http://fkriuk.blogspot.com/2007/12/brave-kremlinologist-too-bad-for-him.html <-- Yes, Citpecks is a PR agent working for Kremling. His link says it all really...
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The Fear Factor
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Russian opposition leaders, investigative journalists and human-rights activists now operate in an atmosphere of fear. The Kremlin has shut down NGOs considered too political, and called in the tax police to keep those still in operation on their toes. To force independent NGOs to the margins, the Kremlin now funds NGOs either invented by the government or fully loyal to it.
Elections also have become a farce. The playing field is uneven, and the most vocal opposition candidates, including former prime minister and presidential candidate Mikhail Kasyanov, are not even allowed to participate. Putin—not the voters—selected his successor, Dmitry Medvedev. Russia's presidential vote on March 2. will be the least competitive election in Russia's post-Soviet history. The tragedy of the Putin era is that none of these autocratic reforms were needed to sustain economic growth, political stability or the president's popularity. In fact, more democracy—that is, an independent court system, real opposition parties and a robust independent media—would have helped to fight corruption, protect property and spur more growth. Yes, the Putin era was good for most Russians. But it could have been even better.
McFaul is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, a professor of political science and the director of the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law at Stanford University.
© 2008
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