Word: kremlins
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...crucial battle in the Duma vote, though, is for second place. The elections will serve as a measure of how badly Luzhkov, Primakov and Fatherland have been hurt by the Kremlin's attacks. Instead of barnstorming the country and mobilizing his impressive network of contacts and favors, Luzhkov, Fatherland's most effective campaigner, has been neutralized by the Kremlin. And while Primakov exudes integrity and reassurance, he is a lackluster public politician...
...worth, pundits are betting that the Communist Party and its allies, led by the leaden-tongued Gennadi Zyuganov, will once again emerge with the largest group in the new Duma, with around 20% to 25% of its 450 members. This would be fine as far as the Kremlin is concerned. It would infinitely prefer that Putin run against Zyuganov rather than Primakov next year. The extreme nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky, these days a faithful supporter of the government, is involved in one of his usual publicity-seeking fights, threatening to challenge the election results after losing a dispute with the central...
Luzhkov, however, has been dogged by a relentless Kremlin smear campaign. Last summer, for instance, rumors circulated that the government was planning to release damning kompromat (compromising materials) about him. One version current in the Duma was that this would take the form of a tape, either video or audio, of Luzhkov ordering the murder of a business rival. No tape ever surfaced, but the prospect of a brutal war of charge and countercharge reinforced the urgings of some of the mayor's advisers: forget about the presidency, back someone else and position yourself to be the great reformist Prime...
...Kremlin's election strategists, orchestrators of the anti-Fatherland campaign, keep well out of the public eye. They include chief of staff Alexander Voloshin; Yeltsin's daughter Tatyana; former dissident turned political consultant Gleb Pavlovsky; and two businessmen and Yeltsin-family favorites, Alexander Mamut and Roman Abramovich. Much of the war has been waged by proxy on TV, with nasty Sunday-night news battles setting the tone. On ORT, a state-owned network that is largely controlled by Yeltsin supporter Boris Berezovsky, news anchor Sergei Dorenko bludgeons home the idea that Luzhkov is a murderer, a crook, a hypocrite. Yevgeny...
...campaign has been a bitter affair. He was looking forward to a double triumph--a landslide re-election in Moscow and nationwide recognition with Fatherland. Now he must be wondering how far the government will push corruption charges against him. He underestimated the determination with which the scandal-ridden Kremlin would fight to secure its future. Much like the war in Chechnya, which is designed to be a deterrent to other republics that are considering making a bid for independence, the harsh war on Fatherland has driven home the message that you need very strong nerves to challenge the Kremlin...