JB:
Don’t forget that, as noted in the article, Vladimir Putin himself named Kasyanov to his position as prime minister, which he then held for quite some time, losing it only when he began to criticize Putin’s actions against Khodorkovsky. So it’s a bit difficult to say he’s dirty, that is unless Putin is too. Even if he is, why did Putin allow him to remain dirty right up until he sought the presidency?
And don’t forget that Kasyanov isn’t the only one who’s been excluded. ALL the other opposition candidates have also been forced off the ballot. Just coincidence? Rather hard to swallow.
Meanwhile, the latest development in this story is that the Kremlin has filed challenges to the income declarations of every single candidate it did allow to enter the race (those that don’t question Putin’s policies) except for Mr. Medvedev, Putin’s handpicked successor — who claims an income of just $70K per year although he runs Gazprom, one of the world’s largest energy concerns.
