Nigerian Times

NEWSWEEK PHOTO: The Sunni Civil War. 3 Dec 2007 21:13 Africa/Lagos NEWSWEEK: International Editions: Highlights and Exclusives, December 10, 2007 Issue COVER: Inside Putin's Circle. (Atlantic and Latin America editions). Moscow Bureau Chief Owen Matthews and Special Correspondent Anna Nemtsova report that Russia's real politics happens in and around the Kremlin, and it's a ruthless battle for money and influence. As Vladimir Putin prepares to step down (as he's constitutionally obliged to do), the clans that control the power of the Russian state are maneuvering frantically to protect their business empires-and, in some cases, their lives. Matthews and Nemtsova also report that the battle also involves ideological disagreements on economic and foreign policy, disagreements that will determine whether Russia emerges as a more or less autocratic, more or less open to free markets and Western influence. http://www.newsweek.com/id/73233 (Photo: http://www.newsco...

Dec 1, 2007 07:00 Africa/Lagos Former Putin Advisor Slams Russian Election as Fraud WASHINGTON, Dec. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Andrei Illarionov, Cato Institute Senior Fellow and former advisor to Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, comments on the upcoming Russian poll: "The Russian parliamentary election that is scheduled on December 2, 2007 became illegal and unlawful even before its official start. It meets none of the criteria of a free, fair, and democratic election. In effect it is not even an election. Over the last several years the Russian authorities have undertaken many changes in the electoral law that made electoral rules effectively undemocratic and participation in the election for a real political opposition party next to impossible. But even these undemocratic laws and rules have been severely violated over last several months. The number and severity of violations of the electoral laws and of world-wide accepted electoral practices exceeds all imagina...