[bobman0330]

Andy & Poofler,

The Gazprom angle is really interesting. The Russian government has been building up Gazprom through acquisitions in the last few years (failed merger with Rosneft, purchase of Sibneft, and a failed attempt to buy the assets of Yukos, all other big Russian energy cos.) Maybe Putin is building himself a nest to ease into after he leaves office? Gazprom is particularly important since so much of Russia's foreign influence rests on energy.

q/q,

It's true nothing's been conclusively established. I remember reading somewhere that Putin was hinting that the Politkovskaya murder was "the worst thing that could have happened for the government," because she had so little voice domestically, but is now a big deal. Even so, we know that Putin and his cronies are clamping down on domestic politics, and we know they're capable of fairly savage violence, as in Chechnya. Until some evidence appears, I'm perfectly comfortable concluding that the government was behind it.

Everyone else,

WTF is up with all these replies? How about putting a little thought into your posts?

Who cares about Russian politics? Are you seriously asking why it's important if a militarily powerful, nuclear-armed, energy-rich country of 150 million people slips back into despotism? Do you remember what happened last time Russia was ruled by an authoritarian regime?

The variations on the theme of "LOL STATISTS!" Come on guys, I expect better from you. Maybe a long-winded proof logically demonstrating, from first principles, that Putin's policies are the fault of Abraham Lincoln, or Rutherford B. Hayes. Or maybe links to a few podcasts, those are always useful.

MidGe, you're right. There hasn't even been a coroner's inquest yet, maybe it was accidental. Or perhaps a robbery gone bad or a jealous husband.