ANALYSIS: PUTIN'S RUSSIA: Putin Grapples with His Nation's History, but Is He Getting Anywhere? Kremlin Trying Hard but Black Economy Still Cripples Country ; the Economy Is Growing, the Government Is Gaining Control and Political Turbulence Has Gone, but Corruption and Bribery Remain Endemic

Cockburn, Patrick, The Independent (London, England)

AT A SUMMIT in Slovenia last year, President George Bush claimed, to the astonishment and titters of the press, that he had seen into Vladimir Putin's soul and liked what he saw.

Mr Bush may see into Mr Putin's soul but not many others do. To many Russians he remains a sphinx, though possibly one without a riddle. As a career KGB officer he was presumably trained to conceal his own feelings and make friends with possible informants. He would not have been the chosen candidate to replace Boris Yeltsin at the end of 1999 if he had made many enemies. The Kremlin PR experts rightly believed that Mr Putin conveyed just the right mixture of macho efficiency and patriotic zeal …

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Publication information: Article title: ANALYSIS: PUTIN'S RUSSIA: Putin Grapples with His Nation's History, but Is He Getting Anywhere? Kremlin Trying Hard but Black Economy Still Cripples Country ; the Economy Is Growing, the Government Is Gaining Control and Political Turbulence Has Gone, but Corruption and Bribery Remain Endemic. Contributors: Cockburn, Patrick - Author. Newspaper title: The Independent (London, England). Publication date: May 23, 2002. Page number: 15. © 2009 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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