The amount of information on Russia in the WikiLeaks US diplomatic cables is immense. In just five days, 55 cables have been posted from the US Embassy in Moscow alone, while four times that many cite Russia in some capacity. Many speak to illicit activity on the part of the Russian government – close ties with the mafia, shady financial dealings, collusion with foreign leaders, and the repression of political enemies, to name a few. And indeed, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said the document release was largely meant to provide information on closed societies such as Russia.

Russia’s state-sponsored media is largely ignoring the leaked cables, while more independent online and newspaper media sources have been discussing them more actively. As Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty argues, most Russians are already "well aware of rampant corruption among their country’s ruling elite” and may be unfazed by the revelations.

But the ruling elite itself is clearly irked. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the ...

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is calling on the United States not to interfere with "the sovereign choice of the Russian people,” responding to comments published on Wikileaks by United States Secretary of Defense Robert Gates that democracy in Russia has "disappeared.”

Speaking in an interview with CNN host Larry King, the prime minister effectively accused the United States of applying a double-standard to criticism of democracy. "When we talk with our American friends and tell them there are systemic problems in this regard, we hear from them: ‘Don’t interfere in our affairs. These are our traditions, and we don’t plan on changing them.’ And we don’t interfere,” Putin said. "But to our colleagues, I would also like to advise you: don’t interfere, either, [with] the sovereign choice of the Russian people.”

In response to a Wikileaks document where the United States compares Putin and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev to Batman and Robin, Putin responded that such ...