Epstein Secrets

in the prospect of Russian membership of the OECD rich- country club? Or a free-trade agreement with the

country, and that some in his government had sound liberalising, pro-Western instincts. Those hopes were dashed by Mr Putin's swatting aside of Mr Medvedev last September to allow his own return to the Kremlin, the rigging of elections, his crackdown on Moscow's protesters and his new Nyet posture. Th

that American democracy is for sale and that the rich have more power than the poor, even as lobbyists

. This leaves the option of some kind of intervention. Over the last couple of days Russia has indeed warmed up to do exactly this. Prime Minister Medvedev said on February 24 that he doubted the legitimacy of Ukraine's new authorities and that those now in power had conducted an "armed mutiny." The We

ould allow the continent to take advantage of its rich natural resources. And, looking ahead, Africa h

m being kindly disposed toward President Dmitry Medvedev during a security conference in Seoul. During a conversation that was caught on a hot mic, Medvedev promised to deliver Obama's kind words and intentions to Putin, the man who effectively pulls the strings at Gazprom and its media subsidiaries. B

ern lectures or shows of military force, and too rich in resources to squeeze economically in the shor

and small ways — over the years. Obama took office with a different Russian as president, Dmitry Medvedev, Putin's choice to succeed him in 2008. Medvedev, like Obama, was a lawyer by training, and also like Obama he did not believe the Cold War rivalry between the two countries should define today's