Free Republic

An opposition politician running in Russian parliamentary elections was shot and seriously wounded on Wednesday as he entered his house in the southern Russian region of Dagestan... Farid Babayev, who will lead the regional list for the liberal anti-Kremlin Yabloko party was in a serious condition in hospital, RIA novosti news agency reported after an unidentified gunman fired on him in the regional capital Makhachkala. "The incident occurred at about 10 p.m., not far from his home. Farid Babayev is now in hospital in a serious condition," ... Dagestan is in the North Caucasus, next to Chechnya,

...After NTV fell to the Kremlin, many journalists censored themselves. Regional governors hailed Monday's constitutional overhaul, well aware that their welfare (financial as much as political) depends on Mr. Putin now.... The passive response to Mr. Putin's restoration makes many people pessimistic about Russian civil society.... A rise in capital flight suggests anxiety about the direction of Kremlin policy. Exchange kiosks reported heavy buying of dollars, the safe currency, after Mr. Putin's speech Monday. Repealing the Yeltsin-era decentralization, which managed to keep Russia unified after 1991, will certainly invite problems in months to come from frustrated regions far from Moscow...

MOSCOW, Sept. 13 - President Vladimir V. Putin ordered a stunning overhaul of Russia's political system on Monday in what he called an effort to unite the country against terrorism. If enacted, as expected, the proposals would strengthen his already pervasive control over the legislative branch and regional governments. Mr. Putin, meeting in special session with cabinet ministers and regional government leaders, outlined what would be the most sweeping political overhaul - and his most striking single step to consolidate power - in Russia in more than a decade. Critics immediately said it would violate the Constitution and stifle what...

<p>MOSCOW -- The allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin won a historic victory in elections at the weekend, giving the Kremlin effective control of the Duma, or lower house of parliament, for the first time since the fall of the Soviet Union. Mr. Putin's allies in the United Russia party gained most at the expense of the Communist Party, which continued to wither. But the elections also contained two much less savory aspects: a huge protest vote from those who have yet to benefit from his rule, and a collapse in support for the only parties committed to Western-style liberalism.</p>