"A senior Russian official has implied that Madonna is a moralising "slut" after the singer used a Moscow concert to state her support for the jailed feminist punk band Pussy Riot.'"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/aug/09/pussy-riot-madonna-called-moralising-slut

It's a show. Putin has absolute control over whether they are released or not, he' s just trying to look like the good guy and it's fooling no one.

Russia's real problem is that the downturn has shown how weak they actually are. In astrong economy, authoritarianism can be glossed over (China, 1930s Germany, Saudi Arabia etc.)

Actually it's the other way around. A strong economy will heal political tensions in the short run, but in the long run it spells doom for dictatorships. Economic weakness is the one that's bad for democracy, and good for dictatorships. Look at Cuba: Communism there has persisted because the government's narrative of "America is out to get us" is graciously made true by the Americans thanks to the embargo. If we had dropped the embargo at the end of the Cold War, they'd've been democratic by now, but the perpetual poverty keeps people looking towards Communism.

In Russia's case, economic collapse would either validate Putin's position, or lead to the rise of the far left or far right.

Applause!

Just to play a little bit of a devils advocate, though the 'Soviet-esque' like trial of Pussy Riot is outrageous and Putin and his cronies are indeed ruling Russia in an authoritarian like manner, let's not forget Russia before Putin was essentially a Mafia/Oligarch state. The difference now is the Mafia/Oligarchy has been replaced by the ex USSR security establishment individuals. Both times Russia was/is a crony capitalist state but now it's ruled with more of an iron fist and with defence spending and foreign policy given more priority (and sky high oil and gas prices definitely helped Putin to achieve his goals). The West doesn't like this stronger more independent Russia. It preferred a drunk Boris Yelstin to the thinly veiled tyrant Putin.

True. After all Putin's main opponets are the middle class who prospered under him, not Yelstin.

That posters like a combination of Communism and Nazism.

Pretty much. They call it National Bolshevism. Despite the fact nazism and communism were thrown in opposite sides of the political spectrum in the western world, remeber the nazi party was actually the national socialist german's worker party. Most of their third-position economical and social ideas, by the way, are pretty much what you see on China today, a country ruled by a so-called communist party.

So wait, they stormed the church, a holy place for lots of people, in a hooligan manner inspired by religious hatred, and its the law enforcement who are the bad guys ??

They deserve to be in jail

But Communism and Nazism are polar opposite. Sure they share some similarities but Nazism also incorporates elements of capitalism which isn't to say they are the same. Nazis believe in racial superiority which is totally at odds with communists and socialists. China may well be ruled by the Communist Party but their economic policy is classic State Capitalism which is the system the West used to get their industrial base up and running and continue to practise today (Governements pour money into the risky hi tech industry which then evetually filters into the commerical market and the profits privatised).