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Saturday 3 March 2012

Russian Elections 2012: The end is nigh... Or is it just the beginning?



This Sunday, the world will watch as the Russian Federation democratically elects its successive Head of State. Each citizen has the right to a single vote. Every ballot paper is sorted by independent and uncorrupted officials. The results are transparent, proportional and fundamentally egalitarian.

… Or so the story would go if Vladimir Putin really had been assassinated back in January. When a friend scampered up to me on Monday morning excitedly jabbering that the FSB had foiled an “attempted assassination plot” against Putin I thought she was joking. Having studied the French Revolution last year, I was instantly reminded of a similarly authoritarian character: Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1804, it was announced to the French that their precious First Consul had discovered an assassination attempt on his life. The apparent perpetrator was the Duke d’Enghien, who was swiftly executed. On December 2nd 1804 at Notre Dame Chapel, Napoleon was declared Emperor Napoleon the First, gaining absolute power and control over his nation and the flourishing French Empire. This tactic is a timeless trick that has been used by rulers throughout History to unite and gauge the support of their realm. And guess what? It’s fool-proof.


But can you really keep a straight face at the Russian government’s allegations? Putin’s d’Enghien is an unsuspecting Chechnyan rebel who publically aired his guilty conscience on Russia Today – the state-controlled TV channel. Well, I guess if I’d tried to kill the future President of Russia (oh excuse me, is it too bold of me to jump the gun?) I would definitely broadcast my humiliating failure; putting my friends, family and country in critical danger – because that would be the normal thing to do right? It baffles me that the authorities have only just this week, seven days before the entirety of the Russian franchise are to make their presidential choice, announced this supposed conspiracy… surely if it had happened in January they should’ve proclaimed it there and then? It must have been all that paperwork…


The fishiness doesn’t end there. UK based exiles and renowned OPPONENTS OF PUTIN, Boris Berezovsky and Akhmed Zakayev, were revealed on Wednesday as being responsible for the killing of Anna Politkovskaya – the Russian human rights activist, journalist and OPPONENT OF PUTIN who was shot inside her apartment building in 2006 (it should be noted, on Vladimir Putin’s birthday). Look at those capitalised words very carefully… “My enemy’s enemy is my friend”…


I honestly can’t decide whether I support the courage of the white ribbon protesters or the advantages of Putin’s leadership… I’ve spent the last week parading about in a t-shirt bestowed on me by a friendly passing Russian activist which proclaims: “Vladimir Vladimirovich can fuck off”. But do I actually subscribe to this statement? I won’t pretend that I’m a little apprehensive about publicising my views on Putin – I know little about the internal workings of Russia; I have no idea about the realities of living in a politically suppressed state; I am only a young, western onlooker that records what she observes (and I want to impress this upon any Russian- based readers). However, it does seem that Russia is resigned to its fate. There is little hope for a dramatic and unexpected twist in Sunday’s results: whilst Russia’s governmental system echoes that of the Soviet-era with its domination of the siloviki (over 70% of Russian governmental officials derive from the secret intelligence service); the oil business, the power of the oligarchs and Russia’s own instrinsic corruption (referred to today in The Week as having the same features as that of the ‘gangsta’ tradition) will continue to shape the country’s hopes for a real democracy. Is it possible that Russia just doesn’t suit democracy? Although my head is with the reality of what is inevitably going to be a deeply flawed election, my heart is with the young people of Russia this weekend.





Recent demonstrations include those of the ‘human chain’ and 'Pussy Riot' (an all-female punk rock band): the recent uprisings have a symbolised a shift in Russia’s attitude (at least in the metropolitan areas) towards Putinism and the state of Russia’s democracy – tens of thousands of protestsers have braved the fiercely cold weather and even fiercer authorites in their struggle for “a true democracy”.



© Francesca Ebel D-504 blog

4 comments:

  1. To quote the singer Meya: "Its all about the money" Feel free to add in the catchy second line if you please: "Its all about the dum dum duh dee dum dum".

    Putin has to stay in power for fear of arrest himself and for all those he has enriched. The gravy train needs to keep on track. Putin is the chief enabler in a vastly corrupt system that forces its citizens to pay bribes to get the every day things people in the west take for granted.

    Take a look at Putin's closest friends, former Judo coach Rotenberg is now a billionaire, Kovalchuk a small time banker now worth $2b, Timchenko now a multi billionaire. If Putin leaves all this wealth is potentially at risk and those who creamed off the best Russian assets for themselves at risk of arrest.

    Putin's wealthy friends see what happened to Khodorkovsky, Berezovsky, Gusinsky et al, a new president to sway good favour with the public might confiscate their assets and put them in prison.

    The youth of Russia see all this. When paying bribes to either pass the driving test, get into university, see a doctor, get a job etc it smarts to think of Putin's friends being handed billions on a plate.

    There is a great moment in the Khodorkovsky documentary where someone is feeding his pet hippo carrots. He says something along the lines of:

    "I can promise my hippo avocados, that I will bring her them tomorrow or the next day or next week... but if I don't bring them... what can she do?"

    Putin will win, promise change and a new judiciary but it will be business as usual for Russia.

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    1. Yes, the corruption is intrinsic - it seems now that it is too deep rooted within the system. Money rules all! Perhaps the only way to solve the problem would be to stage of revolution of sorts... for it seems that no amount of moral force or civic unrest will be able to counter-act Putin's hold on Russia. My sympathies are with today's Russian youth and their future - it is they that will have to face the consequences of Sunday's results and all that that entails.

      On a separate note, Russia's blogging culture weilds a vast amount of influence, and the potential to change the political landscape. This article on the blog 'Bears & Vodka', profiling Russia's top bloggers, was greatly entertaining: http://bearsandvodka.com/?p=1783#.T1IdhSqk2sk.twitter

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  2. Thanks for the link. A lot of my friends now blog, but I think thats because they heard they can make money from it! I like:

    http://navalny.livejournal.com/
    www.snob.ru
    www.mysampleday.com

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    1. Ah! Brilliant! Thank you - i've been following Navalny but have to reply on google translate :-/ Do you follow any blogs in the English language?

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