Putin : Slipping away

Vladimir Putin didn’t really need to become the head of Russia’s ruling party. After all, he created it, and United Russia MPs owe him their career. Under his leadership, they won 315 of 450 parliamentary seats in last December’s carefully-rigged elections. On top of this, the outgoing Russian president will also soon become prime minister, after a deal struck with president-elect Dmitri Medvedev ahead of last month’s popular vote. But Russia is a country where rulers like to take double insura...