Wednesday, May 2, 2007
The recent death of former Russian President Boris Yeltsin, while perhaps unsurprising given his taste for life’s finer things, is nevertheless saddening. However, it gives the democratic nations of the world an important chance to renew the global discussions about the progress of peace and freedom around the globe.
Yeltsin, Russia’s only democratically elected leader in its tortuous history, was a study in contrasts. His public zeal and championing of people’s rights was inspiring, but his private life and governing style leaned uncomfortably close to the Soviet style Russian citizens knew all too well. They say that power corrupts, and Yeltsin partially succumbed to that axiom; however, he also remained a proponent of the rights of the everyman.
Yeltsin gave way to Vladimir Putin, who, despite President Bush’s testimonials about the integrity of his soul, appears to be far less committed to Yeltsin’s espoused democratic reforms. He has led a nationwide crackdown on opposition parties, detaining former chess wunderkind Garry Kasparov, and has steadily increased the Kremlin’s influence on Russian media. The most recent move is to require a near-majority of programming devoted to positive news about the government.
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It’s difficult to underestimate the importance of personal and political freedoms—we in America often take them for granted, devoted to the notion of free speech rights for all.
It has become quite trendy in these, Fukuyama’s end-of-history days, to speak of things in “post-national” terms. Democracy and economic liberalism, the lingua franca of globalization, are said to have triumphed over competing ideological forces, ceding all battlements to the power of Western forces. However, national borders and affairs still matter, especially in the case of a behemoth like Russia. Erosions of personal and media freedoms in a nominal democracy the size of Russia are troubling, and speak ill of the future of democracy.
It’s difficult to underestimate the importance of personal and political freedoms—we in America often take them for granted, devoted to the notion of free speech rights for all. But when we see a unilateral approach taken to restricting freedom in Russia, it reminds us that the mentality, if not the actual apparatus, of the Soviet mindset is in fact not moribund but thriving. This is probably unsurprising, given the czarist nature of Russian history, but should be troubling.
We will no doubt need Russia as an ally as our fight against terrorism continues. Indeed, to let such an important neighbor relapse into an apparatchik attitude could be harmful to our efforts at global peace. We should keep a close eye on the future of Russia, and watch for telling signs of erosion of our own personal freedoms. A KGB worldview in Russia is disturbing; in America, it could be downright frightening.
— McKay Stangler for the editorial board
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Comments
Editorial: U.S. should analyze Russia
Dear Editor,
Your editorial has incorrectly stated that Yeltsin was "Russia’s only democratically elected leader in its tortuous history." The current President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, was elected democratically. In fact, both Putin's elections were much more democratic than the second election of Yeltsin who just before the elections had ~2% approval raiting and managed to be re-elected through the media control. I also think it is incorrect and not ethical (particularly for an editorial) to call Russia's history a "tortuous". Thank you.
A.B.
Editorial: U.S. should analyze Russia
McKay, Have you been there?? Let's study Russia the way we studied Iraq. Maybe we can get it wrong again.
Editorial: U.S. should analyze Russia
Sorry. Our mistake. Should say "first," not "only." Our apologies.
Editorial: U.S. should analyze Russia
Sorry for your disagreement, but I dispute your characterization of "tortuous" as incorrect and/or unethical. Despite some modern connotation differences, the word usage in this case is meant simply to convey a long, winding path of history marked by deviations from the ideal. I believe if you consult a dictionary you will find that original definition precedes any secondary definition of corruption or wickedness. And if there's any place a loaded or opinionated word belongs, it's the editorial page.
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