Thursday, September 13, 2007

Reinforcing a Czar-like Power Cult by Putin

Editorial Excerpt - Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, has a propensity for springing surprises. His latest was the brusque removal yesterday of Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov and his replacement by the hitherto obscure financial regulator Viktor Zubkov. Russians properly assume that the move is part of Putin's plan for selecting his own successor, someone who can be rubber-stamped in presidential elections next March and counted on to preserve the current political system.

But Putin's shuffling of premiers also reinforces a czar-like cult of power…
The Boston Globe

No comments: