Russian President Vladimir Putin dissolved the Pardons...

Russian President Vladimir Putin dissolved the Pardons Commission, one of the country's most liberal organisations set up under his predecessor Boris Yeltsin in 1992.
Made up of writers, actors, theatre directors, clerics and other public figures, it earned a reputation for defending liberal values and was also seen as a safeguard against a harsh penal system inherited from the communist era. Its chairman, Anatoly Pristavkin, was a fervent defender of a moratorium on capital punishment introduced in Russia in 1996.
The Pardons Commission will be replaced by commissions in each of Russia's 89 regions under the direction of local governors.