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Owning a business that sells or rents inflatable bouncers is a lucrative way to make money. These have become popular throughout the years. Many people will rent or purchase them to use at birthday parties and carnivals. It is a great way to entertain children for hours at a time.

It is important to keep your investments intact and to keep from having to replace or buy a new one anytime one of yours have become punctured. Each one are made with durable material - but rocks, sticks, and other debris can puncture through it and cause either a slow or major leak. Learn how you can repair it so you don't have to spend hundreds in replacing it.

Inflate the bouncer so that you can determine where the leak is coming from. It is best to do this in sections if the bouncer will allow you to. There is a lot of ground to cover. Try to do this before you go rent it out to make sure that all parts of the tent are in good shape. That way if you find a leak you can fix it before you send it off to be used.

When it is fully inflated look and listen for the source of the puncture. If the leak is slow you might not be able to find it easily this way. The next best thing would be for you to place water inside of the tent. Pour in tap water and some soap. You will know immediately where the leak is.

Use a felt tip to mark the leak. Take out the puncture repair kit and apply solvent to the plastic patch. Apply the patch to the edge of the tent so that the hole is sealed completely. Apply more adhesive to the outside of the patch and allow it to dry.

When the patch is dried pour more soapy water inside of the tent. If there are any more bubbles being released than you did not seal it properly or you have found another leak. Try to keep it inflated overnight to make sure that it is sealed properly.

As long as pearl jewelry have been known to people, they have been a highly sought commodity for their beauty. It's only in recent times however that the industry has taken the hunt for the perfect pearl to a whole different level. Today, the shiny orbs that we see on in display in jewelry stores have actually almost always been grown in farms. That's a far cry from the dangerous extraction and collection methods used before the invention of modern technology. In the past, not more than 100 years ago, the only way to retrieve pearls was by diving in lakes, floods and the ocean to pick them up, one at the time. The unfortunate divers who'se job it was to do this, were often poor and lured by the relative large sums they could get. The diver would sometimes have to dive as deep as 100 feet on one single breath of air. In order to preserve air and to stay submerged the longest, the divers would hold on to heavy stones on the way down. Naturally, this dangerous activity was reserved for the desperate or the powerless - in many cases slaves or extremely poor peasents. Today, this method is all but obsolete in most places of the world. The cheaper cultured pearls have become popular and are many times the only pearls available to the consumer. There are however still a few isolated areas that practice this old art of pearl diving. Some of the finest natural pearl speciments come from the gulf of Bahrain. Here, divers still risk their health to retrieve what are considered the top of the crop in the world. In fact, Bahrain wants no part of the sale of cultured pearls, banned from trade. Bahrain is one of the few places on earth that does an active job in trying to preserve the natural habitat and waters from pollution. It's an interesting story and one that continues to fascinate buyers around the world. Somehow, the beauty of the pearl grows when it's been retrieved from the depth of the ocean.

Buying pearl jewelry can be fun, exciting and confusing. Whether you're considering a gift of pearl jewelry for someone special or as a treat for yourself, take some time to learn the terms used in the industry. Here's some information to help you get the best quality pearl jewelry for your money, whether you're shopping in a traditional brick and mortar store or online. Pearls Natural or real pearls are made by oysters and other mollusks. Cultured pearls also are grown by mollusks, but with human intervention; that is, an irritant introduced into the shells causes a pearl to grow. Imitation pearls are man-made with glass, plastic, or organic materials. Because natural pearls are very rare, most pearls used in jewelry are either cultured or imitation pearls. Cultured pearls, because they are made by oysters or mollusks, usually are more expensive than imitation pears. A cultured pearl's value is largely based on its size, usually stated in millimeters, and the quality of its nacre coating, which give it luster. Jewelers should tell your if the pearls are cultured or imitation. Some black, bronze, gold, purple, blue and orange pearls, whether natural or cultured, occur that way in nature; some, however, are dyed through various processes. Jewelers should tell you whether the colored pearls are naturally colored, dyed or irradiated. Clams, oysters, mussels and many other mollusks with limy shells are known to produce pearls. But very few kinds yield gem pearls of jeweler's quality. The pearl is an abnormal growth of mother-of-pearl, or nacre, imbedded in the soft bodies of these shellfish. It is built up, layer upon layer, in the same way as nacre is added to the lining of the growing shell and always has the same color and luster. For example, over the country, hundreds of good-sized pearls are found each year in the oysters we eat. Unfortunately these have no commercial value regardless of whether they have been cooked or not because they are dull opaque white or purple like the shell of the parent oyster. In recent times almost all pearls of gem quality come from the oriental pearl oyster which has a bright shimmering translucent nacre. A pearl starts growing when some irritating foreign substance such as a sand grain, bit of mud, parasite or other object becomes lodged in the shell-producing gland called the mantle. Pearls formed in the soft flesh where nacre can be added on all sides are most likely to be spherical and the most highly prized. By far the great majority are flattened or variously distorted and have little value. Size, color, luster and freedom from flaws are other essential qualities. Unlike other gems, such as diamonds, pearls have an average life of only about 50 years. In time the small amount of water in a pearl's make-up is lost and its surface cracks. Because they are mostly lime, necklaces which are worn often are injured by the acid secretions of the human skin.

