Lower-ranking politicians fired as tensions flare ahead of Russian election
(NEWSER) - After three years of relative harmony, cracks are emerging in Russia’s dual leadership ahead of this year’s presidential elections—and the country’s elite has “spent the whole last month on the verge of a nervous breakdown,” unsure who to support, wrote a Russian economist. Divisions became clear between PM Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev over the NATO mission in Libya, which Putin opposed; then, the two men publicly disagreed over when to announce the presidential candidate, the New York Times reports. More»