Word: putin
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Having established himself as one of the greatest chess masters of all time, Kasparov is an underdog again. As a leader of the Other Russia, a coalition of opponents to the government of Vladimir Putin, Kasparov has become Russia's most conspicuous political gadfly--a symbol of the sense that as the world prepares for the end of the Putin period (presidential elections are due to be held in March 2008, and under the Russian constitution, Putin cannot stand for a third term), all is not well in Russia. The Other Russia has been holding a series of protest marches...
...materials, the economy is booming as it has not been in decades. Most Russian citizens live infinitely freer lives now than they did during the Soviet era of gulags and totalitarianism. But Russia's political system is dominated by a military-industrial-security complex, many of whose members (like Putin) have roots in the old KGB and seem determined to maintain control of the nation's natural resources for their own benefit. Kasparov doesn't believe Russia's leaders are readying themselves for a new cold war with the West; Russia can't instigate another such struggle. Today's motivating...
...Vladimir Putin's regional roulette has many fronts but just two primary stakes: oil and pride. Russia is nursing border disputes with Norway and Japan, but the real emotional outbursts come with the former Soviet states, many of whom are sidling up to NATO or the E.U. Among the weapons wielded: troop deployments, trade embargoes and immigration quotas. Late last year Russia hiked gas and oil prices to Belarus, Georgia and Ukraine, all countries resisting the Kremlin's political embrace. With former satellites like Azerbaijan planning oil pipelines that bypass Russia, expect more hurt feelings--and more rough play...
...reason for the street action is the sad reality of the Putin regime long denying its opponents any legitimate public fora. The mainstream media are subdued, and "the Parliament is not a place for discussion," as the Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov succinctly put it in 2005. When people are denied the right to discuss their life on the parliament floor or in the media, they're forced into the street - and into strange alliances. The Other Russia, in fact, is an unlikely motley amalgamation: members of the traditional democratic and liberal Yabloko party; new liberal factions, The United Civic Front...
...long been a sad joke that if Putin can't raise pensions and wages for the disgruntled population, he can still resolve the problem by just giving one huge raise to the OMON. Russia's suppression machine is strong as ever, and most people still believe in their Good Czar President, even if they have lost confidence in the state institutions. Putin does not have much to fear - yet. However, if there is a lesson to draw from a history of Soviet experience, it's this: power and might don't matter much if the exhausted people lose their faith...