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Using the disguise of parliamentary elections as a way to have his authority reconfirmed should help Putin get around the requirement that he step down in 2008 and should allow him to remain in charge -- in whatever capacity he would carve out for himself -- even after his second presidential term ends. This transformation of Duma elections into a referendum may explain why the Kremlin is behaving with such nervousness about a vote it is sure to win and why it is raising the specter of new enemies facing Russia.
The State Duma election campaign will reach its end next week. Looking back, the entire process has been little more than a struggle among various pro-Putin candidates vying for Duma seats.
European, American and Russian diplomats continue to work against the December deadline for Kosovo’s pre-announced unilateral declaration of independence (UDI). However, few hope for an agreement. Belgrade and Pristina have not budged. Washington and its major allies are adamant that Kosovo can not be held indefinitely in the protectorate limbo and must be given independence.
Russia’s economic boom of recent years has placed it firmly back amongst the world’s most powerful nations and the nation goes to the polls on December 2 to elect the State Duma. The result appears almost inevitable-a landslide victory for the Putin-supported United Russia party and a continuation of the ‘Putin plan’. What does this mean for Russia and for the international community?
Mark Medish, vice president for studies, took part in a debate sponsored by Intelligence Squared U.S. to argue that Russia is not becoming the United States' enemy again.
This old debate ought to sound familiar, for we have been having it again over the surprising resilience of autocracy in China, Russia, Venezuela and elsewhere. It wasn't supposed to be this resilient.
With world demand for oil mounting and oil prices so high it’s very difficult to isolate Iran financially these days. Sanctions against Iran will have more impact in Moscow, Beijing, and European capitals than in Tehran.
When President Vladimir Putin was in Tehran last week, one image from the trip was indelible: Putin meeting with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei while President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sat in the corner of the sofa. Putin apparently made an offer directly to the supreme leader about a way to move forward in the nuclear standoff. According to the proposal, the six parties negotiating with Iran would pause on seeking sanctions in the United Nations Security Council if Iran would pause on its enrichment program.
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