What were the headlines of the last month? There were the Oscars, the myriad of presidential candidacy subplots, the economy and the stock market, and when none of these provided a new wrinkle, the war in Iraq sometimes managed to slip in. But up until just last week, Russia had been left out of the headlines. Americans seem to consider the country a former superpower which has been conquered and left behind. But if you look at the changing shape of the Russian state of affairs, you’d realize that the slain enemy might just have been a hibernating bear.

            Putin’s control of the country is now essentially complete. The ex-KGB turned dictator is making a sham of free elections and democracy. Numerous reports of have flooded the backwaters of international news referencing suspicious activities surrounding Russian elections. Putin has essentially revoked the legitimacy of several opposition parties by not allowing them to rent space for nominating conventions in Moscow, a requirement under Russian law for the party to be place on the ballots. Recently several outspoken critics of the government have been gunned down. These unsolved cases all point to Putin who has gone to such an extreme that he is not even hiding behind governmental authority, but rather is acting like a crime lord ordering hits. And yet we fail to take notice.

            Russia, long considered to be a defunct military power, is certainly reemerging, and this time with the bellicosity of an early Stalin rather than the confident amiability of a Brezhnev. Two weeks ago Putin casually announced Russia was prepared to enter a second arms race with the United States. Several days later a Russian plane “buzzed” an American carrier from only two thousand feet off. Russian pilots seem to be acclimating to the idea that all air space is Russian, since their planes now routinely violate Japan’s sovereignty. And yet we fail to take notice.

            A core of countries, resembling a smaller, tighter Warsaw Pact, is beginning to form around Russia. The Caspian Sea, once hotly contested, has now turned into Russia’s backyard as Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and now even Iran have fallen in line behind the Russian leader. New pipelines in the area are consolidating a Russian monopoly on Central Asian energy. The new oil is then transferred to even newer pipelines to Europe, ones which Reagan fervently opposed, making even Western Europe a potential prey to Russian dominance. Germany is already at least partially within Russia’s sphere of influence, who could be next? Other than France, with its nuclear power, almost all European countries are dependant upon non-renewable fossil fuels, and without great coal sources, these countries will prove easy targets for the Russian beast. And yet we fail to take notice.

            A country that is becoming flooded with our money due to oil profits, has openly professed a desire to challenge American military supremacy, has begun building a series of alliances comparable to NATO in its prime, and that possesses a leader capable of destroying any semblances of democracy is not considered a threat. How? Why? What is wrong with us? Oh yeah, it’s an election year.