Russian Politics
The analysis of Russian politics in the 24 February Economist (pp. 62-63) matches those of other journalists. It's almost as though we're back in the days when Kremlinologists tried to determine what was going on the "black bag" of politics by giving meaning to the changing bulges in surface of the bag.
Remember, you can find the catalog of blog entries about Russia at the CompGovPol del.icio.us page.
The hollowing out of politics
"... the wider political situation in Russia... is part of what Vladimir Ryzhkov, an independent member of the... Duma, describes as a political zachistka (purge)...
"The 5% threshold to win seats in the Duma, already set high enough to keep out all the liberal parties at the 2003 election, will be raised to 7% for the parliamentary poll later this year. Parties are barred from forming coalitions to get over it. Candidates may come only from party lists; in the previous system half were directly elected by district (that enabled Mr Ryzhkov, for example, to survive). Candidates can be debarred for 'extremism'; that includes slandering a public official. Minimum turnout rules have also been scrapped, as has the option of voting 'against all'. So boycotts and protest votes can no longer be used to register dissent.
"Dirty tricks are common. Halls booked for opposition party meetings become suddenly unavailable. Rallies and protest marches are easily banned, and smothered by riot police when they are not.
"'All our actions', Mr Putin said recently in Munich, 'are designed to strengthen a multi-party system in Russia.'...
"... television—from which most Russians get their news—is... dominated by flattering coverage of Mr Putin's day. All the main channels are in effect controlled by the Kremlin...
"The mystery is why, popular as he is, Mr Putin bothers with all these superfluous instruments of control. Part of the answer is: because he can. But another part is that his worry is probably not defeat in stage-managed elections, but rather unrest on the streets (hence the creation of a pro-Kremlin youth movement). That, plus infighting or palace coups inside the Kremlin, where Russia's real political competition takes place.
"The need to maintain a balance between rival Kremlin clans seems to explain Mr Putin's other main personnel move last week, which was to shift Sergei Ivanov... to be a first deputy prime minister. That rank is also held by Dmitry Medvedev... Some now speculate that the 2008 presidential contest will be between two approved candidates. But the main benefit of the change is to Mr Putin, who has reasserted his grip on the succession process and shored up his power..."
posted by Ken Wedding @ 8:23 AM
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