His tenure in recent years had turned publicly rocky, and he had become an occasional but memorable critic of Kremlin policy.

Most Western scholars agree that the influence of ideology on Kremlin policy has been gradually eroding for decades, especially in foreign affairs.

Political analysts also looked for signs of Russia's commitment to its moratorium on the death penalty, which has been Kremlin policy since 1996.

In recent interviews, he went so far as to put the Kremlin policy of amnesty for all defecting rebels into question.

Two nationalist parties, each with 36 votes, are expected to give broad support to Kremlin policies.

They said they did not believe the move foreshadowed a change in Kremlin policy toward Soviet Jews.

The letters passionately criticized Kremlin policies, but did not single out any ethnic group.

And it has long been Kremlin policy to subsidize the impoverished southern periphery of the union.

What can and should the European Union do about this brutal resurgence of imperialist ideas in Kremlin policy?

It was in line with current Kremlin policy seeking closer cooperation between East and West against terrorists.