By Owen Matthews and Anna Nemtsova

 

Newsweek International

 

April 30, 2007 issue - Last week Vladimir Putin and his guest Jean-Claude Van Damme spent an afternoon watching a kickboxing tournament in St. Petersburg. Between bouts, the Russian president excused himself to receive updates from his Interior minister, Rashid Nurgaliyev, on a no less violent event across town. There, 8,000 of Putin's security forces, in newly issued black visors and riot gear, were busy breaking the heads of some 2,000 protesters marching near the city center. By the end of the day, 400 opposition protesters were in jail; more than 40 were hospitalized. It was the fourth such march in a month that police goons had ruthlessly crushed on the Kremlin's orders.

 

Is Russia moving toward dictatorship? It certainly looked that way last week after the latest violence against peaceful demonstrators in Moscow and St. Petersburg. After years of slowly tightening state control over the media and squeezing political opposition, Putin has taken a sharp lurch into something beyond mere authoritarianism. "This is a turning point," says Vladimir Ryzhkov, one of the few remaining anti-Putin Duma deputies. "Everybody who had doubts before can see now the true face of their leader."

 

If so, it's not a pretty sight. In the run-up to parliamentary elections in November, Putin's ideologues have set out to eliminate all real independent parties and replace them with fake "opposition" groups that operate with official sanction. The Kremlin calls this "managed democracy." In fact, it's an eerily familiar borrowing from the darkest days of the Soviet empire. In place of real opposition, Putin has created Potemkin parties?just as in the old East Germany, where he once worked as a KGB officer. One is Fair Russia, a pseudo left-wing party designed to take votes from the rapidly dwindling Communists. Another is Civil Power, a so-called liberal party. Meanwhile, United Russia, the "party of power," dominates the Duma and counts most governors and bureaucrats as members. Aspiring government officials are required to join the party or face damaging their careers. The three parties differ on policy?but all are loyal to Putin.

 

The few independent parties left outside this neat system are feeling the heat. In Moscow last week, a large rally by the Kremlin-backed youth group Nashi (Ours) went smoothly ahead, unbothered by police. By contrast, a much smaller march organized by A Different Russia, a loose coalition of some of the country's last remaining bona fide opposition groups, was targeted for a crack-down. Police summarily arrested anyone deemed "suspicious," dragging dozens into vans before they could even join the rally. One of its leaders, former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, was bundled into a police bus along with dozens of others, including NEWSWEEK Russia reporter Aidar Buribayev, who now faces charges of "participating in an unsanctioned march." In St. Petersburg, a police baton broke former city Duma deputy Sergei Gulayev's hand in five places. Police chased down and beat every pedestrian they could, including pensioners. "My father fought against Hitler; now Putin's cops beat people for no reason," says 52-year-old Aleksandr Kazantsev, who had been shopping with his wife when they saw crowds of people and thousands of police running toward them down a street in St. Petersburg. Kazantsev suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung after a policeman kicked him repeatedly. "I have never been to a demonstration, but from now on I will attend every one. We need to fight this; otherwise we'll wake up one day in North Korea."

 

The mystery is why Putin would bother. Another Russia is weak and divided. Putin's own popularity remains a sky-high 81 percent. His minions control every instrument of power. Part of the answer may be that Putin and his team have never been public politicians. Putin was plucked from an obscure job in Boris Yeltsin's presidential administration and groomed as the old man's successor. Unlike Yeltsin, he has never been on the campaign trail, never had to work a crowd or answer hostile questioning in debates. It's also clear that the idea of uncontrolled, unfettered opposition goes against everything Putin and the KGB men who dominate the Kremlin have lived by. In the aftermath of last week's beatings, Kremlin officials took refuge in that hoariest of autocratic dodges: the protests were sponsored by foreign conspirators plotting to undermine Russia. "We will absolutely not tolerate any revolutions financed from abroad," declared a senior Kremlin aide not authorized to speak on the record.

 

The beatings aren't likely to be the end of it. Kasparov has been summoned for questioning by the FSB, successor to the KGB, in order to determine whether some of his recent public statements amount to illegal "calls for extremist action." Other opposition activists, including Andrei Sidelnikov, leader of the youth group Pora (It's Time) have been arrested and questioned as well. Police also raided a U.S.-backed NGO that trains journalists and news management at Ren TV, the last semi-independent television station. Meanwhile, the Russian Information Agency has introduced strict new censorship procedures for all political news.

