> --- budge <budge at el-pleasant.org> wrote:
>
> so putin isn't doing a power grab using terrorism as
> an
> excuse (which is what my subject line was about)?
> ---
This is what LBO's own occasional poster Peter Lavelle wrote on the subject:
Putin and the “power grab” By Peter Lavelle Published on September 14, 2004
UT - Well, as usual, there has been far more heat than light concerning Vladimir Putin’s “electoral reform” announced yesterday. From what I have read on the subject, it appears Western media spoke with the usual suspects who never have anything good to say about Russia or Putin. So, let’s hash this issue out. I will post readers’ comments on the site under this article.
Putin’s decision to appoint governors and abolish single seat mandates to the Duma is an extraordinary move. I am sure we all agree that this decision does not further democracy in Russia. However, I am not convinced Putin’s agenda is anti-democratic – he simply either does not understand democracy or has no use for it, maybe both. He certainly has no use for parties like Yabloko and SPS – he merely adopts some of their ideas as his own, when he sees fit. United Russia is a taxi party for the Kremlin and the Communists will continue to destroy themselves (with an extra push from the center).
Clearly these moves are not only to centralize power, but also to get serious with corruption in the regions. I must admit I don’t visit the regions as often as I would like to, but when I do it is easy to see corruption. (In the regions government is corruption and mafias that would make the “Godfather” films blush). Putin is concerned, to the point of paranoia, that Russia may collapse due to corruption. I have long argued that if Putin fails to get Russia “around the corner” the country does risk collapse and corruption is only one of his problems.
I am agnostic when it comes to Russia’s experiment with democracy and thus in principle I am open to regional elites appointed by the center. But does complete control by the center make Russia stronger? As I pointed out yesterday, I can see complete control over the regions as another strike in the Kremlin’s now low intensity war against the oligarchs – which is just fine with me. There will be no such thing as a governor in an oligarch’s pocket moving forward. But, on the other hand, Kremlin authorities during Soviet era appointed what are now called governors and we all know that corruption was rife in the “regions.”
Putin didn’t make these decisions on the back of recent terrorist attacks. Clearly “electoral reform” has been in the cards for a while – particularly abolishing single seat mandates. However, when thinking about electoral reform and the war against terrorists, and with the North Caucuses in mind, I would like share a few words sent to me by my good friend Robert Bruce Ware, “The North Caucuses need more democracy and expanded access. This move dramatically decreases democracy and is likely to decrease access. The result will be more frustration and alienation, and hence more radicalism and terrorism.” These are very important observations – observations that can be - maybe shoud be - applied to Russia as a whole.
My major concern is not over-centralization of power as such. I worry who will carry out this centralization – the security forces? the military? These folks aren’t the best administrators. The security forces have proven very able when in pursuit of a well-defined mission, i.e. the whole Yukos ordeal. In other areas I have doubts – most importantly their ability to police themselves, let alone policing everyone else and combating terrorists. I sure would like to see more political backing for Defense Minister Ivanov – let the military do what is supposed to do – and not be overly politicized in the daily administration of the country.
I suppose what I am getting at is the following: Is the proposed “electoral reform” package a cure worse than the disease Putin claims he wants to treat?
http://www.untimely-thoughts.com/index.html?cat=3&type=3&art=915
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