Pressing for Change

On September 24, Russian president Dmitri Medvedev announced that he would step aside for his mentor and current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to reclaim the presidency in 2012. Since he first took over the presidency in 2000 from Boris Yeltsin, Vladimir Putin has dominated Russian politics. With exceptional political finesse, Putin has systematically marginalized all opposition and built up the powerful United Russia Party. As it stands now, Russia can hardly be considered democratic. United Russia holds 315 of the 450 seats in the Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, making Russia effectively a one-party state. Corruption abounds because government officials are not held accountable for their actions as long as they maintain their standing with United Russia. Furthermore, the Kremlin exercises complete control over state television by threatening to revoke broadcast licenses for uncooperative networks, while dissenters face violent suppression by the government. In spite of all of these free speech violations, Putin remains enormously popular, with approval ratings hovering around 80 percent. From a Machiavellian perspective, Putin’s leadership has been phenomenal. During his first two terms as president, Russia experienced a 72 percent increase in GDP, an eightfold increase in average monthly salary, and a restoration of government stability. However, the political corruption, human rights violations, and propaganda that Putin has used to strengthen his regime threaten to undermine the foundation of Russian democracy.

Many had hoped to see Medvedev compete against Putin in the upcoming elections on a liberal modernization platform. If these two titans of the Kremlin were to run against each other, the contest would reinvigorate Russian democracy. A functional democracy requires elections that are competitive enough to make elected officials accountable to voters. With Medvedev out of the race, Russians can expect a landslide victory for Putin and several more years of his increasingly authoritarian rule. In February 2011, Mikhail Gorbachev broadly criticized Russia’s electoral system, particularly the undemocratic way in which Putin and Medvedev privately decided who would stand for the presidency in 2012. Additionally, Medvedev’s recent announcement that he will step aside for Putin lends credence to the commonly held belief that Medvedev has been a mere puppet for Putin throughout his presidency. Putin has also manipulated the electoral system by changing the Russian constitution’s provision for direct election of provincial governors to a presidential appointment system. This new model allows Putin to reward loyal supporters and further inhibits government accountability to the electorate.

A former KGB officer, Putin is no stranger to the use of violence as a means to achieve political objectives. In fact, a 2008 Human Rights Watch report ranked Putin’s human rights record on the same level as the leaders of Pakistan and Zimbabwe. Dissidents, such as former world chess champion Garry Kasparov and Russia’s richest man, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, have been arrested on questionable grounds, and journalists who report negative stories about the government’s policy on Chechnya, for instance, have the tendency to be assassinated. Putin has even promoted a high school Russian history textbook that downplays the atrocities committed by Stalin and renders him a harsh but effective leader. Although Putin’s strong-arm tactics pale in comparison to Stalin’s massive purges, it is not too much of a stretch to call Putin a new “man of steel” who seeks to restore Russia’s prominence in global affairs.

Putin’s careful attention to his public image has always been a vital aspect of his political strategy. Lately, he has made appearances throughout the country to foster the popular notion that he is some sort of superhero. Whether he is scuba diving, climbing a rock wall, arm wrestling, or flying a fighter jet, Putin crafts the personal image of an awe-inspiring man of action. If he can drive a Formula One race car, perform skilled judo maneuvers, stare down wild animals, and swim across freezing Siberian lakes, it seems entirely plausible that he can solve all of Russia’s problems without breaking a sweat, or so the logic goes. A recent popular comic in Russia features “Super Putin,” a hero who saves the world from both zombies and terrorists. This comic captures the true adoration that many constituents feel for Putin and the sensational propaganda techniques that make him such a formidable threat to democracy.

Those who regard Putin as Russia’s savior are not entirely misguided. After all, Putin did salvage Russia from what many considered to be a failed democratic experiment in the 1990s. After a severe economic crisis during which GDP fell by 50 percent, the Russian people sacrificed liberty in favor of stability under Putin. His guidance has consistently led to good results, even when his methods have been less than desirable. However, Putin’s reign has had drawbacks as well. For example, regardless of how effective he has been, his United Russia party obstructs progress because it does not leave room for constructive public discourse.

Through clever political scheming and tireless self-promotion, Putin has taken on the role of a superhero whose mission is to enhance the power of Russia. It remains to be seen whether the return of “Super Putin” to the presidency will be the “kryptonite” of Russian democracy.