Rusia sub conducerea lui Putin

This is an interesting article about Russia under Putin, published by the Foreign Policy Research Institute. As a volunteer in a former Soviet country, it's easy for me to be pessimistic about Russia's influence in the region and to want to smash my head against a wall when I see Russia's version of political maneuvering. This article challenged some of my assumptions about the country, although I still have a long list of things that I don't like about it. It's a good read for everyone.