The Kremlin's Big Gamble

Can Vladimir Putin's simulated democracy survive another rigged election?

BY DAVID J. KRAMER AND CHRISTOPHER WALKER | MARCH 1, 2012

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's announcement on Sept. 24, 2011, of a choreographed plan in which he would displace Dmitry Medvedev and return to the Russian presidency -- for six, and possibly 12, more years - has evidently touched a raw nerve in Russian society.

In the five months since the Russian public was handed this fait accompli, Putin has been booed during an appearance at a mixed martial arts match, increasingly ridiculed on the Internet, and seen his party, United Russia, fail to win a majority in parliamentary elections last Dec. 4, despite extensive fraud in its favor. Large, peaceful protests across the country since those elections -- including one this past Sunday in which demonstrators circled Moscow's Ring Road -- represent a clear indicator of the desire for change.

With Russian society now expressing its preference for accountable governance with increasing boldness, voters will return to the polls on March 4 for the country's presidential election. But despite the obvious dissatisfaction with the status quo, Putin has decided to double down on the stagnant and corrosive model of rule created under his leadership.

The electoral framework put in place over the last decade leaves little to chance and allows no plausible alternative to the incumbent come voting day. As a consequence, Russia's political system has reached a dead end.

We've seen all this before. In a similarly choreographed process four years ago, Putin installed then Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in the presidency as a placeholder, while he took shelter temporarily in the prime minister's office to get around violating a constitutional ban on more than two consecutive terms. Now, Putin is ready to reclaim his post and the Putin-Medvedev succession carousel is completing its long rotation.

While Putin's determination to retain power has not changed, Russian society has. An increasingly restive population has had its fill of Putinism and is now unwilling to be steamrolled by the Kremlin's plans. But will Russia's leadership pursue genuine reforms to meet the country's changing expectations?

Unfortunately, events since the December parliamentary elections suggest that the answer is no.

An early indicator was the Central Election Commission decision on Jan. 27 to disqualify prominent opposition figure Grigory Yavlinsky from running in the presidential race. This politically driven decision removed the strongest liberal-minded challenger from the race. It also means that observers from Yavlinsky's Yabloko Party will not be permitted to monitor the voting and detect possible fraud.

JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/Getty Images

 SUBJECTS: RUSSIA, EASTERN EUROPE
 

David J. Kramer is president and Christopher Walker is vice president for strategy and analysis at Freedom House. Walker can be followed on Twitter @Walker_CT.

MICHAELGERALDPDEALINO

10:36 PM ET

March 1, 2012

Careful Desire for Change

Putin and his cronies should be removed, but I hope they won't be replaced by an equal or worse authoritarian, like Gennady Zyuganov' and his Communist Party. It would be like jumping from the frying pan into the fire again. Russia deserves a system that respects democracy and nurtures it. Hey, Putin, would you like our President Aquino here as one of your allies? He's becoming an authoritarian like you. But we won't allow him to control all three branches of government. We will protect our democracy.

 

WINSTON1984

7:58 PM ET

March 3, 2012

US Media Rigged Ahead of Russian Elections

In the spirit of recognizing mobs of terrorists as legitimate national governments before a sovereign nation's true leadership is murdered by US-led NATO operations, as was the case in Libya, the Western media is already decrying Russia's upcoming elections as "rigged" before they've even taken place.
The title of this article alone already implies that the elections, which polls have long indicated Putin is overwhelmingly expected to win, will be "rigged." This in and of itself is "rigged" coverage, reporting conclusions to events that have yet to unfold.
Kramer's piece is particularly ironic, because the first round of "rigged election" calls were made last December by "activists" funded by the US State Department through the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), of which Freedom House is a subsidiary.
The US was caught meddling in Russian elections via the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) [ more like National Endowment for Manipulation] which funded GOLOS and was noted as being the key "observer" cited across Western media in an attempt to portray the Russian elections as "stolen." GOLOS owes its existence to the US government and in turn the banking oligarchs of Wall Street and London who have been trying in vain to dislodge Russia's Vladimir Putin from power for years.
NED's official website lists GOLOS as a recipient of NED funding, which in turn is provided by the US State Department. Despite this overt conflict of interest...especially with NED subsidiary International Republican Institute chairman John McCain openly threatening Russia with "Arab Spring" unrest, "journalists" and Freedom House alike continue citing them as "independent" election monitors.
Kramer in his piece would cite this gaggle of US-funded NGOs and the opposition parties they support as a "clear indicator of the desire for change." Kramer even shamelessly mentions GOLOS by name, claiming they are "the sole independent Russian election-monitoring organization" despite the fact that they are clearly not independent, being funded proxies of the US State Department.
Apparently pointing this out, Kramer argues, is defined as a "smear campaign." Kramer then goes on to cite his own organization's dubious, politically motivated work as evidence against how "undemocratic" Russia is before concluding that "evidence of rigging" will lead to a rejection of the results and justification for instability similar to what was seen across the US-manufactured "Arab Spring." It should be noted that Freedom House was cited by even the New York Times as being a sponsor of the "Arab Spring" unrest.
And when considering such "evidence of rigging," already, Russian authorities are investigating claims of faked-vote rigging videos, the type used by US-funded GOLOS in conjunction with the Western media to incite unrest in Russia last December. With this article, we see that the Western media has already determined how Russia's elections will unfold, creating the pretext in the minds of impressionable viewers to justify the unrest the US is undoubtedly planning.
It is important to keep in mind Freedom House president David Kramer's words, knowing that both the National Endowment for Democracy and Freedom House are self-serving frauds, when listening to these very same talking points regurgitated by the Western media during the elections this coming Sunday.

