[mob killing] the finance strikes at the heart of russia

I was driving my friend to Ikea [Ru] three hours ago and he asked me what I thought about the Andrei Kozlov killing. It’s the only topic of conversation over here just now. For the record, he was deputy chairman of the Russian Central Bank and an ardent banking reformer but more importantly, it’s the first sign that Vladimir Putin IS actually involved in reforms. Real reforms, I mean, not the ones trumpeted by the mouthpieces. This is directed fairly and squarely at Putin. Now those who know my blog have smiled wryly at my constant references to the Finance ad nauseam but how many more instances do you need? This time they've stepped over the line in their stark warning. The people ARE NOT HAPPY and a riled Russian is not a pretty sight.