Putin’s Russia: frozen in decline

Commentary feature. Russia is still trapped in the 1990s. True, Vladimir Putin restored a semblance of order by concentrating power in the Kremlin and the state security services. Some of the big players have changed and the balance of advantage has shifted. But the game is essentially the same. Wealth is concentrated in the hands of a privileged few, corruption remains endemic and the rule of law is a flimsy pretence. Business leaders, as oligarchs are now called, still pay for political protection.

Now, it is clear that Mr Putin will return as President of Russia in 2012.

ESO: Background information: Putin to return as Russian president http://www.europeansources.info/record/putin-to-return-as-russian-president/

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