Changes

==Escalating tensions==

==Escalating tensions==

[[File:Putin07.jpg|thumb|300px|Canadian news magazine tells it like it is--Sept. 03, 2007]]

[[File:Putin07.jpg|thumb|300px|Canadian news magazine tells it like it is--Sept. 03, 2007]]

Putin is seen as an antagonist to the West; his presidency has become increasingly authoritarian and opponents are murdered. It is possible that his hostility to NATO and the U.S., his demand for a voice in the affairs of ex-Soviet nations, his rigged election system, nationalized oil, protection of Iran, and threats to Georgia have heightened tensions. The decline of [[human rights]] in Russia has been dramatic; for example, Russian riot police beat a number of protesters and journalists at an anti-Putin rally at Pushkin Square in Moscow, <ref>''The Economist'', April 21, 2007</ref> and Putin rigged national elections for his party <ref>http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSL03585550._CH_.2400</ref>  

Putin is seen as an antagonist to the West, trying to cut the country off from its own Western roots, just as the communist regime did; his presidency has become increasingly authoritarian and opponents are murdered. It is possible that his hostility to NATO and the U.S., his demand for a voice in the affairs of ex-Soviet nations, his rigged election system, nationalized oil, protection of Iran, and threats to Georgia have heightened tensions. The decline of [[human rights]] in Russia has been dramatic; for example, Russian riot police beat a number of protesters and journalists at an anti-Putin rally at Pushkin Square in Moscow, <ref>''The Economist'', April 21, 2007</ref> and Putin rigged national elections for his party <ref>http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSL03585550._CH_.2400</ref>  

Putin has even exercised power over the Russian supreme court. Justice Vladimir Yaroslavtsev was forced to resign after warning that Russian security agencies now control the country as they did in Soviet times and expressing alarm over their lack of accountability. Justice Anatoly Kononov was likewise forced out after defending Yaroslavtsev.<ref>[http://www.robertamsterdam.com/2009/12/are_you_an_independent_russian_judge_youre_fired.htm ''Are You An Independent Russian Judge? You're Fired'', RobertAmsterdam.com]</ref>

Putin has even exercised power over the Russian supreme court. Justice Vladimir Yaroslavtsev was forced to resign after warning that Russian security agencies now control the country as they did in Soviet times and expressing alarm over their lack of accountability. Justice Anatoly Kononov was likewise forced out after defending Yaroslavtsev.<ref>[http://www.robertamsterdam.com/2009/12/are_you_an_independent_russian_judge_youre_fired.htm ''Are You An Independent Russian Judge? You're Fired'', RobertAmsterdam.com]</ref>

==Relations with U.S.==

==Relations with U.S.==

President Obama's decision in August 2009 to cancel an antimissile defense system in Eastern Europe earned a strong welcome from Putin. Now, the question is whether Russia will do more to help prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Putin, who had repeatedly assailed the antimissile system as a grave danger to Russia's security, called Obama's decision ''correct and brave.'' President Dmitri A. Medvedev hinted that Russia would respond favorably to the decision to replace former President George W. Bush's plan with a missile shield seen as less threatening to Moscow.   

President Obama's decision in August 2009 to cancel an antimissile defense system in [[Central Europe]] (the [[Czech Republic]], [[Poland]] and [[Lithuania]]) earned a strong welcome from Putin. Now, the question is whether Russia will do more to help prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Putin, who had repeatedly assailed the antimissile system as a grave danger to Russia's security, called Obama's decision ''correct and brave.'' President Dmitri A. Medvedev hinted that Russia would respond favorably to the decision to replace former President George W. Bush's plan with a missile shield seen as less threatening to Moscow.   

==See also==

==See also==