Vladimir Putin marked his ascendancy by talking about the dictatorship of law through his vertical of power.  Dmitry Medvedev was defaulted into office on anti-corruption pledges and a mission to rid Russia of its legal nihilism.  Yet on trials which matter the most, such as the hunt for the killers of journalist Anna Politkovskaya, the system is most definitely not moving forward, but distinctly and rapidly backward – in other words, a complete joke, a mockery of promises, a performance of cruel ineptitude.

Russia’s leadership is fond of saying that the nation’s strength as a great power is being restored.  It’s about time they proved it by example, by pushing through against whatever resistance is preventing them from delivering justice to Politkovskaya’s family and dozens of other terribly botched trials.  A truly strong Russia should also have nothing to fear from a strong and independent judicial system.  Unfortunately that does not appear to be the case under the current leadership.

From the Financial Times:

In a surprise move, prosecutors said on Wednesday they also wanted the case returned for further investigation and combined with a criminal case against Rustam Makhmudov, the man accused of shooting Ms Politkovskaya.