Putin uses terrorism threat to tighten grip on Russia

FACED with the most serious threat to Russia’s national security since the demise of the Soviet Union, President Vladimir Putin has failed to resist the temptation of using the occasion to further strengthen his grip on Russia.

He has cynically announced a package of dramatic changes in Russia's elections system that will have little, if any direct impact on the authorities' capabilities to fight terrorism.

His reaction to the murder of more than 400 people in Beslan has been to: Establish a special federal commission on the volatile North Caucasus.