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  • 9
    Apr
    2013
    9:09am, EDT

    'Isolated' Medvedev mans the office as protests dog Putin's European trip

    Dmitry Astakhov / Ria Novosti via Reuters

    Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev stands in his office in Moscow on April 9, 2013, before an interview with a Russian television channel.

    By David R Arnott, NBC News

    Three topless protesters, members of the women's rights group Femen, disrupt a visit between Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and German chancellor Angela Merkel at a trade fair in Hannover. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

    As Russian President Vladimir Putin continued a European trip marked by protest, his successor as Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was left looking rather wistful at his office back in Moscow Tuesday.

    Since Putin and Medvedev swapped jobs in May last year, the latter has found himself out of the limelight and has even found time to indulge his passion for photography.

    NPR's Moscow correspondent Corey Flintoff reported earlier this month that Medvedev appears increasingly isolated from the center of power and may have been the target of a campaign to wreck his reputation.

    Putin, who was confronted by topless protesters in Germany on Monday, faced further demonstrations in the Netherlands, where 1,000 gay rights activists waved pink and orange balloons and blasted out dance music to condemn Russia's treatment of homosexuals. 

    AFP - Getty Images, RIA Novosti via AP

    Russian President Vladimir Putin had a busy day Monday: (clockwise from top left) Sitting in a Volkswagen XL 1 Hybrid car in Hanover, Germany; laughing with German Chancellor Angela Merkel; arriving at Schiphol airport in The Netherlands; drinking a toast with Dutch Queen Beatrix at the Hermitage Museum in Amsterdam.

    Robin Utrecht / EPA

    Demonstrators participate in a protest near the National Maritime Museum, where Putin was having dinner, in Amsterdam on April 8, 2013. The protesters were denouncing a so-called 'homosexual propaganda ban' in Russia which was enacted in January.

    Previously on PhotoBlog: On holiday with Putin and Medvedev

    Follow @NBCNewsPictures

    2 comments

    When you don't give a rat's behind about anyone but yourself like he does, it's probably quite easy.

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  • Updated
    8
    Apr
    2013
    11:48am, EDT

    Topless protesters give Russia's Putin an eyeful

    Jochen Luebke / EPA

    An eye-opening experience for Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) as he is confronted by a topless demonstrator during a tour of the Hanover Fair in Hanover, Germany, on April 8, 2013. He was accompanied by German Chancellor Angela Merkel (center right) and Volkswagen Chief Executive Officer Martin Winterkorn (extreme right).

    By Alexei Anishchuk and Andreas Rinke, Reuters

    Russian President Vladimir Putin laughed off a protest against him by topless women in Germany on Monday, joking that he liked what he had seen while sharply rebuffing German criticism of his human rights record.

    Three members of the women's rights group Femen, which has staged protests against Russia's detention of the feminist punk band Pussy Riot around Europe, disrupted his visit to a trade fair in the German city of Hanover focusing on Russian business.

    They stripped to the waist and shouted slogans calling the Russian leader a "dictator" before being covered up and bundled away by security men.

    Julian Schultenschulte / EPA

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin exchange glances after the incident involving topless demonstrators.

    Jochen Luebke / EPA

    Security staff stop another topless demonstrator at the Volkswagen stand at the Hanover Fair.

    "Regarding this performance, I liked it," grinned Putin at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, adding that it had helped to promote the trade fair though he suggested that the security men could have been "gentler".

    "I did not catch what they were shouting, I did not even see if they were blondes, brunettes or chestnut-haired ... I don't see anything terrible in (the protest), though I think ... it is better to be dressed if one wants to discuss political matters." Read the full story.

    Jochen Luebke / AFP - Getty Images

    A demonstrator is held by security staff.

    Three topless protesters, members of the women's rights group Femen, disrupt a visit between Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and German chancellor Angela Merkel at a trade fair in Hannover. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

    Related:

    Topless feminist confronts Russian patriarch

    Putin awards biker buddy 'The Surgeon' with medal

    Putin takes to sky to lead flight of cranes

    Follow @NBCNewsPictures

    This story was originally published on Mon Apr 8, 2013 9:12 AM EDT

    Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

    400 comments

    Cant help but notice that the men don't look too disgusted !

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    Explore related topics: germany, russia, europe, protest, angela-merkel, world-news, vladimir-putin, featured, updated, femen
  • 19
    Dec
    2012
    8:17am, EST

    Russian gay rights activists stage 'kiss-in' protest

    Misha Japaridze / AP

    Andrey Smirnov / AFP - Getty Images

    Police officers detain gay right activists holding a 'kiss-in' protest outside the State Duma in Moscow on Dec. 19, 2012.

