Putin's Russia

Putin has now been nominally running the country for nearly a year. The question that seized us all earlier this year - Who is Mr. Putin? - has been long since answered, although in different ways. The issue that preoccupies us now is the broader, and more important, one of where Russia is headed.Putin is of course part of the answer, but only a part, and perhaps only a small part.Much more depends on the conditions and broad trends in Russia and the limits they place on possible Russian futures.The search for the answer therefore begins with a prior question: What kind of Russia did Yeltsin bequeath to Putin?Having answered that question, we need to take a look at what has changed under Putin's leadership. Only then can we lay out some plausible scenarios for Russia's development over the next few years. Keywords: Russia, economic and political system, Vladimir Putin