Tuesday, March 18 2008, Condoleezza Rice shakes hand of President Dmitry Medvedev during her visit with Robert Gates to Moscow (Photo by ITAR-TASS)
Since the presidential elections of March 2, Russia has almost disappeared from the Western news media. Both liberal and conservative think tanks apparently decided to take a “moment of silence” concerning Russia. No wonder! So much money and effort had been spent trying to brainwash Americans and Europeans into believing that Putin would stay for a third term - or at least, if Putin did not do so, then Russians, like a herd of sheep, would vote 99% for his hand-picked successor with a siloviki background; that Garry Kasparov would run for president, but most likely get killed by the evil KGB; and even if none of the above took place, something else very bad and undemocratic would most definitely occur in Russia.
None of the above happened, and good news from Moscow apparently does not merit column space. Only the Financial Times published a stunningly honest article “Let the Russians Sort out Russia,” and the New York Times wrote a wonderful profile of Metropolitan Laurus, who healed a decades-old rift in the Russian Orthodox Church, and died on March 17 at the age of 80 in Jordanville, New York.
The problem with all the rambling produced by some of the top Beltway thinkers, was that while they were fighting the windmill, assuming that it was still the 1970s outside of their windows, Russia became a democracy. Russians chose a 42-year-old entrepreneur as their president over communists and fascists. Garry Kasparov was never a viable candidate and in his CNN interview on March 2nd he could not even properly pronounce the name of the new Russian president. The chess master speaks English better than Russian, and Vladimir Putin correctly pointed out in his interview with Time magazine that, “Why did Mr. Kasparov, when arrested, speak out in English rather than Russian? When a politician works the crowd of other nations rather than the Russian nation, it tells you something.”
Surprisingly, we haven’t heard much critiques from Washington D.C. towards the human rights problems in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the People's Republic of China. America's dependence on Arab oil and Chinese financing of our huge national debt might have something to do with it. However, Russia Blog won’t question the motives of our esteemed Beltway policy makers, and instead will simply assume that Chinese people and Arab women enjoy more freedoms than Russians do, and that the recent Georgians elections, that yielded one dead candidate and multiple violations, can be upheld as a true role model for democracy in the former Soviet Union.
Comments
Right on Yuri!
Well, maybe the anal analyst community is finally starting to analyze its erectile dysfunction. There is even hope that someday they might get a clue about Russia and go on from their to give us genuine intelligence on Russia/PRC relations, Russia/Foreign Relations etc. (we are better off just reading the Kremlin Website, and FM website than the crap we get from CIA.) Still, spring is thawing and democracy with a human face is becoming barely visible in the present revolution taking place quietly out here in the land of bureaucracy and homeless veterans.
Have a great day Yuri!
Posted by: Lois DuPey | March 19, 2008 11:41 AM
In the Financial Times article, the reference to India's independence from England is intriguing, but perhaps a bit polyanna and superficial. Certainly the massive bulk of diverse land, as well as 1/5 of the earth's population are similarities. And the length of time lived in Autocratic rule with definite class distinctions is also comparable.
But there was massive bloodshed, carnage, brutal rape or women and dismemberment of men ("organs" indicating Arab or Hindu), ethnic cleansing. Only Gandhi was able to quell the violence through his fasting to the edge of death.
The book Freedom At Midnight is an excellent recounting of the history.
That said, I do agree with the article and the rationale for letting Russians sort it out themselves!
Congratulations! I support your President and Prime Minister. I look forward to great success and further prosperity.
Posted by: Tanya | March 19, 2008 8:32 PM
Nobody in Russia seriously considers Kasparov as a real politician.
Posted by: Eugene | March 21, 2008 2:13 AM