 

Perhaps the Kremlin knows something the rest of the world?and many Russians?don't. Despite Putin's personal popularity, polls show that 65 percent of Russians are unhappy; 53 percent disapprove of the government, and nearly 30 percent live under the World Bank poverty line. Behind the fa?ade of "managed democracy," there's a brewing discontent that some experts warn could turn ugly under the right conditions?say, a sudden drop in oil revenues. "Only a tiny group got rich during Putin's presidency," complains St. Petersburg pensioner Boris Liftishtein, 62, whose leg was broken by police. "The rest of us are unhappy and poor." Perhaps that's the real reason Putin doesn't trust his people. If they ever find a real voice, he and his clan might be out of a job.

 

Link

What a mess. Plus, they didn't even mention the mysterious deaths of several people who had spoken out against the government (including a former spy and a prominent female journalist).

 

This article came out today (4/26):

 

AP-

 

MOSCOW - President Vladimir Putin on Thursday made his clearest rejection yet of speculation that he would try to seek a third term, but gave no hint in his state of the nation address as to whom he sees as his preferred successor.

 

Putin?s second term in office ends in 2008, and he is constitutionally barred from running for a third. While many observers have suggested he would try to stay in office, Putin has consistently dismissed the idea and did so again Thursday.

 

?The next state of the nation address will be given by another head of state,? he said.

 

He then acknowledged that many had expected this speech would be his opportunity to openly state which person he wants to follow him, but instead he drew a laugh by saying ?it is premature for me to declare a political will.?

 

Russia enters a high-stakes political season this year with parliamentary elections in December, followed by presidential elections in March. Russian officials in recent months have complained that Western countries are trying to meddle in the political process by funding pro-democracy organizations, and Putin echoed those allegations.

 

?There is a growth in the flow of money from abroad for direct interference in our internal affairs,? Putin said in his address, delivered to the Federation Council, the upper house of parliament.

 

?There are those who, skillfully using pseudo-democratic rhetoric, would like to return to the recent past ? some to loot the country?s national riches, to rob the people and the state; others to strip us of economic and political independence,? Putin said.

 

Putin did not cite specific countries as sources of the funding. The Russian foreign ministry this month complained extensively about U.S. funding of democracy-promoting organizations in Russia.

 

Officials contend that such funding aims to provoke mass opposition protests such as those that helped propel pro-Western leaders into power in neighboring Georgia and Ukraine in recent years.

 

Police harshly cracked down on a series of opposition protest marches this year, beating some demonstrators and detaining hundreds.

 

Opposition forces charge Putin is strangling democracy through an array of measures to centralize power and increase the influence of large political parties such as his allied United Russia party, which dominates the Russian parliament.

 

This year?s parliamentary elections will see seats distributed entirely on a party-list basis, eliminating the opportunity for small parties to win seats through strong local support in particular district ? a change that critics say is among the measures to smother opposition.

 

But Putin, in his speech, said it was part of ?a revolutionary step modernizing the elections system ... (it will) help the opposition widen its representation.?

 

The death Monday of Putin?s predecessor, Boris Yeltsin, drew new attention to complaints that Putin is heading the country away from democracy. Yeltsin, as Russia?s first post-Soviet leader, worked changes that encouraged pluralism and nudged the country toward democracy.

 

But Putin in his speech clearly aimed to portray himself as the curator of Yeltsin?s legacy. He began the speech by calling for deputies to stand in silence in memory of Yeltsin and later called for a national library to be established in his name.

 

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I love how he also managed to whine about 'foreign interference' in Russian affairs, which was clearly aimed at the U.S.

 

This came as a big surprise to me, as I figured that he would make up some excuse to hold onto his power and violate Russian law (as it currently exists). Hopefully things can improve in Russia once he's gone, although I'm not going to hold my breath.

I seriously wish death upon this man. He makes George Bush look like Ghandi. Hopefully I won't be tracked down and killed by his gestapo for saying that.

I seriously wish death upon this man. He makes like George Bush look like Ghandi. Hopefully I won't be tracked down and killed by his gestapo for saying that.

Too late...you should find a nice safe house, and don't eat the green-glowing chicken.

