Tracing the policy movements of Presidential power-handler Vladislav Surkov is rather like witnessing a three-point turn in a dark alley - as a piece in the Power Vertical points out today.  Whilst transparency is the last thing once can expect from the Kremlin's shadowy ideologue, his moves of late are dizzying analysts.  Brian Whitmore identifies some of Surkov's recent twists - from the motives for his alleged involvement in the Duma walkout - to the matter of his oscillating stance on liberalizing political structures to aid economic development.Whitmore quotes from a Stratfor.com analysis, which suggests that Surkov's maneuvring is underpinned by a familiar motive: power rivalry.  In a recently published four-part series titled "The Kremlin Wars," Stratfor.com offers up one possible answer.According to Stratfor, the Kremlin is divided into two roughly ...

Russian police and prosecutors have failed, rather dismally, to make any progress on capturing the murderer of Forbes journalist Paul Klebnikov.  After five years of ineptitude, and thanks to some high diplomacy, it looks like the FBI is going to be allowed into Russia to pursue some cold leads (as noted in our morning news blast).  For now I am curbing my optimism, but at the very least it is a positive gesture.  Klebnikov's widow, Musa, continues to be, well, simply awesome.From Mark Franchetti, Times of London:

Musa, who has three young children by Klebnikov, returned to Russia last week for the first time since the murder to attend a memorial service and lobby for the investigation to be reopened.

"We've been waiting for justice and instead we've been left alone with our grief," said Musa. "You cannot

...