COVER

BRIEFING

WORLD

Inside Putin's Russia

As the President — and former KGB agent — tightens his grip, ordinary Russians struggle to live under a Soviet-like security state

LETTERS

COMMENTARY

The China Syndrome (Worldview)

Why the Asian giant could be Obama's second-term foreign policy headache

BUSINESS

India's Opening Kickoff

Lured by the booming business of television sports, the nation's first professional football league tries to turn amateurs into gridiron heroes

THE CULTURE

Mind Your Back (Books)

A surreal look at the vicious world of Chinese bureaucracy