    Russian gay rights activists kiss during a protest near the State Duma, Russia's lower parliament chamber, in Moscow on Wednesday.

    The State Duma was set to debate a bill that would introduce sanctions for providing minors with information on homosexuality but postponed the debate until next month.

    -- The Associated Press

     Related content:

    • Russia retaliates against US rights legislation
    • Lady Gaga accused of illegal gay rights promotion in Russia

    Sign up for the NBCNews.com Photos Newsletter

    Follow @NBCNewsPictures

     

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  • 5
    Sep
    2012
    6:04am, EDT

    Moscow police nab Greenpeace polar bear protesters

    Misha Japaridze / AP

    A Greenpeace activist, dressed as a polar bear, sits inside a police car after being detained outside Gazprom's headquarters in Moscow, Russia, on Sept. 5, 2012. Russian and international environmentalists are protesting against Gazprom's plans to pioneer oil drilling in the Arctic.

     

    Misha Japaridze / AP

    The Associated Press reports — Put your paws in the air.

    Moscow police have arrested 10 environmental activists, including four dressed in polar bear costumes, who were protesting outside the main office of Gazprom, the Russian oil and natural gas giant.

    The protest Wednesday by members of Greenpeace called upon Gazprom to halt its offshore drilling in the Arctic. The protesters blocked a driveway into the Gazprom headquarters, laying down fake snow, which those dressed as bears rolled in. Continue reading.

    Follow @NBCNewsPictures

    •Sign up for the NBCNews.com Photos Newsletter

     

    3 comments

    If a rioting pussy is worth 3 years then impersonating a polar bear would probably be 10 years.

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    Explore related topics: russia, europe, greenpeace, protest, environment, gazprom, world-news, offshore-drilling, moscow, featured, polar-bear
  • 28
    Aug
    2012
    8:10am, EDT

    Mitya Aleshkovskiy / AP

    Taisiya Osipova sits behind bars at a courtroom in Russia's western city of Smolensk on August 28, 2012.

    Outrage at lengthy sentence for Russian opposition activist

    A Russian opposition activist was sentenced Tuesday to eight years in prison on drug charges, double the sentence requested by prosecutors, in a ruling that drew immediate opposition outrage.

    Taisiya Osipova has maintained that police planted four grams of heroin in her home in 2010 in revenge for her refusal to testify against her husband, Sergei Fomchenkov, also an activist with The Other Russia opposition movement.

    -- The Associated Press

    See more pictures of the Russian opposition movement on PhotoBlog

    Follow @NBCNewsPictures

    •Sign up for the NBCNews.com Photos Newsletter


    Comment

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    Explore related topics: human-rights, russia, justice, protest, world-news, taisiya-osipova
  • 30
    Jul
    2012
    6:50am, EDT

    Punk rockers Pussy Riot in court over anti-Putin church protest

    Maxim Shemetov / Reuters

    Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, left, Yekaterina Samutsevich, top, and Maria Alyokhina, right, members of female punk band "Pussy Riot", look out from the defendent's cell in a courtroom in Moscow on July 30, 2012. Three young women who staged an irreverent punk-rock protest against Vladimir Putin on the altar of Russia's main cathedral go on trial on Monday in a case seen as a test of the president's tolerance of dissent.

    NBC News wire services report from Moscow — Three young women who staged an irreverent punk-rock protest against Vladimir Putin on the altar of Russia's main cathedral were due to go on trial Monday in a case seen as a test of the president's tolerance of dissent.

    The trial of the activists - from the band Pussy Riot - should show how much power the resurgent Russian Orthodox Church and its head, Patriarch Kirill, wields. He has called the "punk prayer" blasphemy, casting it as part of a sinister anti-clerical campaign. Read the full story.

    Maxim Shemetov / Reuters

    A supporter of "Pussy Riot" waits outside the court where three members of the band are on trial, in Moscow on July 30, 2012.

    Previously on PhotoBlog: Topless feminist confronts Russian church patriarch

    Follow @NBCNewsPictures

    •Sign up for the NBCNews.com Photos Newsletter

    Comment

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  • 12
    Jun
    2012
    8:20am, EDT

    'Russia will be free': Thousands march against Putin in Moscow

    Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP

    Opposition members march in Moscow on Tuesday, June 12, 2012. Tens of thousands of Russians flooded Moscow's tree-lined boulevards Tuesday in the first massive protest against President Vladimir Putin's rule since his inauguration, as investigators sought to raise the heat on the opposition by summoning some of its leaders for questioning just an hour before the march.

