The U.S. and Global Security Review - Blog by Michael Novakhov

The Moscow Times Top Stories

French President Francois Hollande said Islamic State militants pose a global threat that requires a global response. Hollande said Monday there is "no time to lose" as he and Iraqi President Fouad Massoum opened a conference in Paris bringing together some 30 countries focusing on peace and security in Iraq. The two leaders headed for the conference together after their meeting and Hollande called for united international action to tackle the threat from Islamic State militants in his opening remarks. The United States this week unveiled an outline plan to fight the Islamist militants simultaneously in Iraq and Syria. It believes it can forge a solid alliance despite hesitancy among some partners and questions over the legality of action, notably in Syria where the militant group has a power base. Massoum said he hoped the Paris meeting would bring a “quick response” to the jihadists. Foreign ministers from the main European states, the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, Iraq's neighbors and Gulf Arab states Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the U.A.E., gathered to discuss political, security and humanitarian aspects of tackling Islamic State. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is taking part in the conference after spending days meeting with leaders in the Middle East. He said Sunday that a growing number of countries are prepared to join the fight, including several Arab nations offering to give military assistance and carry out airstrikes, if needed. But Massoum told the Associated Press that it is not necessary for Arab powers to conduct airstrikes, saying what is needed is for them to "participate in the decisions" of the conference. He highlighted the importance of taking action against the Islamic State group, saying it is "in the interest of everyone." "If this group installs itself in Iraq, this will create of a lot of problems in Iraq, the region and the world. We must try to be helped by other countries so there is international mobilization against this group that wants to install itself in Iraq and from there unleash itself on the world," said Massoum. Iran is not one of the 26 countries participating in the conference. Massoum said he thinks Iran should have been invited, given the long shared border with Iraq and the humanitarian aid Iran has been providing during the crisis.French officials said Monday their aircraft were due to begin reconnaissance flights over Iraq. Material for this report came from Reuters.

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'No Political Competition' as Crimean Votes in First Russian Election by Reuters
Monday September 15th, 2014 at 10:35 AM

Six months after Russia annexed Crimea, residents of the Black Sea peninsula cast their first votes in a Russian election - an election many of them are calling unfair and undemocratic.

Возле автомобиля ОБСЕ разорвалось 19 снарядов - Правда.Ру
Monday September 15th, 2014 at 10:35 AM

Lenta.ru

Возле автомобиля ОБСЕ разорвалось 19 снарядов
Правда.Ру
Автомобиль наблюдателей Организации по безопасности и сотрудничеству в Европе (ОБСЕ), который был обстрелян вечером 14 сентября, вновь подвергся опасности - рядом с ним разорвалось 19 минометных снарядов. Об этом сообщил представитель международной организации, ...
Группа наблюдателей ОБСЕ попала под обстрел в ДонецкеУкраинское национальное информагентство
Наблюдателей ОБСЕ и представителей ДНР обстреляли в ДонецкеНТВ.ru
19 минометных снарядов разорвалось возле машины миссии ОБСЕ в ДонецкеВедомости
Комсомольская Правда в Украине -Первый канал -Подробности
Все похожие статьи: 111 »

Cameron Under Pressure as Scotland Vote Nearsby By STEVEN ERLANGER
Monday September 15th, 2014 at 10:34 AM

Not only must Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain respond to the beheading of a British hostage by Islamic radicals, but he also faces the risk of becoming the leader who presided over the breakup of the United Kingdom.

Sweden Takes a Left Turn After 8 Years of Rightist Ruleby By DAVID CROUCH
Monday September 15th, 2014 at 10:34 AM

Swedes rejected austerity and tax-cutting policies that many feared threaten their cherished social-welfare system. At the same time, a far-right party gained substantial ground.

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Election Victories Strengthen Putin’s Grip Around Russia and Crimea by By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
Monday September 15th, 2014 at 10:33 AM

Candidates loyal to President Vladimir V. Putin appeared to be headed to overwhelming victories on Sunday in regional and local elections across Russia, according to preliminary results, including in Crimea.