As long as pearl jewelry have been known to people, they have been a highly sought commodity for their beauty. It's only in recent times however that the industry has taken the hunt for the perfect pearl to a whole different level. Today, the shiny orbs that we see on in display in jewelry stores have actually almost always been grown in farms. That's a far cry from the dangerous extraction and collection methods used before the invention of modern technology. In the past, not more than 100 years ago, the only way to retrieve pearls was by diving in lakes, floods and the ocean to pick them up, one at the time. The unfortunate divers who'se job it was to do this, were often poor and lured by the relative large sums they could get. The diver would sometimes have to dive as deep as 100 feet on one single breath of air. In order to preserve air and to stay submerged the longest, the divers would hold on to heavy stones on the way down. Naturally, this dangerous activity was reserved for the desperate or the powerless - in many cases slaves or extremely poor peasents. Today, this method is all but obsolete in most places of the world. The cheaper cultured pearls have become popular and are many times the only pearls available to the consumer. There are however still a few isolated areas that practice this old art of pearl diving. Some of the finest natural pearl speciments come from the gulf of Bahrain. Here, divers still risk their health to retrieve what are considered the top of the crop in the world. In fact, Bahrain wants no part of the sale of cultured pearls, banned from trade. Bahrain is one of the few places on earth that does an active job in trying to preserve the natural habitat and waters from pollution. It's an interesting story and one that continues to fascinate buyers around the world. Somehow, the beauty of the pearl grows when it's been retrieved from the depth of the ocean.

Buying pearl jewelry can be fun, exciting and confusing. Whether you're considering a gift of pearl jewelry for someone special or as a treat for yourself, take some time to learn the terms used in the industry. Here's some information to help you get the best quality pearl jewelry for your money, whether you're shopping in a traditional brick and mortar store or online. Pearls Natural or real pearls are made by oysters and other mollusks. Cultured pearls also are grown by mollusks, but with human intervention; that is, an irritant introduced into the shells causes a pearl to grow. Imitation pearls are man-made with glass, plastic, or organic materials. Because natural pearls are very rare, most pearls used in jewelry are either cultured or imitation pearls. Cultured pearls, because they are made by oysters or mollusks, usually are more expensive than imitation pears. A cultured pearl's value is largely based on its size, usually stated in millimeters, and the quality of its nacre coating, which give it luster. Jewelers should tell your if the pearls are cultured or imitation. Some black, bronze, gold, purple, blue and orange pearls, whether natural or cultured, occur that way in nature; some, however, are dyed through various processes. Jewelers should tell you whether the colored pearls are naturally colored, dyed or irradiated. Clams, oysters, mussels and many other mollusks with limy shells are known to produce pearls. But very few kinds yield gem pearls of jeweler's quality. The pearl is an abnormal growth of mother-of-pearl, or nacre, imbedded in the soft bodies of these shellfish. It is built up, layer upon layer, in the same way as nacre is added to the lining of the growing shell and always has the same color and luster. For example, over the country, hundreds of good-sized pearls are found each year in the oysters we eat. Unfortunately these have no commercial value regardless of whether they have been cooked or not because they are dull opaque white or purple like the shell of the parent oyster. In recent times almost all pearls of gem quality come from the oriental pearl oyster which has a bright shimmering translucent nacre. A pearl starts growing when some irritating foreign substance such as a sand grain, bit of mud, parasite or other object becomes lodged in the shell-producing gland called the mantle. Pearls formed in the soft flesh where nacre can be added on all sides are most likely to be spherical and the most highly prized. By far the great majority are flattened or variously distorted and have little value. Size, color, luster and freedom from flaws are other essential qualities. Unlike other gems, such as diamonds, pearls have an average life of only about 50 years. In time the small amount of water in a pearl's make-up is lost and its surface cracks. Because they are mostly lime, necklaces which are worn often are injured by the acid secretions of the human skin.

PORTO ROTONDO - Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi offered strong support for Russian President Vladimir Putin in his desire for closer ties with Europe on Friday, saying he favors the eventual removal of visa requirements for travelers between Russia and the European Union and repeating that he believes Russia can one day join the EU.

