and were sentenced to two years in prison. A third member, Yekaterina Samutsevich, was released on a suspended sentence just months after the hooliganism conviction.
Russian lawmakers have said the new bill, which the State Duma voted 446-0 in favor of, will likely free roughly 2,000 prisoners. The new laws apply to those who are non-violent offenders, and are catered mostly toward first-time offenders, minors and women with small children. Both Tolokonnikova and Alekhina have young kids.
Here’s a clip of the antics that garnered Pussy Riot their charges of hooliganism, after engaging in their “punk prayer”:
Alekhina, 25, was released from a prison outside the Volga river city of Nizhny Novgorod, and commented, “If I had a chance to turn it down (the amnesty), I would have done it, no doubt about that,” adding, “This is not an amnesty. This is a hoax and a PR move.”
Tolokonnikova, 24, exited a prison in the eastern Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk earlier today, and commented, “How do you like our Siberian weather here?” The singer also said that she and Alekhina will form a human rights group to assist Russian prisoners, stating, “I saw this small totalitarian machine from the inside. Russia functions the same way the prison colony does.”
Freedom is a cigarette and a phone call. "It's Nadia, you twit!" Nadezhda Tolokonnikova calls Masha Alyokhina. pic.twitter.com/LzGeiyrjP7
In related news, Russian President Vladimir Putin pardoned former billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky at the end of his annual press conference on Thursday. Khodorkovsky was formerly the chief of Yukos Oil, and one of the richest people in the world. He was convicted of fraud and tax evasion in 2003, and ended up serving 10 years. Some have speculated that Khodorkovsky’s pardon was another attempt by the Kremlin to clean up the Russian image in time for the Sochi Games.
In an act that surprised the world, Russian President Vladimir Putin pardoned former billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky at the end of his annual press conference on Thursday.
Some have speculated that the pardon was an attempt by Putin to appease world leaders who have expressed concern over Russia’s human rights record prior to the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics.
Leaders such as US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have denounced a law that Putin signed in June banning “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations.”
Although no one knows exactly how the law will effect participants and spectators at the Winter Games, it is seen as further censorship and persecution of gays in Russia and has sparked tension worldwide as the Olympics draw closer.
Khodorkovsky, considered a political prisoner by critics of Putin and the Kremlin, has spent more than a decade behind bars.
Khodorkovsky is the former head of Yukos Oil and was once the richest person in Russia – and no. 15 in the world. He and his business partner were convicted and imprisoned on charges of fraud and tax evasion in 2003. In December 2010, just before they were due to be released from prison, they were convicted of embezzlement and money laundering. The second conviction increased their prison sentence.
Critics believed that Putin and his allies were behind the sentencing. When Putin came into power in 2000, he offered an informal deal to the Russian oligarchy: they could keep their wealth with the provision that they stay out of politics. Khodorkovsky flaunted the rules by speaking out against what he considered corruption in the Kremlin and using his riches to fund opposition political parties.
Despite the fact that Khodorkovsky had vowed not to ask for a pardon lest he appear to be admitting guilt, Putin said on Thursday that he’d received a request signed by Khodorkovsy, who was scheduled to be released from prison in August 2014:
“Not long ago he appealed to me for a pardon. He has already spent 10 years behind bars – it’s a serious punishment. He mentions humanitarian considerations, as his mother is ill. Given all this, the correct decision should be taken and a decree on his pardoning will be signed very soon.”
After his attorneys initially denied that Khodorkovsky had made any such appeal, it surfaced that he had been visited in prison and urged to sign a request for pardon based on this mother’s failing health and the possibility that new charges were being prepared against him.
Khodorkovsky joined his mother in Germany after being released from prison and issued the following statement:
Dear friends,
On November 12, I asked the president of Russia to pardon me due to my family situation, and I am glad his decision was positive.
The issue of admission of guilt was not raised.
I would like to thank everyone who has been following the Yukos case all these years for the support you provided to me, my family and all those who were unjustly convicted and continue to be persecuted. I am very much looking forward to the minute when I will be able to hug my close ones and personally shake hands with all my friends and associates.
I am constantly thinking of those who continue to remain imprisoned.
My special thanks is to Mr Hans-Dietrich Genscher for his personal participation in my fate.
First of all I am going to repay my debt to my parents, my wife and my children, and I am very much looking forward to meeting them.
I will welcome the opportunity to celebrate this upcoming holiday season with my family. I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
As the Winter Olympics being held in Sochi in February draw near, Russia’s parliament passed a new amnesty bill on Wednesday, which is widely viewed as being a measure to calm international watchdog groups over the Kremlin’s human rights records.
The bill would likely free the two imprisoned members of the Pussy Riot punk band, as well as a 30-member crew of a Greenpeace ship, who were taken into custody after an Arctic protest.
Russian lawmakers have said the new bill, which the State Duma voted 446-0 in favor of, will likely free roughly 2,000 prisoners. The new laws apply to those who are non-violent offenders, and are catered mostly toward first-time offenders, minors and women with small children. Jailed Pussy Riot members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina both have small children, though no names were actually listed on the new bill.
Here’s a clip of the antics that garnered Pussy Riot their charges of hooliganism, after engaging in their “punk prayer”:
Tolokonnikova and Alekhina are both serving two-year sentences for their hooliganism charges, after “upping teh punx” at Moscow’s main cathedral.
All sorts of punks just won’t leave Vladimir Putin alone:
Regarding the potential release of the crew of a Greenpeace boat that was arrested, Greenpeace spokesman Aaron Gray-Block commented, “The Arctic 30 now hope they can spend Christmas at home. But it is too early to say.” The bill is expected to go into effect today, as soon as it hits the Russian media, though it may take six months for any prisoners who might benefit from it to be freed.
The Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise was boarded and seized by Russian security agents in international waters on September 19, and was subsequently towed to the port of Murmansk.
The Arctic Sunrise’s captain, Peter Willcox, said in a statement, “I might soon be going home to my family, but I should never have been charged and jailed in the first place.”
If you follow world politics, you may have heard that Vladimir Putin is back in charge as president of Russia. The former president turned prime minister turned president again has caused quite a bit of stir within the country with many people protesting what they feel was a rigged election.
In solidarity with the protest movement, the Russian branch of Anonymous attacked and took down the Kremlin’s Web site according to The Moscow Times. The attack took place at 11 a.m. on Wednesday as part of a new campaign called #OpDefiance
A representative for the Kremlin said that they knew about the attacks and were ready for them. Unlike a lot of governmental agencies that only start to take Anonymous seriously after they’re attacked, it would appear that Russia has been prepared. The representative said, “They are serious attacks, but the expertise of our professionals is no joke.”
The reason behind the Russian government being ready for such attacks is that Putin has been a long time target of Anonymous actions. We reported back in February on an Anonymous operation that leaked emails from a pro-Putin group. The emails suggested that Putin was using his power to attack enemies of his political agenda while paying off newspapers to give him positive coverage.
Here’s the video Anonymous put together announcing #OpDefiance. If you want to follow the exploits of Anonymous operations in Russia, the official Twitter account appears to be @Op_Russia. There are other Russian Anonymous accounts, but this one seems to get the news of takedowns first.
We’ll keep you updated on any further Anonymous activities. The attacks in Russia are probably not over and won’t be for a while. Putin is relatively unpopular in the country so things might get interesting in the coming days.
