I believe that Russia is beginning to fall back into old tendencies. As we discussed it is part of their history to have a strong leader who serves alone. As Mrs. Garber said, for the past 1000 years or so Russia has been ruled by empires essentially and it seems like that's what they're reverting to.
Putin epitomizes the idea of a strong leader. He was in the KGB which associates him with the former regime. This to me is a bit odd since it has been a very short time since the fall of the old regime. But I guess in a way Putin symbolizes stability that the USSR provided
One issue with the elections that Russia held was the potential of voter fraud. In preliminary elections it was evident that Putin received much more of the vote than he should have. Also, there were numerous protests at the polls and the protesters were punished for their actions.
This exemplifies the meta-constitutional powers that Putin will most likely claim as president. He already limits media time for opponents and limits the media's ability to speak against him. With his new more powerful office, I believe he'll abuse the power and bring Russia back to a state similar to the USSR.
Agreeeeeeeed. I guess they can kiss any attempt for democracy goodbye. The Russian people seem to just feel safer with a big strong leader, and are afraid to try something new and have to deal with any problems associated. Except, with their decreasing population, I guess people that don't agree just leave. (to more awesome places like Finland probably)
ReplyDeleteI think democracy is something that's just not going to happen for them. To achieve democracy would have to mean completely and utterly changing the mentalities of the people and how they've view their society even though they appear to want change with riots and polls and what nots. They don't trust their government or in their abilities to actively take a large part in it. Trying something so different from what they have been doing since forevers seems like something they MAY get close to in future but won't every fully achieve.
ReplyDeleteFor the United States, democracy came easily compared to Russia. We were a fairly young country -- and remember, we fell into a one-party system for quite some time after we achieved democracy. Russia has years and years of empire, autocracy, someone deciding everything for them. I think that democracy tried to come too quickly for the Russian people and the Russian government to handle. Slow and steady wins the race! But for now, I feel Russia will not be entirely democratic, but it will be more open to the public and the international system than it was during the Cold War.
ReplyDelete