Under Inspection: Can Russian Democracy Ever Work?

It's unfortunate what happened in the Russian school. But it's even more unfortunate what has been happening since the terrorists attack. Nomad posted about Russian freedoms previously and I want to echo those feelings. Especially now that Putin is cracking down on Democratic opposition even more.



However, it's not a surprise for anyone who's seen how Russia works. During my time there, I was shocked to find out how secretive and aggressive the government was. For example, Russian non-Moscovites must bring their passport to have free access to the city and are still often followed around by police. One of our interpreters had told of being harassed several times by security because she was clearly of a Russian-Mongoloid descent. The level of government suspicion and discrimination against it's own people has never truly died down after the fall of Communism. The situation is clearly better than it was under the Communist leaders, but let's not forget that Putin is former KGB and has openly called for a curtailing of certain freedoms.



For this, he can't be condemned in a blanket way. The situation in Russia has been hard for many people. American style democracy was not what Russia needed but it's what they got anyway. And they've paid the price with high corruption, lawlessness, and violence. There was a high profile kidnapping on the first day we arrived in St. Petersburg. The mob had taken and killed one of the city's leading reformist politicians as a warning against others of a like mind. Neo-Russians have sold their own country out by investing against their fledgling democracy and left millions without the ability to support themselves. These are all serious problems that Putin inherited largely because of Yeltzin's drunken and squandered last couple of years in office.



So, I feel for the guy. He inherited a real mess and he's not used to the new Russia that came out of the blue, so to speak. But that doesn't change the fact that he must understand that to ride over freedom with tanks is to give the terrorists in this age just what they want.