http://youtu.be/eL5e6cLJFss
The ending words say, United Russia, the Party of Crooks and Thieves.
A radio show announcing the reported election results: United Russia won just under 50% of the vote in Moscow. ‘Do you know anyone who voted for United Russia?’ asked the DJ. ‘Please call in.’ The show was inundated by callers saying they didn’t know anyone who voted for the government party, either. Unofficial exit polls put the vote for United Russia at 20%. On and on, the show went, until someone called in and admitted voting for United Russia. ‘Finally!’ exclaimed the DJ. ‘Are you the only one in the city?’
The official results show Moscow at just under 50% for United Russia.
The official numbers for the city of Moscow show a number of the districts suspiciously close to 50%: 51.08%, 50.95%, 50.30%, as if the officials needed to make sure their party won a majority of the vote. St. Petersburg officials weren’t as careful. The party of Putin polled under 30% of the vote in his home district, Central St. Petersburg.
United Russia had its best showing in the regions with active separatist movements. The Caucasus voted resoundingly for the Kremlin, with war-torn Chechnya leading the way. Somehow, despite years of rebellion against Moscow, every citizen in Chechnya went to the polls and voted 99.5% for the Kremlin party. Their love of their leader was only exceeded by the Libyan’s love of Gaddafi, who used to win by similar landslides. As Stalin once put it, it doesn’t matter how people vote, but who counts the votes.
Voters and volunteer election observers used their cell phones to witness hundreds of incidents of voting fraud --- a crime for which the fine is something like $50. YouTube is full of homemade videos of citizens following buses carrying the party faithful from one polling station to another, of pre-printed ballots, or ballot boxes with broken seals.
United Russia got a majority, but less than the 60% needed to control the Duma. Perhaps, the opposition parties will grow a few spines and start challenging the government. If so, the Russians might be patient while a real democracy is developing.
If not, I can’t see the Russians tolerating another 12 years of the Party of Crooks and Thieves. Nor can I see Putin trusting the democratic process; a true democracy might well ask how much of the country’s wealth he’s stolen. Some estimates but his net worth at four billion US dollars. Nor do the siloviki, bureaucrats and oligarchs supporting him want anyone pushing their noses out of the feeding trough or looking too closely at how they managed to afford their villas in France.
How will Putin handle the transition from being a popular leader to being the chief of a party commonly known as The Party of Crooks and Thieves? Nothing in his background suggests much respect for democracy.
So, while this election could be the start of real reform, I wonder, is this the way repression begins?
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Timothy Schwartz
Dr. Matthew Lynch
David Chura
Siobhan Curious
old new lefty
Jamie Beckett
Salon.com
Comments
If the opposition wants to end up in a Gulag they’ll grow a spine and start challenging the Government. As you astutely point out, there is no Democracy in Russia nor is there hope of real democracy developing without a revolution.
Russia tolerates a lot more dissent than it once did. Navalny, the blogger, has a site devoted to corrupt government tenders. Nemtsov, leader of a (tiny) opposition party has produced a very well documented opus on corruption.
I think democracy has a far better hope of evolving, than a revolution. After the turmoil of a real revolution, people are so eager for peace, safety, and stability that they will sacrifice a lot of freedom to get it.
I need to learn more about Russia.
RATED
I agree the Russian people prefer peace, safety and stability; hence their decision to accept this election as “democratic” when we all know it’s a farce.
Rick:
If you want examples of where America is heading look no further than Greece.
You're right, he has little or no respect for democracy. I predict some sort of manufactured crisis which will give him an excuse to declare martial law or otherwise crack down. Still, these election results show us that, one way or another, he's eventually going to be out. It won't happen overnight, but at some point he'll be gone, and the question then will be, will he replaced with another autocrat or something resembling democracy?
Having lived in a dictatorship and having friends who lived under communism, I tend to look on Russia as a not-very-democratic democracy. But quibbling over terminology is pointless.
As one commentator put it, Putin may be able to convince the Russians that the US is out to destroy Russia, but he can't convince them that the Russian government is reducing corruption or improving the lives of its citizens.
The elite kleptocrats, who support Putin, do know better. They have houses and bank accounts abroad and they are not going to support anything that has a real chance of jeopardizing their access to their assets.
Russia has a universal draft, but probably half the draftees bribe their way out of it. (Russia is a country of teen-aged invalids, like 50% of the 18 year olds). The number would rise and protests of people who couldn't afford the bribes would be fierce. Many Russian families, probably most Russian families, have one child. The Chechen wars showed Russian mothers would often risk their lives searching in a war zone if their only child was missing in action, or for the body, if killed.
So, saber-rattling is a real possibility, a war isn't, except a minor war with a country NATO isn't going to defend, and which doesn't have the artillery.
I have a feeling Russia is going to be in the news a lot in these upcoming months. There are many signs that there will be massive protests across the country this Saturday, the first weekend day after the elections.
It's more than ego. Any real reform has to tackle corruption and tackling corruption threatens Putin. His 5 closest friends are on the Forbes richest list with fortunes of over $1 billion US each.
Either Putin and his cronies are investigated and go to jail, or anti-corruption campaigns will be as toothless as Medvedev's attempt, which was full of stirring rhetoric and empty of real results.
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