Speaking after a three-hour meeting at Berlusconi's Sardinian villa, the two leaders also called for a U.N. resolution that would allow for broader international participation in post-war Iraq, with Putin emphasizing the need for "real participation" of the United Nations.

With his sleeves rolled up and his collar open in the Mediterranean heat, Berlusconi praised Putin's leadership of Russia and said he was turning it into a democratic and economically advanced nation.

"After the last century witnessed the confrontations between the West and the East, today's East is declaring its desire to turquoise necklace be part of the West, part of Europe," Berlusconi said. "And this is also thanks to President Putin."

He said that during Italy's six month presidency of the European Union, "we will do all we can - everything in our power - to bring Russia closer to the European Union."

Berlusconi called for the eventual removal of visa requirements between Russia and the EU - something that Putin has pushed for the past year. But Berlusconi spoke of it as a "final goal" and said it could not be rushed.

Putin and Berlusconi said they were working on making it easier for Russians and Italians to travel to each other's countries, focusing at first on such groups as students, scientists and businessmen.

On Iraq, Putin and Berlusconi called for a new U.N. resolution that would allow for broader international participation. Putin said he and other leaders of the U.N. Security Council nations were working on a draft.

"We are witnessing an escalation of violence in Iraq," Putin said. "The very first task is to stop this spiral of violence, and we believe the most effective way to do this is with a real participation of the United Nations."

Berlusconi reiterated Italy's support for the U.S. action in Iraq, but he said at this point "my personal desire is that the U.N. take a decision that would allow all countries of the West to make their contribution."

The two leaders were mixing business with pleasure during their fifth meeting this year, holding talks Friday at the billionaire Berlusconi's villa on Sardinia's posh Costa Smeralda and visiting a Russian navy missile cruiser anchored offshore Saturday.

Putin is to visit Italy again in November for more bilateral talks and a Russia-EU summit that Moscow has said it wants to focus on its push for visa-free travel between Russia and the EU and Russia's effort to join the World Trade Organization. The EU is to expand to Russia's borders next year when 10 countries, mostly from Eastern Europe, join the group.

Berlusconi strongly supported Russia's WTO aspirations in a visit to rice pearl Moscow last month, and he has sparked controversy in the EU by suggesting that Russia could become part of a "Big Europe" along with Israel and Turkey. Putin has said Russia is not pressing to join the EU, but Berlusconi's backing for close Russia-EU ties is a morale boost for the Kremlin.

In a visit to Russia in February, Berlusconi said he would promote the creation of a Russia-EU consultative organ or possibly a permanent council, and last month he said Italy would help arrange regular meetings of such a council.

Putin praised the informal setting of his meeting with Berlusconi, who has called the Russian leader a personal friend. During a joint press conference against a seaside backdrop, Berlusconi playfully leaned his elbow against Putin's lectern and made a show of listening intently to one of his answers.

Putin's two teenage daughters spent some time at Berlusconi's Sardinian villa last summer, but Putin stepped off the presidential Il-96 jet alone Friday, despite Russian and Italian media reports that his wife and daughters would accompany him.

Despite Russia's worsening relations with the West, the fall of the Berlin Wall still symbolizes the optimism that came during the crumbling of the Soviet bloc.

The wall - perhaps the most prominent of Cold War symbols - came down Nov. 9, 1989, bringing an end to the division of Europe that sliced the continent in half for 40 years.

Many had long dreamed for the events of that November night 10 years ago this Tuesday.

Artyom Krylov, a junior Red Army officer who fought in Germany during World War II and was stationed in Hungary when the wall went up in August 1961, says he was against its construction.

"When the wall was being built, it felt as if I were trapped in a room," said Krylov, who now lives in Moscow. "It was as if I were being punished for a reason I didn't know."

When the wall fell, however, it did so unexpectedly, bringing in its wake a series of events that destroyed the Warsaw Pact and led to the reunification of Germany.

"It should have taken place earlier," Krylov said. "When it actually happened, I thought, 'At last - wisdom has won over stupidity.'"

Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet leader under whose stewardship the Soviet bloc fell apart, now says the event wasn't as simple as it seems in retrospect. "A lot had to button pearl take place for the Berlin Wall to come down," he said last month while releasing his book on the wall's demise, "How It Was."

The poignant images of the wall's physical crumbling are now fixed in global history as a spontaneous triumph of collective individual will over state tyranny. But the event followed a process that had taken years and was chiefly driven by a small number of reform-minded officials.

Before the wall could collapse, much was done in Budapest, Warsaw and Moscow.

