Today, Vladimir Putin paid a surprise visit to Kazan - a Russian Volga river town that witnessed the sinking of the river cruise boat that killed nearly 200 and left. Since the tragedy, a few more details on the sinking emerged: the ship was built in 1955, the operator didn't have neither a tourism permit nor a permit to operate the vessel, and the vessel itself was not licensed to even be on the water. All in all, in a normally functioning country (or, as they call it these days, "system") nothing would've happened as the business would've not been operating, tickets would've not been sold, the ship would've not sailed, and no one would've died.

Here is what prime-minister Putin said in Kazan: "Where was the Transportation Agency? Where was the Waterways agency? How could a company without tourist and [ship operating] licenses sell vacation packages and sail? I'm ordering to find the guilty parties and harshly punish them!" For the purposes of clarification - Vladimir Putin is Russia's prime minister and is responsible for the executive branch (which includes Russian Transportation Ministry, Waterways Agency, etc.), so technically, the ultimately responsible party is him. Additionally, according to the Russian constitution, the court is separate from the executive branch (Putin), and technically a judge, not Putin can demand the punishment. Putin also ordered to pay 1 million rubles ($37,000) to the families of each victim, which is a great gesture, but shows that since the insurance system doesn't work, Vladimir is ready for the "manual control" here as well. President Medvedev already offered his two cents on the day of the tragedy, demanding the senior transportation officials to be fired (Ivan the Terrible preferred the beheading...).

How much longer can the country be micromanaged (not lead or governed) by two people? What if both Putin and Medvedev fell asleep at the same time? Would all the ships sink, all the planes fall, and the Russian nation go hungry? True leadership starts with trust and delegation. In fighting the corruption, it was important to consolidate the powers in the early 2000s, however the long-term consolidation (Cuba, North Korea) is not an option for a modern country. Also, the power consolidation in Russia seems to have offered very little in fighting the corruption. If a decade ago Putin's tough talk appealed to Russians and showed promise in the brighter future, today it shows weakness and inability to act, rather than talk. Russia's upcoming elections may be more exciting than many think.