March 18, 2004

Russian Democracy In Trouble

Oxblog's David Adesnik has an excellent link-filled post on Russia under Putin, including analysis of the much-criticized recent election and the impressive economic performance even in light of Putin's crackdown on personal and press freedoms. Worth a read. Here's part of David's summation:

"...the Bush administration should not hesitate to demand that Putin's (sic) stop undermining the foundations of Russian democracy. Colin Powell should not be saying that "I have some concerns, but I don't think democracy is in trouble in Russia." It is. And when the US ignores that fact, it damages our own credibility as a global advocate of democratic reform. Moreover, Putin is hurting our efforts to win the War on Terror by waging a brutal and senseless war in Chechnya. While we can't force Putin to change his ways, we can keep the global spotlight on his authoritarian and aggressive behavior. Ever the self-interested pragmatist, that kind of negative attention may just keep Putin in line.

Posted by dan at March 18, 2004 9:50 PM