Word: putinã
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...Putin??s most noted—and the most anti-democratic—proposal is to allow the president to appoint regional governors instead of letting citizens elect them. This would effectively end Russia’s federal experiment and decrease the checks on the central government built into the current constitution. And with the national legislature satisfied to remain a pliant tool of the Kremlin, that means more unchecked control for the president. But just to make sure it stays that way, Putin wants every member of the Duma, the lower house of parliament, to be elected...
...quite fair to say that Russia’s recent presidential election was rigged. After all, President Vladimir V. Putin, who coasted to a comfortable victory less than two weeks ago, is extremely popular. Even with the ballot-stuffing, media manipulation and other election irregularities which marred the process, Putin??s 72.1 percent of the vote is still impressive in Russia’s semi-democratic environment. Yet there is still ample cause for concern. Democracy in the world’s largest country is not well—and it is only getting worse...
...little more malleable, broadcasting an entire 29-minute speech Putin gave to campaign staffers. Local leaders were a little more enthusiastic about fixing the results, threatening punishment for not getting to the polls and offering prizes to increase voter turnout and get the 50 percent quorum required to make Putin??s victory official. Workers at polling places were a little more likely to forge a couple thousand votes for Putin than the last time he was running for the top job—as they did in Moscow and elsewhere...
There is, however, some hope for liberal democracy in Russia. Putin seems genuinely committed to liberalizing the economy—as evidenced by his pre-election appointment of a number of pro-Western reformers to help manage the country’s economy. Putin??s political clout, meanwhile, has allowed him to brush aside many of the once-influential military and intelligence officials who often act more like Kremlin henchmen than civil servants. The super-wealthy “oligarchs” who ruled Russia during the Yeltsin years have also been neutralized. All of these reforms will...
...comment, “‘Putin?? Russia on our Radar Screens,” Stephen W. Stromberg ’05 writes: “This time around, Putin??s management worked like a charm. The pro-Kremlin party United Russia—which has a vaguely nationalistic platform based around support for the president—won the largest share of the vote of any electoral faction in the history of post-Soviet parliamentary politics, 37.5 percent...