Gorbachev's accession to the Soviet leadership in March 1985 was a chief factor that paved the way for Europe's reunification, even though his rule by no means guaranteed the wall's collapse.

Gorbachev's "perestroika" reforms replaced Stalin-era foreign policy that outlined the Soviet Union's sphere of influence and saw notorious clampdowns on reform in 1956 Budapest and 1968 Prague. With Gorbachev came the notion that Soviet bloc countries should make their own decisions.

"We held elections in 1989, and after that, we couldn't refuse other Warsaw Pact countries to do the same," Gorbachev said. "After perestroika, each country had to determine its own fate."

But it was not immediately clear if and how reforms would come to Eastern Europe.

"Inside Eastern Europe itself there were three elements which pushed the region toward the drama of 1989," writes Misha Glenny, a journalist covering Eastern Europe at the time. "The tenacity of reformers inside the Hungarian Communist party; the realization on the part of Polish communists that they could not govern their country; and finally people power - the profound frustration of ordinary East Germans compelled to live in Europe's largest prison."

East Germany and Czechoslovakia spearheaded opposition to reform.

But in Poland, thanks in part to Gorbachev's policies, the beleaguered Solidarity trade union movement was able to recover from its brutal supression by the state from 1981 through 1983 and lead the way to the creation of a non-Communist government in September 1989 after the historic Round Table talks.

In Hungary - where relatively lax policies from Moscow following 1956 led to a slow process of gradual reform - the ousting of Communist leader Janos Kadar in 1988 led to a process of market reform.

It was indeed among the Hungarian Party leadership, headed by Prime Minister Miklos Nemeth, that the fall of the Berlin Wall was first seriously advocated - at great risk to pearl earrings its members.

In the summer of 1989, streams of vacationing East Germans came to Hungary, sensing a change in the political winds, and first breached the Iron Curtain.

On Sept. 10, Hungary first opened its border with Austria to allow East Germans without visas to travel to West Germany, triggering a rush for the border, with around 25,000 departures via the route in just three weeks.

Similar scenes occurred in Czechoslovakia, where tens of thousands of East Germans lined up for visas, many of them having made their way to Prague via Poland.

The unrest spread to East Germany itself, with demonstrations organized in Leipzig every Monday from Sept. 4, increasing steadily in number each week. On Oct. 2, 20,000 people gathered at the Saint Nicholas church in a weekly "prayer for peace."

On Oct. 7, Gorbachev visited East Germany on an official visit to celebrate the state's 40th anniversary. There, he issued veiled criticisms of the state's leadership for its failure to move with the times.

The Oct. 18 replacement of hard-line party leader Erich Honecker - an architect of the Berlin Wall - by Egon Krenz did nothing to stem the tide.

On Nov. 4, a million people demonstrated in East Berlin, with hundreds of thousands more on the streets of other East German cities.

Five days later, the East German Politburo announced that East Germans were now free to travel westward. By 9:30 p.m., tens of thousands of East Germans began to head for the wall.

Ten years on, Russia's economic crises, increasing poverty and reduced status in international politics have made much of its population increasingly resentful toward the West. U.S. bombing in Iraq, followed by NATO's air attacks on Yugloslavia last spring, brought forward a wave of anti-Americanism during which angry crowds pelted the U.S. Embassy with paint and bottles.

The public's mood later lightened, but Western accusations of high-level corruption in Russia and the West's opposition to Russia's campaign in the breakaway southern republic of Chechnya are contributing to ongoing political tensions.

Former acting Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar - an icon of Russia's era of westernizing market reforms earlier this decade - now warns of danger in the worsening relations.

"Relations between Russia and the West went through various stages, from a period of romance to a drifting apart," Gaidar said. "The problem now is for countries not to become upset with each other."

An opinion poll published in the French magazine Courrier International on Nov. 3 showed one in five Russians felt the fall of the wall had negative results, AP reported.

But as former members of the Soviet bloc appraise the changes that have taken place since the wall's collapse, Berlin is preparing for a big bash to gemstone necklace celebrate the momentous occasion's anniversary.

The former leaders of the Soviet Union, Germany and the United States - Gorbachev,

Helmut Kohl and George Bush, respectively - will mark the occasion by taking part in the Nov. 9 event.

The three politicians were leaders of their respective countries in 1989 when the Berlin Wall fell.

Berlin began 10 days of celebrations on Nov. 4. But the highlight will be this Tuesday's celebration at the Brandenburg Gate, which will include a concert by the Scorpions rock band, accompanied by 165 cellists, including the renowned Mstislav Rostropovich.

