Word: putin
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...RUSSIA: Is Vladimir Putin playing protector or politics...
Even Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has cultivated an image of unyielding toughness, seems shaken. Beslan provided devastating proof that the core of his macho approach to politics--his promise to rub out secessionists--was nothing but empty words. And so he reached for a safety blanket of his own last week, announcing a series of moves aimed at consolidating political power in the Kremlin. Under Putin's plan, the 89 regional governors will henceforth be appointed, not elected. Russia's parliament, the Duma, will be elected only from party lists, not from constituencies. As most parties represented...
...Putin may be tightening the screws now because he fears that his support could fade if there are more terrorist attacks and oil prices collapse. Despite widespread doubts about the government's handling of the Beslan crisis, polls continue to give Putin a wide margin over any potential opponent. "All political leaders lie," says Lidiya Grigorievna, a retired schoolteacher, as she waits at the new security check-in a Moscow art museum. "But will they give us anyone better than Putin...
LETTER FROM MOSCOW: Is Vladimir Putin playing protector or politics...
With leader of the free world unable to challenge Putin and keep morally consistent, it looks like the West may have to sit by and watch Russia’s already weak democratic institutions crumble even faster than they had before...