World Press on Iran, Turkey and the Caucasus (December 6, 2011)

This week Russian magazine The New Times published several articles devoted to severe violations at the recent parliementary elections. According to the authors, ballot-box stuffing and forced voting were registered in many Russian cities. However, political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin says that violations at the previous elections were even greater. "The thing is that people have become much more active. Violations are no longer tolerated," The New Times cites Oreshkin.

The Washington Post published an article about Alexey Navalny, famous anti-government blogger, who was arrested yesterday after an opposition rally that gathered almost 10 thousand people. "He has been called the most interesting person in Russian politics, one of the world’s top thinkers, a nationalist demagogue and — as of Tuesday — a political prisoner," the newpaper characterizes Navalny. "An opposition that was looking for a charismatic leader might have just found one," the article says.

The New York Times also published an article on the Sunday's controversial parliamentary elections in Russia. Fraud was outrageous, the newpaper reports. According to the article, video records pubished on the Internet by Russian bloggers are very eloquent. "Such videos have appeared in the past, but this seems to be the first election in which the tactic was put to such widespread and effective use. Even the international observers from the OSCE praised the work of amateur election monitors," the article reads.

The Guardian published an article devoted to today's opposition rally held in the center of Moscow. People gathered today on Tverskaya Street to protest against unfair elections. Several opposition politicians were arrested. One of the leaders of the unregistered People's Freedom Party, Boris Nemtsov, and the leader of the liberal Yabloko party, Sergey Mitrokhin, were among those who were detained today. "The Kremlin appears to be taken aback by the public challenge to its rule and the widespread protests over allegations of voter fraud in Sunday's parliamentary elections," The Guardian's article reads