Russian political life appears to have come to the end of an era, with two of the country's highest-profile media barons choosing exile over invitations from prosecutors to discuss allegations of swindling and embezzlement.

Boris Berezovsky, who through the 1990s exercised de facto control over ORT television – the nation's largest broadcaster – chose Tuesday not to return to Russia after being summoned to pearl jewelry appear at the Prosecutor General's Office on Wednesday over alleged embezzlement at Aeroflot, the national air carrier.

Earlier, Vladimir Gusinsky, founder of Media-MOST, which controls NTV television – Russia's only independent network – similarly declined a meeting with the prosecutor general over swindling charges relating to a foreign loan guaranteed to MOST by Russian gas giant Gazprom.

Despite his decision to go, at least temporarily, into exile, Berezovsky was not to be denied a parting shot at the authorities, delivering a barrage of allegations and criticism at the Kremlin through a series of statements, letters and interviews.

These included accusing President Vladimir Putin of not being concerned that "profits from Swiss firms working with Aeroflot were used to finance [the pro-Kremlin parliamentary party] Unity and the presidential campaign." He also accused Putin of constructing a "regime of personal power;" and, in an obscure remark, predicted that, "If Putin continues his destructive policy, his regime won't last until the end of his first constitutional term."

Observers said that even though, in relation to Aeroflot, there could be some truth to Berezovsky's allegations, the tycoon's charges were more a political provocation than anything resembling concern for the country's fate.

"I think Boris Abramovich [Berezovsky] has decided to stake the house," said Viktor Sheynis, a former State Duma deputy with the liberal Yabloko parliamentary faction. "He's not a professional gambler. He's a gambler by nature. A gambler by virtue of his intellect and his interests."

Investigation into the Aeroflot case began in 1999, when Yevgeny Primakov, a long-standing opponent of Berezovsky's, was prime minister. According to snippets of information released to the media over the past 20 months by the prosecutor's Office, the case revolves around misappropriation of funds – and perhaps even direct embezzlement of profits – from Aeroflot.

Berezovsky has been questioned several times over the case, but in this latest instance, the prosecutor's office announced explicitly – and some might say inexplicably – that after questioning, the tycoon might immediately go from witness to accused. It was no surprise then that Berezovsky, who is currently abroad, declined the invitation to appear.

"I decided to take this step as a result of constantly increasing pressure on me from the authorities and from President Putin personally," Berezovsky wrote in an open letter. "Essentially, I'm being forced to choose between becoming a political prisoner or a political emigre."

The tycoon said that digging up the Aeroflot case was Putin's way of getting revenge for his criticism of the president's policies – and that, in fact, Aeroflot was the last thing Putin should want to have dragged up.

"When Putin was a candidate for president, it didn't bother him at all that profits from Swiss firms working with Aeroflot were used to finance Unity and the presidential campaign," Berezovsky wrote.

But the attack didn't lead to pearl beads any upheaval. The presidential press service preferred to remain silent, using Putin's absence at the Brunei APEC summit as a reason not to respond.

Boris Gryzlov and Lyubov Sliska, leaders of the pro-Kremlin Unity parliamentary fraction, stuck to the official line, denying having received any help from Berezovsky in their electoral campaign.

"All information on the financing of the Unity electoral campaign was submitted to the Central Election Committee and was thoroughly checked. Neither Aeroflot nor its Swiss partners figure there," Interfax reported Unity faction leader Gryzlov as saying.

Gleb Pavlovsky, head of the Foundation for Effective Politics, and a one-time Berezovsky aide and mastermind of the successful Unity parliamentary and presidential campaigns, said that with the open letter, Berezovsky was essentially admitting his part in the Aeroflot case, something the tycoon had previously labeled an "invention of Primakov."

"The thing is, [Berezovsky's] got blatant contradictions in his statement," Pavlovsky told The Russia Journal. "He's denying manipulating Aeroflot money and straight afterward admitting he manipulated Aeroflot money to finance election campaigns." This, he said, devalued Berezovsky's political accusations.

Berezovsky also accused Putin of wanting to restore a "regime of personal power," and said the president had "violated the Russian Constitution and was bringing the country to collapse." Pavlovsky said he thought that Berezovsky was destroying himself by cynically mixing politics, business and criminal cases.

"It's hard to discuss his political statements because he disavows them himself," Pavlovsky said. "If we're talking of a financial conflict, what have principles got to do with it? If we're talking about principles, what's double bookkeeping doing here?"

Yabloko's Viktor Sheynis likened Berezovsky's actions to those of a gambler banned from the table for cheating and swindling. Now, he said, Berezovsky was trying to get his place back by proving that everyone at the table played the same way he did. But, Sheynis added, the tycoon's accusations were exaggerated and embellished to such an extent that they failed to make any impression.