    Sergei Karpukhin / Reuters

    A participant holds a T-shirt referring to Article 31 of the Russian constitution, which guarantees the right of assembly, during an anti-government protest in Moscow on June 12, 2012.

    Reuters reports — Thousands of Russians chanted "Russia will be free" in a march through Moscow on Tuesday to protest against President Vladimir Putin, shrugging off his tough new tactics intended to quash any challenge to his rule.

    More images of protest in Russia on PhotoBlog

    "Those who fought are beyond being scared," said Valery Zagovny, a 50-year-old who served for the Soviet army in Afghanistan and was wearing the medals to prove it. "Let those behind the red-toothed walls of the Kremlin be scared." Read the full story.

    Follow @msnbc_pictures

    Alexander Nemenov / AFP - Getty Images

    Opposition activists rally in Moscow on June 12, 2012.

    Ria Novosti via Reuters

    Russian President Vladimir Putin attends an awards ceremony for achievements in culture and science in Moscow's Kremlin on June 12, 2012.

    Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP

    Riot police form a line as opposition members march in central Moscow on June 12, 2012.

    Thousands of opposition supporters take to the streets of Moscow to protest Russian President Vladimir Putin's leadership. Msnbc.com's Dara Brown reports.

     

    149 comments

    What's sad is those running our country do not think that the people will rise up against them because we are in the USA... Just remember that is how this nation was founded.... that is meant for everyone who has chosen a life as an elected official. Govern for the masses!

    Show more
    Explore related topics: russia, europe, protest, world-news, vladimir-putin, moscow
  • 7
    May
    2012
    6:46am, EDT

    Protests can't stop Putin from returning to power

    Vladimir Rodionov / Pool via AFP - Getty Images

    Russia's president-elect Vladimir Putin walks down Andreyevsky (St.Andrew's ) Hall of the Great Kremlin Palace in Moscow May 7, as he arrives to take his oath of office and become Russia's president for a historic third mandate at a glittering ceremony inside the Kremlin.

    Natalia Kolesnikova / AFP - Getty Images

    Russian people march along a street during an opposition's protest rally in Moscow on May 6. Russian riot police violently clashed with protesters at a rally on the eve of Vladimir Putin's return for a third Kremlin term, arresting over 400 people including opposition leaders.

    Alexander Zemlianichenko / Pool via AP

    Russian President Vladimir Putin and former President Dmitry Medvedev, right, during the inauguration ceremony at the Cathedral Square in the Kremlin in Moscow, May 7. Vladimir Putin took the oath, saying he considers "service to the fatherland and our nation to be the meaning of my life."

    Andrey Smirnov / AFP -Getty Images

    Russian Police officers detain opposition supporters during a rally in Moscow on May 6.

    By msnbc.com staff and news services: MOSCOW --  Vladimir Putin was sworn in as Russia's president at a glittering ceremony on Monday, hours after clashes between police and thousands of protesters in the country's capital laid bare the deep divisions over his return to the Kremlin for six more years. 

    In the latest demonstrations on Sunday, police detained more than 400 people, including three opposition leaders, after tensions boiled over at a rally attended by about 20,000 people across the Moscow river from the Kremlin. 

    Putin, a former KGB spy, took his oath before nearly 2,000 guests in the Kremlin's St Andrew Hall, the former throne room with sparkling chandeliers, gilded pillars and high Gothic vaults, before being blessed by the head of the Russian Orthodox Church and taking charge of the nuclear suitcase.  Full story.

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  • 1
    May
    2012
    6:55am, EDT

    May Day is marked around the world with demands for stronger labor rights

    Dita Alangkara / AP

    Indonesian workers shout slogans during a rally to mark May Day in Jakarta on May 1, 2012. Thousands of Indonesian workers staged the rally demanding the government raise the minimum wage and reject outsourcing.

    The Associated Press reports — May Day moved beyond its roots as an international workers' holiday to a day of international protest Tuesday, with rallies throughout Asia demanding wage increases and marches planned across Europe over government-imposed austerity measures.

    Thousands of workers protested in the Philippines, Indonesia and Taiwan and other Asian nations, with the demand for wage hikes amid soaring oil prices a common theme. They said their take-home pay could not keep up with rising consumer prices, while also calling for lower school fees and expressing a variety of other gripes. Read the full story.

    Andrey Smirnov / AFP - Getty Images

    A man carries a poster reading "Putin is our President!" during the May Labor Day rally of the Russian Trade Unions and United Russia party in Moscow on May 1, 2012. Russia's president-elect Vladimir Putin and outgoing head of state Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday joined over 100,000 people in a Soviet-style mass march through Moscow.

