Russian Democracy Takes Another Hit

After the revelations earlier in the month over a potential clampdown on NGO's, democracy in Moscow suffered a further blow.

A well-known news anchor, Olga Romanova, for REN-TV (a station mildly critical of Putin) has been taken off the air. Security guards reportedly prevented her from entering the station's premises and her boss later informed Romanova of her removal. The director cited poor ratings, although im sure it has nothing to do with a change in owner following investment this year by Surgutneftgaz - a company close to the Kremlin...

Ex-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev said it was "a clarion call that tells us that we have lost the last station that kept even a little independence and objectivity." It's a sad day when the media had greater freedom during the last years of a dictatorship than it does now.

If you want to read more of this paranoia, check out this article. The head of the Security Services believes Russia is beset by foreign spies. It would be funny...if it were not true.