... assumption. When I ask Russians if they see an alternative, they usually can say what they don't like about Putin. But I have I have yet to hear anyone present a credible alternative.
Mikhail Gorbachev, reflecting the view of a large part of the Russian public, once said that Putin literally saved Russia. Yet the difficulty of imaging a country after the departure of an extraordinary leader is not unique to Russia under Putin. Think of the French trying to imagine France after de Gaulle? What ...
Political parties are alleged to provide their electorates with choice. Cynics might object that, while elections give an electorate the feeling that they have choice, this is only an illusion. Soviet propagandists used to like to point out that the choice is only between Rockefeller millionaires and Kennedy millionaires, that is, among factions of the ruling elite.
What parties and candidates argue about during election campaigns is always "small stuff." Fundamental questions like the...
... competitive politics. They smugly assumed that all talk of competitive politics was shear hypocrisy. “If Putin really wanted competitive politics,” they would say, “why does he persecute the Opposition?” Quite apart from the issue of ... ... Political forces have been crystallizing, real public issues have begun to capture the attention of significant parts of the Russian public, credible leaders have started to appear on the political scene. The leadership of the Russian state is fully aware ...
