A group of prominent public figures have signed a petition demanding that the charges against a St. Petersburg activist be dropped. The activist was severely beaten when he asked for identification from police officers in plain clothes.

Police have detained two suspects in the January murder of lawyer Stanislav Markelov in Moscow, one of whom has issued a confession.

Ultranationalists and anti-fascists alike turn out for rallies across the country for Russia's National Unity Day.

Evgeny Arkhipov, a member of the Solidarity opposition movement, was told that lawyers have no right to engage in social activism and faces the loss of his status as a lawyer.

A poll done by the Public Opinion Foundation finds that Russians' trust is down in both President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin.

A Russian opposition activist claims he was abducted and tortured by police on the day of a planned rally in the Russian city of Voronezh.

Basketball manager Shabtai von Kalmanovic was shot dead in his car in Moscow on Monday in a possible contract killing.