The Road To Democracy

No More 'Troubles' Under Putin
Russia has its own path to democracy, one that is determined by the country's long history, President Vladimir Putin and his entourage frequently assert. To understand their vision of Russia's future, one must pay attention to their use of the past and to the national myths they create and promote.

Russia is engaged in a political transition now that, even Kremlin insiders admit, is virtually a "crisis." The celebration of People's Unity Day on November 4 and the 90th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution on November 7 have brought to the forefront crises of the past and models for emerging from them. The pro-Kremlin Unified Russia party and the state media have labored overtime in recent weeks to reduce these historical events to easily understood elements -- chaos, disunity, internal and external enemies, violence, and famine -- and to emphasize that Russia survived them only by rallying around a strong, authoritarian leader-for-life.

Historical Precedent

People's Unity Day is a three-year-old holiday that marks the liberation in 1612 of Moscow from Polish occupation and the end of a decade and a half of discord known by the ominous Russian phrase "Smutnoye vremya," the Time of Troubles. The "smuta," or trouble, was set off when the royal line of Ivan the Terrible came to an end and the country's political elites began a ruthless battle among themselves for power. The period was characterized by factional infighting, famine, and foreign occupation, nearly leading to the collapse of the Russian state. It came to an end only in 1613, when the nobility chose one of their own, Mikhail Romanov, at a Grand National Assembly, founding the dynasty that would rule Russia until 1917. Before the 17th century was out, Mikhail Romanov's grandson, Peter the Great, was in power and the country that had been on its knees was on the verge of becoming a global power.

The new People's Unity Day holiday has developed in two directions in its short history. On the one hand, it is a cause for annual semi-sanctioned "Russia-for-the-Russians" actions, events that serve to remind the public that the country's unity is fragile and that violent confrontation is lurking close to the surface. On the other hand, the holiday is marked by widespread demonstrations in support of the Kremlin and the strong central government. The Unified Russia party has begun the practice of sending representatives into schools and other institutions to make sure that the horrors of the Time of Troubles remain vivid and the lessons of unity and authoritarianism are not forgotten.

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In Praise Of The Iron Fist

The logic of the analogy between the Bolshevik Revolution and the Time of Troubles leads to the conclusion that Soviet dictator Josef Stalin was the strong, authoritarian leader-for-life who pulled the country out of chaos and, through a far-sighted program of industrialization and collectivization, created a country that was capable of withstanding the onslaught of Nazi Germany and of competing in the Cold War for decades. The Kremlin, of course, is wary about direct praise of Stalin, largely because of how such statements are seen in the West. In addition, the means by which Stalin came to power -- infighting, betrayal, show trials, and persecution -- are clearly less savory than the image of the Grand National Assembly that elevated Mikhail Romanov on a wave of national unity.

However, Putin has made enough overtly pro-Stalin statements over the years to have lured away virtually all the Stalinists from the Communist Party. He has restored Stalin-era state symbols and has stated directly that the country has no need to feel guilty about its past. During Putin's years in power, Stalin's reputation has grown steadily, with more and more Russians stating that he played "a positive role" in Russian history. State television commentator Mikhail Leontyev wrote in "Profil" this month: "What Stalin inherited from the Bolsheviks as an object of state -- in fact, imperial -- restoration was an absolutely Asiatic formation that could only be managed by Asiatic methods -- literally those of Genghis Khan. That is, by using 'the masses' as raw material, fuel for the historical process. There were no other means for managing that country, for saving it, for securing it in the midst of an aggressively oriented environment."

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Read it all at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Also at A Tangled Web

As Darkness Descends

After 18 years of living in a Technicolor world, the policies of Soviet Russian president Vladimir Paranoid have caused the skies to turn gray again.

Darkness is falling in Vladimir Putin's Russia

Soaring oil prices have made the country a power again - but its ruler's grip on politics, the media and economy has sinister implications for democracy.

[...]

Russian experts estimate that seven million people perished in the Gulags, and ordinary families are still struggling to come to terms with the horrors they suffered under the Soviet era.

Even Russian president Vladimir Putin, a former senior KGB officer, appears to understand the necessity of acknowledging the appalling repression of the Soviet era. Later in the day he would make his first visit to a memorial and church built at a site on the outskirts of Moscow where thousands of people were executed by firing squad.

