Dangerous Times

There's a great deal of shake up going on in Russia lately; I've been meaning to explore some of the events and their ramifications, and I will. For the moment, however, consider this as a canary for this particular coal mine.

The American editor of Forbes Magazine's Russian edition and author of a book about tycoon Boris Berezovsky was shot to death late Friday, the magazine said.

Paul Klebnikov, 41, was hit four times outside the magazine's office and died in a rescue-squad vehicle, Russian news reports said. The radio station Ekho Moskvy said shells of two different caliber were found at the scene, indicating at least two assailants.

Police could not be reached for comment, but the killing was confirmed in a statement by Forbes publisher Steve Forbes.