Is Putin for Real?

There is a new directive going through the Russian legislature that would basically qualify any anti-government rhetoric as treason. More here. Putin’s rationale rests on the idea that attempts to destabilize Russia in the midst of a widening economic crisis should be properly suppressed. In the midst of Medvedev’s recent meetings with Chavez and Castro, along with joint Russian-Venezuelan military operations, I’m no longer easily surprised by actions of the Russian government, but this has crossed the line of pure absurdity. It’s becoming almost a sport to speculate on Russia’s next totalitarian proceedings.