to Russian political stability rather than paying attention to domestic factors, creating patriotic youth organisations such as Nashi (Ours) and the 4 November Day of Unity holiday –” the latter quickly hijacked by Russia’s nationalists.

But Russian fears of Western interference are hardly naÃ¯ve. Russia was sucked into the horrendous WWI by the British empire, suffered devastating invasions in 1919 and 1941, and another half century of the West’s Cold War against it. Further dismemberment of the Russian Federation is indeed a Western goal, which would benefit no one but a tiny comprador elite, Western multinationals and the Pentagon.

Putin’s statist sovereign democracy –” with transparent elections –” might not be such a bad alternative to what passes for democracy in much of the West. His new Eurasian Union couldOwner of home destroyed in explosion found dead in wreckage

ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) — Police in Maryland say the owner of a home that was destroyed in an explosion was found dead in the wreckage of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Montgomery County police said in a news release Monday that the medical examiner identified the body found in the Rockville home Saturday as that of 61-year-old Steven Martin Beck. Investigators say a dog found near Beck's body also was fatally shot.

Authorities say the house was leveled early Friday by a loud explosion so powerful it shattered windows and caused other damage to several neighboring homes.

Gas service at the home was turned off in June 2015, but a Washington Gas spokesman said unauthorized use had been detected at the home since