Russia: Marx, Lenin, and the Death of an Illusion - The Wise World Traveler: Becoming a Part of All that You Meet - page 141

Figure 9.8. Vladimir Putin
Russia's in-and-out President, Vladimir Putin, is a former Soviet KGB agent with ex-
tensive work in East Germany. When the Berlin Wall was torn down, he looked to the
Kremlin to send tanks to restore the East German regime to power. Wise in the ways of
power and secret dealings, Putin is thought to have ordered the tax raids to increase the
power of his St. Petersburg cohorts. Equally troubling for Russia's democratic future has
been the use of government power to bring independent television under its control. One
media tycoon was forced into exile for allowing his television stations to present unbiased
coverage of Russia's war in Chechnya. And even in exile, the former oil tycoon was dogged
by the Russian government's several attempts to have him extradited to Russia to stand trial
for alleged fraud.
AND THE FUTURE?
Prediction in political affairs is always difficult, many times more difficult when a country
is moving toward an uncertain future. The new Russia is still struggling to achieve an ef-
fectively operating market economy. And it still struggles toward democratic norms. On
the negative side, rule of law and transparency in government and corporate dealings are
far from achieved. The same is true for impartial judges and a comprehensive framework