Unpalatable Ambitions
The mighty, invincible Vladimir Putin who feels he most certainly is deserving of perpetuity in ruling Russia has been seen to be vulnerable to at least some segment of the Russian population's disgust at his iron-man persona and his unpalatable ambitions. Perhaps too some people are resentful of his having appropriated millions upon millions in state funds to build an immense and luxurious 'dacha' for himself on the sly.Perhaps it troubles some people that so many courageous Russian news reporters have been killed by some unseen hand which took umbrage at their criticism of Vladimir Putin's decision-making on their behalf. Perhaps they're fed up with the posturing on the world stage, the heavy handedness of threatening to place missiles in strategic positions facing off with those the U.S. is placing in Turkey and Poland to counter the threat from Iran.
Could be that Russia's official stance in protecting the interests of Iran, of Syria, or Libya did not sit well with Russians, while there is much unrest given the volatile relations with Georgia, with Ukraine and other past satellite-countries of the Soviet Union. In any event, the apathy related to voter turnout in this latest election whose initial results look dismal for Mr. Putin does tell a story.
Photo by ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images
The United Russia party doesn't look quite as hale and hearty as it once did. Its popularity has somewhat paled in the considered opinion of many voters. Many young Russians appear to be convinced a continuation of a twice-former president in an ongoing role of ruling their country is a mite too stifling for the future of that country and their own aspirations.
Initial polls put the most powerful of the Russian political parties at 48.5% support, down somewhat from the 67% given in 2007. The obvious prospect of reduced party seats makes for some discomfort for the ruling politicians allied with Vladimir Putin and current president, soon-to-be prime minister Dmitry Medvedev.
Could be too that Russians are fed up with the absurd charade of superficial democracy in a strictly autocratic governance more reflective of the bad old days of Communist rule. And the reported issues of unreconstructed fraud appears just too much to swallow for many who did go out dutifully to vote their conscience and their hopes for the future.
"A person who was already president for eight years should not return to that position. He is just too long in government and forgets what real life is. There is a cult of personality now, a thought that only he is able to rule. That's completely stupid. We have more than 100 million adults in Russia - and there is nobody else who can rule the country? That's just offensive."Many Russians may have been mortally offended that despite the facade of correctness and love of Russia, the country's monitoring group Golos made note of more than five thousand claims of voter fraud. Before it was shut down. And it's even possible that some people are thinking of how Vladimir Putin had out-clevered himself engineering an extended jail sentence for Mikhail Khodorkovsky to ensure he would not be released before the election.
They may just be completely fed up with this regime's record on the violations of human rights.
Labels: Human Rights, Political Realities, Russia
posted by Pieface @ Monday, December 05, 2011
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