Regarding Russia and Putin's Plan
Here is something absolutely brilliant
Q: How can you tell whether the President is doing his job?
A: If one day you hear, read, or see that the same things are being said about the President from morning till night: he is admired, praised, proclaimed great and wonderful, irreplaceable and infallible—know this: the President has failed to do his job, disaster has struck, and there is no longer freedom of speech in your country. And that means there is no democracy either.
This is taken from the "Get to Know the President" website; thanks to Dirty for the link.