Russian Presidential Election: 3/3/12 (Putin's return)

Brussels Sprout

Russian goes to the polls tomorrow to elect a 'new' president.

Vladimir Putin squares off against a largely unelectable bunch that includes a communist (Zyugnaov), an oligarch (Prokhorov), an unstable nationalist (Zhirinovsky) and a candidate (Mironov) who when previously running against Putin in 2004 said "We all want Vladimir Putin to be the next president."

The only outcome that is in doubt is whether Putin will hit the 50% that he needs to avoid a run-off. The Kremlin's solution to complaints about vote rigging has been to install web cams in every polling station in the country. However the same election authorities are still in place as for last year's parliamentary elections, which were widely seen as rigged in Putin's party's favour and democracy activists are concerned that once the ballot boxes leave the polling stations any transparency will end.

Putin has refused to take part in any presidential debates (citing his busy work schedule). In the past week Russian state TV announced that Chechen assassins were arrested in the Ukraine who had been plotting to assassinate Putin although the Ukrainian authorities have not confirmed this.

Even though the result isn't in doubt it will no doubt prove to be an eventful few days and weeks ahead in Moscow if the recent anti Kremlin protests in December were anything to go by.

Brussels Sprout

Exit polls showing Putin with 60% of the vote. His supporters are celebrating outside the Kremlin although some claim to have been forced to attend by their employers. Opposition complaining about vote rigging. Protests called for. All too predictable.

Nodin

....the thing is though, he is actually quite popular, by all accounts.

Jaafa

Nodin wrote: »

....the thing is though, he is actually quite popular, by all accounts.

Yeah, and it's seems monitors are happy even with how things went, especially the new camera system they installed for the elections.

Eggy Baby!

Go Putin Go!

Brussels Sprout

Nodin wrote: »

....the thing is though, he is actually quite popular, by all accounts.

That used to be the case but in the past number of years he's been gradually losing support. The fact that he was jeered at a big blue collar event (the martial arts fight last year) would have been unthinkable 4 years ago.

The most positive thing that people generally have to say about him nowadays is that he brings "stability". It's a case of "better the devil you know...".

He's been very clever in using the chaos of the Yeltsin years to his advantage. It's a bit like the pigs in Animal Farm getting the other animals to do their bidding by using the constant threat of the return of the farmer.

Those memories though are going to fade and as a generally well educated people the demand for less autonomy and corruption is only going to grow over this next term. As it stands the entire economy is massively sensitive to the price of oil and gas. If that should fall then it will lead to some large problems for the regime.

Brussels Sprout

Jaafa wrote: »

Yeah, and it's seems monitors are happy even with how things went, especially the new camera system they installed for the elections.

where'd you hear that monitors were happy with it?

Reports of violations spread throughout the day, aided by social networks and by almost 200,000 web cameras, which were installed in pairs at most of the country's 90,000 ballot stations. Putin's supporters rejected the charges as politically motivated.

"This is the cleanest election in Russia's entire history," Putin's campaign chief Stanislav Govorukhin told reporters at United Russia's headquarters. "The violations our rivals and the opponents of our president will now speak of are laughable."

But already late Saturday, when the cameras started transmission, bloggers discovered ballots lying in transparent ballot boxes in the Chelyabinsk region before voting had begun. At a voting station in rural Dagestan, web cameras showed a man stuffing a voting machine with multiple ballots. The Central Elections Commission promptly said the result in the village of Tarumovka was invalid, Interfax reported.

Many reports alleged that scores of people had been bused to multiple polling stations in a practice know as "carousel voting" — echoing similar accusations from the disputed December State Duma vote. A reporter for The Moscow Times witnessed participants of a group of such voters appearing to be bused to several voting stations in the city's northwestern Kurkino district.

In Balashikha, seven kilometers east of Moscow, police detained a young man caught throwing a heap of ballots into the box at Polling Station No. 25. Communist commission member Vladimir Prokopenko showed a Moscow Times reporter a video he recorded of the incident and said a second offender managed to flee. Prokopenko said the commission chairwoman refused to sign a complaint by him. The chairwoman also refused to seal the ballot box, as required by law, and berated observers for directing voters to another secured box, he said.

