As Medvedev and Putin play political musical chairs unrest is brewing on the streets of Moscow.This is extraordinary at the best of times but given the context of the Arab Spring and the rise of people power Putin has seemingly been caught off guard. However his initial reaction has been quite composed. He has allowed state TV to report the unrest. He has also with some justification turned his ire toward the secretary of state for the US, Hilary Clinton. Given the broken nature of American politics which has descended into a kleptocratic quagmire, Clinton's comments on Russian democracy were somewhat risable. The political intent on the part of the US has been clear otherwise they would also be criticising the 'democratic virtues' of their close ally Saudi Arabia. Putin also has a right to be aggrieved at the influence of lobby groups using oligarch money to fuel instability. It is still unclear how big the unrest is given the vastness of the Russian Federation. Ordinary russians are angry at the increasing gap between the rich elite and the masses. For a long time they have trusted Putin for the sake of stability but as one dissident oligarch based in the UK put it 'there are many russians of a voting age who never experienced the USSR'. This is the greatest threat to Putin's rule. Namely that what is perceived to be a strong nationalistic autocracy with all it's corruption cannot bring the people it's unique selling point; namely stability. So far Putin has taken a pick and mix attitude to confiscating the assets of oligarchs. In the future he may not have this luxury.Sunday, 11 December 2011
Putin Blames Election protests on Foreign Interference
As Medvedev and Putin play political musical chairs unrest is brewing on the streets of Moscow.This is extraordinary at the best of times but given the context of the Arab Spring and the rise of people power Putin has seemingly been caught off guard. However his initial reaction has been quite composed. He has allowed state TV to report the unrest. He has also with some justification turned his ire toward the secretary of state for the US, Hilary Clinton. Given the broken nature of American politics which has descended into a kleptocratic quagmire, Clinton's comments on Russian democracy were somewhat risable. The political intent on the part of the US has been clear otherwise they would also be criticising the 'democratic virtues' of their close ally Saudi Arabia. Putin also has a right to be aggrieved at the influence of lobby groups using oligarch money to fuel instability. It is still unclear how big the unrest is given the vastness of the Russian Federation. Ordinary russians are angry at the increasing gap between the rich elite and the masses. For a long time they have trusted Putin for the sake of stability but as one dissident oligarch based in the UK put it 'there are many russians of a voting age who never experienced the USSR'. This is the greatest threat to Putin's rule. Namely that what is perceived to be a strong nationalistic autocracy with all it's corruption cannot bring the people it's unique selling point; namely stability. So far Putin has taken a pick and mix attitude to confiscating the assets of oligarchs. In the future he may not have this luxury.
