Russia 090508 Basic Political Developments

Common history can reconcile Russia, Georgia: Medvedev

http://www.reuters.com/article/gc07/idUSTRE5471DD20090508
Fri May 8, 2009 3:25am EDT

By Oleg Shchedrov

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Loyalty to a common historical heritage could help mend ties between ex-Soviet Georgia and Russia damaged by a brief war last August, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told Georgian World War Two veterans Friday.

In a special message to the veterans, Medvedev recalled the Soviet Union's role during the war in defeating Nazi Germany, at a cost of almost 27 million military and civilian lives.

"Common fight against Nazi invaders is one of the most memorable and heroic pages in a multi-century book of Russian-Georgian friendship," Medvedev said in the message circulated by the Kremlin.

"Our common historical heritage, traditions of good neighborliness and comradeship form a solid basis for restoring trust and mutual understanding between our peoples, peoples which have never been enemies."

Georgia lost a brief war against its former Soviet master last August when Russia crushed in days a Georgian assault on the rebel pro-Moscow region of South Ossetia.

Medvedev's message to the veterans coincided with Russia's efforts to heal relations with the United States and NATO, after tensions flared this week when Georgia accused Russia of being behind a failed mutiny at a military base.

Russia, which rejected the charge, criticized this week's NATO exercises in Georgia which it said threatened stability in the region and its Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov pulled out of a NATO-Russia council ministerial meeting this month.

Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton discussed Georgia during a meeting in Washington Thursday and the topic is likely to be on the agenda when during President Barack Obama's first visit to Russia in July.

The brief war with Georgia has strained Russia's ties with the West and raised concerns about security in the broader Caucasus region which is viewed as a key link in projected alternative energy routes to Europe, bypassing Russia.

Medvedev has said Russia will never talk to Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili but would be interested in discussing ways to improve relations with any future government.

"In spite of the fact that interstate relations between Russia and Georgia are now facing serious challenges, contacts between people and public organizations have not stopped," Medvedev said.

"All this allows us to hope that mutual attraction between the two spiritually close people will help us develop mutually beneficial relations of partnership," he added.

(Editing by Sophie Hares)

Medvedev will mark 64th Victory in Europe-Day by participating in memorial actions

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=13917468

MOSCOW, May 8 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will mark the 64th anniversary of the victory in the Second World War on Friday by laying a wreath to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Kremlin wall.

Russia marks the Victory in Europe Day on May 9 as the end of the Great Patriotic War, in which Red Army troops routed Nazi Germany in bitter fighting from June 1941 to 1945 that took a toll of over 20 million Soviet lives.

Medvedev will also participate in a gala meeting devoted to the Victory Day and will award three cities with the title of Military Glory.

Vyazma, Kronshtadt and Naro-Fominsk will join 16 cities that already enjoy the City of Military Glory status.

“This is not only an act of recognition, but also a confirmation of the spirit of pride, which everyone of us feels towards the native city,” Medvedev said.

The cities were awarded the title for “valor, endurance and mass heroism of their defenders in the fight for the freedom and independence of the Fatherland,” the presidential decree said.

Military to Showcase New Missiles at Victory Parade

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/600/42/376957.htm
08 May 2009

By Anna Malpas, Alexandra Odynova / The Moscow Times

The military will unveil a new missile system Saturday at a Victory Day parade on Red Square, the highlight of more than 150 city events planned for the three-day holiday weekend.

The military parade will begin at 10 a.m., and it will be possible to see the tanks making their way along Tverskaya Ulitsa beforehand and leaving Red Square afterward along Novy Arbat.

On display for the first time will be the new S-400 air-defense missile system, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said in an interview published Thursday in Rossiiskaya Gazeta.

"Last year, the S-300 air-defense systems took part in the parade for the first time ever, and this year we will show the S-400," Serdyukov said.

