Air crash that wiped out Polish government: "Cui bono?"

Putin of course:

When Polish President Lech Kacynski and 95 others were killed in a plane crash on Saturday, they were en route to the 70th anniversary commemoration of the Katyn massacre—the murder of more than 20,000 Polish officers by Soviet secret police. The massacre has been a primary cause of a huge rift between the Poles and the Russians for decades, but Saturday's tragedy might bring them closer together, and to Vladimir Putin's benefit.

Putin had extended a hand even before the crash occurred when he became the first Soviet or Russian leader to partake in a commemoration ceremony of the massacre last week. After the devastating crash, which killed Kacynski and dozens of Poland's key political and military figures, the Russian PM grabbed the reins and decided to personally oversee the investigation into the flight's safety and a potential decision-making error on behalf of its pilot. An image of Putin hugging his Polish counterpart—Donald Tusk—is everywhere, and the Poles are awash with surprise and gratitude at the Russian leader's sympathetic response.

But as Nathan Hegedus at the Faster Times points out, Putin's warm gestures aren't purely in the name of post-tragedy sympathy: The ice-thawing might have a lot to do with the fact that Russia is about to start pipelining oil directly and inexpensively to Poland without any middlemen, following a deal that was struck—surprise—last Wednesday. The same day that Putin was surrounded by Poles with a wreath in his hand in the Katyn forest.