Islamic State: Countries meet in Paris to discuss anti-Isis global strategy
Monday September 15th, 2014 at 10:32 AM

- Europe RSS Feed

Over 30 countries, including ten Arab states, will meet in Paris today to discuss the proposed US-led alliance to contain, and combat, the militants of Isis.

Ukraine crisis: Luhansk celebrates end of weeks of shelling
Monday September 15th, 2014 at 10:32 AM

- Europe RSS Feed

The conflict-wracked eastern Ukraine city of Luhansk had a rare day of jubilation yesterday as pro-Russian fighters paraded military vehicles victoriously through city streets – as other areas saw continued shelling in the conflict between government forces and the rebels.

Western delusions triggered this conflict and Russians will not yield - Financial Times
Monday September 15th, 2014 at 10:32 AM

Western delusions triggered this conflict and Russians will not yield
Financial Times
But, as the tussle over Ukraine has shown, Russia and the west are rivals once again. The ceasefire signed on September 5 gives both sides a chance to overcome their own illusions. They should take it, lest the conflict become a direct military ...

Fighting in Eastern Ukraine City Kills at Least 6by By CARLOTTA GALL
Monday September 15th, 2014 at 10:31 AM

The battle in Donetsk between rebels and Kiev government forces was one of the most serious clashes in a 10-day-old cease-fire.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Says Kyiv Receiving Weapons
Monday September 15th, 2014 at 10:31 AM

Ukrainian Defense Minister Valeriy Heletey says that unnamed NATO member countries are delivering weapons to Kyiv to fight pro-Russian separatists.

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US Touts Coalition to Fight Islamic Stateby webdesk@voanews.com (Michael Bowman)
Monday September 15th, 2014 at 10:30 AM

The Obama administration is expressing confidence in the formation of an international coalition to combat Islamic State radicals who control swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria. But congressional action in support of the effort is a matter of growing debate. After meeting with allies and partners in the Middle East, Secretary of State John Kerry says a growing list of nations is prepared to strike against Sunni militants, a point echoed by White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, who uses the ISIL acronym for the group. “What we want to make sure happens is that we have committed partners who can take the fight to ISIL on the ground. And they will have not only support from us form the air, but training and equipment,” said McDonough, speaking on ABC’s This Week program. That coalition will be essential if Islamic State militants are to be defeated without the deployment of U.S. ground forces in a combat role. Another encouraging sign is the formation of broad-based Iraqi government, according to McDonough. “There is now a new, multi-ethnic government in Baghdad. They will support a unified, capable, multi-ethnic Iraqi force, so that they can take this fight to ISIL,” said McDonough. A supporting U.S. role has the backing of independent Senator Angus King. “This cannot be a war of Westerners against Islam. This has to be an area of the world that is willing to police itself,” said King. But with lawmakers eager to adjourn well in advance of the November midterm elections, it is not clear whether or when votes will be held to authorize any portion of the strategy President Barack Obama outlined last week. Republican Senator Susan Collins believes the U.S. commander-in-chief should have acted sooner. “The president waited far too long to present a strategy to the American people and to Congress. Now we are being asked to react on a very short timeline, in a matter of days,” said Collins. President Obama is not asking formal congressional authorization to strike against the Islamic State. That is a mistake, according to Republican Senator Bob Corker, who nonetheless backs military action. “Problems occur. And I think the administration would be so much wiser to get that authorization from Congress on the front end, instead of having over time 535 Monday morning quarterbacks (second-guessers in Congress),” said Corker, referring to the number of lawmakers in the U.S. legislature. Meanwhile, the Islamic State’s latest atrocity, the beheading of British aid worker David Haines, is provoking strong reactions on both sides of the Atlantic. The White House condemned the killing as barbaric, while British Prime Minister David Cameron said IS militants are “the embodiment of evil.”

