Word: kremlins
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Indeed, Shamanov, who led the 58th Army in Chechnya's western sector during the Second Chechen War, was investigated by Russian prosecutors after the European court's ruling - but they concluded that there was no evidence of a crime. Then in December 2008, the Kremlin notified the Council of Europe that it was reviewing the decision. However, it's unlikely that the investigation will yield any new results. (See pictures of Russians in Ossetia...
With the announcement of Shamanov's appointment on May 25, the Kremlin seemed to be sending mixed messages. It's been little more than a year since President Dmitri Medvedev said in his inauguration speech that he would begin a campaign to increase respect for the rule of law in Russia, stating that he places "particular importance on the fundamental role of the law," and that "[Russia] must ensure true respect for the law and overcome the legal nihilism that is such a serious hindrance to modern development...
...Russian political, military and secret-service leadership," he wrote. In fact, other experts suggest, such belligerent talk is meant more as a corrective threat than a potential course of action. But even if Moscow has no immediate designs on Crimea, the continued flow of baleful utterances from the Kremlin does reflect a desire for what Medvedev has called Russia's "privileged interests" in the region to be respected - in terms of politics, business and culture...
...Kremlin certainly has plenty of levers to pull in Ukraine to make its views felt, with its control over gas supplies, alongside the popularity of Russian state-controlled TV in the east and south of the country, where pro-Russian sentiment is strongest. "In certain sections of the Ukrainian political and business élite, there are links with Russia stretching back to Soviet times," says Paliy from the Institute of Foreign Policy. "There are also a large number of Russian-sponsored think tanks in Ukraine, which function freely and push the Kremlin's views...
...presidential elections, set for next January. Last time around, in 2004, Russia and Putin threw their weight behind then Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, whose initial victory was overturned after massive protests in Kiev against vote-rigging, which turned into the so-called Orange Revolution. This time, analysts say the Kremlin will probably diversify its approach, with support for both Yanukovych and previously hostile Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, President Yushchenko's former Orange ally...