Word: putin
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Barvikha Hotel & Spa, www.barvikhahotel.com, sits just west of Moscow, in the super-ritzy community of Rublyovka, where everyone from Joseph Stalin to Vladimir Putin to the oligarchs who once ruled Russia have camped out in sprawling dachas enveloped by thick forests...
Whispers of a split between Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his handpicked successor, President Dmitri Medvedev, have grown louder over the past few weeks. The economic crisis is putting pressure on the ruling duo to show they're on top of things. It may also be exacerbating their differences...
...strongest signal of potential trouble, according to Kremlin watchers, was the Kremlin's February announcement that it was establishing an advisory group of professional managers to help the government handle the economic crisis. Observers believe Medvedev will use the pool of loyal bureaucrats to fill government positions abandoned by Putin's men, widely blamed for the economic policies that led to the downturn. "Medvedev is building his own power base, up to a certain point," says Alexander Khramchikhin, a senior researcher at the Institute for Political and Military Analysis in Moscow. (See pictures of Putin...
...close examination of those chosen suggests that Putin's influence is far from waning. The appointment of Andrei Turchak, 33, who was named governor of Pskov region in mid-February, has aroused claims of nepotism from critics, because Turchak's father is said to be a good friend of Putin's. (Turchak got his start as head of the youth wing of United Russia, which happens to be Putin's party.) In fact, nearly two-thirds of the first 100 already work in the country's federal and regional bureaucracies or have senior posts in state-owned companies. Because...
...next controversy involved Georgia, which was the recipient of Russian troops last year. The Georgians' entry, "We Don't Wanna Put In" by Stephane and 3G, reflected the country's sentiments about the war, with a not-so subtle reference to Putin. The song won by a large majority in Georgia, but was banned by Eurovision's multinational panel of judges this week for violating the contest's prohibition of songs with overtly political content...