A member of the National Bolshevik Party is arrested by police earlier today during an opposition rally in the center of Moscow Photo: AFP/GETTYVladimir Putin Faces Signs Of Mutiny In Own Government As Protests Break Out In East -- The Telegraph
Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, faces signs of an unprecedented mutiny within his own government that threatens to undermine his once unassailable authority, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.
Subordinates have begun openly to defy Mr Putin, a man whose diktat has inspired fear and awe in the echelons of power for nine years, according to government sources. Meanwhile a rift is emerging between Mr Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev, the figurehead whom he groomed as his supposedly pliant successor.
As Russia's economy begins to implode after years of energy-driven growth, Mr Putin is facing the germs of an unexpected power struggle which could hamper his ambition to project Russian might abroad.
Mounting job losses and a collapse in the price of commodities have triggered social unrest on a scale not seen for at least four years, prompting panic among Kremlin officials more accustomed to the political apathy of the Russian people.
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More News On The Unrest In Russia
Thousands protest in Russia over crisis -- Reuters
As Economy Sinks, Russians Protest -- New York Times
Thousands Protest Across Russia -- BBC News
Russia arrests dozens at anti-Putin protests -- AFP
Protesters Rally Against Kremlin's Economic Course -- Associated Press
Russia rocked by financial crisis protests -- The Guardian
Assassins Stalking Russian Newspaper -- Toronto Star
A Thaw in U.S.-Russian Relations? -- Boston Globe opinion
Day of Protest Marked Around Russia -- The Other Russia
Demonstrations over custom duties in the Far East -- RT News
My Comment: The oil collapse coupled with a hostile central government towards foreign and private investment, coupled with a collapse of the Moscow Stock Market .... with a financial crisis to boot .... has brought a considerable amount of fear and anger on the Russian street.