CRIME…. “

Hundreds of thousands of criminals” are “strolling” across Russia. Seven thousand murderers are on the loose. Murders, kidnappings, assaults and robberies are “virtually everyday occurrences” in the lives of ordinary Russians, 30,000 of whom disappear each year without a trace. The police are crooked too, shaking down businessmen and winking at bribery and official corruption. That’s not commentary by old Cold Warriors at the Jamestown Foundation. It’s a speech by Vladimir Putin to prosecutors from across the country, reported on NTV.ru. Putin told the prosecutors he will lift the moratorium on the death penalty, in response to appeals from victims’ families.