You may have seen this scenario tossed around as a possible last ditch strategy by a desperate Bush regime to hold onto power. Well, if he tries to pull it off he won't be the first....Ol' Pooty-Poot may just have beat him to the quick. See any patterns?
From today's headlines:
Duma deputy calls for state of emergency in Russia, may CANCEL ELECTIONS!MOSCOW - It is necessary to hold an extraordinary meeting of the Federation Council to consider the issue of declaring the state of emergency in Russia and canceling the presidential elections, Dmitry Rogozin, the co-chairman of the bloc Rodina (Motherland), told journalists today.
"Today's terrorist attack in the metro is the attempt to question existence of state power in the country," he said.
http://www.russiajournal.com/news/cnewswire.shtml?nw=42417 _________
For more lessons in corruption, check out the Russian election debacle that has preceeded this announcement:
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SSIA: Govt told to refrain from using dirty tricks against other presidential candidatesMOSCOW - Sergei Glaziev, a presidential aspirant, whose signatures have yet to be verified by the Central Election Commission (CEC), have called on Russian authorities to stop using certain tactics, commonly referred to as “dirty technologies” against opponents in the March 14, presidential race.
The statement came in the wake of criminal charges filed on Feb. 5 against Ivan Rybkin, another presidential candidate and his supporters by the Nikulinsk Prosecutor’s Office on alleged falsification of signatures....
http://www.russiajournal.com/news/cnews-article.shtml?nd=42412_____________________________
Related Stories about the candidates:
Gerashchenko’s appeal dismissed by Supreme courthttp://www.russiajournal.com/news/cnews-article.shtml?nd=42418 Yabloko to boycott March 14, presidential election in Russiahttp://www.russiajournal.com/news/cnews-article.shtml?nd=42410 Duma to consider proposal to prolongate presidential termhttp://www.russiajournal.com/news/cnews-article.shtml?nd=42404 Yukos-sponsored Khakamada accuses Putinhttp://www.russiajournal.com/news/cnews-article.shtml?nd=42073 Russian (Presidential) Candidate Disappears A former national security chief planning to challenge President Vladimir Putin has been missing since Thursday, his campaign staff said Saturday. Hours earlier, the Central Elections Commission approved the presidential candidacy of liberal Ivan Rybkin, who has harshly criticized Putin.
Kseniya Ponomaryova, head of Rybkin's campaign group, told The Associated Press that Rybkin had been unreachable since late Thursday, but declined to give details.
The news agency Interfax also quoted Rybkin's wife as saying his relatives had not been able to contact him for two days....
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20040207_964.html