September 14, 2004
Putin has Sudden Seizure . . . of POWER.
Somebody stick a spoon in this guy's mouth, before he bites his tongue off! Why is he shaking like that? Is he sick, or is he just DANCING WILDLY because we're . . . Back in the U.S.!- Back in the U.S.!- Back in the U.S.S.R.?
Of course, you can't help but feel for the people of Russia. As stunted and twisted by oligarchy as their democracy over the last fifteen years has been, they did at least have some vestige of local influence and control, specifically in the election of their regional representatives and presidents. Now, under the ever-popular guise of defending against terrorism, Putin is seizing n-n-n-nominating control over those posts. This will, as the Times points out, probably eliminate what little opposition representation currently clings to the wildly spinning tilt-o-whirl that suddenly is the Duma.
But for us lefties, the most interesting thing is the relatively tepid response that the White house has had to the situation thus far. In the frontpage article above, an unnamed official described the situation as a "domestic affair," though since then Colin Powell has stated fairly directly that the war against terrorism should not be used as an excuse to roll back democratic processes and reforms. But what do you think the chances are of those words, or anything like them, ever coming out of El Busho's mouth? Not likely, considering that he's used similar pretexts to erode civil liberties at home, if in lesser degree - perhaps the ideological disjunct would suddenly become too much for his supporters.
Maybe when Bush previously declared that he understood Putin's "heart and soul," he was telling us more than we could have imagined.
The slow slide away from democracy that Russia's been undergoing is quite sad. You're perfectly correct to point out that the US has done nothing to stop it either, preferring to see Russia through vodka goggles. I don't think you need to worry about Bush supporters experiencing any cognitive dissonance though...
It's worth noting that this isn't the first time this has happenend--Putin has used Chechen terrorist attacks as excuses to assume new powers at least twice already. The people, meanwhile, are so drunk with national pride and their powerful army to even consider granting the Chechens autonomy. Meanwhile, the Duma is close to powerless and Putin controls the major media. Now we are facing reversion to autocracy and new analougues to the secret police.
Liberals should point out that the way our press represents the events in Russia is pretty much the same way the European press represents events here. That is--that democracy and the representation of opinion are being eroded. And that the concentration of power in the hands of the few, the fog of militarism and the exploitation of grief are some of the chief causes.