Bloomberg columnist Michael R. Sesit has written a piece today strongly criticizing Russia for “acting more and more like a renegade economic power and bully”, saying that its questionable commitment to free markets puts the rightfulness of its G8 membership into doubt. Sesit attacks a number of the Russian government’s recent moves, in particular Vladimir Putin’s criticism and effective crashing of Mechel. He also mentions the TNK-BP affair and explains that the case of Mikhail Khodorkovsky demonstrates how the government was centralized under Putin’s rule. Ultimately, he says that Dmitry Medvedev’s recent moves towards stamping out corruption give cause for hope, but says that, without serious domestic and intelligence reform, the country can’t be taken seriously as a democracy:

“Domestically, Russia needs an independent legal and law-enforcement system free of political interference and one that won’t be used to assist private parties in civil disputes. It needs the consistent application of the rule of law. And it must recognize that an all-powerful, fear-inducing intelligence organization isn’t the appropriate training ground for leaders of a liberal democracy.”

Read the full article after the jump.