State Of Fear: Russian Democracy
A leader of an opposition party in modern Russian is arrested for opposing the ruling United Russia party of Medvedev and Putin. The leader of Russia's only independent election monitor, Golos, was detained at a Moscow airport for 12 hours, a colleague said Saturday, the latest government pressure on the group ahead of Sunday's parliamentary vote. Golos has documented thousands of election law violations during the latest campaign — most of them linked to the United Russia party, which dominates the Kremlin and supports Russian leader Vladimir Putin. United Russia dominates Russia's political life and has received overwhelmingly favorable coverage during the campaign, mostly from Kremlin-controlled national television. But the party is increasingly disliked, seen as representing a corrupt bureaucracy and often called "the party of crooks and thieves." Golos leader Lilya Shibanova was held at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport after refusing to give her lap