The Kremlin wants to rush legislation to extend the presidential term through the State Duma on Friday to make sure the Constitution is changed before the financial turmoil snowballs into a social and political crisis. The effort is a clear signal that Vladimir Putin's team does not intend to relinquish its eight-year grip on power anytime soon.

Almost every country greeted the news of President-elect Barack Obama's victory with joy, hoping that the United States would carry out a new, more balanced foreign policy relying primarily on diplomacy and multilateralism and rejecting the previous administration's heavy dependence on military power and unilateralism.

If there were any hopes that the Group of Eight summit this week in Hokkaido would produce substantive results, they were dashed by the time the talks concluded on Wednesday.

No matter what new party we create, in the end, it always turns out to be the Communist Party of the Soviet Union!""

Every so often in life we come up against situations where we have to do something unpleasant and boring but necessary.

A new political model has emerged after the State Duma elections -- Putin's model. Putin began constructing this model in 1999, but it only reached its most advanced stage this fall.

A new political model has emerged after the State Duma elections -- Putin's model. Putin began constructing this model in 1999, but it only reached its most advanced stage this fall.

If the March 11 regional elections were a dress rehearsal for the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections, then what a rehearsal they were.   This was a full-scale run-through, with all the set decorations in place and all the actors up on the main stage. Held in 14 regions, from southern, rural Stavropol to northern, industrial St. Petersburg and covering 30 million voters, the elections offered a good overview of the political landscape. The first thing that is clear is that the political class has almost loss touch with the average voter in the process of building a sovereign democracy. Even official statistics put turnout at below 40 percent, meaning almost two thirds of the electorate didn't exercise its right to vote. In St. Petersburg and the Leningrad, Moscow and Murmansk region votes, turnout was 30 to 33 percent, and it was also low in the industrially strong Samara and Vologda regions.

Holding the World Association of Newspapers conference in the capital of Vladimir Putin's Russia this year was a bold move, rather like holding a pork producers' convention in a Muslim country.

The subject of Russia's sovereignty has recently come to the forefront of political discussion. This in and of itself is surprising and needs explaining. Strangely enough, top government officials are the ones expressing the most concern about the issue.

In judo, the ultimate move is to use your opponent's freedom of movement and momentum to draw him toward you and into a headlock.

On Sept. 27, President Vladimir Putin began to implement the political reforms he had announced two weeks before.

So the objectives are clear and the program set: Between 2006 and 2010, Russia is to be transformed out of all recognition.

Putin's address left more questions than answers. But then, the absence of an answer is also an answer.

The president's excessive constitutional powers constitute the main flaw in Russia's political system.

The president's excessive constitutional powers constitute the main flaw in Russia's political system.

In Russia, the governor is much more than the popularly elected head of a regional executive body.

We Russians are one of the most festive nations on Earth in the sense that we love our holidays.

The State Duma is the forum for political battle, in which the fate of Russian democracy is decided.