I seriously wish death upon this man. He makes like George Bush look like Ghandi. Hopefully I won't be tracked down and killed by his gestapo for saying that.

whoa whoa whoa...lets not go that far...W. still has vastly more blood on his hands than putin...although...they will race neck and neck for that honor for bloodiest leader in this century

I seriously wish death upon this man. He makes like George Bush look like Ghandi. Hopefully I won't be tracked down and killed by his gestapo for saying that.

whoa whoa whoa...lets not go that far...W. still has vastly more blood on his hands than putin...although...they will race neck and neck for that honor for bloodiest leader in this century

I'm pretty sure Putin has him beat, especially considering the Chechnya mess...

And, you know, at least we still have some remnants of democracy and freedom sticking around. There's nothing that's been done in the past seven years that can't be undone with the right efforts.

 

I'd hate to live in Russia right now.

I seriously wish death upon this man. He makes like George Bush look like Ghandi. Hopefully I won't be tracked down and killed by his gestapo for saying that.

whoa whoa whoa...lets not go that far...W. still has vastly more blood on his hands than putin...although...they will race neck and neck for that honor for bloodiest leader in this century

I'm pretty sure Putin has him beat, especially considering the Chechnya mess...

:thumbup

 

Plus, Bush hasn't exactly sent average Americans off to death for being "anti-America".

God, JimmyJack gives us liberals a bad name.

God, JimmyJack gives us liberals a bad name.

I won't deny that.

 

However, he can say what he wants. That's what this country is about.

 

I'm surprised that so few flags were raised when an ex-KGB man was made President of Russia in the first place.

sad that Yeltsin was actually putting the country on a pretty good path and then years later a guy like this comes in & turns it right back around.

God, JimmyJack gives us liberals a bad name.

why? because lets see...bush has iraq, afghanistan on his hands with thousands of deaths on both sides, he knew 9/11 was coming and sat down and read to children, he could have helped more people when katrina hit, the patriot act is the most egregious violation of our rights since maybe lincoln stamped out some rights during the civil war, the guy hires complete f*cking morons in his staff, we have not weaned ourselves off of oil, we have not taken much needed and overdue steps to help the environment...and there are various other problems out there which OUR PRESIDENT should be helping to solve rather than doing nothing and wasting all this money on a war that has done nothing to solve the issue of global terrorism...so you know what...i may give liberals a bad name...but seriously...liberals and conservatives need to cut the sh*t and start working together...it doesnt matter if you are republican or democrat or independent...we are all american and need to start solving american problems, which is what our government is supposed to be doing, not dicking around all over the world, spending our taxes on the military like we are gonna have to fight off the galaxy from invadors...

sad that Yeltsin was actually putting the country on a pretty good path and then years later a guy like this comes in & turns it right back around.

 

 

Putin was Yeltsin's man. He handpicked him to be his successor.

sad that Yeltsin was actually putting the country on a pretty good path and then years later a guy like this comes in & turns it right back around.

 

Putin was Yeltsin's man. He handpicked him to be his successor.

Exactly what I was going to say.

I have updated my original post with a new article about Putin's announcement today that he will not seek a third term in office, despite previous predictions that he would attempt to change Russian law so he could continue to remain President.

sad that Yeltsin was actually putting the country on a pretty good path and then years later a guy like this comes in & turns it right back around.

 

 

Putin was Yeltsin's man. He handpicked him to be his successor.

 

I'd forgotten that actually. Ironic.

Putin has already set up the dedazo, similar to what the PRI did in Mexico. Thus there's really no difference between him running for a third term or putting up a whole bunch of lackeys for a vote.

Although, Russia has improved economically since Putin. The natural law concept that all dictatorships are bad just b/c theyre dictatorships is flawed. Putin may be whats best for Russia. Now I will also add that I havent followed Putin closely enough to say that he is what is best for Russia, but contrasting viewpoints are good in discussion.

 

Jimmyjack is only saying that about Bush b/c he like most Americans including myself have no idea what deathh have been ordered by Putin. Furthermore, from a statistical viewpoint, which deaths in Afghanistan for example should be attributed to Bush and which should be attributed to al Qaeda or the Taliban, I mean it is worthy to note that the Taliban was a rogue unrecognized government that harbored a large terrorist organization's nerve center. So either way Putin definitely has more intentional killings on his hands than Bush does, which like it or not in our law are considered worse. (Except for the dead person)