Bob McCarty Writes

THIRD UPDATE 9-12-07:

It strikes me as odd that, with less than an hour remaining before midnight in Moscow, The Moscow Times has yet to publish a word about President Vladimir Putin’s dissolution of the Russian government. Obviously, the folks running the newspaper are either scared of the repercussions of publishing such news or they’ve sold out to the Putin Regime — or both! [Note: The newspaper's piece highlighted by Publius Pundit in the "SECOND UPDATE" below was published today, but prior to Putin taking the actions he did.]

SECOND UPDATE 9-12-07:

As the world watches President Vladimir Putin change the political landscape in Russia, I decided to expand on my earlier posts below and tap the bloggers who have their virtual fingers on the pulse of The Russian Bear. Below are two of the best Russia-focused blog posts of the day:

Publius Pundit — CALLING RUSSIA’S BLUFF

Writing in The Moscow Times, the Russia columnist Richard Lourie (author of The Autobiography of Joseph Stalin: A Novel and Sakharov: A Biography) states that “relations between Washington and Moscow are at a new post-Soviet low” and proposes an interesting Grand Bargain to solve the Russia problem. It’s a brilliant strategic proposal, and President George Bush should rush to adopt it.

Under Lourie’s proposal, the U.S. will propose giving up plans to include Ukraine in NATO and install missile defense systems in Czech Republic and Poland if Russia will free jailed YUKOS oil CEO Mikhail Khodorokhovsky, depose Vladimir Putin in 2008 and catch at least one actual killer of a famous journalist (Politkovskaya, Litvinenko or Klebnikov). As a bonus, the U.S. will even attempt a moderation of rhetoric, doing what it can to stop reminding apparently fragile Russian egos how they were defeated in the Cold War.

Robert Amsterdam — Fradkov’s Resignation SpeechWith Mikhail Fradkov’s carefully prepared resignation speech, we are reminded that Russia is desperate to at least “go through the motions” of appearing like a functional democracy. It is astonishing that we are being asked to believe that this is a normal, voluntary, and legitimate resignation speech, rather than a docile employee following orders from his owners. More commentary on these developments to come.

More to come as the situation develops.

FIRST UPDATE 9-12-07:

Today’s edition of The Moscow Times contains an editorial about the election campaigning season in Russia. It’s mere appearance reveals just how much of a surprise Russian President Vladimir Putin’s dissolution of the government today really was. The editorial begins this way:

The election campaigning season has begun, and in a little less than three months we will know which parties have made it into the new State Duma and which have not. In less than six months we will finally have an answer to the nagging question that’s been troubling us for so long: Who will be the next president?

With regard to the parties, it is pretty clear that United Russia will win over 50 percent of the seats in the Duma. A two-thirds majority is necessary, however, to amend the Constitution and to pass a number of other important measures. So the Kremlin will likely need the cooperation of another party. A Just Russia, another pro-Kremlin party expected to win a fair number of seats in the Duma, looks made for this supporting role. The Communist Party will probably place third.

ORIGINAL POST 9-12-07:

On the same day as Russia flexed its military muscle and announced it had developed a superstrength bomb, news reports are surfacing this morning about another “bomb” being dropped in the form of a major change in the former Soviet state’s government:

DEVELOPING STORY: Russian news agencies cite the Kremlin as saying that President Vladimir Putin dissolved the government Wednesday. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov asked the Kremlin to dissolve his government, Russian news agencies reported, with less than three months remaining before parliamentary elections. — Fox News

MOSCOW, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) — Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov will soon replace Mikhail Fradkov as prime minister, the influential business daily Vedomosti reported Wednesday. — China’s Xinhuanet News Agency

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed his prime minister on Wednesday, clearing the way for him to appoint a new premier who is likely to become the leading candidate in an election for president next March. — Reuters Africa

Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) — Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov quit, saying President Vladimir Putin needs “more freedom” to guide parliamentary and presidential elections. The resignation forces the formation of a new government. — Bloomberg

I’ll provide more details as they become available.