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Dosvidanya, Democracy!

It was an entertaining experiment. AFP:

MOSCOW (AFP) — Russian election officials on Sunday barred prominent Kremlin critic Mikhail Kasyanov from the March 2 contest to replace President Vladimir Putin, prompting the ex-premier to urge a boycott of the vote.

The exit of Kasyanov, who campaigned as a Western-style liberal, left four candidates on the ballot, with Putin’s handpicked successor Dmitry Medvedev forecast to win easily.

“I call on citizens not to vote, not to take part in this farce,” Kasyanov told journalists just after the Central Elections Commission (CEC) refused to register his candidacy.

“There is no doubt that the decision not to register my candidacy was taken personally by Vladimir Putin,” Kasyanov charged. “The country has finally entered the slippery slope to totalitarianism, with a permanent and illegitimate leadership.”

The article goes on to say Kayanov only polls about one percent of the electorate, which raises a question of whether there are in fact highjinks involved and why the Kremlin would bother. The opposition is already sufficiently muffled, marginalized and divided, and it looks like the Russians will agreeably vote to extend autocracy. Then again, we’re talking about a Kremlin that apparently opted to solve its ex-spy PR problem by offing said ex-spy, creating all kinds of headaches, so maybe they don’t want any embarrassing expressions of pro-Westernism. The squelching of Russia’s faltering efforts to break out of political adolescence were briefly touched on in TIME’s otherwise laudatory celebration of the Russian strongman, Vlad the Stabilizer.

Meanwhile, AFP continues, the state of Russia’s election is so controlled even the communist on the ballot is embarrassed. Or angling for advantage. Or both:

In addition to Medvedev, who is currently serving as first deputy premier and head of gas giant Gazprom, there are three registered candidates.

These are Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov and ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky, both polling at less than 10 percent, followed by little-known politician Andrei Bogdanov. He is forecast to win less than one percent.

Putin is barred from seeking re-election after already serving two consecutive terms. He says he could become prime minister if Medvedev takes over the presidency.

This appears to be a certainty given the lack of open debate and the massive push by the state media to promote Medvedev, an uncharismatic figure who has never held elected office.

Ever since Medvedev’s registration on January 21 he has been a constant presence on state news broadcasts, accompanying Putin on an official trip to Bulgaria and to a high-profile hospital opening in a Russian province.

Zyuganov says he is considering withdrawing from a contest that risks becoming a “joke,” although analysts say the threat could be part of pre-election horse-trading with the Kremlin.

Topics: Russia

  Posted by Jules Crittenden at 2:54 pm on Sunday, January 27, 2008

3 Responses to “Dosvidanya, Democracy!”

1. RebeccaH Says:
   January 27th, 2008 at 3:17 pm

   Just goes to show, Stalinism (Putinism) is alive and well in Russia. Bad news for the rest of the world.

2. tanstaafl Says:
   January 27th, 2008 at 5:47 pm

   Kasyanov served as prime minister under Putin from 2000-2004 but has since joined forces with the Kremlin leader’s fiercest critics, such as chess legend Garry Kasparov.

   Given his extreme anti Putin stand, it’s amazing Kasparov is still standing.

   Given that the “we refuse to extradite” guy who probably killed Litvinenko in London is now a hero and has been elected to the Russian Parliament.

   http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-poison27jan27,1,5535213.story

3. The_Real_JeffS Says:
   January 27th, 2008 at 5:59 pm

   Russia is returning to the heady days of either the Czars or Stalin. Which one is immaterial right now, ‘cuz neither period was especially enticing.

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