The word of the day is: "Kremlinology." The term comes from the Cold War era, and refers to the difficulties analysts encountered in trying to interpret political developments within the Soviet Union. Who's in? Who's out? Were major policy changes in the works? Was a recent diplomatic position a bluff? Or was it in earnest? Democratic governments can try to hold their cards close to their vests, but the existence of opposition parties forces the government to articulate some position before the press and the voters, which observers can assume has some bearing on its actual views.