Putin rival reported missing

cnn ^ | 2/8/04

[knak]

MOSCOW, Russia (AP) -- The family and staff of a Russian presidential candidate filed a missing persons report Sunday, saying he hasn't been heard from for three days, while election officials registered the final two presidential hopefuls.

The registrations bring to seven the number of contenders in a race that is widely considered a one-man show due to President Vladimir Putin's overwhelming popularity.

[knak]

I guess Putin will win then huh?

[mrustow]

Only one is missing? Or was he the only living critic?

[xJones]

Like Khakamada earlier, he has publicly and aggressively criticized Putin. Rybkin last week unofficially launched his campaign with a full-page open letter in the newspaper Kommersant accusing Putin of being Russia's most powerful oligarch and of ruling by fear.

Khakamada should be careful.

[the invisib1e hand]

"We don't negotiate with terrorists, we destroy them."

only someone who is convinced of his own invincibility would utter those words.

[cyborg]

Heh... I wonder if he and Mugabe and Castro chat often as to how to make political opponents 'disappear'

[the invisib1e hand]

wonder if the little guy on his shouler is telling him to dump his Global Crossing shares.

[Cicero]

Putin is pretty ruthless, but he wouldn't seem to have much to gain from offing this guy.

[Stellar Dendrite]

"The family and staff of a Russian presidential candidate filed a missing persons report Sunday, saying he hasn't been heard from for three days"


wonder if he'll turn up in fort marcy park too?

[veronica]

Pootie-poot has more than a bit of Joseph Stalin going these days....

[Dog Gone]

I seriously doubt whether Putin worries enough about the political competition to order a hit on them. Why would he?

[joyce11111]

HMMMMMMMMMmmm..isn't that special.

[Destro]

The man who vanished is low on the rader of candidates not a major rival and he is owned by Boris Berezovsky who is linked to lots of bad characters. This would be like a presidential candidate from the American Green party gone missing. That's is how low down the order of candidates this guy was. How low? This is more publicity the guy got then when he was alive.

[Destro]

No - not special at all. But to those ignorant of Russian politics it sounds as if it should be sinister.

[Destro]

The man who vanished is low on the radar rader of candidates .....

[AM2000]

Russia's sinking back into totalitarianism. 20 years from now, it will be asked - "Who lost Russia?"

[Destro]

Based on what??? The loss of one minor candidate? You sound like those nuts that think that Sen. Paul Wellstone was assasinated.

[proudpapa]

You're exactly right. Putin won't dirty his hands on this wanna be. If Dr. Dean vanished right now, wacky liberals would accuse Bush. Realisticly, Bush would have nothing to gain and neither does Putin.

[thoughtomator]

Check the lost-and-found? "We seem to have misplaced our candidate for President, is he in the box?"

[ambrose]

Now there's a new re-election strategy.