NEWSWATCH: “An Earful for Vladimir Putin in Latest ‘Direct Line’ Call-In Show” – Wall Street Journal/Stephen Sestanovich
The discussion had a darker undercurrent. The system is rigged, many said, and those who have power abuse it. … Putin was asked why more political parties aren’t permitted so that United Russia faces some meaningful competition, and why … Kadyrov, Chechnya’s strongman leader, whom … Putin supports, is allowed to threaten political opponents with assassination. … Putin heard how businesses are shaken down by government inspectors … ordinary folks are ripped off by real estate developers (while the courts do nothing) … a fish cannery in Russia’s Far East enslaves its workers … authorities have seized the land of an agricultural research institute in the Moscow suburbs … even a question about illicit offshore wealth. … That Russia’s Dear Leader senses popular discontent does not mean he fears an imminent crisis. But if “Direct Line” is any measure, he knows he has a problem.
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