Putin Moves to Centralize Authority: Plan Would Restrict Elections in Russia
- Vladimir Putin
It’s the beginning of a constitutional coup d’etat. It’s a step toward dictatorship.
- Sergei Mitrokhin
Among the greatest fears of some Americans in our post-9.11, PATRIOT Act world is the creeping, ever-expanding loss of personal liberties. Chairman Ashcroft and Our Sainted President pooh-pooh these fears, but many of us believe the threat is real. Want an example of what our Brave New World might look like down the road? Check out Vladimir Putin’s Russia, where centralized power is once again in vogue- a creeping dictatorship under the guise of fighting terrorism. So much for the end of the Cold War, eh?
Of course, this is not exactly an “apples to apples” comparison. Russia is still a fledgling democracy in a country that has known little but brutal, centralized repression over the course of it’s long history. There are similarities between the US and Russia, however. Both countries are using the ubiquitous “War Against Terrorism” to justify a creeping (or, in Russia’s case, an immediate and frontal) assault on civil liberties.
Under his plan, Putin would appoint all governors to create a “single chain of command” and allow Russians to vote only for political parties rather than specific candidates in parliamentary elections. Putin characterized the changes as enhancing national cohesion in the face of a terrorist threat, while critics called them another step toward restoring the tyranny of the state 13 years after the fall of the Soviet Union….
His plans must go through parliament, but the Kremlin controls more than two-thirds of the legislature directly and two other political parties quickly endorsed the ideas. Even the governors, who could lose their jobs, surrendered, either welcoming the plans or remaining silent.
Here in the US, we are fortunate to have a loyal opposition and a functioning system of checks and balances. The neo-cons in the White House are a patient lot, though. They know that they will achieve victory not through broad master strokes, but rather through the judicious and stealthy use of a metaphorical rubber mallet to chip away at our civil liberties. If the gradual loss of civil liberties unaware that we are losing our liberties, have they even really disappeared? Constitution? What constitution??
Bush & his neo-con buddies are willing and able to use their patience to their advantage. They know that most Americans aren’t paying attention anyway, so a little bit here, a little bit there…before long, it’s “Welcome to Big Brother”. It’s doubtful the steady, gradual erosion will even be noticed. Of course, that’s fine until we wake up one day to realize that our “right to privacy” is a thing of the past, and that our government is aware of everything we do.
Russia may nominally be a democracy, but the command system is still a time-honored tradition. The Supreme Leader, whether it be Lenin, Stalin, Brezhnev, or Putin, speaks and all levels of government quickly fall into place behind him. Marching in lockstep, while an old Soviet tradition, seems to be alive, well, and functioning as it always has, this time in (the democratically elected) Putin’s Russia.
Russia’s democracy may be far less stable and experienced than our own, but if Americans are smart, we will be paying attention to events there. The Russian Republic may be a precursor for what is headed our way here in the US. Of course, most Americans don’t pay attention, and could really care less for anything beyond their own narrow self-interest. For those of us who are paying attention, it’s a frightening prospect. This is perhaps the single biggest reason why this Presidential election is the most important one in our lifetimes.
It’s been said that Americans get exactly the quality of representation that we deserve. I pray that, come November 2nd, we will put the lie to that lowest-common-denominator theory and elect a man who recognizes the threat we face. That man is John Kerry.
WE DESERVE BETTER.
