27 December 2011

RUSSIA : Putin Says No Election Review Needed; Opposition Blogger Navalny Threatens to Form Party; Strategist Surkov Shuffled.

                                TELEGRAPH

     Despite a mammoth historic and peaceful protest in Moscow...PM Putin says it is time to shelve talk about rigged elections.
     Some critics claim 13mn votes were stolen...and that Putin's party only received 30% of the total vote...not the 49.5% officially reported.
     "The elections are over. The parliament has started its work and a speaker elected. The State Duma is working ... There can be no talk of any review," Putin said.
      Also...anti-corruption nationalist blogger Alexei Navalny says he will form his own party ...and act to delay the March presidential contest so he can participate against Putin.
AND : Former adman...Vladislav Surkov, 47...(foto) was demoted. 
     Surkov...aka the "gray cardinal"...oversaw Putin's domestic "sovereign democracy" policies.


PLUS: For a conservative's overview of Putin's failure...READ David Satter's analysis. He is a fellow at the free market Hudson Institute:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204791104577106320976794892.html?mod=googlenews_wsj