Word: russia
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...eyed and often bashful technocrat, would finally rise up to challenge the unrivaled dominance of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. After all, they thought, he is technically the commander in chief of the country and he has cultivated the image of a reformer intent on bringing true democracy to Russia. But in the wake of rampant fraud allegations in local elections, Medvedev yet again disappointed the hopeful...
...started when Medvedev surprised the nation by initiating a fresh debate over the state of democracy in Russia. In a breach of the usual Kremlin protocol, Medvedev wrote a policy paper - a liberal manifesto of sorts - that was published in September on the independent news website gazeta.ru. It was seen by many to be a groundbreaking document. Although Medvedev did not criticize Putin overtly - that would have been political suicide - he did lament Russia's isolationism, its vulnerable economy and its "negative democratic tendencies," all jabs at the authoritarian political system that Putin cultivated during his eight years as President...
Israel, which has threatened military action if Iran's nuclear program is not stopped, has been increasingly critical of the Vienna deal for the very reasons that Tehran welcomes it. "[The agreement] means that [the U.S., Russia and France] recognize that Iran is enriching uranium and that helps [Iran] with their argument that they are enriching uranium for peaceful purposes," Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Thursday. "It is important to insist on an end to enrichment in Iran...
...possibly extending the range of suppliers of enriched uranium to include China - which is fast emerging as Iran's most significant economic partner and is not aligned with the more dire Western reading of Iran's intentions. And Iran will likely insist that it send its uranium to Russia in smaller installments and over a longer time frame, to test the bona fides of its partners without surrendering most of its stockpile at the get-go. But the French and other Europeans warn that such adjustments would be a deal breaker - precisely because their prime objective is to remove Iran...
...While the Western powers are likely to blanche at making any changes, Tehran may be more focused on how its response is received by China and Russia. After all, the threat of sanctions that hangs over Iran for non-compliance is considerably diminished without their support. And while Moscow and Beijing may support efforts to press Tehran for greater transparency on its nuclear intentions (and while they have backed the Vienna deal), they don't share the Western powers' assessment that Iran's enriched-uranium stockpile represents an imminent bomb threat. That's why an even more challenging response...