Because I do the Russian sport of Sambo I have met many Russians including Senior Officials of the Russian Government and I have visited Russia on many occasions. So I get very frustrated when I see the reporting of Russian in such a negative way. As Right Wing Conservative I had no truck with Communism yet I have seen the massive change in Russian since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the main for the better in fact FIAS President Shestakov and the Russian Sambo Federation has done more to support the British Sombo Federation then our own British Government.

The first controversy was when Stephen Fry and Stonewall orchestrated attacks on the Russian Government and its people on the issue on Gay Rights, These people suggested that Gay people were banned in Russian and new laws were there to prevent Gay people expressing themselves. Yet when I was in Russian in St Petersburg the newspapers were advertising Gay Clubs in fact one advert boasted they were the oldest Lesbian Club in Russian and when you speak to people in Russia they do not have a problem with it but what they do not want is the promotion of Gay Sexual Activity. The actual law is “forbidding propaganda of non traditional sexual relations” to those under 18 years of age I also believe if you have to visit a Doctor under 18 your parents have to be informed I personally think 18 is a bit old and would prefer the age to be 16. Now you consider this country where children as young as 12 can be put on the pill without parents consent or the fact that Stonewall want 4 year olds to be taught about Gay relationships, where we have a massive problem with under age pregnancies, single mothers etc. Now you tell me where your child is safer in the UK or Russia

I have included two articles from a Russian Newspaper with their version of Ukraine and the power of the people this should at least convince people that Russian is beginning to get a free Press.

Some of you may say Martin is becoming a Russianphile NO I do know there is lot wrong with the Country but I also think there should be balance in the reporting and lets be honest our own political system is far from perfect

Justin_17, London, moments ago

What a bizarre situation! The elected leader of Ukraine is violently overthrown to the gleeful approval of European and American politicians who actually travel to Kiev to incite the mob against the government. The Ukrainian people in the South East who voted for Yanukovych and favour closer ties to Russia, reject the subversion of the constitutional order and the attempts to suppress their Russian identity. As a result, they start their own protests. It is fairly obvious that two revolutions took place in Ukraine, a nationalist pro-EU/US/NATO one on the Maidan and a pro-Russian one in the South East. The West confers legitimacy on the Maidan guys but contemptuously dismisses the South Eastern protesters as "paid Russian agents". Its no surprise that the Ukrainian people who desire closer ties to Russia have taken up arms to defend themselves.

PRO-RUSSIAN REBELS LOWER DEMANDS AT PEACE TALKS

By Vladimir Isachenkov and Jim Heintz

The Associated Press

Published: September 3, 2014 (Issue # 1827)

MOSCOW — Pro-Russian rebels softened their demand for full independence Monday, saying they would respect Ukraine’s sovereignty in exchange for autonomy — a shift that reflects Moscow’s desire to strike a deal at a new round of peace talks.

The insurgents’ platform, released at the start of Monday’s negotiations in Minsk, the Belarusian capital, represented a significant change in their vision for the future of Ukraine’s eastern, mainly Russian-speaking region.

It remains unclear, however, whether the talks can reach a compromise amid the brutal fighting that has continued in eastern Ukraine. On Monday, the rebels pushed Ukrainian government forces from an airport near Luhansk, the second-largest rebel-held city, the latest in a series of military gains.

The peace talks in Minsk follow last week’s meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Petro Poroshenko. The negotiations involve former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma; Russia’s ambassador to Ukraine; an envoy from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and representatives of the rebels.

Yet similar talks earlier this summer produced no visible results.

Unlike the previous rounds, this time rebels said in a statement carried by Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency that they are willing to discuss “the preservation of the united economic, cultural and political space of Ukraine.” In return, they demanded a comprehensive amnesty and broad local powers that would include being able to appoint their own local law enforcement officials.

This deal is only for eastern Ukraine. There are no negotiations on handing back Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russia annexed in March, a move that cost Ukraine several major ports, half its coastline and untold billions in Black Sea oil and mineral rights.

The talks lasted for several hours Monday and were adjourned until Friday, when the parties are to discuss a cease-fire and an exchange of prisoners, rebel negotiator Andrei Purgin said, according to RIA Novosti.

The rebels’ more moderate negotiating platform appeared to reflect Putin’s desire to make a deal that would allow Russia to avoid more punitive Western sanctions while preserving a significant degree of leverage over its neighbor.

Over the weekend, the European Union leaders agreed to prepare a new round of sanctions that could be enacted in a week, after NATO accused Russia of sending tanks and troops into southeastern Ukraine. A NATO summit in Wales on Thursday is also expected to approve measures designed to counter Russia’s aggressive actions in Ukraine

LOCAL NGO LATEST TO BE LISTED AS ‘FOREIGN AGENT’

By Sergey Chernov

The St. Petersburg Times

Published: September 3, 2014 (Issue # 1827)

“We made two reports about the violations of human rights in the army and handed them in to [Defense Minister Sergei] Shoigu, among others. This was seen as us allegedly influencing state policies. But our stance on this is the following; our state policy is not to wage war but to defend human life; the state policy is not to fight against neighbors but solve conflicts peacefully by the means of diplomacy. That’s what we think state policies are and not a violation of Russian laws. We have no law which would say the opposite.”

Polyakova also denied any foreign funding, saying that the organization was funded by two grants from the Russian government. “We have one grant from the National Welfare Fund and the other is a presidential Civic Dignity grant,” she said.

After the NGO was branded as a foreign agent, Polyakova said that the organization will have to put the term on its documents and be subject to closer attention from authorities.

“For instance, take when a soldier is being beaten in a certain military unit,” Polyakova said.

“In such cases, we write letters to the Investigation Committee, to the Military Prosecutor’s Office, to the commanders and ask them to ensure his safety. And now there should be a notice saying [the NGO] ‘performs the functions of a foreign agent,’ which essentially means that it’s written by spies. It also implies additional checks, increased attention, audits twice a year…there’s a lot there.”

According to Polyakova, her NGO is planning to file an inquiry with the Prosecutor’s Office to find out the exact grounds of its inclusion in the foreign agents register and file a complaint with the court on the decision. She said the Soldiers’ Mothers of St. Petersburg would also support the initiative by Russian Ombudsman Vladimir Lukin, who proposed to amend the foreign agent law.

“For the time being, we have to abide by the law; what else we can do if the law is like this?” Polyakova asked.

The Soldiers’ Mothers of St. Petersburg was formed in 1991 as a human rights organization to provide legal, social and psychological assistance to army recruits, soldiers and members of their families.