"To some extent, Berezovsky has rightly noted the element of authoritarianism that is present in Russia now," Sheynis said. "But it's highly exaggerated. I don't see the creation of the seven federal districts and the decrease in the Federation Council's role as a threat to democracy."

As the week wore on, the situation descended into a war of words between Berezovsky and Pavlovsky over a passage in Berezovsky's letter that said: "I'm convinced that if Putin continues his destructive policy, his regime won't last until the end of his first constitutional term."

In response, Pavlovsky gave a newspaper interview in which he was quoted as saying that the reference to Putin's regime not lasting was a political provocation that could lead to button pearl a "physical threat."

Berezovsky, taking Pavlovsky's words as the Kremlin line, responded that as an inconvenient figure, the authorities could decide to kill him.

Pavlovsky, however, told The Russia Journal that he was misquoted, that he had actually said that Berezovsky's words could be interpreted as a threat to the president's life.

"I said that if a politician makes such hints in his statements, then he must be very careful, because sometimes hints can be interpreted as a physical threat," Pavlovsky said.

Attempting to sidestep a Kremlin ultimatum to surrender his stake in ORT Television or "go the same way as Gusinsky," tycoon Boris Berezovsky announced he was transferring his shares in the national broadcaster to a select group of journalists and intellectuals.

Berezovsky told a packed press conference Thursday that Presidential Chief of Staff Alexander Voloshin had earlier told him that either he hand over his shares in ORT or experience the same fate as Media-MOST chief Vladimir Gusinsky, who was jailed for three days in July.

Berezovsky, who was a central figure in the rise and eventual election of President Vladimir Putin, has now taken to wholesale pearl jewelry criticizing the Kremlin, accusing Putin of undermining what has been achieved in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union and of taking the country back to authoritarianism.

But despite that, Putin gave cautious approval to the tycoon's decision to transfer the shares to journalists and intellectuals.

"This [move] can only be praised. But it is important that these be independent people," Putin told a press conference at the U.N. Millenium Summit, referring to those Berezovsky had transferred his ORT stake.

Berezovsky told the press conference Thursday that all thinking people knew that if a civil society was not built, then life would become impossible in Russia.

What I am doing [with the ORT shares] is just one small step toward building a civil society," he said.

"We all understand the importance of the media today," he added. "We know its significance is greater than we thought. The elections of 1996, 1999 and this year show clearly just how great the influence is, both of the media in general and ORT in particular."

Monday, apparently in reply to Voloshin's ultimatum, Berezovsky released an open letter to Putin vowing not to bow to Kremlin pressure over his ORT stake. He also flagged in the letter his intention to transfer the stake to "journalists and other representatives of the creative intelligentsia."

Among the names of those who will sit on the new board of trustees controlling Berezovsky's ORT stake are: writer Vasily Aksyonov; television anchors Sergei Dorenko and Vladimir Pozner; journalists Natalya Gevorkyan (a co-author of Putin's book) and Otto Latsis; and high-profile lawyer Genri Reznik.

Berezovsky was also fiercely critical of the direction Putin had chosen to take the country, saying it represented a return to the past, though "not to communism, but to totalitarianism."

"We need to set constant tests for the authorities," he said. "We need to provoke the authorities, not to see what they will say, but what they will actually do."

"At the moment, the authorities might see, for example, that young people are not afraid to speak their minds," he added. "But if we wait too long, fear will grow to such an extent that we won't be able to do anything.

One of Berezovsky's chief weapons in bludgeoning the opposition during the 1999 parliamentary elections, ORT presenter Mikhail Leontiev, read little into the tycoon's move other than that it was "a political act."

"As a political move, it is effective because it is so noticeable; public politics has to be noticeable and elegant," Leontiev said. "Moreover, if he is under pressure, then it is effective to counteract that pressure using authoritative figures from the ‘creative intelligentsia.'"

Leontiev said that, in general, he did not see a threat to freedom of speech in Russia. He characterized the struggle between the Kremlin and the media as "a private problem of ugly, unethical and impatient behavior on the part of one partner [the state], against another [business]."

"Since Gusinsky didn't get sorted out, we need to hand out exemplary punishment to Berezovsky – this is the logic of 'beat our own people so that others will be afraid,'" he said of the Kremlin's moves against the media. But Leontiev said, unlike Berezovsky, he saw little threat to freedom of speech in Russia.

"It is his position, his views, which I have not been in agreement with of late," Leontiev said. "And what is freedom of speech anyway? There are laws regulating competition on the information market. We don't have these laws. We've been living through sponsorship and a political racket."

