Word: putin
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...Putin's second swing through Europe in as many weeks, for example, forms part of an effort to outflank Washington in the showdown over missile defense. Where Boris Yeltsin may have contented himself to growl and grumble over a U.S. military initiative deemed inimical to Russian interests, Putin is fighting back vigorously and raising a few eyebrows in Washington. Indeed, he's managed to turn some key European NATO members against Washington's proposed National Missile Defense system by convincing them it could spark a dangerous new arms race; now he plans to head for North Korea next month, partly...
...geopolitical black arts are precisely where Primakov comes in. Although the former foreign minister and prime minister was sidelined by Yeltsin in the runup to Putin's accession and had been the presidential candidate of a rival grouping, Putin evidently bears no grudge. Indeed, they're cut from the same cloth - Primakov is a former KGB chief and Putin headed up its successor organization, the FSB. Putin underlined the significance of that connection soon after taking power, at a highly symbolic gathering at a remote dacha. In the presence of senior intelligence officers, Putin presented Primakov with a hunting rifle...
...enlargement of NATO - was playing a poor hand to maximum advantage. Although the current foreign minister, Igor Ivanov, is a firm, erudite and self-assured Primakov prot?g?, he doesn't have his tutor's strategic vision and skill, his experience or his Rolodex. Primakov's presence, both on Putin's European tour and at the funeral of Syrian president Hafez Assad, suggests the president is eager to make use of his erstwhile rival's expertise in order to engage the U.S. in a diplomatic battle for influence in theaters as diverse as Europe, the Middle East and East Asia...
...influence, using its wits, strengths and historical relationships to contest U.S. global influence. As foreign minister, Primakov operated within the limits set by an unpopular regime led by an enfeebled president, but Moscow analysts believe that what may now be emerging is a combination of the Primakov doctrine with Putin's energy and muscle...
...exemplified by the arrest this week of anti-Kremlin media mogul - and erstwhile Primakov backer - Vladimir Gusinsky has been widely interpreted as a signal that domestic dissent will not be tolerated by the Kremlin's new leadership. But while Western leaders may have expected a more authoritarian regime from Putin in the wake of his ruthless handling of Chechnya and his staring down of Western criticism of same, his vigorous foreign-policy offensive against Washington has caught them off guard. Not only has Putin refused to accede to U.S. demands to renegotiate the Antiballistic Missile Treaty, he's actually gone...