Bartering with missile defense;

Continued nostalgia for the Soviet system

Subtle signs of inflation;

The rise of Russia's drug police

Russia without checks and balances;

Putin's former colleague takes over Transneft

Putin boosts United Russia's popularity;

More tug-of-war over missile defense

Conspicuous Russian consumption;

In Moscow, fear and loathing of the West

A power struggle in the security ranks;

Fradkov takes over the SVR

Presidential jockeying intensifies;

Conspiracy theories in Moscow

A crackdown on regional refugees;

Russian worries over space weaponization

A new Kremlin team takes control;

Putin's militia takes to the streets

Putin's post-2008 plans;

New Russian premier a Soviet throwback