She then expelled Prokopenko on the grounds that he took photos and videos of the voting. The Moscow Times reporter was also forced out. At Polling Station No. 64 in the city center, angry observers said dubiously large groups of voters appeared in the morning who were not on voting lists and didn't seem to live in the area.

Alexander Gordon, host of a popular political talk show on state-controlled Channel One, said outside a polling station where there were allegations of fraud that he thought the vote was fair. "What makes these elections special is that there is a large number of people who are interested in showing that they are unfair," he said.

But opposition activists said the vote seemed even less fair than the Duma elections that triggered mass protests. Leading opposition figure Alexei Navalny said his Rosvybory project had collected reports of more than 6,000 violations by the early afternoon.

A website that collects information about violations said Sunday evening that it had received more than 4,500 reports so far. The Golos election watchdog's site said it had more than 2,600 reports.

link

Jaafa

In that case I'd say any fraud is likely low level, organized by locals who support Putin.

Putin is not stupid enough to try any of this in front of cameras. 2-6000 reports out of 90000 ballot stations is not enough votes to risk delegitimizing the elections. Further, the fact that 2-6000 reports were caught and some people were arrested suggest that the cameras did their job, and this is probably not something organized on the grand scale.

Brussels Sprout

Jaafa wrote: »

In that case I'd say any fraud is likely low level, organized by locals who support Putin.

Putin is not stupid enough to try any of this in front of cameras. 2-6000 reports out of 90000 ballot stations is not enough votes to risk delegitimizing the elections. Further, the fact that 2-6000 reports were caught and some people were arrested suggest that the cameras did their job, and this is probably not something organized on the grand scale.

I'd agree with you entirely. Putin is a highly intelligent man surrounded by similarly intelligent people. If he was going to rig the election then he'd do it at the higher levels where the votes are actually counted and tabulated. The election commission is a body that is entirely controlled by the Kremlin. I'd imagine the exit polls were conducted by state TV as well.

The biggest fraud of all though was barring any credible opponents from standing. The last person (Khodorkovky) who tried to start a real opposition party who might actually have threatened United Russia is languishing in jail for his troubles.

czx

He's really not that bad, honest!

Eggy Baby!

As it stands the entire economy is massively sensitive to the price of oil and gas.

Economic strength in Russia is not solely due to high energy prices. Rather it is due to the fact their debt is basically nada and due to sound fiscal management.

That used to be the case but in the past number of years he's been gradually losing support. The fact that he was jeered at a big blue collar event (the martial arts fight last year) would have been unthinkable 4 years ago.

Whether or not they were booing him is debatable.

He's been very clever in using the chaos of the Yeltsin years to his advantage. It's a bit like the pigs in Animal Farm getting the other animals to do their bidding by using the constant threat of the return of the farmer.

Like how Obama and Fine Gael campaigned on the fact that they weren't George W. Bush/Fianna Fail?

And why would Putin rig an election he's going to win anyway? LOL

The last person (Khodorkovky) who tried to start a real opposition party who might actually have threatened United Russia is languishing in jail for his troubles.

Khodorkovsky is not in jail (as you seem to portray it) for being a democrat. Here is why:

"In 1994, while chairman of the board of the Menatep commercial bank in Moscow, M. B. Khodorkovsky created an organized group of individuals with the intention of taking control of the shares in Russian companies during the privatisation process through deceit and in the process of committing this crime managed the activities of this company."

Also he had links to murders. And he unsuccessfully appealed his convictions to the EU Court of Human Rights. I implore you to look up more about this Mafia Don- I mean legitimate businessman, and others such as Berezovsky. These guys have links to guys such as Litvinenko who give away state secrets to the West or to potential threats.

Putin is a highly intelligent man surrounded by similarly intelligent people.

I'd agree. He is a highly astute and crafty politician.

I'd imagine the exit polls were conducted by state TV as well.

Actually they are conducted by the Levada centre which is viewed as an "oppositional" NGO.

GOLOS is funded by USAID so we cross them out.

Brussels Sprout

Eggy Baby! wrote: »

Economic strength in Russia is not solely due to high energy prices. Rather it is due to the fact their debt is basically nada and due to sound fiscal management.

