Kremlin Has Too Much Power, Says Condoleezza Rice

In a recent Associated Press Article, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice claimed that the Russian government under Vladimir Putin has amassed so much central authority that the power-grab may undermine Moscow's commitment to democracy.

"In any country, if you don't have countervailing institutions, the power of any one president is problematic for democratic development," Rice told reporters after meeting with human-rights activists (See picture of Rice with Sesame Street's Elmo at right.)

"I think there is too much concentration of power in the Kremlin. I have told the Russians that. Everybody has doubts about the full independence of the judiciary. There are clearly questions about the independence of the electronic media and there are, I think, questions about the strength of the Duma," said Rice, referring to the Russian parliament.

Telephone messages left with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov were not immediately returned Saturday evening.

The hypocritical Rice need look no further than Washington, DC to see the truth of the dangers of executive power grabbing.