Lev Ponomarev, who now facing criminal charges in Russia and has had his travel privileges revoked, is featured in a column by Jackson Diehl of the Washington Post today.

But criminality isn’t limited to the Kremlin; it may be Russia’s single greatest problem. Average citizens are frustrated by everything from the bribes necessary to obtain simple services to the extortion practiced by police and the susceptibility of judges to payoffs, as well as political orders. Promising the rule of law — even if he doesn’t apply it to Putin and his circle — may be the juiciest pre-election promise Medvedev can make. In any case, his pledge was seized upon by Lev Ponomarev, the courageous and pragmatic leader of the Russian movement For Human Rights, which is fighting an uphill battle to retard the country’s return to Soviet-style lawlessness. Ponomarev was in Washington this month to lobby the Bush administration and the presidential campaigns; as he explained it, Russia’s presidential transition offers a rare opportunity for outsiders to press Moscow to adhere to basic international standards.