http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/5043
The Candidates and Russia
Erik Christensen and William Partlett | March 6, 2008
Editor: John Feffer

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As expected, Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was elected this week as the new president of the Russian Federation with 68% of the vote. These elections were little more than a democratic charade. The Kremlin manipulated the media, the party system, and the courts to ensure a stable transition within the country's political elite.
The next president of the United States must respond to an increasingly autocratic Russia. So far, the candidates have not given much indication of what they might do. However, all of the candidates have referred to President Bush's oft-quoted line of looking into Russian leader Vladimir Putin's soul. Although widely criticized today, Bush's words expressed a desire to move past the Cold War mentality and to work constructively with Russia on international issues.
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