Kremlin Rules
Putin’s Iron Grip on Russia Suffocates Opponents
James Hill for The New York Times
PUTIN’S REACH In the Nizhny Novgorod region, by the Volga River, supporters of President Vladimir V. Putin control nearly all of the political offices.
By
CLIFFORD J. LEVY
Published: February 24, 2008
NIZHNY NOVGOROD,
Russia — Shortly before parliamentary elections in December, foremen fanned out across the sprawling GAZ vehicle factory here, pulling aside assembly-line workers and giving them an order: vote for President
Vladimir V. Putin’s party or else. They were instructed to phone in after they left their polling places. Names would be tallied, defiance punished.\
more after the jump.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/24/wo...q=putin&st=nyt