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A note on another interesting gathering in Russia. It involves the man singing there — a Russian rocker named Yuri Shevchuk. He recently attended a charity dinner along with several other guests including Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

All was well at first, until Shevchuk stood up to speak. The rocker questioned the prime minister about freedom of speech — a sensitive topic in Russia. Mr. Putin wasn’t pleased — and the discussion got intense. All with TV cameras rolling.

Seva Novgorodsev is with the BBC’s Russian Service. He’s also a DJ and a music specialist. He knows Yuri Shevchuk personally, and spoke with him after the encounter.