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Командир украинского батальона «Донбасс» прилетел в США - Взгляд
Monday September 15th, 2014 at 10:30 AM

ЛІГА.net

Командир украинского батальона «Донбасс» прилетел в США
Взгляд
Командир украинского батальона «Донбасс» Семен Семенченко сообщил, что прилетел в США и хочет «донести до Конгресса и Сената США информацию об Украине». Популярные материалы. Порошенко придумал способ возвращения Крыма и Донбасса · Рогозин оценил угрозы ...
Командир батальона «Донбасс» прилетел в СШАГазета.Ru
Командир батальона "Донбасс" уехал в США на переговорыФонтанка.Ру
Семенченко рассказал о потерях батальона "Донбасс"Корреспондент.net
КПУnews -Радиостанция ЭХО МОСКВЫ -Биржевой лидер
Все похожие статьи: 116 »

Kerry in Paris for Talks on Islamic Stateby webdesk@voanews.com (Scott Stearns)
Monday September 15th, 2014 at 10:29 AM

French President Francois Hollande meets in Paris Monday with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and European and Arab foreign ministers for talks on responding to President Obama's call for a broad coalition against Islamic State militants. Secretary Kerry comes to Paris after a week of talks in Baghdad, Amman, Jeddah, Ankara, and Cairo trying to rally Arab leaders to join the U.S. coalition against the Islamic State. U.S. officials say there is broad agreement among Arab leaders about the severity of the threat and what they can do to undermine the Islamic State ideology and restrict its flow of financing and foreign fighters. So far, only the United States has taken military action in Iraq. France says it is willing to join those airstrikes, as have other Arab nations, but that has yet to be approved by the new government in Baghdad. These talks are meant to lead up to the U.N. General Assembly where there is expected to be more public demonstrations of who will do what in this coalition.

Russian Americans Offer Mixed Views of Ukraine Conflictby webdesk@voanews.com (Adam Phillips)
Monday September 15th, 2014 at 10:28 AM

While polls within Russia indicate overwhelming popular support for President Vladimir Putin's policies and actions in eastern Ukraine, the hundreds of thousands of Russian immigrants living in New York seem divided in their reactions. Lev Borschevskiy, a veteran journalist and active member of the Russian American Community Coalition based in New York, called Putin’s Ukraine policies “morally indefensible.” Yet he recognized that there is passionate disagreement about it within his community. He was shocked last week to witness an altercation in a Russian American nursing home. “One group was pro-Russian, [and the] other was pro-Ukrainian. That was a real fight!” Borschevskiy said many Russian Americans who support Putin are older, non-English speakers who get their news and information almost exclusively from state-run Russian media via satellite and cable television. “These media use very advanced technology,” he said. “And I see how people are being manipulated.” Lack of meaningful debate Alec Brook-Krasny, who represents the Brighton Beach area of the city in the New York State Assembly, emigrated from Moscow in 1989. He condemned what he said was the lack of meaningful democratic debate in Russian society. Brook-Krasny said opinions among his Russian American constituents tend to be diverse, often breaking down along generational lines. “If we are talking about people who went to school here, [and] through college, they’d be a part of society where you can debate, where you [can] have different opinions. Those people are Americanized,” said Brook-Krasny. He added that older people in Brighton Beach, many of whom grew up in the former Soviet Union, tend to say that a strong leader is the one who crushes the opposition. 'He is not a monarch' Olga Zatsepina, president of the Russian American Cultural Heritage Center disagreed on the importance of Putin’s role in forming policy and influencing opinion. “He is not a monarch, for God’s sake,” she said. “Russia is really a democracy today. So I wouldn’t talk about Putin. I’d talk about the position of the Russian government.” In her opinion, the annexation of Crimea by Russia in Marchwas entirely legitimate. “Crimea has been Russian land for centuries,” she said. “We all know that. And it is important that the people of Crimea express their wish to be with Russia.” Zatsepina said there is no proof, as the U.S. and NATO assert, that Russian troops crossed the border into Crimea prior to that referendum or even that several battalions of Russian troops are stationed in eastern Ukraine now. She also believed photos and videos that purport to show these things may be falsifications. 'Half war and half peace' In either case, Zatsepina was glad the cease-fire agreement between Ukraine and Russian separatists has been adopted. “And I am absolutely sure that this conflict will pass as all conflicts do, and we hope that sooner rather than later we will work cooperatively again.” Journalist Lev Borschevskiy was less optimistic. He believed the current cease-fire is extremely fragile. “When thousands of troops are all the time at the border, that’s not a real cease-fire," he said. "That’s like when a revolver is at somebody’s head and you say ‘oh, let’s do a peace now.’ Now it is half war and half peace. This is dangerous.” Last Friday, the United States and the European Union implemented tougher sanctions on Russia. Ukraine’s president, Petro Poroshenko, said the cease-fire pact between his government and Russian separatists appearsed to be solidifying. Meanwhile, Russian Americans, and the world, watch and wait.

