Kremlin red tape strikes again

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Two weeks ago, when it was announced that Russia was only inviting 70 observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to monitor the election, I suspected that Russia's arcane visa process would prevent even that number from attending. Turns out I underestimated the good folks in the Moscow bureaucracy who have not, as of yet, sent any visas to OSCE, prompting the organization to cancel its mission altogether. Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to answer questions about the visas, describing it as a "rather technical issue". It always is, isn't it?

While this is pretty grim news, it may actually be for the best that OSCE is sitting this one out. A mere 70 observers couldn't possibly be effective in a country the size of Russia. Pretending otherwise would simply lend this sham more dignity than it deserves. Russian opposition leader and FP contributor Garry Kasparov told the New York Times that "Putin's regime has no interest in revealing its dark side."

With all due respect to Kasparov, I'd say it already has.