Word: sovietizers
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Vladimir Putin on Tuesday graciously accepted his nomination as chairman of the United Russia (UR) party that dominates Russia's legislature, a stepping-stone to his expected confirmation as Prime Minister on May 8. And if there was something rather Soviet about the rituals of the congress of the dominant party in Russia's legislature, the new distribution of power between Putin and his successor, President Dimitri Medvedev, is not entirely unfamiliar. Putin has made no secret of the fact that he envisages his new role as that of a head of government, nor do any observers of Russian politics...
...gift was for adept negotiation; Newsom's expertise was often called for during the most delicate and urgent situations, notably while he served as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 1978 to '81. During that period he had to contend with Pakistan's growing nuclear program, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the 444-day Iranian hostage crisis, in which 52 Americans were held captive in Tehran. A lifelong public servant, Newsom always advocated negotiation and debate before resorting to conflict...
Leaders like President Hu Jintao are of a generation that received a Soviet-style education in the 1950s. "They don't have the knowledge or imagination to make better decisions," Link says. They operate under a system of collective decision-making that constrains the state's ability to be flexible in the face of new challenges. "Like the bureaucrats beneath them," Link says, top officials "are frightened about their own positions and don't want to be seen as making 'mistakes,' especially mistakes of softness." This insecurity underlies the central government's heavy-handed tactics and rhetoric, even though repression...
...talk over missile defense with George W. Bush. Three guests are waiting in the Chancellery when Tusk arrives. "I am not crazy about this job," he sighs, plunking down in an armchair and unbuttoning his jacket. That's understandable. Nineteen years after his country broke free from the Soviet bloc, it is still ridding itself of the effects of communist rule. Employment levels are among the worst in Europe. Roads, telecommunications and sewage lines are in terrible shape. As for Polish political life, Tusk admits, it can only be described as "weird...
What lessons do you take from Walesa and other leaders? Our heroes of the imagination were Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. They symbolized a tough attitude to the Soviet Union and they revitalized the idea of leading with freedom and traditional values, which seemed then to be dying...