North Caucasus 
On 20/1 law enforcement officials shot and killed Umar Saidmagomedov, a Dagestani lawyer, and local resident Rasul Kurbanov, in Makhachkala, Dagestan. (HRW, 26/1) 

On the night of 21/1 rights defender and lawyer Anton Ryzhov was detained for some hours by police in Nizhny Novgorod on his return from Chechnya. (OMCT, 24/1) 

Elections 
Russia is technically capable of organizing fair elections but so far lacked the political will, a report by the PACE said on 23/1. (The Moscow Times, 24/1) 

On 24/1 Liliya Shabanova, executive director of Golos, an independent election monitor, said that her staff had been forced to leave their offices in central Moscow. (HRO.org, 25/1) 

Independent election monitor Golos said it plans to deploy 2,000 observers during the 4/3 presidential election and launched its map of election violations on schedule. (RFE/RL, 25/1) 

The human rights organization Moscow Helsinki Group said on 26/1 it was ready to share its offices with Golos. (HRO.org, 26/1) 

On 27/1 Russian election authorities formally disqualified Grigory Yavlinsky, of the Yabloko party, from running in the 4/3 presidential election. (RFE/RL, 27/1) 

PM Putin's promise to equip Russia’s polling stations with web cameras does not remove the need for election observers, head of the OSCE observer mission said. (The Moscow Times, 27/1) 

Protests 
The Moscow Mayor's office agreed late on 25/1 to allow organizers of a "For Fair Elections" action to hold a rally on 4/2 for up to 50,000 people. (RFE / RL, 26/1) 

Police in Barnaul asked prosecutors to investigate the legality of a recent protest that saw dozens of small dolls arranged to mimic a protest. (The Guardian, 26/1) 

Media rights 
On 25/1 the international media freedom monitor Reporters Without Borders downgraded Russia in its annual Press Freedom Index, to 142nd from 140th place. (RIA Novosti, 26/1) 

LGBT rights 
Runners in a race in Kaliningrad region were detained by police who thought they were gay activists. (The Moscow Times, 25/1) 

President Medvedev 
Medvedev postponed a meeting with his human rights council set for 26/1 for the fourth time. (The Moscow Times, 24/1)