I wonder if, in the face of the NIE, some of the Republican candidates will start making Russia the enemy. The arguments against that are: they aren't brown islamofascists, and that Bush knows Vlad's soul! But they need an enemy...

@Gore/Edwards 08: And that is at least an area that Dr. Rice has some academic authority!

Ahh, but Bush looked into the eyes of Vlad the Impaler and found a soul he could trust.

From Mike Whitney at Counterpunch:

Russia is, once again, a major world power and a vital source of hydrocarbons. It's star is steadily rising just as America's has begun to wane. This may explain why Putin is loathed by the West. Freud might call it petroleum envy, but it's deeper than that. Putin has charted a course for social change that conflicts with basic tenets of neoliberalism, which are the principles which govern US foreign policy. He is not a member of the corporate-banking brotherhood which believes the wealth of the world should be divided among themselves regardless of the suffering or destruction it may cause. Putin's primary focus is Russia; Russia's welfare, Russia's sovereignty and Russia's place in the world. He is not a globalist...In the early years of his presidency, it was believed that Putin would comply with western demands and accept a subordinate role in the US-EU-Israel centric system. But that hasn't happened. Putin has stubbornly defended Russian independence and resisted integration into the prevailing system.

It will be interesting to see what he does to reverse the demographic suicide (democide?) Russia is committing with its low birth rate. Maybe monthly sex days instead of yearly.

So might Putin eye the Polonium. But Putin may have picked Medvedev because he doesn't want the job.

As Clinton said back in 1992, "it's the economy, stupid". As long as the Russian economy keeps humming along (and it will unless oil & gold prices collapse), the Russian people will be happy no matter what Putin does.

Westerners do not seem to get this. They are so focused on political freedom that they are overlooking the importance of economic freedom. under Putin, the standard of living for most Russians has improved tremendously, which is why there is no real opposition. Like it or not, most Russian's are perfectly happy with Putin as benevolent dictator, and will be as long the economy keeps humming along.

Although I do not think a social conservative movie critic will be the best president Russia could have, he will do a much better job than W. Bush ever could.

My impression is that Putin isn't a great guy, but why believe what Kaplan at Slate, or the NYT tells us?

They hype all threats, either to move product or to sell their neo-con ideologies.

If Medvedev is really a puppet, then Putin doesn't really need to do anything. It is probably in his own best interest to pull the strings from behind the curtain for six years, and then run again himself when Medvedev's term ends. (Russia's term limits only apply to consecutive terms.)

Yeah -- Polonium! In the Good Ole Days of the NKVD they just used "9 grams of lead". It cured defeatism and counter-revolutionary tendencies.

For sure Medvedev is a decoy for the wild goose hunt later on the menu. No military contacts, small stature, pleasant and "nice"; all-round, new-age softie. The type Russians love to mock. There'll be some difficult internal troubles requiring a strong hand, he'll falter and a Putin Putsch will restore order to everyone's relief. Polonium won't be a worry. All Russia's Polonium is tracked and accounted for, since only a tiny amount is capable of being collected each year and notably being a key component of nuclear triggers. Only ahh... Israel has a supply that is beyond IAEA supervision..