Mr Putin has shown little respect for any democratic process, but he has always paid attention to his own poll ratings.None of this means the long Ukraine suspense story is over.
"They have really, really, really long" — suspense, but no double entendre — "trunks".
Such trains typically crawl along and make many stops, so that a long suspense about Mr. Khodorkovsky's eventual destination became a matter of speculation, given the emblematic nature of the case as one of the most politically charged in Russia today.
A reddish egret remained motionless for long suspense-filled moments, fluffing and unfluffing its elegant crown feathers.
"Because of the long period of suspense, I am sure a number of candidates will be saying they won and that could ratchet up the climate," he said.
After winning three races in a row in Beaver Creek, Colorado, earlier this season, Janka won the race that matters most in Switzerland on Saturday, crushing the suspense out of the long, classic Lauberhorn downhill in front of a record crowd of 32,000 that had piled into Wengen in anticipation of a Swiss victory.
THE long cycles of agriculture are seldom associated with gripping suspense.
DENVER, Nov. 17 — As the hour grew late Saturday and the suspense had long since been drained from the Pepsi Center, there were really only two curiosities left.
Almost eight years after Lavin's exit from U.C.L.A., he was back here as the coach of St. John's, and the suspense crested long before the Bruins escaped with a 66-59 victory against the Red Storm.
BOSTON — The suspense had long since dissipated, along with the Boston Celtics' spirit, but Carmelo Anthony was still on the parquet floor late Friday, dribbling, firing, skipping with a childlike glee and then, finally, making a slow, purposeful walk to the bench.