You're putting the cart before the horse there

Eggy Baby! wrote: »

Whether or not they were booing him is debatable.

Yes I believe State TV claimed they were either booing the American fighter or (more creatively) booing because there were such long lines to use the bathroom. Also if there was doubt then why did they edit the jeers out on later broadcasts?

Eggy Baby! wrote: »

Like how Obama and Fine Gael campaigned on the fact that they weren't George W. Bush/Fianna Fail?

This would be a valid comparison if Obama or FG were in power in 10 years time and still using this tactic

Eggy Baby! wrote: »

And why would Putin rig an election he's going to win anyway? LOL

To avoid a potentially embarrassing second round

Eggy Baby! wrote: »

Khodorkovsky is not in jail (as you seem to portray it) for being a democrat.

Here is why:

"In 1994, while chairman of the board of the Menatep commercial bank in Moscow, M. B. Khodorkovsky created an organized group of individuals with the intention of taking control of the shares in Russian companies during the privatisation process through deceit and in the process of committing this crime managed the activities of this company."

I didn't say that Khodorkovsky was a good man or an honourable one. However if he so wanted Putin could level similar charges against any of the oligarchs. When he came to power he summoned them and sat them down around a table and told them, to their relief, that they could keep what they'd gained so long as they played by his rules. They could keep their wealth so long as they didn't try and meddle with politics. Khodorkovsky tested Putin and ended up paying the price.

Eggy Baby! wrote: »

Also he had links to murders. And he unsuccessfully appealed his convictions to the EU Court of Human Rights. I implore you to look up more about this Mafia Don- I mean legitimate businessman, and others such as Berezovsky. These guys have links to guys such as Litvinenko who give away state secrets to the West or to potential threats.

Litvinenko, the FSB agent with a conscience? His fate was a classic example of Putin's vengeance.

Eggy Baby! wrote: »

Actually they are conducted by the Levada centre which is viewed as an "oppositional" NGO.

source?

Eggy Baby!

source?

http://rt.com/news/victory-putin-exit-polls-839/

"The state-owned All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion (known as VTSIOM in Russian), the country's oldest polling institution, published its own exit poll showing Putin winning with 58.3 per cent. Zyuganov gets 17.2 per cent, followed by Prokhorov, Zhirinovsky and Mironov – all with under 10 per cent of the votes."

"The US-funded NGO GOLOS (meaning “vote” or “voice”) conducted an exit poll based on SMS-messages received by its observers at the voting stations. According to its results, Putin scooped up 53.12 per cent, which, once again is more than enough to secure victory in the first round. He was followed by Zyuganov with 19.36 per cent, Prokhorov with 14.04 per cent, and Zhirinovsky with 6.79 per cent and Mironov with 5 per cent."

http://www.google.ie/#hl=en&sclient=psy-ab&q=who+conducted+the+russian+elections+exit+polls&pbx=1&oq=who+conducted+the+russian+elections+exit+polls&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=3&gs_upl=2386l11839l0l12264l46l32l0l5l5l2l1332l9392l0.3.11.7.0.2.0.2l25l0&gs_l=hp.3...2386l11839l0l12265l46l32l0l5l5l2l1332l9392l0j3j11j7j0j2j0j2l25l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=4e3d4302f3e663a2&biw=1024&bih=578

"Putin tallied 58 percent, according to a nationwide exit poll conducted by the VTsIOM polling agency. Another exit poll by the FOM opinion survey service showed Putin received 59 percent of the ballot."

Just in case RT are too "bribed" for you.I was thinking of another poll Levada did, which was before the election and concerned with who people would like to see running. Excuse me on that.But you're still wrong on exit polls all being conducted by state organisations.

This would be a valid comparison if Obama or FG were in power in 10 years time and still using this tactic

Obama got in on "ending the Iraq War" and "closing Guantanamo". Fine Gael got in by promising to stop TDs abusing authority with expenses and so forth. Politicians do this sort of stuff the whole time. Putin's just in a unique situation where he has been in a long time. Yes, a large part of his popularity is that he is not Yeltsin but.....he is not Yeltsin! It's pretty difficult for me to explain the importance Russians place on a confident leader and a confident country. And even more difficult to me to describe in words the alienation and the poverty of the early post-Soviet era. Every downtrodden person wants a messiah to help them. Putin, of course, embodies this in their eyes.

