Northern Russians Fear a Putin Power-Grab

By Gregory Feifer

Published June 22, 2006 at 4:00 PM EDT

In a remote region of Russia's Arctic Far North, residents say they're the latest victims of President Putin's drive to reshape his county into a global power. Last month, authorities jailed the region's governor, Alexei Barinov, on charges of fraud and embezzlement.

Residents believe the move was part of a carefully planned scheme to dismantle the local government and take control of the region's key resource: its oil and gas reserves.

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Gregory Feifer

Gregory Feifer reports for NPR from Moscow, covering Russia's resurgence under President Vladimir Putin and the country's transition to the post-Putin era. He files from other former Soviet republics and across Russia, where he's observed the effects of the country's vast new oil wealth on an increasingly nationalistic society as well as Moscow's rekindling of a new Cold War-style opposition to the West.