The Russia after the G8 summit is looking bleaker than the Russia before

With the recent death of Russian investigative journalist and Putin critic, Anna Politkovskaya, the cracks of trouble are beginning to show more and more in Russian President Putin's regime. Putin's tenure has been marred by trouble and a transition to a less democratic (but more wealthy and powerful) post-Soviet Russia.
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From human rights to state talking ownership oil and natural gas (i.e. pipelines, supplies, refineries... see Gazprom) to the death of a famous journalist (and Russian journalism in general) to neighbour relations (e.g. Georgia, Ukraine) to Chechnya, Russia's President Putin (bio) has made many controversial moves. Even since Russia hosted the G8 summit earlier this year, there has been an issue with neighbouring Georgia and the questionable killing of an investigative journalist, Putin critic Anna Politkovskaya. With Russian democracy going down the tubes, some in the West are wondering why the Russian people (who know that their government has all too many faults) are not standing up to New Russia. Many speculate that, after so much transition, change, and stability, the people are wanting to keep the status quo — no matter how bad — in place of a country in strife. Plus, Russians are thirsty for the days of Russian international power and increasing natural gas wealth and supply is giving the nation leverage and capital.

Special report on the Politkovskaya killing coming soon, along with an expose on the state of journalism.

technorati tags: putin, kremlin, russia, vladimir+putin, former+soviet+union, journalist, journalism, freedom, press, russian+oil, natural+gas, gazprom, gasprom, chechnya, georgia, ukraine, g8, anna+politkovskaya, human+rights, russian, democracy, news, politics, international, russian+federation, group+of+eight+summit, 2006, politkovskaya