Dmitry Sidorov, the Washington D.C. Bureau Chief of Kommersant, has a new article in FrontPage Magazine which perpetuates the myth as Putin-as-all-powerful-czar, a depiction that Bob has frequently disagreed with. Rather than the “czar narrative,” which we see as the frequent default in the media on Russia, we see Putin as sitting atop a rapidly shifting political scene characterized by bitter clan infighting – not a king, but a prisoner of circumstance, barely keeping his head above water. Disobedience is rife, and influence is very fragmented. The very fact that they have gone through with the election of Medvedev is not consistent with the czar narrative. Nevertheless, Sidorov offers some interesting stories about how this perception and fear has enabled some strange behavior from Kremlin sycophants, including all manner of “stop lists” and other pandering. His opinions on the motives behind the persecution of Mikhail Khodorkovsky are also worth considering.

The impact of Vladimir Putin’s rules of the game on business has been much graver. In the best-known case, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former owner of the oil company YUKOS, is now serving 10-year prison term in the God-forsaken city of Chita in the Russian Far East. There is still disagreement in the West and in Russia about why Mr. Putin and his comrades went after Mr. Khodorkovsky.