Yes I believe State TV claimed they were either booing the American fighter or (more creatively) booing because there were such long lines to use the bathroom. Also if there was doubt then why did they edit the jeers out on later broadcasts?

Yeah that's what State TV does, derp.

You honestly expect state TV to be in any way objective when it comes to Putin? lol But there is a lack of concrete evidence telling us that they were booing the American, or booing ebul Putin, because you know, you cannot judge the ballistic trajectory on catcalling.

To avoid a potentially embarrassing second round

Again, you are just working on invisible dynamics here. WHAT IF? TO AVOID... etc.

Khodorkovsky tested Putin and ended up paying the price.

And I shall not shed a tear.

When he came to power he summoned them and sat them down around a table and told them, to their relief, that they could keep what they'd gained so long as they played by his rules.

I don't know if you are doing this deliberately, but being prosaic is kind of undermining your argument. And of course Putin was squeezing a stress ball shaped like planet Earth too, I'm guessing? Or he sat on a chair composed of the bones of his enemies?

Litvinenko, the ex-FSB agent with a desire to sell state secrets? His fate was a classic example of defending your country. And even then it is arguable whether or not Putin had him killed.

Fixed.

Plus, the British refusal to extradite Litvinenko whereas pathetically imploring Russia afterward to change their constitution and extradite Lugovoi to the UK only made matters worse.

You're putting the cart before the horse there

Um no. Russia has been resource rich for millenia. Yet it has always been (until Soviet times) a ratty, backwards, feudal and agrarian nation. This is the only time when Russia is actually prosperous and functioning for its citizens. Russia still had shed loads of oil and gas in the Yeltsin era. The Russian economy is not as dependent on oil and gas as you think. But they constitute a large part of its exports.

From Wikidorkia:

"The recent global economic downturn hit the Russian economy hard, resulting in three major shocks to Russia's long-term economic growth, though. Oil prices dropped from $140 per barrel to $40 per barrel.."

Such a catastrophic decrease in oil price would surely have destroyed the Russian economy if it was so dependent on energy exports. But:

"However, in the second quarter the GDP rose by 7.5 percent on a quarterly basis indicating the beginning of economic recovery. Responses to the recovery has been fast – Industrial Production growth remains one of the highest in the world, Billionaires have grown vastly, and Moscow now boasts the highest billionaire population, ahead of New York City."

Russia recovered extremely quickly? Well I thought Russia was enormously dependent on energy prices to survive economically...please explain why countries such as Britain and the USA are still in the dumps despite the lack of resource domination of their exports? I'll answer. Because Russia was managed astoundingly well, whereas America boo-hooed when its triple A rating was taken from it...lol

Cardinal Richelieu

Amazing that we hear so much about possible election fraud in Russia yet nothing about the election fraud scandal sweeping Canada. Is this double standards by the western media?

wexie

Cardinal Richelieu wrote: »

Amazing that we hear so much about possible election fraud in Russia yet nothing about the election fraud scandal sweeping Canada. Is this double standards by the western media?

Could it be because election fraud in Canada would have about as much impact on the world stage as election fraud in say....Belgium?

RichieC

wexie wrote: »

Could it be because election fraud in Canada would have about as much impact on the world stage as election fraud in say....Belgium?

How about election fraud in the US?

NinjaK

Congrats, great world leader.

Brussels Sprout

Eggy Baby! wrote: »

.....

Quoting your entire post will get messy so I'll just respond to the points you made:

1. On the polling data: The state controlled agencies were predicting 58-60%. The non-state controlled agency showed 53%. That's a big difference. To then secure 64% is even more surprising

2. The meeting with the oligarchs, bizarrely enough was televised. You can see bits of it here (start at 7:35).

3. The Russian economy started recovering when the price of oil started rising again in late 2009:

Eggy Baby! wrote: »

It's pretty difficult for me to explain the importance Russians place on a confident leader and a confident country. And even more difficult to me to describe in words the alienation and the poverty of the early post-Soviet era.