Many observers said Berezovsky's actions could have the reverse effect of that intended, as adding his name to any movement was enough to undermine it. That, and his past use of his media outlets to smear opponents, meant he had little credibility in relation to freedom of speech.

Asked by The Russia Journal whether being known as the "the evil genius" of Russian politics meant he would hurt the very causes he professed to pearl beads support, Berezovsky said: "I would be only too happy to hand over the job of creating an opposition to others."

But analysts said the credibility problem was a real one, with the tycoon's reputation such that, even when he says very fine words, no one believes him.

"Some people even say that if you want to discredit an idea, you should put it in Berezovsky's mouth," said Vladimir Zharikhin, a political scientist and deputy director of the Moscow Fund for Presidential Programs.

But Zharikhin conceded that Berezovsky's letter to Putin had produced a strong impression on him.

"You read the letter and it grabs you," he said. "But then you remember that Berezovsky didn't put money into ORT, but just paid [anchorman Serge] Dorenko [who mercilessly attacked the tycoon's opponents], and only his voice was heard on the screen.

"All that was fine [for Berezovsky], he didn't talk about freedom of speech then. And was there democracy, pluralism and freedom of speech on ORT? No. The question that then arises is whether Berezovsky is defending what wasn't or what was. The first would be strange and the second certainly wasn't freedom of speech."

Berezovsky made no apologies for the Duma campaign at the press conference Thursday, though he rejected the tongue-in-cheek characterization of him as the first dissident of the Putin regime.

"I wouldn't call myself a dissident. I think that Putin was the best choice we had at the end of the summer of 1999. That choice was between Yevgeny Primakov, Yury Luzhkov, Gennady Zyuganov and Putin. I would still make the choice now."

Still, he added, the only step he could take now was to create constructive opposition. "Under Yeltsin, there was a communist opposition, but it wasn't constructive," he said. "Then we had Media-MOST in the role of opposition and that wasn't constructive either.

"We need some kind of opposition, even this kind," Berezovsky said, explaining that certain kinds of opposition may be bad for democracy, but no opposition at all would be absolutely destructive for Russia's political development. "An opposition is one of the institutions of civil society. My step is a step toward creating one, and the people to whom I have given responsibility are people I know are committed to democratic values."

Leontiev said he believed Berezovsky was attempting to lead the political game – and rejected the suggestion that Berezovsky was retreating by handing over the shares.

"He is a democrat, an idealist and a romantic," Leontiev said. "He loves risk. Talk that he is trying to protect himself by doing this has no basis. He is always going into the fire. That, in itself, is not a bad way to ensure your safety."

As to how the public would react to Berezovsky's call to arms, analysts were reasonably blunt in their answer – it wouldn't.

"The majority of people, frankly speaking, are not concerned about freedom of speech," said Andrei Milekhin, General Director of the Agency for Regional Political Studies.

"You have to draw a distinction between what preoccupies the elite, as they call themselves, and the public," Milekhin said. "People have more down-to-earth problems and don't have time to think about ‘lofty issues' when they're worried about having enough to illusion pearl necklace eat."

"No one [among the elite] thinks much about the public, though," he added. "[Berezovsky's move] is aimed at specific social groups. The elite understands there are no friends or enemies, just one's own interests. And if someone can benefit from such a position, they will use it and support it, regardless of the fact it is represented by a notorious figure."

Launching a movement to counter what he sees as Russia's slide toward authoritarianism, financier Boris Berezovsky assailed President Vladimir Putin and his North Caucasus policies – and predicted Russia would face further terrorist attacks of the type that struck Pushkin Square on Tuesday.

"This [bombing] will happen again if the policy of ‘smashing the bandits in their lairs' continues," Berezovsky said, referring to Putin's comments late last year that he would eradicate the terrorist threat in Chechnya.

"There is only one way of dealing with terrorists – through agreement. No other way exists," he said.

But Chechnya was only one of the issues discussed at the announcement of the forming of Berezovsky's "constructive opposition," which also includes eight leading artists and intellectuals. The movement is united primarily in its opposition to the president's reconfiguration of the branches of power, a move they believe is a prelude to authoritarian rule.

The movement's planners are seeking to pearl jewelry wholesale rally support among the political elite and the wider public to safeguard the small democratic institutions Russia has thus far built, but analysts say the group's chances of succeeding are slight at best.

"This plan is destined to fail," said Nikolai Popov of the Agency for Regional Political Research (ARPR). "The average person will think it strange and unnecessary. People haven't matured [to see the dangers of authoritarianism]. We are still recoiling from democratic values. We won't go back to the democratic idealism of the '90s for some time yet."