The S-400 system, which is to form the cornerstone of the country's missile defenses up to at least 2020, is designed to intercept and destroy airborne —targets at a distance of up to 400 kilometers, 2 1/2 times the range of the S-300 and twice that of the U.S. Patriot missile.

More than 9,000 troops and up to 69 planes and helicopters will also take part in the parade, Serdyukov said.

More than 70 percent of Russians plan to watch the parade on television, according to a Levada Center poll.

Later in the day, celebrations will be held in Gorky Park, Fili Park, Izmailovsky Park and Sokolniki Park, as well as at the Poklonnaya Gora memorial complex. Concerts will be held in closed-off streets in central Moscow from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The Mariinsky Theater Orchestra, conducted by Valery Gergiev, will play a free concert at Poklonnaya Gora starting at 1 p.m.

At 10 p.m., there will be fireworks displays at 14 locations around the city. The largest displays will be at Vorobyovy Gory and Poklonnaya Gora.

Temperatures of up to 22 degrees Celsius are predicted for Saturday and Sunday. In case it threatens to rain on the parade, 10 Air Force planes will be on standby to disperse clouds with chemicals, Interfax reported.

The metro will celebrate Victory Day by playing patriotic songs and poems over its loudspeakers. It will also be possible to buy limited-edition souvenir metro cards.

Moscow Railways will place a steam train on the tracks for veterans, and it will leave Kievsky Station at 9:45 a.m. to the sound of a brass band. The passengers will be taken to Poklonnaya Gora for a concert and an army-style lunch in tents.

City authorities advise drivers to leave their cars at home for the weekend or to head out to the dacha.

Road closures will begin at 6 a.m. Saturday in central Moscow. From 10 a.m., it won't be possible to drive along Tverskaya Ulitsa, Mokhovaya Ulitsa, Okhotny Ryad, Ulitsa Petrovka, Myasnitskaya Ulitsa, Teatralnaya Ploshchad, Lubyanskaya Ploshchad and Teatralny and Lubyansky Proyezd.

Later on Victory Day, an international cycle race will halt traffic along the Garden Ring in both directions from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. The races will also be held along Ulitsa Kosygina near Moscow State University from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.

The metro will also limit access. On Saturday, it won't be possible to exit the Okhotny Ryad, Ploshchad Revolyutsii, Alexandrovsky Sad, Arbatskaya (dark-blue line) and Borovitskaya metro stations from 8 a.m. to noon without a special pass. There may be limited access to other stations later in the day.

Security will be stepped up over the weekend. Some 11,000 policemen and Interior Ministry troops will be working during the Victory Day holidays, Moscow police said.

Moscow police have undergone tests to ensure their "psycho-emotional control," a spokeswoman told Interfax. A city police officer went on a murderous rampage in a supermarket in southern Moscow last week, killing three people and wounding six more.

Sunday will see the official opening ceremony of the Eurovision Song Contest at the Manezh Central Exhibition Center. The ceremony, to be televised on Channel One, will feature a concert by former Eurovision winners including Dana International and t.A.T.u.

This weekend will also see the first Eurovision rehearsals by French pop star Patricia Kaas and Britain's Jade, who may be accompanied by songwriter Andrew Lloyd Webber. Germany's act, Alex Swings Oscar Sings!, will also rehearse. Burlesque artist Dita von Teese will dance during Germany's performance.

Minor roads will be blocked around the Olimpiisky Sports Complex, where the Eurovision shows will be filmed, from Monday to the following Saturday, RIA-Novosti reported, citing City Hall.

Monday will be an official day off across Russia.

Moscow Bans Gay Parade

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/1010/42/376959.htm

Moscow City Hall said Thursday that it would not allow a gay pride parade that activists organized to coincide with the Eurovision Song Contest final.

"There have never been gay parades in Moscow, and there never will be," City Hall spokesman Sergei Tsoi said.

Gay rights activists said the May 16 parade would go ahead. (AP)