[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 80 (Thursday, May 15, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E943-E944]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       THE NEW RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. CLIFF STEARNS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 15, 2008

  Mr. STEARNS. Madam Speaker, on May 7th, Dmitri Medvedev was sworn in 
as the new Russian President. It remains to be seen if he will be more 
than just a puppet controlled by Prime Minister Putin, but if the 
President's victory speech is any indication, we should expect a 
``direct continuation'' of Putin's iron-fisted policies.
  As Russia desires to regain its stance as a major world power, rest 
assured Putin and Medvedev will stop at nothing to achieve this. As 
Americans, we should be wary of Putin's legacy of government 
corruption, diminished democracy, and antagonistic stance

[[Page E944]]

toward its former Soviet neighbors and the West.
  Although there may be opportunities for the U.S. to re-engage with 
Russia under Medvedev, we must proceed with caution. Let us not forgot 
that there are Iranian enrichment facilities in Russia, and that Russia 
uses its oil and gas resources to manipulate and control its sovereign 
neighbors.
  These are the characteristics of an emerging dictatorship hiding 
beneath the mask of democracy.

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