Spring Break
Putin equals anything but democracy
Tammy Ordierna
Issue date: 2/6/03 Section: Commentary
If democracy is indeed even present in Russian politics, then it is at least a joke. In a country plagued throughout modern history with economic and political crisis, and now with a former KGB leader as their prime minister it is safe to say that democracy in this post-soviet country will inevitably fail. However, I am judging the democracy of a country where a system so idealistic as Soviet Communism once reigned. To expect Russian leaders to become democratic suddenly or even to assume that the people of Russia understand the fundamental principles of democracy is absurd. Russia may be moving closer to following the will of the people, but definitely not towards a democracy by traditional Western Standards. However, prime minister Vladimir Putin has made some attempts at giving the power of the state to the people while still maintaining authoritarian outcomes and supreme power.
Putin does have public support. After eight years of former prime minister Yeltsin's rule, the country of Russia was a tremendously sorrowful sight. It was a totally decentralized state. Every subject of the Federation was living according to its own laws, there was a deep rift in the political elite and the population was apathetic and no longer believed in democracy or a market economy. Since Putin's election into prime minister status in 2001, most Russian citizens have been much more favorable towards their new leader. Polls in 2002, such as done by the Public Opinion Foundation, show that the people continue to regard Putin as they did in 2000, to be a new start and a distinct change from the chaos and corruption that accompanied the Yeltsin era. However, almost any leader would seem an improvement to the alcoholic Yeltsin.
Although Putin seemed to start of his reign very slowly in order to retain his popularity, he has slowly been proposing reforms to the country. However, his slow uptake on reforms to this wreckage of a country also perpetuates the idea of low democracy standard in that his neglect of action may be attributed to the sinking of the Russian Kursk submarine, which killed 116 crewmen in Sept. 2000. It was Putin and his government who tried to seal the incident and Putin himself took a vacation. Surely, Putin did not show proper concern for the needs and right of the Russian citizens to learn of the incident. He, as learned by his experience in the KGB covered up the incident, but in doing so also created a huge hiatus where many reforms could have been made.