I hope the Communist Party never joins with the "liberal" Yabloko Party. Russian communists are genuine nationalists with a broader definition of Russia's interests than those defined by the ruling United Russia Party. There is no doubt that Putin's charisma and achievements have cast a little shadow on the ideological strength of the Communist Party. Russia has been riding on the high tide of a steady improvement of its regained power and prestige throughout the world. One is really at a difficulty to adopt a critical stand to Putin's patriotic projects. The rule of the Putin-Medvedev couple is probably the greatest thing that could have happened to the Russia people in the wake of the most destructive leadership of Yeltsin at the helm of the state. So the Putin-Medvedev duo is not only popular in Russia, but are heroes in many parts of the world where people express disgust at the American hubris with its associated calamities spread from the Balkans to the Chinese borders. The duo came into being at a historical juncture and is playing its role in a still imperialist dominated globe. However, the Communist Party is here to stay. It needs to prepare itself to take power by democratic means sometime in the future, as the political conditions change and they carve out a more welcome role for themselves in the Russian and international politics. As Putin and Medvedev themselves admitted, Russia needs a strong opposition. No other party is better equipped, traditionally and organizationally, than the Communist Party to pull an opposition to the ruling party. With one proviso: Being at least as patriotic as the United Russia Party, the Russian Communist Party can mount a perfect opposition, thus bringing its contribution to the healthy political process in Russia and ready itself to assume power at the right moment. But please, let the Yabloko people with dubious loyalty fry in their own pan by themselves.