Putin's Soviet Union, or new mother Russia, has been home to political corruption, internal feuds, Islamists in Chechnya, and neo-Sovietism. Assassinations, smear tactics, and government strongmen enforcing Putin's goals are common place. The Observer from the U.K. is looking into it. Check it out HERE. Run-down:

Vladimir Putin has presided over a staggering economic boom in the six years since he took control of the Kremlin. Meanwhile, a dozen of his critics have been assassinated and the country's vast natural resources are in the pockets of a chosen few. Michael Specter reports on the corruption and gangsterism gripping Russia.