Sulim Yamadaev, a commander of a Chechen Special Forces brigade and a Hero of Russia, was shot and killed in Dubai. And no mentioning of this on any of the state controlled TV or radio stations. This is not surprising since all the evidence points to the Putin appointed Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov. The most that will happen is he will be told off in private. Medvedev, contrary to what some optimists might be saying, is still powerless and Kremlin still doesn't care about its image in the eyes of the civilised world.

Ramzan Kadyrov is on his way to establishing Chechnya as an Islamic republic and, i have no doubt, his goal is to some day make it into an Islamic state. An ambitious man convinced of his own greatness and unique place in history for whom having reasonable amount of sovereignty will eventually not be enough. He recently introduced a law which allows to sell alcohol only two hours per day and a number of other shariat orientated laws. He publicly encouraged Chechens to embark on pilgrimage and announced a plan to build international airport. Few days ago Kadyrov has voiced that the counter-terrorist operation in Chechnya is over and all the federal troops must leave the region.

Novaya Gazeta

As I was waiting for my friend at Novaya Gazeta a pale and skinny middle-aged woman walked into the reception with a bunch of papers stapled together covered in small handwriting. She put the papers in mailbox, especially there for this purpose. "They do check this mail, don't they?" "Twice a day".
For many people Novaya Gazeta, the island of honest, objective, fearless press, is the last chance to claim some form of justice.

Russian Florists' Day

Today is Florists' Day in Russia. 8th of March, The International Women's day, it is celebrated in Russia with more vigor than in any other country (UK and US are largely unaware of this holiday). It's a day when men, by giving women flowers, are basically saying that they can stick around for a bit. The rest of the time womens' position in this country is rather unfortunate. Not much has changed since the Soviet times, when women were expected to work the same amount of hours; buy and prepare food after work; wash, clean and care for the kids, covering both working mom and housewife basis. And at any moment they could be reminded that they must know their place (no specifics of which were ever offered). Women have gained a new role, however, that of a sex toy, in a dirty, ugly, derogatory sense.
So, at the end of the day, a bunch of roses or tulips is nice but does not translate into genuine respect or even love.