Julia Ioffe, writing at the New Republic Plank blog about Russia’s extension of presidential term limits:

What does the Kremlin say in its defense? It invokes the economic crisis and the time needed to deal with it; it points to Russian exceptionalism and the country’s dire need for a strong leader. “To be honest, I do not think that Russia should be a parliamentary republic,” Medvedev said at a press conference on Tuesday. “I think this would be fatal for the country.” And in the saltiest Russian manner, he invoked the “you hypocrite Americans do it all the time” excuse, saying, “Some countries do it less often, like the United States, for example, though they too have passed a fair few amendments over the years.”