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Islamic State Focus Of Paris Conference
Monday September 15th, 2014 at 10:27 AM

An international conference on fighting the threat posed by the Islamic State takes place in Paris on September 15.

Military Drills To Start In Ukraine
Monday September 15th, 2014 at 10:26 AM

Military exercises involving some 1,300 personnel from 15 nations are due to begin in western Ukraine on September 15.

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Россию зовут на войну с исламистами - Газета.Ru
Monday September 15th, 2014 at 10:26 AM

Газета.Ru

Россию зовут на войну с исламистами
Газета.Ru
В понедельник в Париже пройдет международная конференция по ситуации в Ираке, основной темой которой станет борьба с боевиками-фундаменталистами из организации «Исламское государство Ирака и Леванта». На встречу приглашен и глава МИД России Сергей Лавров. По ...
Главы МИД 30 стран соберутся в Париже на конференцию по ИракуТренд
Запад поделится с Москвой планами на Ирак и Сирию. Участники конференции в Париже разработают стратегию борьбы с "Исламским государством ...Centrasia.ru
Париж принимает конференцию по борьбе с ИГИЛ. Иран не пригласилиИзраильские новости
swissinfo.ch -Коммерсантъ
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The painful secrecy of Russia's war in Ukraine - The Globe and Mail
Monday September 15th, 2014 at 10:25 AM

EurActiv

The painful secrecy of Russia's war in Ukraine
The Globe and Mail
Russian journalists who tried to go the cemetery were chased away by young men in tracksuits, who appeared to have been stationed there to dissuade visitors. A local politician was beaten unconscious after he started investigating why men from the ...
Ukraine still in 'state of war' with Russia, PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk saysCBC.ca
Russia slams Washington for fuelling Ukraine CrisisEurActiv
Ukrainian refugees on edge as they flood into RussiaLos Angeles Times
Bloomberg-ITAR-TASS- The Moscow Times
all 499 Bloomberg-Columbia Daily Herald
all 409 news articles »

Putin’s Rule: The Era of Violenceby podrabinek@imrussia.org (Alexander Podrabinek)
Monday September 15th, 2014 at 10:24 AM

Home

Fifteen years ago, in September 1999, Russia was shaken by apartment building bombings in Moscow, Buinaksk, and Volgodonsk that left more than 300 people dead. According to writer Alexander Podrabinek, these terrorist attacks marked the beginning of Putin’s violent era in Russian history.

Минобороны: РФ грозит применить тактическое ядерное оружие - Утро
Monday September 15th, 2014 at 10:23 AM

Минобороны: РФ грозит применить тактическое ядерное оружие
Утро
"Я подчеркиваю, что Россия угрожала нам применением и тактического ядерного оружия", – заявил министр обороны Валерий Гелетей. Он также добавил, что в сложившейся ситуации наша страна рассчитывает получить военную помощь от стран Организации Североатлантического ...

и другие »

«Единая Россия» и ЛДПР прошли в парламент Крыма - Полит.ру
Monday September 15th, 2014 at 10:23 AM

Московский комсомолец

«Единая Россия» и ЛДПР прошли в парламент Крыма
Полит.ру
По итогам подсчета 54,57% бюллетеней, только «Единая Россия» и ЛДПР пока преодолели пятипроцентный барьер и получили мандаты в Государственном совете Крыма первого созыва. Об этом заявил глава крымского избиркома Михаил Малышев 15 сентября на брифинге в ...
Выборы в России прошли спокойно, под контролем 180 тыс. полицейскихTOP News.RU
«Единая Россия» стала лидером на выборах в КрымуВзгляд
"Единая Россия" лидирует на выборах в КрымуТВ Центр - Официальный сайт телеканала
ЮГА.ру -Информационное агентство АПИ -Федеральное агентство новостей No.1
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Traitors in Vladimir Putin's Russia - BBC News
Monday September 15th, 2014 at 10:22 AM

