WANTED: Leader with Backbone and Brains to Save Russia

For ages...
Russians have used jokes as a way of communicating their thoughts about politics, society, and myriad issues. Jokes are an effective method of distracting people from the hardships they face, and anyone who knows anything about Russian history is aware of how hard the Russians have had it. This particular yarn sums up the relationship between Vladimir Putin and his successor/puppet Dmitri Medvedev: “Putin and Medvedev go to a restaurant. Putin orders steak, and the waiter asks, ‘And the vegetable?’ Putin replies, ‘The vegetable will have steak too.’”.

2 years ago…

Since Putin handpicked Medvedev to be the next president and practically guaranteed that he would win the presidency, it was obvious from the start that Medvedev was a pawn of Putin’s, lacking an agenda and initiative of his own. Although Medvedev offers the occasional disagreement from Putin, such as being more explicit in criticism of Stalin or expressing support for more democracy and freedom for dissent in Russia, he has never gotten the chance to implement those changes, mainly because of Putin’s lasting popularity in Russia that contrasts Medvedev’s completely lack of power and clout. Ever since Medvedev took the position of President of Russia and Putin retreated to the lesser role of Prime Minister, Russia has seen its stock plunge on virtually all areas. Russian oil is no longer the boon it was during the Putin years, since the international economic recession completely destroyed the desire for countries to purchase more oil. Although during Putin’s tenure as president, it appeared that Russia was gaining respect and clout as an international player capable of influencing world events, Russia under Medvedev hasn’t improved significantly at all in any way. Instead, Russia’s democratic government continues to deteriorate in quality, and corruption is still a notorious issue that remains endemic in Russian politics. In 2009, Transparency International, a think-tank, ranked Russia as 146th out of 180 countries in corruption (the higher rank the less corrupt), and issued Russia a score of 2.2 out of 10 in terms of government transparency. In all sectors, Russia seems to be on its dying throes. The population is only 141 million and shrinking, since the population growth rate in 2009 was only 0.002%, alcoholism is shortening the lifespan of men to 59, disrupting work in cities because of alcohol related incidents, creating chaos and sucking the vitality of rural towns till they completely wither, Russia’s democracy contains little real political diversity and freedom because Putin and Medvedev’s party United Russia holds a monopoly on all elections, and the Russian economy relies solely on oil and natural gas for survival, making the economy prosperous but vulnerable top collapse, which is exactly what happened in the recent recession.

Last Monday…

Now, with the bombing of the Moscow subways, Russia has gotten another taste of terrorism, again from militants based in Chechnya with possible links to al-Qaeda. This is definitely not the first time Russia faced a terrorist attack in its homeland; Chechen extremists and Islamic militants have held Russians hostage, launched massacres against Russian schoolchildren and bombed trains in recent years. However, this recent attack should serve as a wakeup call to Russians that the Medvedev years have been a disaster for Russia. Not only does Russia have to learn from this tragedy that it and the rest of the free world have a common enemy in Islamic terrorism, it’s also high time for Putin to return to his position as president of Russia so that he can give Russians better protection and prosperity.

First in 1998 and again in 2009…

Noted Russian academic, writer and political scientist Igor Panarin claimed vociferously that by 2010, the United States would cease to exist as a result of chaos brought about by the recession, with various parts of the country splitting to form independent nations and alliances. Panarin’s theory sounded ridiculous and unbelievable when he proposed it in 1998, and since 2010 has already arrived and New England doesn’t appear to be adopting the Euro anytime soon, it’s obvious Panarin was totally wrong again, similar to his support of Josef Stalin and his ideas for creating a “Eurasian Union” and “Asian Currency Unit” to rival America. On the contrary to Panarin’s beliefs, the general consensus among political analysts is that if anything, Russia has a higher chance than America of facing internal disintegration. The closest America has come to having any recent breakup is Texas Governor Rick Perry’s Tea Party-esque musings about Texas leaving the Union and Chuck Norris’s offer to lead that new nation, but considering the state of social, economic and political decay in Russia to the slow yet steady recovery occurring in America, any rebirth of the Texas Republic won’t be happening in the near future.

For the past eight years…

To be fair, life in Russia under Putin wasn’t exactly a paradise. Journalists and political dissidents faced high risks of getting killed in Russia in shadowy contexts, with Anna Politkovskaya, Alexander Litvinenko and Natalya Estemirova being some notable figures who died seemingly because of connections to criticizing the Kremlin, reporting on harsh Russian military campaigns in Chechnya, and activities that threatened government legitimacy. Democracy and civil liberties have never enjoyed a home in Russia, and the situation was not much different during Putin’s reign. But it’s painfully clear that under Putin, Russia at least went through a period of economic prosperity, international respect, and social freedom it hadn’t had for decades as the Soviet Union. As a result of Putin’s savvy legal and market reforms, Russia bounced from depression and chaos in 1990s to a 72% increase in GDP, a 150% increase in average salaries of Russians, and a 17% decrease in people earning salaries below the national poverty line. In 2007, Russia’s foreign debt was only $47.8 billion, 1/3 of the amount in 1999, inflation was down from 36 to 8%, and unemployment fell from 13 to 8%. The economy is arguably the most central factor in ensuring that any society remains stable and productive; with enough money to spend and food on the table, people are less likely to commit crimes, start wars, and , to put it bluntly, cause any other problems. In other areas, Putin also succeeded in improving Russia’s international status by modernizing national infrastructure, expanding Russia’s international role in trade and diplomacy, decreasing the crime rate, and giving Russians a strong sense of pride in their nation again.

Putin, it would appear, is the only person capable of guaranteeing Russians these things, despite the way he sidestepped democracy and government transparency. Russia under Putin was moving towards being a wealthier and stronger nation, however slowly, and when the next election in Russia arrives, Russians would do well to mark their ballots for Putin. In recent months, Putin has indicated his willingness to run for president again in 2012, and if he wins, he can finally stop hiding his influence using Medvedev as his pawn. It’s highly unlikely that under Putin, Russia can develop an effective and legitimate democracy, but does anyone truly believe Russians are ready to handle and take care of themselves under a democratic system? Simply look at the rapid democratization of Russia’s politics and economy during the 1990s to see the disaster a fast transition to democracy can cause for a traditionally authoritarian nation like Russia. Russians have been accustomed to undemocratic rule for centuries, whether under czars or communism. True democracy is going to take decades or more to really take root in Russia. For now, Russians need a forceful and intelligent leader, and Putin is just the man for the job.