Fair enough. Going from one of the big two superpowers to a near broken state in a few short years must have been hard to take especially for such a proud people. Putin himself has said that he is haunted by this period. Yes it is better now then it was then but surely that shouldn't be used as an excuse to continue with the same leadership in perpetuity.

southsiderosie

MOD NOTE:

@Eggy Baby!, you need to dial down the snark before posting again on this thread. Let's not allow a good discussion to get derailed by unnecessarily snide comments.

@EVERYONE: Before things descend into the usual whataboutery, please keep in mind that this is a thread about the Russian elections.

Bullseye1

Russia has never had a western style democracy. So expecting them to Americanise is never going to happen.

It's not like Putin is any worse than FF and Berties chronies. At least he hasn't brought them to financial ruin.

Eggy Baby!

Amazing that we hear so much about possible election fraud in Russia yet nothing about the election fraud scandal sweeping Canada. Is this double standards by the western media?

What? This has nothing to do with the topic at hand.

@Eggy Baby!, you need to dial down the snark before posting again on this thread. Let's not allow a good discussion to get derailed by unnecessarily snide comments.

I'll take this on board.

Russia's democracy is far from ideal. BUT it is significantly better than it has ever been before. The successes of Russian democracy, as well as its failures, must be taken into account. These protests would have been unthinkable even during perestroika. Russia is a democracy, but with benign authoritarian tendencies. Like for example, regional governors are chosen by Putin, and not elected. This is a decision that we must understand in post-Chechnya Russia.

Here's a good link:
http://trueslant.com/markadomanis/2010/03/18/russias-economy-is-going-to-recover-and-its-political-system-will-not-change/

Basically a guy explaining his thoughts on the Russian economic and political system.

3. The Russian economy started recovering when the price of oil started rising again in late 2009:

Again, whether or not oil and gas are the main factor in Russia's speedy recovery is debatable.

It certain, however, that they contributed. To what extent, we don't know. whether or not such a trend is purely coincidental, we don't know. But as I've said, Russia has always been resource rich, but it also has for the most part been very impoverished.

From Wikipedia:
"Exports as a whole accounted for only 8.7% of the GDP in 2007, compared to 20% in 2000."

Also, I notice that that diagram shows stock indices (the RTS). And even if the power of the Russian economy can be solely attributed to high energy prices, so what? Countries such as Nigeria or Iraq or Iran which are filthy rich in terms of oil revenues are seeing little improvement. In fact, this shows simply that the Russian government is willing to spend on social security, healthcare and education and that it is not inept (or lucky or opportunistic). Wouldn't a dictator like PutinHitler simply buy a massive army or bribe voters or put it all in a Swiss bank account? Seems like the guy actually cares about his country's welfare if he can put these funds to good use.

It's not like Putin is any worse than FF and Berties chronies. At least he hasn't brought them to financial ruin.

This quote made me laugh out loud, couldn't have put it better myself!

How about election fraud in the US?

Yes, I know this is off topic, but the elections (In which Georgie B won) were as dodgy as a back-alley boxing match. And everyone basically ignored that fact.

Actually, an update: here is a Levada poll which is largely consistent with the result:

PUTIN: 66%
ZYUGANOV: 15%
ZHIRINOVSKY: 8%
PROKHOROV: 6%
MIRONOV: 5%

Conducted in late February. It is largely consistent with actual results, give or take a few percent.

Most of these guy's political campaigns seem to stem from the fact that they present Putin in the typical "corrupt dictator" fashion. That's the reasons why they suck and do rubbish in every election. It's not Putin's fault. They need to reform their manifestos, attack the mistakes Putin has made while in power and exploit them. They need to offer fresh and exciting alternatives to Putin in order to win votes. They simply cannot take the lazy approach when it comes to these things.

Most politicians get in on the mistakes of their predecessors. That's democracy for you. If you whinge and complain every so often without any real action or suggestion of alternatives like Zyuganov or (and I really hate this guy, he's being built up by Western media nowadays to be some sort of Russian Aung San Suu Kyi) Navalny then you will not get the votes! Simple as. And if they attribute themselves losing to officials rigging the thing that's only increasing the lack of voter interest in them.

