White House Criticizes Russia

The White House voiced criticism of this weekend's events in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The White House spokeswoman Dana Perino specifically talked about the emerging pattern of excessive force used by the Russian authorities and the crackdown on the freedom of press. Read more here...

However, as the AP article reports "opinion polls rate Putin as Russia’s most popular political figure by far, thanks to newfound political stability and rapid economic growth fueled by high world oil prices. That popularity has cowed mainstream politicians in parliament and allowed Putin to strengthen the Kremlin’s powers."