The question, and his answer, lie at the heart of today's Russia, because fairly or not, much of what is happening here is viewed through the prism of Mr. Putin's first career: the war in Chechnya, government control of news organizations and elections, the growing role of former security officers like himself in all ranks of government.
In the end, Krebs went to Project Shield, a Google-backed DDoS protection service that works exclusively with journalists, human rights organizations and elections monitoring sites.
All sorts of more substantive politics might work beneath the periodic organization of elections, ranging from unreconstructed authoritarianism to new forms of populism.
Tom Rosenstiel, director for the Project for Excellence in Journalism said it was a change in how mainstream news organizations approach election news this late in the race.
He said it was premature to talk of postponement at this stage, since the effort to accelerate registration and organization for elections had not yet started.
The severing of the contracts by the three firms comes weeks after the Egyptian government raided the offices of three American nonprofit groups that work with local organizations on election monitoring and government transparency.
The West could also agree to allow Syria's ruling Baathist party to be a full part of any political solution, including in the organization of elections, along the lines that allowed for a reasonably successful transition in Yemen.
Mr. Rahmani, who has been criticized by rights organizations and election officials for intimidating voters and not allowing rival candidates to campaign in his district, certainly fills the part of the warlord's son.
New Jersey residents gave a total of $25.3 million to candidates, parties, political action committees and other organizations this election, making it the 10th highest state in political contributions, according to Political Money Line, a group that tracks campaign contributions.
Hrair Balian, the head of the organization's elections section, said in an interview that the flaws of the election lay not so much in the reasonably orderly vote but in the weeks of campaigning and months of harassment that preceded it.
