Dear Log,
«The faces of Stalin, Lenin, Felix Dzerzhinsky, the founder of the KGB, and Ivan the Terrible now confront Muscovites on their daily journey to work. They are not on monuments commemorating the glory of empires past. Instead, they are among 50 Russian heroes, including Tsar Peter the Great, that adorn an electoral poster for United Russia, the political party that is crucial to President Vladimir Putin's campaign to get re-elected.[...]
Prof Goman-Goludvina said: "The most visible reform - the centralisation of power around the president, with none of the checks and balances of the Yeltsin rule - happened without a clear political and economic project, and did not bring a serious positive change for the country. Taxes were lowered but this created a very small state budget and worsened poverty."»