 

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THUSALWAYSTOGENIUS

11:04 PM ET

March 4, 2012

The Federation : Russia’s Putin or Vladimir’s Russia?

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, a former lawyer and KGB (Committee for State Security) officer, has just been re-elected as president of the Russian Federation, for a third non consecutive term.

In 1999, Putin entered the political scene as acting Deputy Prime Minister after Boris Yeltsin’s unexpected resignation. He then transitioned as acting president, which led to his two official presidential terms of eight (8) years, which is the maximum length of time that one can hold such position in Russia. He was then appointed Prime Minister by his successor and long time friend, Dmitry Medvedev.

Four years passes by (that is 4 earth revolutions) and 2012 finally comes around: “Welcome back Mr. Putin. It feels as if you never left.”

Surprised? … not really …

Glasnost? … not really …

Perestroika? … kind of , in a “full circle” kind of way

* Please note that if you are under the impression that Glasnost and Perestroika might be a Vodka based drink that is popular in Moscow’s trendy bars, I invite you research these terms.

But as I now think of it, these would make great names for drinks….

- Waitress, may I please have glass of Glasnost with two shots of Perestroika?

- Listen, Gorbachev is gone and he is not welcomed back.

- … but didn’t he …

- I suggest you leave the establishment.

Okay, back to business. Over two decades might have elapsed since the cold war but the Soviet mind never forgets (as the fictitious waitress has demonstrated).

Seems as if “Revolution” is as relevant in today’s Russia as it was back in 1991.

Putin has been clearly expressing his views on his nation’s enemies, especially the Americans. He has made it very clear that he is not interest in the “love / hate” distant partnership that the United States is offering.

He often warns the U.S. against military strike on Iran and cautioning them against a NATO styled attack on Syria as it was conducted on Libya.

Although all these omnipresent warnings are addressed to foreigners, he also warns his fellow citizens against potential invasion, such as Napoleon’s of 1812.

From 1812 to 2012, same difference perhaps.

From President, to Prime Minister, to President, same difference perhaps.

From St. Petersburg, to Petrograd, to Leningrad, to once again St. Petersburg.

From Russian Bribes, to Russian Brides, to Russian Pride, to once again Russian Brides.

The earth’s revolution is completed in 365.25 days. As for Russia’s revolution, the clock is ticking…

Ready when you are Vlad. You might just be historically remembered as one of Russia’s emperor, prince or even saint, like the following:

Alexander I the Blessed; Alexander II the Liberator;Alexander III the Peace-Maker; And last but not least, Vladimir IV the ____________; Well done Sir Czar. But always remember … “Thus always to Tyrants” ? “Thus Always to Genius”.

READ MORE AT : THUSALWAYSTOGENIUS

 

RICHARD SANDERS

2:33 AM ET

March 6, 2012

Elections

Sure elections are rigged in Russia. So what?

Not only are elections rigged in the United States of America - sometimes criminals become Presidents. Sometimes a guy becomes President and can't prove he was born in the country.

Neither country is run by legitimate interests. The takeover of America started long before the last real president was assassinated.

I don't care what they do in Russia. But I am worried about the country next door. If I didn't know better, I'd say that Nazi Germany was alive and well. The proof of that will be the scrutiny this post receives.

I've no illusion about the parliamentary system here in Canada. We've experienced all manners of fraud including the use of computerized phone systems to call voters on the day of the election to trick them to go to the wrong polling station.

Putin is probably just as good as anyone else. I'm sure he is a puppet of the money masters just as Obama is.

 

STEWART DOBY

3:43 AM ET

March 29, 2012

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's

In my opinion, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is one of a good leaders. I hope that, Vladimir Putin contribute so much for Russia both economy and military policies. i hope that, Putin will make Russia become stronger. I admire him so much. Putin was born on October 7, 1952, in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR (now Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation), to parents Vladimir Spiridonovich Putin (1911–1999) and Maria Ivanovna Putina (1911–1998). His mother was a factory worker, and his father was a conscript in the Soviet Navy, where he served in the submarine fleet in the early 1930s.] Two elder brothers were born in the mid-1930s; one died within a few months of birth, while the second succumbed to diphtheria during the siege of Leningrad. Vladimir Putin's paternal grandfather, Spiridon Ivanovich Putin (1879–1965), was employed at Vladimir Lenin's dacha at Gorki as a cook, and after Lenin's death in 1924, he continued to work for Lenin's wife, Nadezhda Krupskaya. He would later cook for Joseph Stalin when the Soviet leader visited one of his dachas in the Moscow region. Spiridon later was employed at a dacha belonging to the Moscow City Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, at which the young Putin would visit him.