It is a rum friendship: after ten years struggling against Boris Yeltsin and his friends, Russia's Communist Party has teamed up with the parties loyal to his anointed heir, Vladimir Putin, the acting president. At the first session this week of the newly elected Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, the two groups divided up the best jobs between themselves. The bitterly contested deal dents Mr Putin's cross-party appeal, but on balance it may improve his chances of securing his grip on the presidency in the election on March 26th.
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