Will Putin Win the March 4 Election or Will He Appoint Himself?

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   rebekahELLEposted 13 years ago

   Does Russia want Putin for 12 more years? It appears he is set once again to be the Russian President. What will this mean for Russia?
   http://www.lignet.com/InBriefs/Russia-P … itary-Buil
   
   Any thoughts?  Post any relevant articles if you wish.
   
   http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stori … index.html
   
   Keep in mind this thread is in the political forum.. thanks.

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      Josakposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I have lived in Russia, trust me you want Putin to win the second most popular party is the communist USSRist Party and I don't think most of us want to see another USSR and the next most popular party is extremist right imperialist party that wants to incorporate most of Europe into Russia as some sort of divine right.

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      1. 89

         rebekahELLEposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         I would love to hear you expand on your comment. Most of us here know very little about Russia's political system and how it has affected 'United Russia'. I've read that Putin is corrupt and power hungry and wants to protect himself from his own fraudulent activities. ??  What about those who are currently opposing him in the streets? Do they have valid concerns?
         
         http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/29/world … wanted=all

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            Josakposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            I am far from an expert but my take on it is: Putin is very very popular with the vast majority of Russians, this undying support has led to Putin and United Russia becoming overconfident in their situation and believing they can get away with murder (which there is evidence they have) as a reult there is strong backing for Putin but a very vocal minority who want him out having realised how corrupt he and his party are so yes the people on the streets have valid concerns but also a political agenda they want their party in be it the communist party or the far right party, if you ask me at the moment within the democratically feasible it's best for Putin to stay, for Russia and for the rest of the world, the other two options are very extremist, Putin may be corrupt but he is sane and moderate too.

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   Peelander Gallyposted 13 years ago

   He's consolidated power to such an extent that I've heard experts say that the government there is even more centralised than it was under Stalin. Does it even matter what he does officially? At what point can a people rid themselves of a system like that? Even when he dies someone similar will probably rotate to the front to replace him, like a shark's tooth.

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3. 89

   rebekahELLEposted 13 years ago

   When people don't really have a voice, that isn't political freedom. They want it to appear promising with Putin's plan and the elections look like a 'democracy', but yes, you are right to say he has consolidated power. The people outside of Moscow know very little and it's kept that way to control.
   another interesting look
   http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/blog/ … _joke.html

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4. 89

   rebekahELLEposted 13 years ago

   I just read that he has claimed the victory. The article is rather interesting, stating that 180,000 real time web cameras were used at polling stations and turned off “only after the counting of votes and the final signing of the protocols.”  There was a report of over 3000 violations.
   
   http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/05/world … c_ev=click
   
   Apparently many voted for him because the options were less appealing.  It kind of sounds familiar.

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5. 61

   knolyourselfposted 13 years ago

   If it were not for Putin Russia would be a US colony.

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      rebekahELLEposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Interesting response, care to elaborate for us?

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6. 61

   knolyourselfposted 13 years ago

   I don't remember where the articles are. Long Story. Boris Yeltsin sold off the country to private interests.
   "However, the deals were effectively giveaways of valuable state assets to a small group of tycoons in finance, industry, energy, telecommunications, and the media who came to be known as "oligarchs" in the mid-1990s." The country went to hell. The mafia took over as they do whenever governments fail, providing mostly protection if there are no police. Cheney was in there trying to get control of the Russian oil through the jailed Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovksy, who was about sell out controlling interest to US interests. Long story including Lawrence Summers famous for how Harvard lost Russia.

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