Kommersant reported on Friday that Vladimir Putin has proposed to reorganize the structure of the Russian government (Kommersant, “Putin to Reogranize Govt”, 16 May, 2008). He wants to replace full cabinet meetings with a new body, to be called the “Presidium of the Government”. “It’s evident to all of us”, he explained, “that the government’s meetings are a slow, excessively bureaucratic mechanism.” I don’t know if you’ve ever seen these cabinet meetings. I have. It’s hard to miss them – excerpts are shown religiously on TV, right at the top of all the news programs on all the channels, which are all owned by the state. These are obviously stage-managed affairs designed to convey a certain not-so-subliminal message to the Russian public. And the message is not “We’ve got a competent team of professional civil servants efficiently running the country for you.” It’s more like “If it weren’t for the decisiveness and clear-headed wisdom of Vladimir Putin, these bumbling buffoons would have the country in an even worse mess than it is today.” In a typical meeting, Putin listens to reports from a few ministers, upbraids them for failing to fulfill the plan, and gives stern instructions on what they should do next.