Russia’s New Authoritarianism

-DR. ABDUL RUFF

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All terrocracies operate collectively, promoting their individual colonialist interests. 

The Kremlin continues to enjoy absolutism irrespective of whether  communists or anti-communists  control it. It is apparent the new Russian regime under Putin-Medvedev duo is bent upon retaining the old Soviet model of control and inventing new horizons to oppress the people and opposition that do not fall in line of Kremlin’s total control.

Convergence of terrocratic policies have united both Russia and USA on the one hand and Russia and NATO on the other. Since Russia in anticipation of return favors,  now promotes western colonization process, especially massacres of Muslims, Russian leaders  have enough freedom now to deal with the domestic opponents the way they deems fit. 

Realignment of US-Russia terror ties got an unexpected boost, in favor of Russia,  since Sept-11 hoax Russia is doubly happy about its new fate as a junior partner of USA. Putin-Medvedev duo, promoting crony capitalism and state crimes,  seems to have developed cold feet at the rising anti-regime protests across the nation following poor showing by their United Russia party though it retains the majority in a reduced manner and malpractices in the parliamentary poll.

Russian regime is eager to split the opposition and invalidate the opposition parties though state maneuverings.   As a result, Russia on January 27 disqualified Putin’s liberal challenger Grigory Yavlinsky from the March 4 presidential ballot, in a move slammed by his supporters as undermining the legitimacy of the polls.

Facing Russia’s largest protests since the turbulent 1990s, Medvedev last month proposed reducing the required number of signatures — a move the opposition said was being made too late. Yavlinsky, who was shown, winning less than three percent of the vote in most polls, founded Yabloko in 1993 as Russia struggled with a post-Soviet economic crisis that left many impoverished and looking for social protection.

And, Russia’s central elections commission said it could not accept nearly a quarter of the registration signatures gathered by Yavlinsky’s Yabloko (Apple) party because they were either photocopies of originals or fakes.  EC announced that it will not able to register Yavlinsky as a candidate.

Russia’s strict presidential election rules require all independent candidates whose parties fail to win seats in parliament to collect two million signatures in a two-month span to win registration. The restriction has been heavily criticized by candidates as well as the growing protest movement against Putin, who will be standing for a third Kremlin term in the polls after his four year stint as prime minister. The disqualification “undermines the legitimacy of the vote. The authorities were particularly keen to make sure that Yabloko which sent thousands of observers to December’s parliamentary elections — was barred from monitoring the presidential vote. This was ordered directly by Putin,” said Sergei Mitrokhin, chairman of the liberal Yabloko party that Yavlinsky founded in 1993.

The Kremlin deliberately changed the presidential election rules to obstruct the opposition moves and weaken  opposition.  Putin had doubled the number of signatures required for candidates’ registration in 2004, a year in which he stepped up his campaign to centralize power by also announcing an end to direct elections for regional governors. The presidential election rules were tightened again in 2007 when Putin was about to hand power over to his hand-picked successor Dmitry Medvedev, giving candidates just a month to rally their support instead of the previous three.

The 59-year-old economist Yavlinsky, a probable cnadidate to  oppose Putin,  always promoted more socially-oriented policies and twice ran for president, failing to break the 10-percent barrier in both 1996 and 2000. He made a surprise return to Russian politics last year after refusing to face Putin or then his "associate" Dmitry Medvedev in two past polls that he termed undemocratic.

The USA-UK terror twins always critical of Moscow, now closes its deadly eyes on Russia's democracy deficits cheerily because the NATO terror syndicate has ensured the Russian support for their beastly crimes in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan and elsewhere.

USA and Russia are also now the secret strategic partners. While USA supplies terror goods to fascist Israel, Russia ships terror goods to terror India.