POLITICS: Putin Further Consolidates Power: Sets Up New Governor Voting System

Russian President Vladimir Putin in a move seen as a further consolidation of his powers, set rules for naming governors in the 89 regions that compose the country. This comes on the heels of his abolishing the direct election of the governors by the people. The new law requires Putin�s Chief of Staff to draw up a list to be submitted to him for approval. Putin has enacted this and a variety of other reforms after the Beslan school attack that killed over 330 people.



The United States and the European Union have expressed concerns about this rollback of power that may harken a return to the Stalinist ways of the past. Putin has also received criticism for the way his government handled the breakup of oil giant Yukos. Add the Ukraine debacle and we may have seen the kindling lit under the long dormant Cold War.

Yep, everyday, slowly but surely Russia is becoming the old U.S.S.R. again, and the worse thing is that China is along for the ride with the "communist government in Russia." What i don't understand is that none of the human right groups are saying a thing about this. Where is ANWSER Communist, I mean International when you need it?.....

I don't know but I just got back from the beach for Christmas and Robert Dudley my uncle, came from Russia. He is CEO of BP/AMACO Russia and he says his office and home are bugged again and his body guards now have a hard job.

I don't think its quite fair to say that Putin is returning to the old imperialistic and stalinistic ways of the USSR. He's certainly and clearing centralizing and consolidating power, in this article he effectively makes the regional governors a part of a presidental administrative staff/bureacracy, but that, in itself, isn't 'bad' or evil. Its just centralizing.

Then again, there's definitly a trend torwards more power for the office of the president, and I don't think putin has any term limits, so it at least results in a de facto increase of putin's autocracy.

Lets say that Putin return the Russia back to its communist / stalanist state aside from the nuckes, is it going to be as big of a force as it was during the cold war? .

Yes and no. They have a good amount of natural resources that they can sell, but they also have a collapsing infrastructure as well as a decaying military. It will be interesting. One has to wonder which way the average Russian who is not rich will want to go?