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[[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 affirs of ex-Soviet nations, his rigged election system, nationalized oil, his protection of Iran, the threats to Georgia, have heightened tensions. The decline of [[Human Rights] in Russia has been dramatic; its routine tot hear, for example, that 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; 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 affirs of ex-Soviet nations, his rigged election system, nationalized oil, his protection of Iran, the threats to Georgia, have heightened tensions. The decline of [[Human Rights] in Russia has been dramatic; its routine tot hear, for example, that 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>
Some see Putin as even exercising power over the Russian supreme court (which, unlike its U.S. counterpart, has an clear legal constitutional mandate its legal arbiter). Justice Vladimir Yaroslavtsev was immediately forced to resign after asserting in an interview that Russian security agencies now control the country as they did in Soviet times, and expressed alarm over their lack of accountability. Justice Anatoly Kononov was likewise forced out after defending Yaroslavtsev.
A further cause of alarm is a quick moving bill moving through the Russian parliament which is said to have Putin's support, and which would make it illegal to discuss religion without a Kremlin-issued permit. Putin has also promoted a KGB operative into the position of pontiff of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Many who have reported or protested such things have found themselves being repressed - or killed.<ref>[http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/12/putins_own_worst_enemy.html Kim Zigfeld, ''Putin's Own Worst Enemy''] American Thinker, December 08, 2009</ref><ref>http://larussophobe.wordpress.com/2009/12/03/editorial-another-russian-journalist-takes-the-putin-plunge</ref>
Despite these negatives--or perhaps because of the string hand they reveal--Putin remains popular in Russia<ref>http://www.levada.ru/prezident.html Putin's Approval Ratings</ref>. Since coming to power, Putin has expanded Russia's economy and reduced inflation. The majority of Russians are relatively uninterested in politics outside of issues affecting their personal prosperity. <ref>''The Economist'', April 21, 2007</ref> and journalist [[Anna Politkovskaya]] argued that the Russian people, as a whole, have been willing to tolerate violence in the name of "comfort and peace and quiet". <ref>Politkovskaya, Anna. Putin's Russia. London: Harvill Press, 2004</ref> Politkovskaya, an outspoken critic of Putin, was assassinated in 2006 <ref>http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article1819666.ece</ref>, and it is widely believed that the Russian government had some involvement in this death. There were 13 journalists killed in contract-style slayings during Vladimir Putin's eight-year presidency. <ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,438381,00.html Russian Lawyer in Slain Journalist Case Says She, Family Poisoned] AP, October 15, 2008</ref>
Despite these negatives--or perhaps because of the string hand they reveal--Putin remains popular in Russia<ref>http://www.levada.ru/prezident.html Putin's Approval Ratings</ref>. Since coming to power, Putin has expanded Russia's economy and reduced inflation. The majority of Russians are relatively uninterested in politics outside of issues affecting their personal prosperity. <ref>''The Economist'', April 21, 2007</ref> and journalist [[Anna Politkovskaya]] argued that the Russian people, as a whole, have been willing to tolerate violence in the name of "comfort and peace and quiet". <ref>Politkovskaya, Anna. Putin's Russia. London: Harvill Press, 2004</ref> Politkovskaya, an outspoken critic of Putin, was assassinated in 2006 <ref>http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article1819666.ece</ref>, and it is widely believed that the Russian government had some involvement in this death. There were 13 journalists killed in contract-style slayings during Vladimir Putin's eight-year presidency. <ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,438381,00.html Russian Lawyer in Slain Journalist Case Says She, Family Poisoned] AP, October 15, 2008</ref>