Bullseye1

Bullseye1 wrote: »

Russia has never had a western style democracy. So expecting them to Americanise is never going to happen.

It's not like Putin is any worse than FF and Berties chronies. At least he hasn't brought them to financial ruin.

Bertie and the boys didnt have nukes and they didnt have an offensive army that they would use. Putin isn`t afraid of war mongering.

Bullseye1

Deleted User wrote: »

Bertie and the boys didnt have nukes and they didnt have an offensive army that they would use. Putin isn`t afraid of war mongering.

Russia has never fired nukes on any other country. Only one country in history has. I'd be more concerned about who gets elected in that country.

Brussels Sprout

Bullseye1 wrote: »

Russia has never had a western style democracy. So expecting them to Americanise is never going to happen.

Nobody ever said anything about Americanising Russia. Plenty of ex-communist countries never had real democracies before and have made the transition quite well (e.g. Poland, Czech Rep., Slovenia, Estonia)

Bullseye1 wrote: »

It's not like Putin is any worse than FF and Berties chronies. At least he hasn't brought them to financial ruin.

That's a ridiculous comparison that is naive at best and borderline ignorant at worst.

Bertie told his critics to go and kill themselves. Putin, well Putin has always been a firm believer that actions speak louder than words.

In the following link you'll find a list of all the journalists who were killed during his time in power. There are over 100 since 2000. Some were killed in the war zones of the Caucasus but most were executed in the cities where they worked and lived.

The most high profile of these was Anna Politkovskaya. A critic of the Kremlin, she was one of the few journalists who spoke openly about the atrocities being carried out by Russian troops in Chechnya. She was executed in her apartment building in late 2006. When Putin was asked about her he replied "She was of no consequence".

Eggy Baby! wrote: »

Most of these guy's political campaigns seem to stem from the fact that they present Putin in the typical "corrupt dictator" fashion. That's the reasons why they suck and do rubbish in every election. It's not Putin's fault. They need to reform their manifestos, attack the mistakes Putin has made while in power and exploit them. They need to offer fresh and exciting alternatives to Putin in order to win votes. They simply cannot take the lazy approach when it comes to these things.

• Putin controls the TV, radio and the papers.
• Putin controls the electoral commission.
• Putin controls who gets to stand against him.
• Putin doesn't allow anyone to question him apart from his infamously soft interviews with either state tv or pre-screened viewers questions
• Putin won't debate his opponents

The pathetic state of the election was very much Putin's fault and that's exactly how he likes it.

Eggy Baby!

When Putin was asked about her he replied "She was of no consequence".

Actually he said that her death caused more harm to the Russian government than her life.

Putin controls the TV, radio and the papers.

The Russian internet is highly uncensored and there is a huge blogging community. Pravda is not controlled by the Russian government. RT is unusually objective for state media.

In the following link you'll find a list of all the journalists who were killed during his time in power. There are over 100 since 2000. Some were killed in the war zones of the Caucasus but most were executed in the cities where they worked and lived.

Notice that most were actually killed in the Yeltsin era of undemocracy.

The most high profile of these was Anna Politkovskaya. A critic of the Kremlin, she was one of the few journalists who spoke openly about the atrocities being carried out by Russian troops in Chechnya. She was executed in her apartment building in late 2006.

Again, you are working on invisible dynamics here. You are attributing a journalist's death to Putin when the evidence supporting is debatable.

Plus, it was during Chechnya, which I'll address later.

Notice that the definition of "murder" isn't given. It says 165 out of those 200 were murdered. These journalists may have been pro-Kremlin and were murdered by Chechen sympathisers or seperatists. Some may have been foreign journalists. And some may have just been randomly murdered whilst walking the streets of Kazan or some other city. Notice it says "in Russia" and not "in Chechnya". 37, it says, were caused by work-related accidents. So again, you are attributing every single unusual death of a journalist in Russia (without evidence, I may add) to Putin and his NKVD/KGB/MVD/SVR/FSB/Militsiya/Thug/Mafia/Kadyrovite/Alien pawns. I suppose you believe also that the Moscow apartment bombings were ordered by Putin?

"Between March 2000 and July 2007, said Reporters Without Borders, 21 journalists were murdered in Russia because of their work."

