“The terrorist threat in Russia is higher than in America,” Medvedev acknowledged in nationally televised remarks from the briefing. “Terrorism is the main threat to security of our state.” The admission was even grimmer than people might imagine. In the wake of the September 1999 apartment-house bombings, Russian voters accepted an implicit deal with the former KGB man they quickly elected president: they would surrender many of the freedoms they had enjoyed during the chaotic Boris Yeltsin years in exchange for Putin’s protection from terrorist attacks.[newsweek.com]