Moreover, according to Popov, the authors have been cunning in using the term "constructive opposition," setting a limit to their criticism and opposition.

"What is the use of a ‘constructive opposition?' Is it meant to be friendly or something?" Popov asked rhetorically. "It's the same as ‘cold heat' – using inherently contradictory terms."

An open letter titled "Russia at a Crossroads: An Address to Society," signed by Berezovsky and the eight others, was made public Tuesday. The other signatories were writer Vasily Aksyonov; journalist and economist Otto Latsis; film director and member of parliament Stanislav Govorukhin; former first deputy head of the Presidential Administration Igor Shabdurasulov; former Politburo member and scientist Alexander Yakovlev; theater director Yury Lubimov; and actors Oleg Menshikov and Sergei Bodrov Jr.

The authors declared that "Russian society faces another choice: to live in an authoritarian state or in a truly democratic one."

• ‘Vicious circle'

"Once it starts down this road [of justifying increased control through economic expediency], society will inevitably enter a vicious cycle of action and reaction which, in the end, will force the government to choose between admitting its failure or introducing a dictatorship," the authors warn.

One of them, Latsis, deputy editor of Novye Izvestiya and a contributor to The Russia Journal, says it was Berezovsky's idea and Berezovsky called the co-authors.

"I can't say that my political views coincide exactly with those of Berezovsky," Latsis said. "But in this case, I agree with him on one main issue: I feel it is dangerous that part of the state apparatus is trying to create a government that has no opposition."

Latsis said the letter should be viewed as a warning to prevent a drift to dictatorship, which he said would be all the worse because Putin's government is actually following a liberal line on the economy.

"Now, for the first time, we have a logical policy of supporting liberal reforms, but these reforms will have a social impact, they will affect everyone," Latsis said. "That's why society has to understand them and consciously accept them. We can't opt for Pinochet-style reform – destroying democracy to build the market."

In fact, analysts had been discussing the danger of Russia sliding into dictatorship even before former KGB officer Putin came to power.

ARPR's Popov said that, in part, this was linked to the mood in society – one he said stemmed not so much from the public's being unable to comprehend democratic ideas, as from the "incompetence, ignorance and irresponsibility of the democrats that came to power."

"People don't really care about power being divided into three branches," Popov said. "They dislike the Duma, the Federation Council is a mystery, some sort of governors' club. A good government with a president at the top – that's what matters to people."

Popov added that only a small section of society thinks in democratic terms. The remainder, he said, could be broken up into those who want a return to twisted pearl necklace the old system – most of them elderly – and those who don't think about politics and simply have faith in strong authority.

• ‘Leave us in peace'

"The latter group are people who are tired of all these attempted reforms. They're happy just to have a benevolent monarch. They say, ‘Leave us in peace. ... We'll work in the garden, bring up our children, work on our careers," Popov said.

Many experts felt one of the possible bastions of an opposition movement would be the regional leaders, whose power Putin sought to curb immediately after his inauguration.

A week before the letter was made public, Berezovsky toured several regions and met with governors. He admitted at a press conference Wednesday, however, that the governors would not come out openly against Putin – despite their dissatisfaction.

"The governors are under colossal pressure," Berezovsky said. "They are afraid of what might come next. … But they will take part [in the opposition]; it's just a matter of whether they will do so openly or covertly."

Experts said regional leaders appeared to make it clear they would not publicly oppose Putin when they agreed to a law limiting their power in the Federation Council.

"It's obvious the governors will carry out covert opposition," said political scientist Fyodor Shelov-Kovedyaev, a former deputy foreign minister. "They'll hinder reforms where possible behind a mask of compliance. That's a big danger for Putin."

Latsis said that if the current authoritarian challenge went unanswered, it would reflect a lack of historical memory.

"We should remember the history of the 20th century. The Bolsheviks weren't monsters to start with either, but it ended badly with great sacrifice in the name of bright ideals," he said. "It grows like a snowball, faster than you can react."

Popov argued that the letter might in the end have the reverse effect to that desired, because its instigator, Berezovsky, is such an odious figure.

"The name Berezovsky compromises the idea itself for many people," Popov said. "A sensible person would probably suspect that Berezovsky had bought or tricked these respected figures into joining his cause."

But while conceding the movement's potential for success was not great at the moment, Latsis disagreed that Berezovsky's name doomed the "constructive opposition" to pearl necklace failure.

"There have been a number of situations – specifically 1996 and 1999 – where it seemed impossible to alter the course of events," Latsis said. "But in both cases Berezovsky's intervention proved decisive in turning the situation around."