PUTIN SEES 21-YEAR CORONATION?PUTIN SEES 21-YEAR CORONATION?
Aug 23, 2005 - FreeMarketNews.com
by staff reports
Culture is difficult to overcome and “Mother Russia’s” culture seems more difficult than most. From the brutality of the Tsars to the genocide of Stalin to the odd unraveling of the world’s largest and most lumbering empire, Russia – the Soviet Union – has been a difficult country for the West to predict and almost as difficult for its own citizens to analyze. Two countries in one – Eastern and Western; civilized and savage – Russia has swung between polar opposites, and most lately has mimicked some of the habits of the democratic, capitalist West. That may all be ending now as president Vladimir Putin comes under a seemingly endless barrage of friendly fire in the form of bills, amendments, suggestions and articles in important Russian media all imploring him to stay in power for an additional term, or perhaps several, or perhaps forever.
Most recently the head of the Russian internal republic of Mari El, Leonid Markelov, joined the chorus for Putin’s retention, arguing for a legislative extension to allow Putin to “serve” further. “The head of state in this country should be able to be elected not twice in a row but three times, and an individual presidential term should not be limited to four years but to at least five and a maximum of seven years,” Interfax news agency quoted Markelov as saying. And Markelov reportedly added, “Of course, the Russian president has clearly defined his position on the constitution, but there is such a thing as a situation when you have to overcome your own reservations for people’s sake. I can see absolutely no breach of democratic rules if State Duma deputies initiate the tabling of the relevant amendments to the country’s constitution. [Russia now] has a very serious chance to complete a breakthrough in the economy, because a period of political stability has been ushered in. The majority of business and society have faith in the existing authorities,”
A KGB alumnus, Putin is already an imposing figure who has already done an enormous amount to rein in Russia’s admittedly undigested private sector, basically concentrating on breaking down and re-controlling Russia’s public media and now, with the takeover of Yukos, it’s oil sector as well. An unbridled Putin, in power to stay virtually as long as he likes, will probably offer more of the same – an administration continually more hostile to human rights, dismissive of an open media and slowing, if not halting, Russia’s stumbling advances toward a more developed economy. Instead, power shall be more and more concentrated in Moscow, in the hands of the Russian intelligence apparatus and other more shadowy power-brokers standing behind it.
It is probably unlikely that the various calls for Putin to retain power are unorchestrated – though certain suggestions may be spontaneous in the sense that they are not prearranged but offered out of a sincere effort to curry favor with the man who is now indisputably the most powerful in Russia. For now, Putin has apparently restricted his comments to noting he might like to run again in 2008 if the Constitution permitted it (it does not). Thus, some of the methodologies being offered by a gamut of national and regional lawmakers have the air of trial balloons, as if Putin or his surrogates were testing the response of Russian citizens and of the world at large to various alternatives before Putin runs out of time entirely.
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