http://www.opendemocracy.net/russia/article/russias-uncertainty-principle Comments for "Russia's Uncertainty Principle, Henry Hale " en http://www.opendemocracy.net/russia/article/russias-uncertainty-principle <p> Kuda Rossiia? Whither Russia? Putin has both simplified and complicated the answer to this question. Simplified, because the answer during his presidential tenure increasingly came to depend on the decisions of only one man. Complicated, because even the most thorough research will not reveal the inner thoughts and plans of that one man. </p> <p id="kcvh21"> Perhaps the most important conclusion we can confidently draw is that Putin is not seeking to maximize his immediate personal power. The presidency is and has been Russia&#39;s most powerful political post, and there is no way Putin would have given it up if his own raw power were all that mattered to him. Both elites and masses overwhelmingly wanted him to remain president, and he could easily have arranged for the Constitution to be changed to suit this demand. </p>&nbsp;<a href="http://www.opendemocracy.net/russia/article/russias-uncertainty-principle" class="read-more" title="Read the rest of this posting.">Read the rest of this post...</a><p><a href="http://www.opendemocracy.net/russia/article/russias-uncertainty-principle">read more</a></p> http://www.opendemocracy.net/russia/article/russias-uncertainty-principle#comment Russia-theme russia russia &amp; eurasia Creative Commons normal Henry Hale Russia Fri, 09 May 2008 13:25:15 +0100 Henry Hale 42895 at http://www.opendemocracy.net