SPS, RAO YeES Seen behind Attack on YABLOKO
Moscow News, August 29, 2003
The emergence on the political scene of a movement called Yabloko without Yavlinsky marked a new stage in the evolution of the conflict between the two parties.

Whither Putin After the Yukos Affair?
By Lilia Shevtsova, The Moscow Times, August 27, 2003
The Kremlin crackdown on one of the country's business moguls is not just another twist in the ongoing political struggle -- it says a lot about the very nature of the political system and may serve as a foretaste of shake-ups to come.

Crown Princess Valentina
By Vladimir Kovalyev, The Moscow Times, August 25, 2003
I would label the whole process rather cynical, if I wasn't so convinced that disgusting is a better word.

Red Flags and a Big Bear at a Pre-Election Fair
By Francesca Mereu, The Moscow Times, August 25, 2003
Walking into the huge Manezh exhibition hall, where more than two dozen political parties are holding a five-day fair to win over the voters, it is clear how the parliamentary race is shaping up.

Chubais to Run on SPS Ticket
By Francesca Mereu, The Moscow Times, August 20, 2003
"It is just as likely to make voters leave SPS and vote for Yabloko or pro-Kremlin United Russia as it is to attract people who are for a savage Chubais-style kind of capitalism," said Sergei Mitrokhin, deputy chairman of the liberal Yabloko party.

Gryzlov paves way for Matvieynko landslide
By Ilya Zhegulev, Gazeta.ru, August 6, 2003
According to the Yabloko deputy chairman, the activities of Boris Gryzlov, who does not conceal his sympathy forUnited Russia, "are starting to exceed certain limits".

Matviyenko gets rid of half of her rivals
By Ilya Zhegulev, Gazeta.ru, August 1, 2003
As a result, at the forthcoming elections in St. Petersburg the presidential envoy for northwestern Russia Valentina Matviyenko will vie with six lawmakers, four entrepreneurs, an incumbent vice-governor, a steward and a porn film producer.

City Plans to Keep Kids in School Until Night
By Francesca Mereu, The Moscow Times, August 12, 2003
Starting in September, 219 of the city's 1,600 schools will offer an experimental program in which schoolchildren will have the option of trying their hand at sports, music and other extracurricular activities instead of going home after classes.

Nuclear Watchdog Chief's Vow
By Sarah Karush, Associated Press, August 11, 2003
New Gosatomnadzor chief Andrei Malyshev said Friday that he was committed to preserving the independence of the nuclear safety watchdog, amid fears that the appointment of an industry insider would spell the end of regulation in the nuclear power sector.

Head of the St.P etersburg branch of YABLOKO: "YABLOKO Without Yavlinsky" initiative will only help the leader of the party
Rosbalt, August 4, 2003
According to Reznik, YABLOKO had a hard time findnmig out who Igor Morozov is and it is difficult to say how he could study the situation in the party to be able to make such actions and statements.

SPS is going to engage in tough struggle against YABLOKO for the electorate
RIA Oreanda, August 11, 2003
On August 8, 2003, Head of the election campaign staff of the Union of Right-Wing Forces (SPS) Alfred Kokh announced to journalists that he planned to engage in a tough struggle against YABLOKO to grab the electorate of the former.

Media law changes provoke concern about press freedom
BBC Monitoring, August 8, 2003
Many in the media and political establishment view the changes as a rollback of a decade of media freedoms and a threat to free speech and free elections, particularly in the regions.

Yabloko Officials Complain About 'Black PR'
RFE/RL, August 6, 2003
Sergei Mitrokhin, deputy leader of the Yabloko faction in the State Duma, referred to the movement's formation as political "hackwork" and an action of "black PR," RosBalt reported the same day.

Sergei Mitrokhin: "I consider the campaign YABLOKO Without Yavlinsky to be an unprofessional piece of black PR action."
Rosbalt, August 5, 2003
Mitrokhin also noted that the movement YABLOKO Without Yavlinsky did not have a single member of the YABLOKO party, which means that the party does not have people who would agree to participate in such provocations for money.

Sergei Mitrokhin: Those who ordered the campaign "YABLOKO Without Yavlinsky" will be detected soon.
Rosbalt, August 5, 2003
He stressed that the YABLOKO party was consistent in opposing the [government's variant of the] reform in the electricity sector, the opaque privatisation of the largest and most profitable assets in this sector, the attempts of the large monopolies to grasp the housing and
utilities sector and switch to 100% payment by the population of housing and utilities services.

United Russia is the Richest and the Most Economical Party
By Valery Tzigankov, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, August 5, 2003
We have obtained copies of the financial statements of United Russia, the Communist Party, the LDPR, YABLOKO, the People's Party, and the Union of Right-Wing Forces for 2002 - and checked the figures against reality.

Sergei Mitrokhin: Anatoli Chubais ordered the "YABLOKO without Yavlinsky press campaign
Rosbalt, August 1, 2003
In an interview with Rosbalt correspondent, Deputy Head of the YABLOKO party Sergei Mitrokhin said that the press conference "YABLOKO without Yavlinsky" conducted in Moscow on Thursday represented a "banal black PR campaign ".

Arrested Yukos Security Officer Recants Previous Testimony
RFE/RL, August 1, 2003
Aleksei Pichugin, a senior Yukos security official who is facing double-murder charges, informed prosecutors on 31 July that he renounces the statements he made under interrogation on 14 July in connection with the investigation, gazeta.ru reported on 1 August.

14 Candidates To Vie For Mayor'S Office In St. Petersburg
RFE/RL, August 1, 2003
By the end of the registration period on 31 July, the number of candidates to compete in the 21 September gubernatorial election in St. Petersburg had dwindled from a high of 33 to just 14, Russian media reported.