A few weeks ago my blog offered a Kremlin insider’s account of the spy wars and the campaign against Sergei Storchak and Alexei Kudrin. Our contributor, who must remain anonymous for clear reasons, has again sent in the following excellent dispatch, which takes a look at these byzantine power struggles currently roiling the Russian government in the context of the elections. – Robert Amsterdam

Russia’s New Revolution

The arrest of the vice minister of finance Mr. Storchak is more important for how Russia will be ruled in the immediate future than the dubious parliamentary elections that took place on December 2, 2007. The elections at best constitute a cover operation that give a legalistic appearance to a result predetermined to the smallest detail by the Kremlin. The arrest of Mr. Storchak is manifestation of a fight between the real parties that vie for political power. And political power in contemporary Russia is concomitant with economic might.

The Tried Pattern

One cannot understand what is happening in the contemporary Russia if one does not keep going back to the two seminal events of the Putin presidency – destruction of independent media, exemplified by destruction of NTV, and destruction of YUKOS.