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 2^nd 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

Putin, Russia and the rest...

Because I lack a social life and remain besotted with the Russian Federation, I have spent the past four Thursday evenings taking notes from the BBC documentary ‘Putin, Russia and the West’. This time last week, the Guardian journalist Luke Harding produced an article suggesting that the content of the series included “pro-Putin bias” and that certain sources (primarily British-based Soviet dissidents such as Vladimir Bukovsky) had even gone as far as to cite it as blatant propaganda (“If Putin had asked his propagandists to come up with a film they couldn’t have done better.”).

Does the ‘independent and neutral’ British Broadcasting Corporation really support the dictatorial, semi-tyrannous, domination of Vladimir Putin over the Kremlin? Harding himself has, in the past, hinted at the answer to this question, highlighting the BBC’s lack of material condemning and openly opposing Putin’s previous actions – in stark contrast to Harding’s own subversive articles which resulted in his expulsion from the Russian Federation in February 2011. He is indeed, the first reporter to have been expelled from Russia since the Cold War.

I would be inclined to disagree with Harding and critics of the documentary. ‘Putin, Russia and the West’ is a fascinating, powerful, well-researched political commentary on Russian affairs under Putin’s steely blue glare – examining a range of events such as, the 2008 Georgian War, the Ukrainian ‘Orange Revolution’ and the poisoning of former president Yushchenko, and the  recent 2010 Nuclear reduction treaty with the USA. Furthermore, it’s main focus (as stated by the producer Norma Percy herself) is on Russia’s foreign policy and its stance on the West – notably America. Critics have complained that the film ignores Russia’s harsh internal policy – even “glossing over” Putin’s human rights abuses in Chechnya. I personally feel from a westerners point of view, that this is less important: if Putin regains office in March, we need to understand the wider consequences that this will have on international relations. Of course, it would help us to understand why the mesmerising anti-Putin protests are taking place this very minute in Moscow, however, the basic facts are made pretty evident throughout the film:  Russian democracy does not, and will not, thrive whilst Putin has control. Last night, the BBC commentator made that crystal clear: “Vladimir Putin continues to undermine democratic principles and the rule of law.” Indeed, we could only watch, blushing at promisingly-more- liberal-Medvedev’s pitiful attempt to stand up to his ‘partner-in-crime’ which resulted in his resignation from the 2012 presidency campaign.

During yesterday evening’s episode, I studied the growing twitter trend (#PutinRussiaAndtheWest). I was surprised to discover the number of tweeters posting taglines such as, “I <3 Putin”, “Putin is such a bad-ass” and was even more astonished to find myself joining this display of adoration for Vlad. The effect the film had on the majority of views was somewhat revealing – perhaps the BBC is after all, subconsciously sympathetic to the regime. To put all ‘professional tone’ to one-side – Putin is very politically sexy. The documentary explored this phenomenon beautifully, showing clips of his harsh, direct manner in dealing with oligarchs and corrupt officials; and his seduction of the public through miraculous publicity stunts (see attached clips – they are hysterical). It was enough to make one want to invite him to replace the current Prime Minister (it doesn’t matter that you don’t speak English Mr Putin – you get results and target those responsible for this sh*t!)

Putin shows one of Russia's richest men who's boss...

So Vladimir, you can speak English?! There's hope for us yet!

© Francesca Ebel D-504 blog

Has the Russian Winter met the Arab Spring?

Although they are on opposite sides of the globe, are the uprisings of 2011 within these oil-rich nations part of the same movement? I have concluded that they do infact share parts of same cause – to rid their countries of the inner corruption which controls them and enhance/establish their own democratic status. This post will examine some of the current results from the events of February and December.

Last month, I attended a lecture given by a previous ambassador for the Middle East. He explained that the progress made in Arabia was extremely volatile and wrapped up in bureaucratic and military corruption – therefore a regime resembling anything remotely democratic would be a gradual and sensitive process. In Egypt for example, it is the army which holds the real balance of power. They will do anything to protect their own luxurious lifestyles which are, it must be noted, currently being funded by the US government itself (http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/02/10/10_reasons_americans_should_care_about_the_egyptian_revolution) in US$2billion in “aid”. Hence, they have violently opposed a new constitution, one clause of which implies that all military spending should be transparent and controlled. Needless to say, the Libyans, Tunisians and Egyptians have been comparatively successful in removing their former tyrants and establishing some kind of democratic order, with elections being held and constitutions being codified. Syria is another matter entirely (partly because neither British or American interests are at risk)…

In Russia, the situation is utterly different. Although the Russian government has claimed to be democratic since 1991, with its proportional electoral systems and State Duma, it remains psychologically soviet (a recent article in The Economist ‘Homo-Sovieticus’ examined this phenomenon): riddled with blatant censorship, the domination of the FSB (the new KGB) who hold over 70% of governmental offices, and the extravagant power of the Russian oligarchy. Then there’s Putin himself whose unofficial dictatorship has become somewhat of a joke with the release of propaganda-type photographs two months ago.  The recent protests, although subversive by nature and symbolic of a new-born attitude towards Putin, will achieve very little in the short-term and are by no means a revolution. They may rock the boat but it seems Putin will return to the Presidency for at least another term.

On a separate but perhaps relevant note, I have come to the conclusion that Democracy is a waste of time and resources: it’s a manipulative governmental control mechanism to make the popular masses think they have power and influence and therefore maintain a relative degree of general contentment. There is no ‘democratic’ state on this earth that can claim they have the perfect democracy. In Britain our democracy is deeply flawed, not least through the use of a biased and majoritarian First-Past-The-Post voting system which – by the way – doesn’t work: we last had a true parliamentary majority in 1935. It would be great if we had a strong and stable single-party government with decisive executive powers but, excuse me, WE’RE IN A FLIDGING COALITION GOVERNMENT DURING A WORSENING ECONOMIC CRISIS. All we need is a British dictatorship (benevolent or oppressive – whatever gets the results) during times of crisis, and a proportional, direct democracy during times of prosperity. Only in heaven would it be that easy.