Russian Press - Behind the Headlines, November 2

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Russian Banker Asks Ukrainian President for Protection / Conflict over Commercial Use of Pussy Riot Brand / Defense Lawyer to Press for Khodorkovsky’s Exoneration

MOSCOW, November 2 (RIA Novosti)

Izvestia

Russian Banker Asks Ukrainian President for Protection

Russian businessman Alexander Lebedev, the owner of National Reserve Bank, has asked Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to order an investigation of claims against him following protests in Kiev.

The Ukrainian Coalition of Public Initiatives and Organizations organized a 200 strong rally outside the Russian Embassy, with banners stating “Putin, take Lebedev away from Ukraine” and “Lebedev, this bell is tolling for you.” The activists believe Lebedev financed the election campaigns of several parliamentary candidates to create a lobby group in the Verkhovna Rada to help him control “Ukrainian black soils.”

The protesters signed an appeal to Vladimir Putin to initiate an investigation into what they call Lebedev’s corrupt activities in Ukraine, such as manipulating Naftogaz bonds and taking over local farmland. The rally culminated in a symbolic “sweeping” of an effigy of the Russian oligarch toward the embassy gate while the bell rang out.

“It can be clearly seen on videos that they put the name Lebedev on a straw dummy and put a sack on its head, presumably symbolizing the gallows,” wrote Lebedev, who also plans to complain to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. “The masterminds behind this show clearly wanted to question the parliamentary elections results.” He further explained in his letter to the Ukrainian president that his alleged “expansion” included building from the ground up a major Crimean resort which served half a million people in seven years, restoring the Chekhov Theater in Yalta and building a 65 meter tall St. Nicholas church and lighthouse. He signed off as a “Novaya Gazeta commentator.”

“Someone has paid money to turn me into a local Berezovsky. But they will have to offer evidence. The campaign is probably aimed at taking over the resort hotel or the theater,” Lebedev told Izvestia, adding that he was planning no acquisitions in Ukraine, given its poor investment climate.
The Ukrainian interior authorities could not say if they planned to investigate the case.

Political analyst Ruslan Pavlenko, who took part in the rally, said influential Russian businessmen are trying to covertly interfere in Ukraine and that local activists have for the first time focused on these activities, trying to make Lebedev’s situation “more transparent.”

A source close to Lebedev suggested the attack could have been staged by campaign specialist Sergei Markov, deputy head of Russia’s Plekhanov Economic University. However, Markov told Izvestia he had always wished Lebedev well and that the Kiev rally and media campaign were definitely “contracted” and “cheap.”

Lebedev also asked the Ukrainian president for a written report on his effective performance, signed by the Culture Minister. He said he needs some credentials for his upcoming Moscow trial on hooliganism charges and that credentials from the rally activists are “unlikely to be helpful.”

Lebedev faces trial following his brawl with developer Sergei Polonsky during a TV show on September 16 last year. After insulting Polonsky verbally, Lebedev hit him on the head. As a result Polonsky fell off his chair and ripped the jeans he was wearing.

Kommersant
Conflict over Commercial Use of Pussy Riot Brand

A company belonging to lawyer Mark Feigin’s wife has filed a request for the commercial use of the Pussy Riot trademark and signed a contract for a film about the punk group. But the Pussy Riot girls claim the commercial use of their group’s name runs contrary to its ideology as a non-profit project.

Pussy Riot member Yekaterina Samutsevich is demanding that Mark Feigin give up the right to the group’s trademark. Her lawyer Sergei Badamshin told Kommersant that he had discussed ownership and trademark rights with her. Pyotr Verzilov, the husband of Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, said that upon her release Samutsevich had decided that she and the group’s lawyers were at variance over the group’s future. “The girls don’t want the group to be turned into a commercial project,” Verzilov said.
Web-Bio, a company belonging to Feigin’s wife Natalya Kharitonova, filed a request to register the Pussy Riot trademark on April 4, 2012. It plans to produce branded films, pens, print matter (including playbills and booklets), clothes, badges and toys, as well as “shows and concerts.”

The group’s name is already being used for commercial purposes. Roast Beef Productions Limited and Web-Bio Films have signed a contract for a film provisionally called “Show Trial: The Story of Pussy Riot.” According to the contract, Kharitonova represents the interests of the three Pussy Riot lawyers and the girls themselves. The lawyers are to film their clients in the pretrial detention wards and in prison. The execution period is from August 17, when the girls’ sentence was announced, to December 31. In addition to £30,000 ($48,350) paid to Web Bio upon the signing of the contract, the company is to receive another £170,000 (almost $274,000) plus 40 percent of net profits from worldwide sales of video materials. In October, U.S. promotion company Live Nation offered to organize a world tour for Pussy Riot after their release, which would earn the girls about 600 million euros.

It is virtually impossible to calculate possible revenues from the Pussy Riot brand, because none of the existing formulas are reliable, said patent attorney Vadim Uskov. Music critic Artemy Troitsky shares this view: “Pussy Riot is a non-profit project, so people could pay millions but only if they knew for sure that the money would go to help the girls.” He said that the registration of the trademark should be suspended. “I think the girls’ lawyers are trying to profit from their clients, which is both immoral and illegal.”

The law prohibits lawyers from purchasing property and property rights featuring in cases in which they are involved in a professional capacity. Mark Feigin told Kommersant that he has no connection to the Pussy Riot brand. “It is impossible to stop the commercialization of the punk group’s brand, because we don’t know who else has filed such requests and for which services. For that matter, Samutsevich could file a similar request,” he said.

Moskovsky Komsomolets
Defense Lawyer to Press for Khodorkovsky’s Exoneration

On November 1, the district court in Velsk, the Arkhangelsk Region, ruled that the term of imprisonment of Platon Lebedev, Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s close associate, co-defendant and one-time head of MENATEP Bank, be reduced by three years. If the ruling remains in force, Lebedev is likely to be released in July 2013.

The court was guided by changes in the wording of the article of the Criminal Code under which Lebedev and Khodorkovsky were indicted. Lebedev’s lawyers said that both they and their client were pleased with the court’s decision. The prosecution has 10 days to appeal. Logically, a similar judgment should have been passed on Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was prosecuted jointly with Lebedev. Khodorkovsky’s lawyer, Vadim Klyuvgant, filed two formal enquiries to clarify when his client could expect his sentence to be reduced.

He also tendered a petition, asking the court to reconsider his client’s case under the new article. He has not received any reply as yet.“Apart from insisting on getting Khodorkovsky’s term reduced, we will also be urging the court to exonerate him because we believe that the case was framed,” said Klyuvgant.

RIA Novosti is not responsible for the content of outside sources.



 

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