PUTIN DRAGS RUSSIA BACK TO THE DARK AGES

Russia under Putin is rapidly devolving into an emerging mirror of its former Soviet self. Like his predecessors, Putin has been tightening the reins on the freedom of the press. This week, a deputy editor of one of the last straight talking media outlets not bought up by a Kremlin lackey corporation was arrested on 'extortion' charges:

Nezavisimaya Gazeta said Friday that it feared the authorities were trying to silence its critical reporting by arresting its deputy editor on extortion charges. Moscow's Tverskoi District Court on Friday sanctioned the arrest of the deputy editor, Boris Zemtsov, on suspicion of blackmailing a senior official, a court official said.

Not a smart thing for Zemtsov to be doing when Russians are being summarily executed overseas - Remember Litvinenko suspected murdered in the U.K. a few months ago by Andrei Lugovoy, who is by the way, running for the job of President of Russia. Nice one. Yes it seems loyalty is rewarded in the new Russia while disloyalty is abruptly put down.

Arrested Zemtsov, if convicted, faces a long time in a Russian jail:

Nezavisimaya Gazeta said Zemtsov was detained as it prepared to publish a report on rising grain prices that accused Agriculture Minister Alexei Gordeyev of mismanagement. "It is pointless to pressure us," the paper said in an editorial Friday. "We want to assure our readers that the editorial policy of our newspaper will not change, regardless of any pressure of possible provocations." Nezavisimaya Gazeta said the extortion allegations were "absurd" and that it would be providing legal help to Zemtsov. Prosecutors denied pressuring the paper. "To accuse us of putting pressure [on the newspaper] is complete stupidity, and there is no need to comment on this," a spokesman for the Prosecutor General's Office said. He confirmed Zemtsov had been charged with extortion, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

With Putin's current posturing and muscle flexing in the outside world and his tightening up on such things as freedom of the press, it seems that Gorbachev's immortal prophecy as he left office may be coming into fruition. Could it be that the old Communist monster was just hiding his head to throw its arch enemy, America off guard?

"Gentlemen, comrades, do not be concerned about all you hear about
Glasnost and Perestroika and democracy in the coming years. They are
primarily for outward consumption. There will be no significant internal
changes in the Soviet Union, other than for cosmetic purposes.
Our purpose is to disarm the Americans and let them fall asleep."

Mikhail Gorbachev (From one of his final speeches)

SOURCE
Cross-posted here