And how many of those met their demise as a result of Komrade Putin's defense of the state?

This year is the 70th anniversary of Stalin's Great Terror. It is also an election year in Moscow, and ever-eager to consolidate his popularity (Putin has an 80 per cent approval rating), the Russian leader paid a fulsome tribute to the millions of victims.

"As a rule these were people with their own opinions," said Putin. "These were people who were not afraid to speak their mind. They were the most capable people. They were the pride of the nation. And, of course, over many years we still remember this tragedy. We need to do a great deal to ensure that this is never forgotten."

The words of a true democrat never rang so clearly.

The implication, of course, was that nothing like this could happen in Putin's Russia, a truly democratic state where the rule of law is supreme.

Well, tell that to Mikhail Khordokovsky, the former oil tycoon who only six years ago had a personal fortune worth an estimated $10 billion (£4.8 billion). But then he made the cardinal error of publicly criticising Putin's decidedly autocratic style of government.

He now spends his days breaking rocks at a remote Siberian penal colony, where he is halfway through an eight-year jail term on what many of his supporters believe are politically motivated fraud charges.

Democracy in action, progressive style.

There is much, much more.

How A Free Press Works Under A True Democrat

Freedom of the press in the Soviet Union Russia ends up not being so free, Leftist swooning notwithstanding.

Journalists Flee The Paradise Of Vladimir Paranoid
Yuri Bagrov and Fatima Tlisova who were reporting from the volatile North Caucasus have been granted political asylum in the United States, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said Sunday. The reporters said they had emigrated because of persecution of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). This is the first time that Russian journalists have received political asylum in the United States.

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“The most terrible thing is that they had to flee simply because they were doing their job well,” says Nina Ognyanova, Europe and Central Asia coordinator at the Committeee.

The two journalists have repeatedly caused indignation with Russian authorities. Yuri Bagrov worked for Radio Freedom and reported about a possible role of the FSB in adbuctions in Ingushetia on the North Caucasus. In an alleged retaliation, Mr. Bagrov was charged with forging documents. The journalist told Kommersant off the record that authorities would never forgive him for his reports and close friendship with another critical journalist, Andrey Babitsky.

Fatima Tlisova reported for The Associated Press in 2005, covering a militant attack on Nalchik, which left 129 people dead. Kommersant reported in March that Ms. Tlisova was seeking political asylum in the United States, something that she was denying at the time. She said that someone was trying to poison her last October.

The decision is all the more noticeable after the U.S. Department of State issued a report in May with blistering critism on media freedom in Russia. The U.S. State Department was unavailabe for comment on Sunday.

“I don’t find anything surprising about this news,” says Igor Yakovenko, secretary general of the Russian Union of Journalists. “Real journalists are forced out of mass media with all possible means.”

Kommersant, based in Moscow, is not on Putie's friendly list.


Like the State Department, Leaky Loony Leahy was unavailable for comment.

Will Putie Be Setting Up A Caretaker Government?

According to the Soviet Russian constitution, president Vladimir Paranoid is limited to two consecutive terms and must step down following elections next year. However, Putie has not ruled out running again in 2012.

"Theoretically it's possible. The constitution does not forbid it. But it's very far away, I haven't even thought about this."

I'll believe that right after I'm named high rabbi of Mecca and Medina.

Amid repeated calls by politicians for Putin to remain in power after 2008, the president has stressed that he opposes changing the constitution to allow him to stay on. But he has also suggested he will choose a favored successor and hinted that he may keep a hand in running the country after he steps down.

So, who would be the ideal puppet? And wouldn't object to Putie keeping his hand in the cookie jar?

Rumor has it that the incumbent president's wife could become a leader of the Spravedlivaya Rossia party (Fair or Just Russia, also translated as Russia of Justice; formed in October 2006 as a merger of Rodina, the Russian Party of Life and the Russian Pensioners' Party). Two facts are usually cited in this context, among others... The party was recently joined by the president's cousin, Igor Putin, and the year 2007 was declared a Year of the Russian Language, which gives Lyudmila Alexandrovna [Putin], who has long been overseeing the project, an excellent road-show opportunity, as well as the much needed exposure.

As they say, stay tuned.