About Richard Sakwa
Richard Sakwa is professor of Russian and European politics at the University of Kent, England. Among his books are Putin: Russia's Choice (Routledge, 2nd edition, 2007) and Russian Politics and Society (Routledge, 4th edition, 2008)

Alexandr Bastrykin, head of Russia’s
influential Investigative Committee, is one of the most powerful individuals in
the Putinite power system, but his biography is relatively unknown. Richard Sakwa
has, however, been tracking the rise of this shadowy figure.
Is Putinism a static system, or is it in need of renewal after the events of the past year? Richard Sakwa discusses the options before the Russian president and the elites that surround him.
The Russian election campaign is hotting up. In the middle of September Mikhail Prokhorov was dismissed as leader of the ‘Right Cause’ party, having fallen foul of both the party members and the Kremlin. This sets the context to an even bigger drama, and could be seen as the first stage of it. Richard Sakwa considers the implications of the debacle.
Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin is the most significant representative of the so-called “siloviki” hardline faction inside the Kremlin. For over a decade, his career has been both shaped and assured by close association with Vladimir Putin. But are his politics compatible with Russia's future, wonders Richard Sakwa?
Half-Chechen, one-time aide to Khodorkovsky, sometime novelist and current-day political technician, Vladislav Surkov’s life story lacks anything but colour. Yet the adjectives most usually attributed to his political figure are “grey” and “shadowy”. Richard Sakwa reviews a collection of speeches and essays in attempt to get closer to the secretive man some claim to be the third most influential in Russian politics.





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