some things never change

Take Russia for example. Russians always and forever will get a raw deal; it looks like if they're not being oppressed in one way or another some inutterable cosmic order will be unbalanced. Putin is about as scary as they come. This actually is quite startling, because Russia rarely has a ruler who isn't a terrifying human being. So he decides to bump off a female reporter (whose name I cannot spell, unfortunately) who was criticizing him and his policies too freely. And then Alexander Litvenenko decides to investigate her incredibly fishy death and...yeah. Saw this coming a mile away. After a short vacation, Russia's back to the days where you avert your eyes and mutter "I don't know" when someone asks you about your government.