    Bullit Marquez / AP

    Protesters dance around the burnt effigy of Philippine President Benigno Aquino III during a May Day rally near the Presidential Palace in Manila on May 1, 2012. Thousands of workers marched under a brutal sun in Manila to demand a wage increase amid an onslaught of oil price increases, but the Philippine President rejected a $3 daily pay hike which the workers have been demanding since 1999 and warned may worsen inflation, spark layoffs and turn away foreign investors.

    AFP - Getty Images

    Bahraini Shiites attend a demonstration celebrating Labor Day in the village of Muqsha'a on April 30, 2012. Many Shiite employees were either dismissed or indefinitely suspended from their jobs in the wake of a brutal crackdown by the Bahrain government.

    Dibyangshu Sarkar / AFP - Getty Images

    Indian sex workers hold candles and posters as they march in a May Day rally asking for their rights and the recognition of their profession in Kolkata, late on April 30, 2012.

    Vincent Thian / AP

    Visitors takes picture in front of Tiananmen gate in Beijing, China, on May 1, 2012. Tens of thousands of visitors flock to the area around Tiananmen Square to enjoy a public holiday to mark May Day.

    Alexey Druzhinin / AFP - Getty Images

    Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (2nd L), Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (2nd R), Independent Trade Unions' Chairman Mikhail Shmakov (L) and State Duma deputy Viktor Pinsky (R) toast in a bar after attending a rally in Moscow on May 1, 2012.

    Abir Abdullah / EPA

    Garment workers attend a rally to mark May Day at Paltan in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on May 1, 2012. Different workers organizations have arranged programmes inluding a rally, seminars and cultural events as they demand the establishment of workers' rights.

    Farooq Khan / EPA

    Laborers drilling a mountain to extract rocks inside a stone quarry on May 1, 2012 in Srinagar, Kashmir. Local labor leaders told media their colleagues at many construction sites were denied a May Day public holiday by their employers.

    Follow @msnbc_pictures

    3 comments

    Like your 8 hour day? Paid overtime? Paid leave? Occupational health and safety? Child labor laws? Minimum wages? Workers compensation? Unemployment compensation? Right to sue over sexual harassment? If you still have them, partially paid health insurance or pensions? Thank a Union! No politician is …

    Show more
    Explore related topics: human-rights, indonesia, russia, china, bangladesh, india, philippines, labor, protest, bahrain, world-news, may-day
  • 2
    Feb
    2012
    8:02am, EST

    Andrey Smirnov / AFP - Getty Images

    A police officer braves the cold ( minus 17 degrees Celsius) as he detains a demonstrator wearing a carnival costume of death outside the Interior Ministry headquarters in Moscow on Feb. 2, 2012. The sign on the protester's chest reads 'Corruption'.

    Dressed as Death, Russian opposition protester braves freezing temperatures

    Police detained four protesters who braved freezing temperatures Thursday to take part in an unauthorized demonstration against what they called corruption in Russia's Interior Ministry, Agence France Presse reports.

    Related content:

    • Anti-Putin protesters battle cold and divisions
    • Russian politicians drawn in cocoa atop latte foam
    • Documenting Moscow's migrant workforce
    • Opposition figures meet ahead of new protest
    • Black belt Putin gives a judo lesson to young students
    • Protesters detained outside Russia Interior Ministry

    Comment

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  • 31
    Jan
    2012
    8:14am, EST

    Anton Golubev / Reuters

    Anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny, left, listens to opposition leader Garry Kasparov, right, during a meeting of the organisational committee for a forthcoming opposition protest in Moscow on Jan. 31, 2012. The protest, similar to mass protests organised after a parliamentary election in December, is planned for Feb. 4.

    Russian opposition figures meet ahead of new protest

    See more images of protests against the Putin-Medvedev axis on PhotoBlog.

    Comment

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  • 18
    Jan
    2012
    8:21am, EST

    Andrey Smirnov / AFP - Getty Images

    Police officers detain a man holding a photo of Russia's Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev, just outside the Interior Ministry headquarters in Moscow, on Jan. 18, 2012, after he tried to take part in an unauthorized stage protest.

    Protesters detained outside Russia Interior Ministry

    Police detained three protesters on Wednesday as they tried to demonstrate against what they called the corruption in Russia's Interior Ministry, Agence France Presse reports.

    Related content:

    • Billionaire Kremlin hopeful says Putin must change
    • Medvedev proposes direct governor elections
    • A rich, eligible bachelor - and the next leader of Russia?
    • Kremlin's photo-doctoring backfires big time
    • Russians demand new elections, protest Putin's rule
    • Russian opposition leaders outline their thoughts on the future of the country

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