"On 18 June 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives passed House Resolution 151, calling on Putin to "step-up efforts to investigate" the murders."

The Americans meddling again in stuff that doesn't concern them, as part of their mass disinformation and mudslinging campaign to discredit Putin.

Yes, journalists have died in Russia. That's because there has been wars there for well over a decade. And nasty civil wars which cause great division. Journalists have died in Iraq, does that mean that the US occupation were to blame for their deaths? Or the Iraqi government? No. Because its a war and people get blown up by bombs, or shot, or are kidnapped and beheaded. That's why journalists have to be incredibly brave people to cover this sort of stuff.

Putin controls who gets to stand against him.

No he doesn't. He simply weeds out from politics the people who have no popular support (i.e people who can't get enough signatures to run or cannot meet the requirements to be on the electoral register). Just like in the States, where you have to be filthy rich to be President.

"Incidentally, Russia – we – are constantly being taught about democracy. But for some reason those who teach us do not want to learn themselves."- Putin

"..where a party that gets 7 percent – or even 10 or 20 percent – is by no means guaranteed a single seat in Congress."
-Justin Raimondo on the US electoral system, citing this link.

Putin doesn't allow anyone to question him apart from his infamously soft interviews with either state tv or pre-screened viewers questions

Look up "KVN". Its where the youth can lampoon modern day Russian politics (and politicians) without censorship or interference. Putin even attends their shows. But I'm guessing you are going to denounce them too, or accuse them of being PutinHitler's pawns to lull the electorate into a false sense of a good-humoured politician.

Putin won't debate his opponents

So what? That's his choice and doesn't detract from Russian democracy in any way. You say that you didn't mention or suggest any "Americanisation" of Russia, but now you want televised debates?

Bertie and the boys didnt have nukes and they didnt have an offensive army that they would use. Putin isn`t afraid of war mongering.

Putin never goes about "war mongering". If you notice, most wars are caused directly or indirectly by the United States, whose leaders are trying to start an aggressive war in the Middle East between two belligerents (one of which has nuclear weaponry, the other nearly does) as I type to you now. Plus the war with Georgia and Russia was almost certainly caused by the Americans giving the go-ahead to Georgia to assault South Ossetia and Abkhazia, leading them into war with Russia, but that's another story.

And Putin's foreign policy has nothing to do with allegations of election fraud or authoritarian rule. Just because he has a big army doesn't mean he is able to rig elections..

That's a ridiculous comparison that is naive at best and borderline ignorant at worst.

Its a little short of the mark but the guy has a point. Its definitely not naive or ignorant.

George Bush's clique was even worse.

Putin, well Putin has always been a firm believer that actions speak louder than words.

Of course he is, which is why he is making Russia great and not just talking about it, as other leaders tend to do (in televised debates!).

Russia has never fired nukes on any other country. Only one country in history has. I'd be more concerned about who gets elected in that country.

Unless Ron Paul gets in (which he won't) in that certain country, that certain country is utterly, irrevocably doomed. Therefore it is utterly, irrevocably doomed.

Plenty of ex-communist countries never had real democracies before and have made the transition quite well (e.g. Poland, Czech Rep., Slovenia, Estonia)

Good point, but none of these countries have suffered mismanagement and poverty in the Post-Soviet era as much as Russia did in the 90s. Plus they didn't have a Chechnya to challenge their democracy. How Russia managed to get through both Chechen wars, I have no idea. Hopefully in future years it will be regarded as the crucible that Russia went through to survive and emerge stronger. (Not that I support both these wars or their handling. It certainly taught Russia a lesson however) Every country has a challenge which makes it stronger or weaker. The Soviet Union failed its challenges, and it is no more. The USA succeeded its challenges, and it is how it is now. A hegemon.

All those countries are NATO-bait anyway. They have to be democratic in some way to get into that obsolete American protectorate. But that's another story, for another thread.

Zico

Meh there's no understanding of Russian culture let alone politics here. The Oligarchy rules and it's better the Oligarch you know... hmmm... that is a bit familiar though.

Eggy Baby!

Meh there's no understanding of Russian culture let alone politics here.

Don't pretend knowledge without any facts to back it up.

Russian culture does not cause oligarchies..