>From: Peter Lavelle <untimely_thoughts at yahoo.com>
>
>Second, is this class conflict? Class analysis is not hard here. I am far
>from being a Marxist, but interpreting Russia through a classical Marxist
>prism is very easy, even compelling if that is your thing - why the
>Communists can't make it compelling demonstrates its lacks any ideological
>commitment. It seems to me that the major players involved in this pardigm
>shift are indifferent to class analysis or any particular ideology
>(actually what seems to motivate most of these players is greed, pride, and
>resentfulness). I have not come across anything that would make me believe
>the oligarchs or the security forces care anything for the average Russian
>or Russia for that matter. I would employ the term "intra-clan" conflict
>over intra-class conflict.
--- Peter, hi
I don't think this is totally true. Putin's main support is his popularity -- no segment of the elite really likes him (see recent MT story on his increasing unpopularity in the security services).
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