The pleas will start next week

14 years in a colony, that’s what is demanded be the prosecutor in the so-called "second case of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev”. The former owner of Yukos and the former head of the company Menatep are accused from stealing more than 200 million tons of oil. This is in addition to the tax evasion, for which both were sentenced to 8 years of imprisonment back in 2005.

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A birthday calendar for Putin

Twelve scantily clad women oozing praise for Vladimir Putin versus six stern-looking female students demanding human rights – who will win Russia's battle of the calendars?

A day after 12 journalism students at the Moscow State University, Moscow's most prestigious university, released a racy calendar in honour of Putin's 58th birthday, six of their colleagues hit back with their own version, pointing to the murders and curbs on freedom under Putin.

Vladimir Vladimirovich, we've got a few questions.

When will Khodorkovsky be freed?

Idiots, all right. But what about the roads?

(In Russia there is a saying: "There are two kinds of problems: the idiots and the roads".)

How will inflation affect the bribes?

Freedom of meeting always and everywhere?

Who killed Anna Politkovskaya?

(Anna Politkovskaya was a Russian journalist who got murdered on Putin's birthday in 2006.)

When will be the next terrorist attack?

Do you really want to know what the other calendar looked like? Alright then, but I will not translate all the praise. The title is "We love you", and further you can read stuff like: "What about your third term?", "Can I be your co-pilot?" and "You put out the fires, but I'm still burning"... Yes, that comes from journalism students at the Moscow State University. Would you believe that I also took lessons in that institute...