PUTIN’S LATEST MOVE:

Sarah,

This week, Putin supporters expelled an opposition leader named Gennady Gudkov from Parliament.  Although Gudkov supported Putin in the past, he had recently begun to criticize corruption and inefficiency within Putin’s United Russia party.  The official charge against Gudkov was “conducting business while in office” but observers could not help but notice that the expulsion occurred on the eve of a large anti-Putin protest.  This is important because lawmakers have a degree of immunity and the expulsion leaves Gudkov vulnerable to prosecution for any connection to the protests.

So let’s add up Putin’s latest moves:

-expulsion of Gudkov from Parliament

-imprisonment of other opposition leaders

-imprisonment of a female punk band named Pussy Riot for singing a song in a church

-passage of new laws that dramatically increase fines for protesting

-passage of a law criminalizing libel

-passage of laws that increase censorship of the internet

Bottom line: New acts of repression are happening weekly.  Russia is heading in the wrong direction.

ANOTHER RUSSIAN ACTIVIST CONVICTED:

Sarah,

I’ve written a lot about Putin, his crackdown on dissent, and recent arrests in Russia.  The trend continued today with the sentencing of Taisiya Osipova:

-Osipova and her husband are senior members of a political party that opposes Putin.

-Her charge is possession of four grams of heroin which the opposition claim was planted by Russian police.

-Even if the small amount of heroin was hers, the sentence would be harsh.  The judge gave her 8 years; double the time sought by prosecutors.

-Human rights observers claim that this case shows a willingness by Putin to retaliate against women who oppose him.  (last week, three female members of the band Pussy Riot were sentenced for singing an offensive song in a church)

“PUSSY RIOT” SENTENCED TO TWO YEARS IN JAIL FOR HOOLIGANISM:

Sarah,

Last week I posted about Putin (the President of Russia) and his increasingly authoritarian laws.  This week, a Russian court sentenced a female punk band named “Pussy Riot” to two years in prison for an incident in which the band performed an anti-Putin “punk prayer” in Russia’s main cathedral.  They only sang for about a minute before being escorted out.  That one minute will cost them two years.

Analysts say that Putin played a big role in ensuring the harsh sentence.  Now that he is back in power as President he is working to silence dissent.

The Russian Orthodox Church generally supports Putin.  The Church also alleged that Pussy Riot had engaged in criminal conduct.

The band apologized to Christians they offended and stated that their motives were purely political. (one line of the “punk prayer” reads- “shit, shit, the Lord’s shit.”)

Bottom line: Repression in Russia is picking up steam.

RUSSIA IS ABOUT TO PASS SOME REALLY AGGRESSIVE LAWS

Sarah,

Last week I wrote you about Putin's domination of Russian politics.  Let's get more specific.

Now that Putin is starting his third term, he is beginning to pass laws that would serve to protect his authority.  The Duma (Russia’s congress) is set to pass the following pieces of legislation:

- A law that raises the fine for unsanctioned protesting to as much as $9,300

-A law that forces any NGO (a non-governmental organization such as a charity or human rights group) to declare itself a “foreign agent” and submit extensive financial paperwork

-A law that criminalizes libel and allows for enormous fines

-A law that creates a “blacklist” of websites for illegal websites.  Any website appearing on the blacklist will be blocked.  The legislators claim it is for protection of children, but the law is not very well defined.

Further, the laws are very vague.  This gives the people enforcing the laws (Putin’s government) broad discretion as to who they will prosecute.

Many analysts believe Putin is going forward with these laws because using the courts is more effective that using pure force to tackle opposition.

The latest polls put support for Putin around 45%.

PUTIN HAS BEEN DOMINATING RUSSIAN POLITICS FOR OVER TWELVE YEARS NOW

Sarah,

Vladimir Putin may be the most interesting world leader in office today.  He has dominated Russian politics since 2000 and has recently won Russia’s presidential election.  Here’s why:

The Crisis Of The 1990’s:

During the 1990’s, Russia endured a chaotic transition from communism (in which the state owns everything) to “liberal democracy”.  Connected government insiders bought all of Russia’s most valuable assets for bargain rates and many fled the country with their newly acquired wealth.  The value of Russia’s economy fell by 50% and lawlessness reigned.  While the economy deteriorated, Chechnya, a Russia province, declared independence.

Enter Putin:

In 1999, Russian president Boris Yeltsin resigned and left his post to his prime minister, Vladimir Putin.  Putin then won the presidential election in 2000 and violently suppressed the revolt in Chechnya.  The economy grew for eight straight years and Putin’s popularity exploded as relative stability returned to Russia.

How Did He Do It?

Putin basically struck a deal with a collection of oligarchs who had become fabulously wealthy during Russia’s chaotic transition.  With their support, he was able to reform Russia’s legal code, military, and police force.  Lastly, because Russia is rich in oil and gas, surging energy prices buoyed the Russian economy throughout most of his first term.

Increasing Authoritarianism:

Along with the corruption inherent in catering to the country’s elite, Putin showed a greater authoritarian streak in during his second presidential term.(2004 to 2008)  First, Putin criminally prosecuted the wealthiest man in Russia for tax evasion; a move thought to be punishment for the man’s financial support of Putin’s political rivals.  Second, Putin tightened his control over the Russian media.

The Medvedev Switch:

Putin’s third consecutive term was barred by term limits.  Accordingly he nominated his prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, as president and reserved the role of prime minister for himself.  Towards the end of Medvedev’s term as president, he proposed that Putin stand for president again and Putin accepted.

The Last Election:

Putin’s reelection in 2012 did not go as smoothly as his previous triumphs.  By this point, it was glaringly obvious Putin intended to stay in power indefinitely.  Protests by both liberals and communists erupted in Moscow and Putin’s political party, United Russia, had an unusually poor showing in the parliamentary elections preceding his election.

It wasn’t enough.  Putin, with firm control over the media, responded by staging his own pro-Putin rallies to counter those of the opposition.  He retained strong support in Russia’s countryside and was able to rely on government workers under his employ.  Lastly, many of the opposing candidates may have been Putin supporters themselves, acting to promote the charade of democracy.  As a result, Putin won the election with 63% of the vote. 

Bottom Line: The West gets excited when it sees anti-Putin protests, but it is doubtful he is going anywhere soon.  By the end of his next term, Putin will have effectively ruled Russia for 16 years.