[Marxism] Communists defending democracy

[Intense Red <intnsred@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

From <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6039136/site/newsweek/>:

Back to the U.S.S.R.?

Spreading freedom is a Bush theme. But in Russia, guess who's defending 
democracy? The Communists

Stanley Greene / Agence Vu
Putin's way: Cracking down on terroristsâand democracy?
 
By Michael Hirsh and Frank Brown
Newsweek

Sept. 27 issue - Back in the United States, George W. Bush was delivering 
thumping speeches to ecstatic crowds about how "the world is becoming more 
free" thanks to his administration's policies. But in central Moscow last 
week, on a narrow street opposite the general prosecutor's office, a handful 
of demonstrators took a different view of the status of freedom in Russia 
under Bush's close ally and friend Vladimir Putin. "Our society is now 
lurching towards a dictatorship," said one protester, Vladimir Ulas. "Putin 
is making a mockery of democracy." Who was this brave voice, defending 
principles that America holds dear? Ulas is first secretary of the Moscow 
city committee of the Communist Party.

Such is the ironic course of post-Soviet Russia these days. As President Putin 
continues to move his country away from democracyâputatively in an effort to 
stop future terrorist attacksâthe Russian people's former oppressor, the 
Communist Party, is among the few voices still speaking out against his 
actions, if squeakily. Last week, in one of his boldest moves yet, Putin 
revived some of the cardinal structures of the failed Soviet Union. He 
announced that the Kremlinânot local votersâwill start choosing governors 
by 
the end of the year. He also pledged to make changes to Russia's political 
system that will deny voters the power to directly choose representatives in 
Parliament.

Almost as noteworthy as Putin's power play was the fact that there was barely 
a peep of protest about it throughout Russia. Not even from the governors 
themselves. The tiny Moscow protest was the only known public demonstrationâ
limited in size by a city order allowing only 20 demonstratorsâand was 
largely ignored by Russia's increasingly restricted media. On TV and in 
newspapers, commentators talked bluntly about the need for a return to Soviet 
methods after a horrific series of terror attacks, especially the hostage 
takeover of a school in Beslan that left at least 338 children and adults 
dead. "This crisis presented a good opportunity," said Kremlin expert Olga 
Kryshtanovskaya. "The idea is to take some of the best methods of ruling a 
big country that the U.S.S.R. had to offerâa more authoritarian approach. 
And, at the same time, to have a market economy."

President Bush offered only a mild, indirect rebuke: "As governments fight the 
enemies of democracy, they must uphold the principles of democracy." Behind 
the scenes, U.S. officials were just as casual. Putin's actions are "not 
surprising," one senior Bush official who deals with Russia remarked 
offhandedly. "Russia is not a democratic society." The official said that 
Putin's actions resonate deeply with his countrymen. For Russians, the 
quality of their democracy matters less now than their fear of terrorâand of 
the national disintegration that terrorists like the Chechen separatist 
Shamil Basayev could provoke. "Putin and his cohort [Defense Minister Sergei] 
Ivanov saw the breakup of the Soviet Union. Now they're worried that Russia 
is going to break up." One argument the Americans can't make is that Putin is 
defying popular will. A recent survey found that 82 percent of Russians favor 
increased police document checks, 92 percent favor travel restrictions and 65 
percent approve greater control over the press.

So the United States is unlikely to stand in Putin's way. By most accounts, 
Bush and Putin's longstanding warm feelings for each other remain undimmed by 
the controversy. After Putin angrily denounced Western pressure to negotiate 
with the Chechens at a meeting with journalists, he was asked about Bush. 
Putin's tone warmed as he put his hand over his chest. "Bush is a good man," 
he said. Increasingly the two leaders see the war against terrorists in the 
same harsh light, as a give-no-quarter struggle of good against evil.

For Bush, the greatest danger is that his old friend overreaches. Some U.S. 
officials are concerned by Putin's declaration that he plans to embrace 
another one of Bush's antiterror tactics: pre-emptive strikes. Most observers 
believe that Putin has his eye on the Pankisi Gorge in neighboring Georgia, 
where Chechen rebels are believed to be hiding. Georgian officials, perhaps 
to forestall just such an attack, announced Saturday that Georgian and 
Russian forces are conducting joint helicopter patrols in the mountainous 
border region. But if that doesn't satisfy Putin, he probably won't find Bush 
standing in his way. In a sign that Washington might tacitly condone a 
pre-emptive strike, the U.S. ambassador to Georgia last week acknowledged 
that the Pankisi Gorge was a rebel haven. Next move, Putin.
 2004 Newsweek, Inc.

-- 
"This [the Bush regime] is the worst government the US has ever had in its 
more than 200 years of history." -- Nobel Prize winning economist George 
Akerlof


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