BBC News

Traitors in Vladimir Putin's Russia
BBC News
In a Moscow café, Andrei Lugovoi talks to me about a subject close to his heart: betrayal. The man British police view as prime suspect in the killing of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko is making his TV debut, as host of a documentary series ...

and more »

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Page 5

Russia: We warned the Yanks about Islamic State - Aljazeera.com
Monday September 15th, 2014 at 10:21 AM

Aljazeera.com

Russia: We warned the Yanks about Islamic State
Aljazeera.com
A joke making the rounds among Russian officials and hacks who take a keen interest in what is going on in the Middle East these days goes something like this: How will the Yanks deal with the Islamic State group? They will create "Islamic State 2", a ...

Kremlin Ally: Ban Euronews Over Putin-Hitler Footage
Monday September 15th, 2014 at 10:20 AM

A pro-Kremlin legislator says Russia should ban Euronews over footage showing Ukrainian forces using an image depicting President Vladimir Putin as Adolf Hitler for target practice.

На Украине проходят международные военные учения - Новости Украины | Новостное агентство ХАРЬКОВ
Monday September 15th, 2014 at 10:19 AM

Новости Украины | Новостное агентство ХАРЬКОВ

На Украине проходят международные военные учения
Новости Украины | Новостное агентство ХАРЬКОВ
Как передает «ИТАР-ТАСС» со ссылкой на руководителя западного регионального медиацентра министерства обороны Украины Александра Поронюка, на учениях были подняты флаги Украины и США. «Несколько минут назад учения официально начались. Только что был поднят ...

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Window on Eurasia: 60 Years Ago, Moscow Tested a Nuclear Weapon on Its Own Citizens by paul goble (noreply@blogger.com)
Monday September 15th, 2014 at 10:18 AM

Window On Eurasia -- New Series

Paul Goble

Staunton, September 15 – Yesterday was the 60th anniversary of a horrific tragedy in which the Soviet government tested a nuclear weapon on its own people at a military base in Orenburg oblast, a tragedy which continues because the Russian government has not been willing to face up to what happen or provide effective help to the victims.

Instead, the Bellona organization says, this horrific event “continues not only in the fates of the witnesses still living but in the fate of their children and grandchildren. Over these 60 years, a very great deal has changed, but what has not changed is the impermissible attitude of the state towards its own citizens” (bellona.ru/articles_ru/articles_2014/totskiy).

On September 14, 1954, the Soviet authorities exploded a nuclear device of between 10 and 40 kilotons, approximately twice the power of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, in an area where some 45,000 to 60,000 Soviet citizens were living in order to test the effectiveness of the weapon, the environmental activist group says.

There was not at the time or has there been since much “objective official information” about what happened. One ethnic Latvian, who was in the USSR military at the time, said that the underground test shook the ground and then exploded into the atmosphere, causing people to flee in all directions. His report appeared only in January 2001.

Other survivors say that the Soviet authorities evacuated only some of those nearby, and consequently, they left many others to be exposed to potentially lethal levels of radiation.Investigations in the 1990s found that residents of almost 500 villages were exposed to excessive radiation and have suffered as a result.

Bellona reports that soldiers fled leaving their irradiated equipment. “But local residents quickly returned to their regular lives. They used their customary water supplies and engaged in their traditional agriculture … They did not know anything about the invisible danger [from the radiation] … and suddenly as if out of nowhere people began to die.”

During the Soviet period, the authorities did little or nothing for these people. And “the first serious attempt to shed light on the consequences of the explosion was the work of scholars of Orenburg oblast who at least demarcated the limits of the Totsk polygon radioactive area.”But after they did so, the Russian government cut off their funding.

