government this week? i ll explain. first, here s my take. if you are trying to understand the recent protests against the putin regime in russia, one of the best guides is an outspoken columnist that s been writing essays in the nation s leading newspapers over the past month. political competition is the heart beat of democracy. this author writes noting the absence of such competition in contemporary russia. he describes the frustrations of the russian middle class, demanding political rights. today the quality of our state does not match civil society s readiness to participate in it. on corruption, perhaps the issue that most riles the public, the problem is scathing. it s from the lack of transparency and accountability of government, he says. now, what makes this all deeply strange is that the author of these essays is vladimir putin, the architect, builder, and chief enforcer of the system that he is critiquing. putin seems to understand russia s problems better tha