As the United States economy gets back on its feet after a long slowdown that began in 2008, and presidential contenders vie for the most coveted position on the land, something is seriously amiss with its former arch enemy that wallows in lost glory — Russia. Vladimir Putin’s Russia is suffering economically and politically. Though Putin’s ratings fail to plunge and the Kremlin tries to put up a brave face, Russia continues to go down economically. Governance structures and the rule of law have been victims of a structure long given to authoritarianism.
Western sanctions due to Putin’s Crimea misadventure are not only biting, they have started chewing on whatever was left of a once-powerful national structure. The country yesterday decided to revise its space programme, a decidedly major blow to a space power that once launched the Sputnik. It is being said that billions of dollars of cuts may be planned as part of the cutdown.
The Soviet Union was once a major rival of the United States when it came to space research and exploration. The former Cold War enemies, boosted by their rivalry, played a key role in the field of space research.
The cutback ordered in the space programme comes as a major blow amid sanctions that have paralysed the economy, forcing Putin to tell his citizens to prepare for harder times.
Governance structures in the vast country have also been affected due to the flagging economy that seems to tank by the month. Lower oil prices have added to the woes of the economy.
Moscow yesterday named what it calls the mastermind in the murder of Boris Nemtsov, who was killed in February just metres from the Kremlin. The leading opposition figure had riled the establishment several times by raising his voice against authoritarianism.
Russian authorities recently threw their weight behind putting former Yukos boss and tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky behind bars again in a case from 1998. The Russian billionaire is accused in the murder of a Siberian mayor in Nefteyugansk, the town where Khodorkovsky’s oil company, Yukos, was headquartered at the time. The case smacks of political revenge at a time when Russia is losing its political footing due to a failing military campaign in Syria, a shaky economy and a standoff with Ankara over the shooting down of a war plane by Turkey. Khodorkovsky has been in self-imposed exile in Europe for two years now. He was released from prison in 2013 after ten years. His freedom came due to a presidential pardon following a clemency request to Putin. It then seemed that the oil tycoon’s troubles were over. But the unrelenting Kremlin is known to go after its enemies in a way unbecoming of a state power.
Vladimir Putin’s Russia is suffering but the Russian leader hates to admit it. It is time the Russian establishment realised this and tried hard to undo the damage.
As the United States economy gets back on its feet after a long slowdown that began in 2008, and presidential contenders vie for the most coveted position on the land, something is seriously amiss with its former arch enemy that wallows in lost glory — Russia. Vladimir Putin’s Russia is suffering economically and politically. Though Putin’s ratings fail to plunge and the Kremlin tries to put up a brave face, Russia continues to go down economically. Governance structures and the rule of law have been victims of a structure long given to authoritarianism.
Western sanctions due to Putin’s Crimea misadventure are not only biting, they have started chewing on whatever was left of a once-powerful national structure. The country yesterday decided to revise its space programme, a decidedly major blow to a space power that once launched the Sputnik. It is being said that billions of dollars of cuts may be planned as part of the cutdown.
The Soviet Union was once a major rival of the United States when it came to space research and exploration. The former Cold War enemies, boosted by their rivalry, played a key role in the field of space research.
The cutback ordered in the space programme comes as a major blow amid sanctions that have paralysed the economy, forcing Putin to tell his citizens to prepare for harder times.
Governance structures in the vast country have also been affected due to the flagging economy that seems to tank by the month. Lower oil prices have added to the woes of the economy.
Moscow yesterday named what it calls the mastermind in the murder of Boris Nemtsov, who was killed in February just metres from the Kremlin. The leading opposition figure had riled the establishment several times by raising his voice against authoritarianism.
Russian authorities recently threw their weight behind putting former Yukos boss and tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky behind bars again in a case from 1998. The Russian billionaire is accused in the murder of a Siberian mayor in Nefteyugansk, the town where Khodorkovsky’s oil company, Yukos, was headquartered at the time. The case smacks of political revenge at a time when Russia is losing its political footing due to a failing military campaign in Syria, a shaky economy and a standoff with Ankara over the shooting down of a war plane by Turkey. Khodorkovsky has been in self-imposed exile in Europe for two years now. He was released from prison in 2013 after ten years. His freedom came due to a presidential pardon following a clemency request to Putin. It then seemed that the oil tycoon’s troubles were over. But the unrelenting Kremlin is known to go after its enemies in a way unbecoming of a state power.
Vladimir Putin’s Russia is suffering but the Russian leader hates to admit it. It is time the Russian establishment realised this and tried hard to undo the damage.
