Why did Greece just call snap elections?

Well I think probably that Tsipras was forced to go earlier. There was supposed to be elections anyhow in the autumn. But in view of the big losses that they took in the European, the local, and regional elections he said let's shorten the period of agony. Now July the 7th will see an election campaign is always uncertain but it's most likely that there will be a change of government.

Did the Russian press really unite around Ivan Golunov and get him released?

Yes, it was rather remarkable. I was in Moscow it was really the talk of the town and the fact that several newspapers went out public in a big way. It was unheard of and the authorities had to back down in a way that was rather remarkable. This will have repercussions positively.