Word: russians
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...that, the unpopular governor, a Kremlin-appointed former tax minister from Moscow named Georgy Boos, levied a new tax on drivers. During the worst bout of unemployment and economic decline in a decade, reports of Boos' lavish vacations to Europe have made many locals despise him. (See pictures of Russian police breaking up an anti-Kremlin rally...
...right. Demonstrations have cropped up around the country in the past few weeks. They have been smaller than the one in Kaliningrad but still very large by Russian standards. In the Siberian city of Irkutsk, a protest on Feb. 13 attracted about 2,000 people. In late 2008, just as the Russian economy was plunging, there was a protest of a few thousand people in Vladivostok and subsequent rallies that brought out a few hundred people. But the latest rallies are larger, the reasons behind them more diverse and the calls for Putin's resignation more fervent. The Prime Minister...
...hurdles are many. Putin loyalists control Russia's political institutions as well as the entire bureaucracy. The government controls all the major TV channels. The Kaliningrad protest got virtually no coverage in the mainstream Russian press. Putin has also been able to deflect part of the resentment by dressing down his political party, United Russia, and sending out envoys to show that the Kremlin is paying attention...
...warmer Franco-Russian feelings notwithstanding, reminders of Russia's independence - and frequent defiance of the West - remained apparent this week in Paris. Following Sarkozy's rather fiery remarks that a France-Russia partnership could help establish a new hard line on Iran's nuclear program, Medvedev responded tepidly, saying, "We will concentrate all efforts on finding political and diplomatic solutions," which he added had "not been exhausted yet." For his part, Sarkozy noted during the visit that Russia has still not fulfilled the conditions of its 2008 cease-fire with Georgia. (See pictures of the Russians in Ossetia...
Still, Liberti says Sarkozy's overtures may bear fruit in the longer run - especially considering the perceptions in both countries that the Obama Administration has little interest in Europe or Russia. "That's a gap in which Sarkozy could create a special Franco-Russian relationship, which over time could be expanded to establish a wider economic and security arrangement between Europe and Russia," Liberti explains. Such a development would behoove both sides - and mark a rare case of a good collective result arising from individual cynicism...