| 2007 was a year in which Russia deployed new | | | | assure control of parliament in a December 2 election. |
| weapons, withdrew from a major European security | | | | Riot police used force to disperse opposition |
| treaty, and held a widely criticized election campaign, | | | | campaign rallies and opposition leaders were jailed. |
| all while continuing to enjoy economic growth and a | | | | The opposition was also denied access to nationwide |
| stronger currency. VOA Moscow Correspondent | | | | TV, and its campaign literature was confiscated. |
| Peter Fedynsky looks at a year of Russian | | | | These and other violations were noted by European |
| muscle-flexing. | | | | election observers. |
| At the Moscow Air Show in August, Russia signaled | | | | The president of the OSCE's Parliamentary Assembly, |
| an intention to revive its commercial and military | | | | Goran Lennmarker, pointed to President Vladimir |
| aviation industries, which fell on hard times after the | | | | Putin's campaign on behalf of the ruling United Russia |
| Soviet collapse. Just days before the exhibition, one | | | | Party. |
| of the planes on display, the TU-160 strategic | | | | "The merging of the state and political parties is an |
| bomber, took to the skies again on orders of | | | | abuse of power and a clear violation of international |
| President Vladimir Putin. | | | | commitments and standards," he said. "The other |
| Mr. Putin said he decided to renew round-the-clock | | | | point is that the media showed a strong bias in favor |
| strategic air combat patrols as he announced 14 | | | | of the president and the ruling United Russia Party." |
| bombers accompanied by support planes and | | | | The Kremlin claims credit for reviving the Russian |
| refueling tankers had already taken off that day. | | | | military and economy, and President Putin says |
| Russia's strategic aviation had been grounded due to | | | | leadership continuity is needed to assure further |
| economic difficulties in the 1990s. | | | | success. Kremlin control of national media assures no |
| The Kremlin engaged in a flurry of other publicized | | | | one will challenge such claims. And continuity was |
| military activity - deployment of an upgraded missile | | | | virtually guaranteed when Mr. Putin supported Dmitri |
| defense system around Moscow; ongoing | | | | Medvedev as the next president. Mr. Medvedev |
| construction of three new nuclear submarines; military | | | | returned the favor by asking Mr. Putin to become |
| exercises with China; air force maneuvers over | | | | prime minister. |
| distant oceans. Other moves put foreign countries on | | | | Given such control by the ruling elite, opposition |
| notice - Kremlin suspension of a key European | | | | presidential candidate and former chess champion |
| security treaty and a threat to deploy nuclear | | | | Garry Kasparov withdrew from the race, calling the |
| weapons near Poland. This - in response to a U.S. | | | | presidential election "a farce." |
| proposal for a missile defense system in Central | | | | "It's not the end of the world; it just shows that this |
| Europe to guard against a possible Iranian missile | | | | game is a fake not only on the day of the election |
| attack. | | | | with the election fraud, but at every stage of this |
| But in remarks to VOA, independent Russian military | | | | process," he said. |
| analyst Alexander Khramchekhin said the rebuilding of | | | | In June, the Kremlin tightened its grip on Russian |
| Russia's military is more public relations than reality. | | | | energy production, pressuring British Petroleum to |
| "The move," says Khramchekhin, "is partly an | | | | give up its stake in Siberia's Kovykta field, one of the |
| attempt to resolve a psychological complex, in other | | | | world's largest gas deposits. And as energy exports |
| words, to show that Russia has become as strong as | | | | continue to boost Russia's economy, its people this |
| before. It is, he says, largely a propaganda campaign | | | | year began saving more rubles and selling off U.S. |
| for domestic rather than foreign consumption." | | | | dollars. |
| Military imagery was, indeed, used by the ruling United | | | | In more good news for the Kremlin, Russia won its |
| Russia Party in a TV ad during the recent | | | | bid for the 2012 Winter Olympic Games and a |
| parliamentary campaign. The commercial featured | | | | research submarine planted a Russian flag on the |
| fighter jets, President Putin in a flight suit, and elite | | | | bottom of the Arctic Ocean at the North Pole in a |
| troops with guns in hand. | | | | bid to claim vast undersea oil deposits. |
| The Kremlin, however, went beyond imagery to | | | | |