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stevemcgarrett
Joined: 24 Mar 2006
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 Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2007 5:02 pm Post subject: FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE? PUTIN'S PRENUPTIAL PLOY |
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When I first joined this forum I warned against any premature optimism concerning Russian democracy. Having spent several months in the country in the immediate aftermath of the Soviet collapse, traveling and once living with a family of intellectuals, I had come to regard it as possessing of a third world mentality. Its aspirations to super power status were ephemeral; except for its defense buildup, nothing about the Russian standard of living could be accurately described as advanced.
So too its notions of political power sharing. A former KGB operative, Putin is a weasel, only he likes to flex his muscles--literally as well as figuratively. When Bush declared he'd looked into the man's heart and found him good, I sneered. Bush reads most people about as well as he, well, reads a book.
Now along comes Condoleeza Rice, an acknowledged expert in Russian affairs who also happens to speak the language. Rice needs no tutoring on the Russian mentality. And now this (excerpted):
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Rice worried by Putin's broad powers
By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writer
MOSCOW - The Russian government under Vladimir Putin has amassed so much central authority that the power-grab may undermine Moscow's commitment to democracy, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Saturday.
"In any country, if you don't have countervailing institutions, the power of any one president is problematic for democratic development," Rice told reporters after meeting with human-rights activists.
"I think there is too much concentration of power in the Kremlin. I have told the Russians that. Everybody has doubts about the full independence of the judiciary. There are clearly questions about the independence of the electronic media and there are, I think, questions about the strength of the Duma," said Rice, referring to the Russian parliament....
The U.S. is concerned about the centralization of power and democratic backsliding ahead of Russia's legislative and presidential elections in December and March. Putin will step down next year as president. He has said he would lead the ticket of the main pro-Kremlin party in the parliamentary elections and could take the prime minister's job later.
Rice sought opinions and assessments of the situation from eight prominent rights leaders.
"I talked to people about the coming months and how they see the coming months. How these two elections are carried out will have an effect on whether Russia is making the next step on toward democracy," Rice said after the private sessions at Spaso House, the residence of the U.S. ambassador in Moscow.
Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Friday received a chilly reception from Putin and senior Russian officials on U.S. proposals for cooperating on a missile defense system in Eastern Europe that Russia vehemently opposes....
"Russia is a country that's in transition and that transition is not easy and there are a lot of complications and a lot of challenges," Rice said. "If Russia is to emerge as a democratic country that can fully protect the rights of its people, it is going to emerge over years and you have to be a part of helping the emergence of that Russia."....
Lyudmila Alexeyeva of the Moscow Helsinki Group told the Interfax news agency her organization sees "the purposeful construction of an authoritarian society and an onslaught on the people's rights, elections are being turned into farce, and human rights and opposition organizations are experiencing pressure."....
...centralization of power in the Kremlin, a compliant legislature, political pressure on the judiciary, intolerance of ethnic minorities, corruption and selectivity in enforcement of the law, and media restrictions and self-censorship.... |
The Russians also want to rescind the agreement on unobstructed Jewish emigration to Israel. That doesn't surprise me: anti-Semitism abounds in the country and has for centuries.
Putin wants a prenuptial agreement on missile deployment. Why? Why would the Russians care whether Eastern Europe has a defensive missile shield?
I don't trust the Russian leadership and never will--at least not until the Kremlin ends its sordid efforts to consolidate power. Principles matter little; hence, the decision to supply Iran with nuclear power was strictly a business deal. They'll milk as much from the Persians (like the Iraqis before them) as they can before they find the ethical strength to support further UN Security Council sanctions just as they did with Saddam.
The Russians, unlike even the Chinese, have no history of democracy. They will continue to falter as long as Putin is in power and as long as he retains so much popularity.
Sad truth is that far too many Russians have grown accustomed to a strong man, regardless of ideological bent.
To paraphrase Orwell, they've learned to love Big Brother. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2007 5:16 pm Post subject: |
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The Russian government under Vladimir Putin has amassed so much central authority that the power-grab may undermine Moscow's commitment to democracy, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Saturday.
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Without much exaggeration, she could say the same thing about her own boss. |
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Tony_Balony
Joined: 12 Apr 2007
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| Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2007 5:43 pm Post subject: |
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| Nyet. The USA needs to butt out. Connie Rice isn't special because she can speak Russian. The Russians laugh at that. Democracy is over. |
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Bibbitybop
Joined: 22 Feb 2006
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2007 11:00 am Post subject: |
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| When I first joined this forum I warned against any premature optimism concerning Russian democracy |
Because ESL teachers in Korea needed this. |
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igotthisguitar
Joined: 08 Apr 2003
Location: South Korea (Permanent Vacation)
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| Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2007 5:10 am Post subject: |
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Putin Visits Iran, Sends Warnings To US
TEHRAN, Iran - Russian leader Vladimir Putin met his Iranian counterpart Tuesday and implicitly warned the U.S. not to use a former Soviet republic to stage an attack on Iran.
He also said nations shouldn't pursue oil pipeline projects in the area if they weren't backed by regional powers 
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071016/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_russia
;_ylt=Aq4bXhzNs.RxG_pKXal3AcoDW7oF |
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stevemcgarrett
Joined: 24 Mar 2006
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| Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2007 7:10 am Post subject: |
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Yes, I heard the news. Looks like Putin is returning to his KGB roots as a paranoid punk on a power trip.
The U.S. should tell Putin to kiss our azz. Let him try to block our military arrangements with former Soviet republics. It might be their "sphere of influence" but they no longer colonize these areas. Just ask the Georgians, who despise them, or the Ukrainians, most of whom also hold them in contempt.
Russia is desperate to regain its regional clout even if it means turning a blind eye to Iranian chicanery. At least the Israelis won't be deterred by this bellicose rhetoric, and rightly so. Anyone who believes Iran doesn't have military designs for its growing nuclear power is either engaging in wishful thinking or dumber than a doorknob. Or being duplicitous, as are the enablers like China. |
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bucheon bum
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2007 8:17 pm Post subject: |
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| Ya-ta Boy wrote: |
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The Russian government under Vladimir Putin has amassed so much central authority that the power-grab may undermine Moscow's commitment to democracy, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Saturday.
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Without much exaggeration, she could say the same thing about her own boss. |
Ya-ta, I think if a Canadian had said this, you would have poked fun at him or her for giving an anti-usa jab on a totally unrelated topic.
Anyway, back to the subject. Yes, I think many people saw Putin's move coming (probably since his "re-election" a few years ago). All what was in question was how he'd go about keeping his power and influence. Now we know. |
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jinju
Joined: 22 Jan 2006
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| Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2007 8:38 pm Post subject: Re: FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE? PUTIN'S PRENUPTIAL PLOY |
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| stevemcgarrett wrote: |
| traveling and once living with a family of intellectuals, I had come to regard it as possessing of a third world mentality... |
Holy moly, Steve. I wonder, how long it ook you to come to realize that the sky is blue and if it required living with a family of intellectuals. You sure are perceptive...if presented with the obvious and given enough time to let it sink in. |
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