The fate of “more than 10,000 people” who suffered as a result “did not agitate the state then and it does not do so now. Those few who have survived to this 60th anniversary of the atomic explosion are not receiving compensating, cannot use any benefits and cannot show the connection of their illnesses with the impact of radiation.”

That official attitude helps to explain horrors which continue to this day from the large to the small. It provides an insight into the reasons why Vladimir Putin can speak so casually about using nuclear weapons, and it explains why the Russian government continues to neglect the health and wellbeing of its own citizens.

Not only has Moscow cut back on healthcare and ensured that many will suffer by imposing an embargo on medicines produced abroad that Russian firms do not produce in the country, but its own officials pointed out this week that eight cities in the Urals are now unfit for human habitation (rg.ru/2014/09/12/reg-urfo/vozduh-anons.html).

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Донецк: За сутки погибли 6 мирных жителей, 15 — ранены, разрушены 40 домов - ИА REGNUM
Monday September 15th, 2014 at 10:16 AM

Window On Eurasia -- New Series

ЛІГА.net

Донецк: За сутки погибли 6 мирных жителей, 15 — ранены, разрушены 40 домов
ИА REGNUM
«В результате артобстрелов Донецка 14 сентября погибло 6 мирных жителей, 15 человек получили осколочные ранения различной степени тяжести», — об этом корреспонденту ИА REGNUM сообщили в пресс-службе Донецкого горсовета сегодня, 15 сентября. По данным ...
В Донецке фиксируют аварийное отключение трансформаторных подстанцийИнтерфакс - Украина
Шесть мирных жителей Донецка погибли в воскресеньеВерсии.сом
В Донецке из-за обстрелов проблемы с водой и светомСЕГОДНЯ
РБК Украина -NEWS.BCM.ru -Зеркало недели
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Window on Eurasia: Moscow Backs Donbas Participation in Ukrainian Elections by paul goble (noreply@blogger.com)
Monday September 15th, 2014 at 10:15 AM

Paul Goble

Staunton, September 15 – In a change of tactics reflecting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s statement on Saturday that Russia wants to have a “neutral” Ukraine rather than to create another Transdniestria lest that further alienate the rest of Ukraine, Moscow will back the participation of the Donbas in the October 26 Ukrainian elections.

Under a plan reportedly being overseen by Putin advisor Vladislav Surkov, Moscow will back the so-called “Opposition Bloc” in these elections to gain more influence over Kyiv’s future policies rather than support those who want a boycott (news.liga.net/news/politics/3291852-kreml_menyaet_taktiku_na_parlamentskikh_vyborakh_v_ukraine.htm?fb_action_ids=10152475324312639&fb_action_types=og.recommends).

This bloc, the Ukrainian news agency Liga points out, has a better chance of winning seats than does the Party of the Regions which polls suggest would not exceed the five-percent barrier in a part of Ukraine it dominated earlier if it chose to run. That is probably why, the agency says, that party and Moscow have decided on a different strategy.

There are some 20 majoritarian parliamentary electoral districts in areas controlled by Russian forces and pro-Moscow militants, and if this plan goes forward, the Russian side almost certainly could guarantee that a majority or even all of these would vote for pro-Moscow candidates.

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Page 6

гимнастка Алина Кабаева уходит из Госдумы - BBC Russian
Monday September 15th, 2014 at 10:14 AM

Московский комсомолец

гимнастка Алина Кабаева уходит из Госдумы
BBC Russian
Комитет Госдумы по регламенту рекомендовал нижней палате одобрить досрочное сложение депутатских полномочий Алины Кабаевой по ее собственному желанию, сообщил глава комитета Сергей Попов. По его словам, вопрос об этом может быть рассмотрен на заседании Госдумы ...
Алина Кабаева решила уйти из ГосдумыКомсомольская правда
Ананских: Алина Кабаева много сделала для популяризации спорта в РФРИА Новости
Почему Алина Кабаева решила досрочно сложить полномочия депутата Госдумы?Аргументы и факты
НТВ.ru -Утро.Ru -РБК
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Скончался старший из потомков дома Романовых - РБК
Monday September 15th, 2014 at 10:14 AM