Recommended: Russia's Shifting Political Landscape

I highly recommend STRATFOR's recent 4-part series on Russia's Shifting Political Landscape.. (here are links to Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4).

There is a tendency in the American press to dismiss Putin as just a ex-KGB thug, arranging for rigged elections, but that is far too simplistic. In fact Putin is a talented and adroit political operative walking a knife-edge line between various factions in the Kremlin. He is not an all-powerful dictator like Stalin was; he has to balance opposing forces within his own administration, not unlike Obama in American politics. This series gives a good assessment of the forces and issues he faces, and how he is going about keeping things working and keeping his influence.