Russia Will Be a Troublemaker in 2009
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on January 20th, 2009 5:39 am by HL
Russia Will Be a Troublemaker in 2009
The world enters 2009 with Russia in play in a way it hasn’t seen in decades. The relevant comparison isn’t 1998, when the Russians engaged in default and devaluation but remained within the bounds of their existing political and economic system (as Lenin said, two steps forward, one step back). The history to consider is 1989–as key aspects of the Russian system could change for the worse. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin certainly isn’t a risk taker. The carefully managed “transition” to President Dmitry Medvedev and the extension of presidential terms to six years underscore that Putin prefers to leave as little as possible to chance. That’s more ominously obvious in the recent tightening of laws on treason.
