So the recent EU-Russia summit in Samara went off not-so-well. First there was the planned protest that didn't get off the groud and then there was the fact that there was little agreement between the two parties on...anything. Issues like the Russians' tiff with Estonia and the disagreement between Poland and Russia over Polish meat exports do little to improve things. On the other hand, as the article below notes, European and German dependence on Russia for energy supplies make this relationship vital, if no less contentious.
EU-Russia Relations in the NYT
The other thing that looms is the fact that by this time next year we should know who Putin's successor will be. That said, the picture is far from clear. There are some candidates (unofficial, of course,) but I have a feeling that Putin will pull a rabbit out of the hat, much the same way that Yeltsin did when he plucked Putin from relative obscurity to Prime Minister and then hand-chosen successor.
Some Commentary on the state of political Russia from The Moscow Times
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A year in Moscow and beyond, archives and daily life.
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