Well this sounds pretty bizarre, but isn't really a surprise... ____ Reports: Putin Dissolves Government DEVELOPING STORY: Russian news agencies cite the Kremlin as saying that President Vladimir Putin dissolved the government Wednesday. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov asked the Kremlin to dissolve his government, Russian news agencies reported, with less than three months remaining before parliamentary elections. Fradkov made the decision based on "the approaching major political events in the country and a desire to give the president full freedom in making decisions, including personnel," Fradkov was quoted by ITAR-Tass as saying. A Kremlin spokesman could not immediately comment on the report. link
"a desire to give the president full freedom in making decisions, including personnel" are they talking about congress before the 2006 elections?
This is the first I've heard of this and doesn't seem to have been mentioned on other news services. Not saying that it isn't true but this seems like it would be a bigger story.
This is a surprise because I didn't see it coming. But I gave up on Putin several years ago. This reminds me of Bush's very stupid statement about being able to trust Putin because he could "see it in his eyes". What an idiot!
It seems a surprising small article. I am curious to see more details about this but its possible that there isn't that much info about this but a shake up of the Russian government seems like it should merit more coverage..
It means that the Imperial Senate will no longer be of any concern to us. The Emperor has dissolved the council permanently. The last remnants of the Old Republic have been swept away. Impossible, you say? How will the Emperor maintain control without the bureaucracy, you ask? The regional governors now have direct control over their territories. Fear will keep the local systems in line. Fear of this battle station.
I'm not really sure. There will be a new prime minister, and that prime minister will be the guy Putin 'annoints' to succeed him. That may be the primary aim here, just to have the successor in position. But, I suppose it will also have implications for the parliament. I don't think they're going back to full-fledged dictatorship right now, but seeing the arc their history has taken them recently, they'll move a little further in that direction. Hopefully, they pull off a Beria on the successor.
How will this impact Russian - American relations? Rocket River Is this good or bad .. . . sounds bad
Sounds very bad. You know all those times Bush has been whining about Russia being undemocratic? Well sounds like W's worst fears just came true. They're not going back to the ol' communist regime. But Russia is effectively one giant dictatorship right now - and one with the world's biggest guns at that. As someone who has lived under dictatorships before, I'm glad I don't live there.
I'll be very surprised if our Administration is happy about it. But, they might be indifferent. I think "dissolving the government" sounds worse than it is.
Mr Putin was hedging his bets while he waited to see how the twin crises with Iraq and Iran play out. One example: now that panicky Arab states are pursuing nuclear programmes to match Iran's, Russia wants its share of the resulting business in the Gulf. Yet at the same time, Moscow is helping Iran complete its Bushehr nuclear facility. Mr Baev said Russia was manoeuvring to profit from an irresistible window of opportunity: the power shift that would follow a US defeat in Iraq. "In the envisaged no-holds-barred power play, Russia would not have any allies but could enjoy perfect freedom of manoeuvre and exploit the advantage of not being afraid of any oil crisis. "Declaring its adherence to pragmatism, Moscow is increasingly adopting anti-Americanism as its guiding political idea," he said. Toying with military bases in Syria was just part of a bigger, bolder bid to challenge US regional and global leadership. Link
