Putin Puts Fear in Government Leaders

There is a good story in Politico today about fear.  We have to wonder if this is the cold war all over again, because it sure sounds like it.
It is by Ben Judah and it is called "Putin's Coup"
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/10/vladimir-putins-coup-112025.html#.VEajZYdh0lU

This is one of the more interesting things he has to say:  " Fear has returned to Moscow. Paranoia has gripped Russian officials and business elites. Those privy to sensitive information no longer carry smartphones. Instead they carry simple old cell phones and now remove the battery – to make sure the phone is dead – when they talk about Kremlin politics among themselves. This is because they assume the security services are now recording what is being said and this can disable the recording device. There is real fear that the next dramatic event in Russian politics could trigger a wave of sackings, arrests or even purges."

So, we have repeated bashings from the Russians over NSA and the disclosures of Edward Snowden, and we suddenly find that it is their leadership, not the rest of the world, that has to put away smartphones and live with one with no geo-location or complicated features to allow tracking and monitoring by their own government.

Russia is clamping down on their Internet, dissent, and any form of disagreement with the views of Putin.

There is a picture on the front page of the Wall Street Journal on the 17th that shows the irritation Putin has with anyone who doesn't like his leadership style.  It is a good article but the picture tells more than any story could.

http://online.wsj.com/articles/west-unwilling-to-be-objective-on-ukraine-says-russia-1413539137?tesla=y&mg=reno64-wsj